Between the din of deliberating contestants and the gleeful shouts of those who have the correct answers, Team Trivia transforms Brooksby’s Fireside Lounge into a lively hotspot every other Saturday afternoon.

One of the newest activities at Brooksby, Team Trivia is primarily the work of Irving Babner, who moved to the community about a year ago. Babner became one of hundreds of volunteers at Brooskby when he decided to start up and run the game, which has grown over the first months of play.

“People said we were crazy,” Babner says of his decision to start the activity during the summer months, when many people spend weekends away. “But we got it going.”

Successful start
Babner and his wife, Esther, spend half of the year in Florida, where they have played the game at a senior community. When he arrived at Brooksby, Mr. Babner wanted to bring his hobby with him. So he got connected with Community Resources Coordinator Elizabeth Hamp, who assisted in publicizing the activity, and applied for a start-up grant from the Treasure Chest.

With recent turnouts of almost 50 people, Team Trivia is a hit. Players split into teams of four or five to answer questions about everything from sports to plants. The game is divided into two parts, during which contestants decide how to wager their allotment of points based on the answers they feel most confident about over three categories.

Each team has about two minutes to put down an answer that it will pass in to host Mr. Babner and the score- and time-keepers Nancy Sullivan and Marge Vorosmarty, who are also the time-keepers of Brooksby’s popular television quiz show, Whaddya Know?

Brain teasers
Most agree that trivia is not  only a source of amusement but also a worthwhile brain exercise.