So anything you want to know just email us the question!

How do you generate the questions?
Our most asked question! It varies. Sounds sad but I now keep pen and paper handy everywhere I go in case some interesting factoid crops up. Our main source is the interweb but we still use books, encyclopedias, TV, newspapers and the radio.

And how long does it take to write?
On a good week I’ll get Bar Wars done in 2 to 3 hours. When the creative juices aren’t flowing though I have been known to stare blankly at the screen for about 5 hours writing the quiz.

I’ve got a really great idea for a round. Can you do it?
Yep! Bar Wars is your quiz and we love input from the teams. If there’s anything you feel is missing or you have a genius idea let us know. Sadly though we do not currently accept whole rounds from external sources.

Can I Have A Bar Wars T-Shirt?
Yes you can, and why not have a mug for good measure. White mugs with the Bar Wars logo and grey, long sleeved Bar Wars T-Shirts are both available. Sadly because of the nature of the products (they’re not exactly going to mass-produced… or moderately produced for that matter) they will be slightly expensive. A Bar Wars mug is £10 and a T Shirt £20. We will not be making any profit from this - just supplying a service as many of you have asked about it. Adding your team name to the T-Shirt is optional - but free if you desire!

Why have you called the Bar Wars League the ‘Tim Evans Cup’?
Tim Evans was a member of the TGS staff throughout 2006. He was also a regular at Bar Wars and even celebrated a victory at the quiz on December 24th 2006. Tragically, just under a fortnight later, he died in a road traffic accident. Tim was much loved by many of the TGS staff and is much missed. We wanted a way of ensuring Tim’s memory lived on and seeing as he attended Bar Wars felt this was an ideal opportunity! The Tim Evans cup is awarded annually on the first Bar Wars of each New Year.

Bar Wars sure uses a lot of paper, as a tree hugger I may have to punish you…
We’re trying hard to keep Bar Wars as green as possible. Bar Wars gets through about 140 sheets of A4 every week. That’s a lot of trees. Rest assured we recycle every scrap of paper and also source our paper from suppliers that are green themselves - using sustainable forests and recycling paper etc.
We also recycle & refill the ink cartridges used to print the quiz. It’s not much but at least we can feel we’ve done our bit to help the environment.

Can I request a song to play during the breaks?
Of course. But please do it in advance as Bar Wars is completely playlisted these days. If you want something played or a dedication email us.

Why don’t you do a sports round? All other pub quizzes do?
You’ve answered your own question! Bar Wars isn’t ‘another pub quiz’. It’s designed to be slightly different. We’ve tried the sports round out a couple of times in Hereford but as TGS has a more mixed crowd we feel doing a sports round alienates 50% of the audience. (No we’re not being sexist, we’re including the men that don’t like sport in that stat!) But don’t worry sports fans we do try to include a number of sport questions in the general knowledge rounds each week.

There was a lot of people at this weeks Bar Wars. What’s the record number?
Bizarrely for the last three years now the final weekend in March/first weekend in April have always shown the largest attendance:

• 15th August 2010 - 149 players | 34 teams
• 30th March 2008 - 144 players | 36 teams!
• 1st April 2007 - 135 players | 34 teams!
• 25th March 2007 - 113 players | 27 teams
• 16th April 2006 101 players | 27 teams

Bar Wars usually goes a lot quieter in the summer time. So it’s actually the best time to play - you’ve more chance of winning!

Anything Ever Gone Wrong?

The infamous ‘fight night’ on January 28th 2007. Just before the quiz started a knuckle dragging Neanderthal decided he didn’t like the way almost everyone was looking at him and had a slight strop about it. Although the quiz went ahead following his romp the atmosphere just wasn’t right. Worst. Bar Wars. Ever!

Who’s This Ed Bloke You Mention Now And Then?

Ed helped relaunch Bar Wars at TGS back in 2004. From then until the end of 2006 he served as weekly marker and co-writer. He’s now moved onto new pastures but still occasionally attends the quiz under the name ‘Neil Hates Plymouth Grr’. Ed’s connection to The Wars goes right back to 2000 whne he used to attend the original in Cheltenham.

Bar Wars Mania - have you really surveyed 100 people?
Sorry to shatter illusions but no. We’re just a small scale local pub quiz. We haven’t got the time, money or resources to do that. Instead we’ve used research and surveys from independent sources. So the data is genuine but not actually done by us. Same for Vital Stats which is again pooled from statistical data released by the government and various news agencies over the last few years.

Can I be a marker?
Nope. Sorry. We plunder the TGS staff for marking duties as it makes it a lot easier when it comes to paying them. It also ensures there’s no bias and the marking is fair. Also I prefer to have small bunch of regulars rather than different people every week. So for now Jenny, Kelly & Amy will be the only official Bar Wars markers.

Do you ever play pub quizzes?
Absolutely. Before Bar Wars was established I was an avid pub quiz fan and visited many throughout the creative process to discover what I felt worked & what didn’t.

Ed & I often still take part in quizzes, though doing Bar Wars every Sunday does restrict that somewhat. Our two favourite quizzes locally are The Three Elms (Sunday nights, sadly) which although hard does give you immense satisfaction when you do well. (I haven’t been to that one for a few years now - obviously.) We also love the Tuesday night pub quiz at the Victory - great atmosphere, nice balance of questions and you get a curry at the end!

There is one quiz that I thought was terrible, and sadly it’s at my local! The ideas were brilliant and the questions good it’s just that the management didn’t hire anyone extra to do the hosting so the barmaid was asking the questions while serving at the same time. Sometimes there was a delay of 5 minutes between questions! I won’t name them because I don’t want to slag a fellow pub quiz off - I’m hoping it was a one off.

Anyway if you’re ever taking part in a pub quiz and another team is called ‘Neil Hates Plymouth Grr’ then you’ll know you’re playing someone connected with Bar Wars.

That’s enough for now. Any questions about Bar Wars you want answered? Email us - quiz@barwars.co.uk