Tom makes some good points below about the Quizzer and its role in pubs. I think my main problem with them is that the amount of aggro they cause is far more than the amount of aggro from a typical Bar Billiards game (unless you’re in the Glasshouse Stores and the table breaks and the staff refuse to even look at it, causing Tired and Emotional publog representatives to become SEVERELY emotional…).
First of all: bar billiards has a comfortable amount of people to play on it. You play or don’t play, and it’s far more fun to watch than jumping up and down behind a huge scrum of people at a quizzer and then getting hideously bored and sitting by yrself in the corner.
Second of all: I certainly have never won money on the quizzer despite my GINORMOUS HUMAN BRANE because drunks KNOW NOTHING curses curses. And the stimulus for conversation only tends to lean towards everyones unreservered hatred for Ann Robinson/Chris Tarrant as all non-shit telly tie-ins seem to have disappeared! Notable exception: TOTP quizzer, which although a telly tie-in is still grebt.
Third of all: Bar Billiards = my ripoff claim to playing any sports. YEEHAW! Far more enjoyable than watching some smug pub bore drive you to tears with his rubbish arcane knowldge. The Quizzer = the Pub Bore’s Heaven.
On another note, I am shoxx0red to find a pub in NO MANS LAND Millbank area which serves a selection of six different bitters. I am not at ALL shoxx0red when I find that only two of them are ever on at the same time. (Pub = Old Monk on Horseferry Road, as opposed to the Old Monk on Strutton Ground with it’s 394823857ft deep bar queues).