When Isabel Aviles joined the Northeastern Trivia Club as a first year, she did not expect for it to be one of the highlights of her college experience. 

Now, Aviles, a third-year sociology and cultural anthropology combined major, is the club’s president. 

Aviles is one of the 15 to 20 member students who attend Trivia Club at Northeastern and trivia nights around the city. Initially formed three years ago, Trivia Club meets every Tuesday night in West Village G. Club members create questions by submitting “boards” to be played at the meeting. Depending on how hard the board is, they usually play one or two per night. 

“The stakes are so low. It’s people from all different years, all different majors. We don’t really have a demographic,” said Edyson Pines, a fourth-year nursing major and the previous president of Trivia Club. “It’s a lot of fun, silly banter, and it’s a good time.”

As a relatively new organization, Trivia Club didn’t form in a vacuum; it came at a time when people needed to find ways to connect face to face. Sai Chickakuragodu, an assistant event planner at Trident Booksellers & Cafe who organizes the store’s Friday night trivia, said many Bostonians sought community after COVID-19 forced the world into lockdowns.

“When it was time to come back together, [trivia goers] were really trying to find those communities again,” Chickakuragodu said.

Whether people need a place to step back from school or work, trivia welcomes them with open arms. Students are able to build community, social connections and foster friendly competition. 

“I’m a competitive person,” said Bridget Leary, a fourth-year computer science and psychology combined major and the club’s social media coordinator. “I played sports in high school and I don’t play sports in college, but I like a good competition.” 

Alongside attending meetings, many Trivia Club members have become regulars at trivia spots around Boston. 

“Stakes are definitely higher around Boston, but I personally haven’t gone anywhere where it’s super competitive,” Pines said. “It’s kind of just like chill restaurant trivia, but we have a few friends that we like to go weekly to some places, and I’d say Boston has a pretty good trivia scene.”

Though Boston is often regarded as lacking in nightlife, students do not have to look far to find trivia. 

Along with its Friday night trivia, Trident Bookseller & Cafe offers themed trivia nights on topics from “Parks and Recreation” to “Sex and the City.” On Friday nights, a walk by the Newbury Street store reveals a line of people waiting to secure one of the limited first-come, first-served seats. Venues like City Tap House advertise weekly Wednesday trivia as a “perfect midweek break” with “friendly competition,” and invite people to come during happy hour to claim their spots. At City Tap House, prizes are decided based on hosts and sponsors.

Another driving factor for trivia’s popularity is a break from electronics, allowing students to socialize instead of mindlessly scrolling.

“I also feel like another element is that we do our trivia on paper and pencil while a lot of them [other activities] use phones,” Chickakuragodu said. “I think that’s what also draws people to come back.”

Trivia tends to hook people to go back the next week. Most spots around Boston with consistent trivia events have a set of regulars.

“It’s something that we’ve been doing for a few months now. So I believe that we’ve created some type of following,” said Taylor Panza, event and marketing coordinator at City Tap House. “We have a really huge happy hour crowd that comes in on the weekdays, so it kind of gives those businesses an area for those people who pop in something to do.”

Trivia also gives people an opportunity to show off their knowledge. 

“It’s just fun being able to use your knowledge if you’re someone like me who remembers just a lot of random facts. It’s nice to like having that to put somewhere,” Leary said.

Many college students have sought out trivia as a way to take a break from  the stress of school, and along the way, have stumbled across a unique community. 

“It’s definitely like my biggest stress reliever,” Pines said. “I feel like it’s like my biggest passion and activity outside of school. I know if I had a bad day Tuesday, I’ll just go to trivia club and everything will be okay.”

Correction: This article was updated May 19 at 9:00 p.m. to correct the location of club meetings. A previous version of this story also misstated Pines’ role. The News regrets these errors.