Cornhole: Catching on fast, and leaving horseshoes in the crosshairs

This game once seemed like one for young children, or even for yuppies. However, it seems folks of all ages, walks of life, and even races are playing cornhole.

Cornhole is a game similar to horseshoes in many fashions, including the scoring.  Two boards with a hole near the top are placed a few feet from each other, just like horseshoe pegs. One, however, tosses beanbags with corn in them, attempting to hit the hole at the top of the board.

This game has really taken many areas by storm. There is recreational and competitive play.  You can now see people playing this game at bars, cookouts, tailgates, birthday parties, and even family reunions. There are also many local, regional, and even national competitions everywhere. Competitions can be held indoors or outdoors. The outdoor competition seems to be the most popular, especially during spring and summertime.

I have many friends and relatives that not only play, not only buy their own cornhole boards and bags with sports logos of their choice, they make them as a side hustle. I know of a couple of people, including family members, that construct cornhole sets and pocket anywhere from $150-$200 per set. Not bad if you're good with your hands, wood, and can paint.

So where does this leave horseshoes? I know many horseshoe players that will not go near cornhole. Others play both, liking the new thrill cornhole offers.  Horseshoes is more of an old school game but relies more on strength than cornhole does. Cornhole is more of a game of accuracy. However, you can play cornhole virtually anywhere and it is overall safer than horseshoes. It basically has more versatility than horseshoes, but not necessarily a better game. That is all a matter of perception.

Nonetheless, cornhole doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon. Horseshoes will always be around as well, but appears to be to cornhole what pinball machines are to video games.  It is simply the next step in recreational and competitive gameplay.

So now what will the next big game be like?

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Trivia: just a sucker for random knowledge

Random intelligence is a part of the various pieces I write weekly. Heck it’s the title of my blog and weekly column.  It is only natural to include trivia in this mix.

Ever since at least the age of nine, I've had a fixation on random knowledge, information and facts. I've been good at learning, retaining, and spitting them out on queue since then. I can strangely remember useless info easier than I can remember to stop by the store on the way home for a gallon of milk or whatever.

There's something about trivia/quiz challenges/academic smack downs and the like that gives me a rush. Strangely enough, I don't watch a lot of Jeopardy. I like the show, and I can answer many of the questions on a given night. However, that is strictly academic knowledge. My trivia expertise is usually stuff from bar trivia nights or the "Trivial Pursuit" games, such as U.S. History facts, sports stuff, pop culture, and other random things.

I started doing Quiz Bowl in the 6th grade, and then become really competitive at it over the next few years. I was typically a fixture on the Quiz Bowl teams in my grade, and was even a team MVP for my Energy Bowl (9th grade science bowl) team. Unfortunately, after high school, I didn't find many avenues to fulfill my inner-appetite for random info. That is, until 2007 when I was invited out to Daddy Joe's BBQ and Grill in Gaffney for Thursday night trivia. I have to admit, I was nervous at first. It had been years on top of years since I had participated in trivia. I had to see what the format was, what types of questions were being asked, etc. Heck, I didn't even actually play until 2008 because I wanted to observe and get a good partner. Granted, I will play trivia with pretty much anybody. But if it's competitive, I want someone that's going to be able to answer the questions I can't, and be as balanced at trivia as I am.

I found this guy that was pretty much my trivia equal. He knew much of the science stuff also, being that he used to be a science teacher. We combined as a two-man team and we were tough to beat. We were the guys that no one liked because we won weekly, sometimes in convincing fashion. We also have 2 out of 3 trivia tournament championships under our belts. Good times, good times.

 

Daddy Joe's took a hiatus from trivia as Shag Stepp, the owner, decided to focus on cornhole tournaments. During warm weather, Daddy Joe's has outdoor music on the patio with local artists such as Jeff Gates and the Rock and Poppyseed Boys. Granted I enjoy the music and overall company at Daddy Joes. Had it not been for trivia, I wouldn’t have made wonderful connections and had all sorts of fun. I still had a void to fill though.

 

Now trivia is back at Daddy Joes! Shag has partnered with Team Trivia, a company that goes around to various bars and restaurants in the Carolinas conducting extremely challenging trivia competitions. It is more of a team, discussion format, rather than the game show style with the buzzers.   I have reunited with my regular trivia partner, plus a few more like minded people, and we have began playing weekly again.  We typically come in the top 3 weekly, and recently finished #1. The moderator was so impressed with me individually that he invited me to fill a spot in a regional trivia competition in Brevard, NC in a few weeks. I feel honored and humbled to be able to test my knowledge on a larger scale.   It’s a different format, but it’s one I like.  My trivia desire has been fulfilled, and it’s good to see others get involved. 

 

So come on out to Daddy Joe’s one Thursday night around 7:30pm and play some trivia with us sponsored by Team Trivia.  They have a website with a daily question, http://www.playteamtrivia.com.  You can either be on my team, or form your own team and test your wits against mine.  Either way, it should be loads of fun.