Made in Idaho: Game Night Live trivia competitions are all the rage

GARDEN CITY, Idaho — When the weekend hits and the weather’s nice, many people in Idaho are hitting the town with friends and family. This leaves bars and restaurants slower on weekdays.

Boise’s Game Night Live trivia and bingo games aim to bring in big business for venues that host throughout the week.

No phones are necessary for Game Night Live questions. Game Night Live’s founder Chris Zoephel prides himself on cultivating an inclusive, entertaining, and no-stress game environment.

“We wanted a trivia game or games that anybody could play and you could have a good time and not feel stupid,” says Zoephel. “We provide the host, the game, all the sound equipment, everything. We do all the advertising and full-time marketing.”

The trivia company loves being able to provide fun competitions to bars and restaurants both near and far.

“Our local venues could then rely on a slower night becoming a busier night without stressing them out,” says Zoephel.

The downtown location of White Dog Brewing Co. was one of the first local spots to host trivia nights, and now it’s one of the largest. Co-owner Dan Jordan believes his Wednesday trivia nights are now just as packed as his restaurant is on the weekends.

“Game Night Live being from here, Boise, Idaho, we have always stuck with them,” says Jordan, “we love having that Idaho brand being involved with the community, and the business community, and then having all of the returning teams, every week we see the same teams.”

Jordan has seen Game Night Live expand alongside his own business.

“Being an entrepreneur, it’s fun to see any small business grow and I love the fact that Game Night Live people were able to take this idea, fine-tune it, and do it well to allow it to grow coast-to-coast,” says Jordan.

You can currently play Game Night Live games at multiple venues in nine states. Plans to expand across the country are in the works, as well as local expansion.

“We’re moving into doing a bunch of fundraising events for nonprofits around the Boise area,” says Zoephel. “We just wanna get into every state in the county,[and have] the highest paid hosts in the country,[and] the highest paid writers”

Check out when and where you can play.