“Use your noodle, not your Google,”  Trivia Mafia requests of their players when they attend a night like those now happening at Local Roots every Thursday night at 7 p.m.

“Trivia Mafia strives to make our events have a low bar to entry — all you need, really, is the ability to write on a piece of paper and listen to questions — and to write our questions so that people can get the answer two ways,” Brenna Proczko, New Business and Host Administrator for Trivia Mafia, said.

As a host, Proczko has been playing trivia since 2007 when the question-slinging mafia first started at 331 Club. Owner of Local Roots has enjoyed hosting the event since it kicked off on Oct. 18.

“So far trivia has been an absolute blast,” Courtney Norgaard said.

The event is high-fun and low-stress.

“The vibe is casual and engaging; challenging, but in a fun way,” Proczko said.

The overall goal of trivia is not that different from the goal of Local Roots: to supply an environment that is welcoming and fun for everyone.

The questions can range from geography to pop culture to cuisine. There might be some clues hidden in the theme of a round or in the phrasing of a question so players can make some good guesses, but ultimately the best strategy is to bring a diverse team to the table.

“Diversify interests, background and/or ages, to get a really well-rounded team,” Proczko said. “That, or just bring people that you want to hang out with for two hours.”

For those who really want to type in a question and watch Google supply the response, there’s a single question where that’s allowed: the Internet-Only Question. It changes daily and encourages people to stalk Trivia Mafia for a leg up.

“It’s worth one point, and it’s the only question that lives on the internet (on our website, or in the email newsletter) and the only question teams can use the internet to look up.”

The event is fun for hosts and players alike, and Proczko has fond memories from hosting.

“I always love to see the clever team names, like “Worst Case Ontario” or “Bob Ross Mob Boss” or the classic “We Thought This Was Speed Dating” — or best wrong answers.”

Recently, they played a round that showed images of babies in their Halloween costumes and players had to guess who they were dressed as.

“Instead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one team guessed Austin Powers, and I could not stop laughing,” Proczko said.

Overall, the event builds a sense of community and is meant to be a fun mental stimulation.

“Our goal is not to make people feel stupid — or even to make them feel especially smart — but to give us all an excuse to make use of the little, rather trivial nuggets of info we acquire throughout life,” Proczko said.

Beyond that, trivia is a good break.

“It’s a reason to stop looking at your phone for a few hours, so it’s great for mental health,” Proczko said.

So whether you know which nut is native to North America, which president’s middle name was Milhouse, or which cartoon features a character named Twilight Sparkle, Trivia Mafia hopes you will attend the new event at Local Roots and show off your random knowledge.