On a brisk Wednesday evening at Bebop, a bar nestled on the corner of Senopati, tables are set with young office workers with cold beers in their hands, still in their wrinkled shirts, looking to wind down after a long day at work. But they are not waiting for the first karaoke song to be played or a DJ to light up the dance floor; instead, they are waiting for Kara Chenoa, one of the co-founders of the bar, to start the night’s trivia event.
“If you’re there to be super competitive, then you’re not doing it to have fun,“ said Kara, the resident host of the Senopati bar’s weekly trivia night. “I take the job seriously, but I want to enjoy it as well. Sometimes I’m also drinking, so we are on the same level. If you get tipsy, then I’m going to get tipsy as well,” he added, half in jest.
Carried by Kara’s laid-back persona and stimulating mix of questions, the competitive activity has become a beloved part of Tuesdays at Bebop’s, where the compact space of the Japanese Jazz-themed bar is fully booked with contestants eager to win a bottle of the bar’s signature spirit as the reward for winning the game.
As a fan of popular game shows like the UK’s QI (Quite Interesting) and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, Kara started hosting trivia nights in Bebop two years ago as a way to introduce something fresh into the bar’s weekly list of activities. But for him and the rest of the team, the success did not happen overnight. “At first, we struggled with it and relied on inviting friends and relatives to fill the room. I had to fight for trivia nights when people didn’t acknowledge it as something worth visiting Bebop for,” said Kara. “But eventually, it really caught on from word-of-mouth referrals because people genuinely enjoyed our events. There were a lot of other ideas I proposed that didn’t work out, but thankfully not this one.”
Generally, the format’s simple: hosts ask the questions, then the teams get a set time to write their answers on whiteboards before they are handed in for the staff to tally up the scores. Topics usually cover general knowledge, literature, music, films and pop culture, and although phones are not allowed, a limited number of hints can be requested. But for every trivia event, there’s an unwritten rule that becomes clearer for everybody as the game goes on: Don’t take it too seriously and have plenty of fun.
An affair that brings everyone together
Take it from Mevilia ‘Mevi’ Pratama, 26, a senior account executive at a creative agency in Jakarta, who has been to Bebop’s trivia nights twice this year and won on one of the occasions. “We ended up sharing the bottle of gin with everyone in the room to celebrate the victory,” said Mevi. “It’s a good way to start conversations with the other contestants there.”
Sharing the prize has become something of a weekly ritual to end the trivia nights at Bebop, turning it less about competition and more about the joy in creating a sense of community around the bar.
That element of forming bonds is something that comes very naturally in these events, and it is present in the trivia nights held in Billy’s Block as well. “We try to promote an inclusive culture in our establishment, where you can find all kinds of different people,” explained Sena Suditomo, co-founder of Billy’s Block, who served as the host for all five of their trivia nights this year. “Trivia night is one of our ways to communicate that aspect of our establishment.”
For the New York-style deli situated on the ground floor of the Senopati Suites, the early volumes of trivia at Billy’s started during the Ramadan month this year. Office workers around the area, cinephiles and digital junkies as well as expats living in the apartment complex above, all waited patiently for Sena to announce the game, as they dug into the deli’s halal food. But as soon as the whiteboards were distributed and Sena revealed the first round of questions, it was a whole different scene. The casual post-meal discussions turned to a repeating cycle of bemused reactions, constant debates and spontaneous eureka moments, especially on rounds that quickly went from the no-brainers to the tough nuts to crack.
“The best thing about being a host is watching people getting cocky on the easy rounds, before the next set of difficult questions humbles them,” Sena said with a grin, as if picturing all those moments in his head. “It’s one of the funniest things you see as a host. You should definitely try it sometime.“
The joy of competing and being a host are both things that resonated with Quentino ‘Nino’ Junandar, 23, an associate at a local advisory firm who not only joined as a contestant for three of the events held at Billy’s Block, but also served as a host for a special Independence Day-themed trivia at Hats Bar. “From what I’ve observed, the nice thing about these events is that they kill the awkward barrier. There’s no need to think much about ice-breakers; simply trying to win will naturally connect you with others who have common interests,” said Nino.
A new twist to Jakarta’s nightlife
For Nino, these events are not just a way to bring everyone together, but something that redefines what it means to be ‘cool’. “I think the rise of these trivia nights is blurring the distinction between the geeks and cool kids,” said Nino, offering his two cents. “Initially, trivia nights were seen as something geeky and not at all associated with the common nightlife occasions in Jakarta. Sometimes, people just need something different from the usual activities of drinking and dancing that you see all the time.“
With the trivia nights at Bebop, Kara noticed a pattern in the event’s regular contestants. “The people who come here are not the same people who like to party,” said Kara. “I tend to see that people in their late 20s like me, who prefer this type of more laidback events, rather than the common nightlife occasions that we were so used to doing in the past. I feel like we are beyond the era of staying up until 3 AM to party. Common events like karaoke nights and DJ performances are still fun. But for me, I don’t want to do that every week.”
With the increasing number of these competition-based events in nightlife-heavy areas of South Jakarta, does this signify the beginning of the end for clubbing and DJ nights? Indra Adwindarsyah, the head of marketing and the main ideator behind the quiz night events at Okami Loft, thinks that it’s a healthy co-existence. “There will always be parties, and there will always be people chasing a great one,” said Indra. “We’re just offering an alternative for those nights when you’d rather sit down, have a drink, get your brain teased a little and maybe win a few more drinks while you’re at it.”
Okami Loft began hosting its quiz nights called Think Tank in September this year. The third edition came on a rainy Tuesday evening in October. Jakarta-based DJ and MC Ryo Wicaksono, along with content creator Bayu Herlambang, hosted the trivia with a lively spirit, constantly bantering with the contestants who sipped highballs in the bar’s laidback living room-like interior.
How trivia nights keep the ball rolling on weekdays
For an establishment known for its Japanese-inspired highballs and cocktails, the Think Tank events are keeping the bartenders busy. “Since participants need to purchase a drink to join Think Tank, the program naturally boosts alcohol sales. Cocktails tend to be the crowd favourite during the event, though some tables opt for bottles to keep the flow going, long after the event’s finished,” shared Indra.
It’s a little different at Bebop, where trivia nights have evolved to the point of drawing serious contenders, who are more interested in the challenge. “Sometimes it can be super competitive that nobody is drinking; they just want to play,” said Kara. Sales often shift toward food instead, as participants look for something to munch on between rounds. While boosting alcohol sales remains the main goal, Kara admitted, “It doesn’t matter if the tables are full.”
Either way, these trivia nights remain a strategic move for the nightlife establishments — transforming typically slow weekday evenings into lively, high-traffic nights that bring in returning and also new faces. “We used to struggle with filling up two tables at a time during trivia night, but now the standard is that we expect to be fully booked every week,” beamed Kara.
Perhaps Bebop’s success implies that these trivia nights have opened more possibilities of redefining the idea of nightlife in Jakarta. If the packed rooms and the recent rise in establishments hosting trivia nights suggest anything, it seems to reveal a shift in today’s youth’s preference and their idea of a good night out in the city. But is it here to stay?
“We don’t see it as just a passing trend. If anything, it’s part of a broader shift toward more interactive, community-driven formats,“ said Indra. “People want to feel involved, not just entertained. Whether it’s a regular occurrence or not depends on how venues accommodate it.”
To that end, Sena does not see more venues hosting trivia nights as a potential conflict, but rather a chance to build something bigger together. “I feel like it’s important to make sure that venues don’t see other establishments that host these trivia nights as competition, but rather as an opportunity for collaboration,“ shared Sena. With that in mind, Kara offered a glass-half-full sentiment. “You always know what you’re doing wrong when somebody else does it better. And if there’s an opportunity to collaborate, why not?”
