Speed-dating is a bit of a nightmare for some singles; the long table, mixing faces after the first 10 minutes, repeating the same conversation until it becomes robotic, the fear of not pleasing or looking ridiculous, the dizzying musical chairs…
Fortunately, MATCHMOI’s quiz night is very different from classic speed-dating . It’s a bit of a boom, it’s fun and exciting, and it’s a great night out where, almost in spite of ourselves, we find ourselves walking a new crush back to the metro at the end.
At 7pm, in front of the Jockey, some of us are hanging around nervously, hands in pockets, a little hesitant. But inside the bar, it’s warm, and the bar is packed with singles who are here to play. There are 17 teams -17 tables, tightly packed together- that have been formed in advance, and the organizers are looking up each other’s names on an ipad. They are grouped into small blocks which are equally divided between two colors; blue for the boys, pink for the girls.
It’s MATCHMOI Quiz 25-40 tonight (and there’s some for the youngest, or oldest, too) and there will be three rounds of quizzing – and each time, the teams change. The winning team gets a round of shots. I order a Martini to give me courage and I’m grateful for the three olives impaled on the wooden spike because I forgot to have supper before coming.
The singles seated around the small tables at the Jockey, more or less packed like sardines depending on the table assigned, are mostly in their thirties and work in logistics, IT, finance and social work (among others). I tell myself that most of the people in the room are pretty good at maths, and that if they’ve chosen this evening, it’s because the probability of leaving with the number of a crush fresh in their phone is good.
Some have come alone, others with friends, so they can cast encouraging glances at each other from table to table, and debrief discreetly in the toilets between quiz rounds… But the concept makes the evening feel very natural. I’m thinking of early high school parties, boy-girl parties where the possibilities of kissing your crush are endless, or even meeting so-and-so’s cousin who will become your first love. Maybe it’s the blue and pink lights in the bar, but I’m also thinking of La Boum with Sophie Marceau, and the sweetness of teenage flirting.
In a group, you can choose to be the one who concentrates on the game, the one who silently observes, or the one who asks questions – and that’s very refreshing, it’s like a license to flirt that, unlike dating apps and classic speed-dating . You don’t feel obliged to flirt with everything that moves, but encouraged to chat, to take an interest in each other (and more, if you like).
For some, it’s not their first MATCHMOI Quiz night, and if they didn’t find love last time, they still had a great time – enough to try again. For the others, it was on the recommendation of a friend, or even a well-meaning ex, or the evening was recommended to them online or on social networks.
After the three rounds of quizzes (I wasn’t on one of the winning teams, unfortunately) there’s karaoke, and you can subtly get closer to the teammate you liked best…
At the end of the evening, I see several “couples” leaving the Jockey together, surely to continue chatting as they walk to the metro without the loud music and through the (romantic) empty streets of the plateau at night. Wondering if I’ve been walked to the metro myself? I don’t kiss and tell…
The next MATCHMOI evenings can be found here, and the next Quiz 25-40 evening in Montreal is on April 5.
There’s also the Dating Show, a comedy night where you can enjoy the show and talk to whoever you want, and the MATCHMOI team is soon promising evenings for queer and English-speaking singles, in wine-tasting or bowling contexts (for those who are really competitive)…
Happy dating!