Why do we play NTN Buzztime and other trivia games?

Perhaps you grab a Playmaker and match wits in NTN Buzztime. Perhaps you audition for Jeopardy, hoping to be the next Ken Jennings.

Why do you do it?

The blog things notre dame students like examined this very question:

Notre Dame Students love matching wits with other Notre Dame students. They start pointless debates in dorms, classrooms, bars, parties, and dining halls that include just about any topic. Politics, sports, religion, movies, history, literature, music, and television can all provide ample topics for Notre Dame Students to discuss, and they can all provide ample questions for Notre Dame Students to answer.

Because of this, Notre Dame Students love trivia. They love all kinds of trivia. Trivia games they can play alone in their free time, such as watching Jeopardy on TV or playing Sporcle.com...are useful tools to practice, but Notre Dame Students really love the competition. Some will get this competition amongst their friends by playing trivia games at Buffalo Wild Wings....

But why?

The main reason that Notre Dame Students love trivia, however, is not just because they have an innate desire to compete, but because they want to prove that they are smarter than they next guy.

But how does one define "smarter"?

Through trivia outlets, students are able to prove who has more worthless knowledge in their mind, who reads the most random Wikipedia pages, who is the most in tune with popular culture, and who can form the brightest teams; all important aspects of smartness.

Sounds reasonable to me.