I Didn't Know Trivia Night Would Turn Me Into a Competitive Monster

I'm not a competitive person. Or at least, I wasn't before I stepped into the Explorer's Lounge on the Viking Star for what I thought would be a lighthearted evening of trivia. My husband Mark kept telling me I was "just going to watch," but I should have known better. I should have recognized the warning signs when I spotted the hand-drawn leaderboard taped to the wall, complete with team names written in aggressive marker strokes. It all started innocently enough. We were on day three of our Mediterranean cruise, having done the usual new-passenger exploration ritual—finding our veranda cabin on Deck 7, testing out the excellent linens (seriously, Viking's bedding is no joke), and mapping out which restaurants to hit during our seven-day journey. The Explorer's Lounge had posters advertising that night's trivia competition, and I mentioned offhandedly that it might be fun. Mark's face lit up in a way that should have alarmed me. "Come on, it'll be great," he said, already mentally signing us up. "We're good at trivia." We are good at trivia. But there's a difference between being good at trivia in your living room while half-watching Jeopardy! and being good at trivia when there…