Lynn Q. Yu

Tim Caldwell

How to Become a Member of Venice Beach's "Chess Club Without Walls"

Lynn Q. Yu
I’m duking it out over a chessboard against Gregory Crumby, one of the three gentlemen who run the Venice Beach Knights chess club. A crowd of British, Latin American and Scandinavian tourists has gathered on the boardwalk to snap photos and watch our match. Crumby chuckles and says, “They love......
Credit: Drew Tewksbury

Best Trivia Night for Playing Alongside Jeopardy! Contestants

Lynn Q. Yu
O'Brien's is no ordinary pub quiz. It's reputedly Southern California's most difficult trivia night, requiring players to have knowledge of 18th-century literature, 20th-century philosophers and 21st-century surf spots. You'll also be facing the stiffest competition — almost every player in the bar has previously appeared on Jeopardy! or Who Wants......
Union and Confederate soldiers keep politics out of it at Santa Ana Civil War Days at the Heritage Museum.; Credit: Dani Stephan

Inside the World of Southern California's Civil War Re-enactors

Lynn Q. Yu
The game is Captain Morgan’s Revenge. Players take turns spinning a dreidel-like top with marked sides. After pitching money into the growing pot, I spin and land on a side labeled “TA.” Take all. The pot’s mine. The Confederate soldier next to me curses as the owner of the Iron......
Perhaps the only sport that requires a PVC pipe to be shoved between your legs; Credit: Jessica Jiamin Lang Photography

There Is a Rivalry Between Two of L.A.'s Adult Quidditch Teams

Lynn Q. Yu
Chasers pass the Quaffle in an effort to score through hoops. Beaters throw Bludgers to derail opposing Chasers. And Seekers wait for the Golden Snitch — a live, yellow-jersey-clad human — to be released for a chance to end the game. The latest sport to gain traction in the Los......