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How to host a trivia night

A great trivia night is mostly planning: the right number of rounds, questions that aren't too hard, and a host who keeps it moving. Here's the plan, whether it's at home, at work or at a bar.

The plan

  1. 1Pick a date, a room with a big screen, and a prize.
  2. 2Plan three to five rounds, each with a theme.
  3. 3Choose ready-made boards or write your own.
  4. 4Split players into teams of three to six.
  5. 5Run each round on the board with phone buzzers.
  6. 6Finish with a final round worth double, and crown the winners.

Hosting tips

Not too hard

Aim for teams to get about two out of three.

Keep it moving

Twenty minutes a round, with short breaks.

Mix the teams

Spread the experts around.

At work or at a bar

At work, use office-safe boards and teams across departments. At a bar, put the board on the TVs and let tables buzz in from one phone each.

Questions

Good to know

How many questions for a trivia night?

About 50 to 100: three to five rounds of 10 to 25 questions.

How long should trivia night be?

Around 90 minutes to two hours, including breaks.

What do I need?

A screen everyone can see, a phone or laptop to host, and players' phones as buzzers.

Keep reading

More ideas for the night

Put the board up tonight

Pick a board, share the code, and open the buzzers. Your first question can be on the TV in a minute.