How to host a pub quiz

A pub quiz is the easiest way to liven up a party, a work event or an ordinary weeknight. Here is how to run one without paper slips or adding up scores by hand.

1. Pick your categories and difficulty

A good quiz mixes topics so everyone gets a turn to shine. The ten categories here cover geography, history, literature, movies, sports, biology, physics, architecture, music and animals, plus a Random Mix that blends them all. Choose Easy for a casual crowd, or Difficult for seasoned players.

2. Choose a quizmaster

One person runs the game: they open the room, read questions aloud and keep the pace. Players join that room on their phones and answer there, so the quizmaster never tallies anything by hand.

3. Set the rules and the pace

• Ten questions per round is the sweet spot: long enough for tension, short enough to hold attention.
• Twenty seconds per question keeps things moving and leaves no time to look things up.
• Ties are broken by speed, which rewards quick thinking as well as knowledge.

4. Get players in with a QR code

The most tedious part of any quiz is handing out paper and adding up points. That disappears here: the quizmaster shows a QR code, players scan it, type a name and they are in. Any number of people can join.

5. Play and crown a winner

After ten questions the leaderboard appears. Announce the top three, buy the winner a round, and start the next category right away.