The Ultimate Guide To Hosting A Trivia Night House Party
Level-up a home hosting endeavour by putting together a brilliant trivia night! An evening of questions and quizzes, rapid fires and buzzer rounds is a thoroughly exciting session during the holiday season. A trivia night is basically a gathering where guests participate in a question-answer quiz and the winner goes home with a prize. Undoubtedly, such evenings can get competitive and trivia nights are definitely intense.
If one plans to host a trivia night at home, get equipped with a good theme and an equally interesting set of questions. The format of the questions can be free ranging to avoid the evening from becoming monotonous. Choose an old-fashioned pen and paper quiz or use tablets and smartphones to record responses.
On trivia nights, all that thinking is bound to make guests ravenous. If there is a theme for the trivia contest, design a menu to complement the quiz. As well, keep 750 ml bottles of whisky and gin at hand to make cocktails.
Read on for a quick guide on how to compile trivia questions, divide guests into teams and plan a flawless competition:
Fix A Topic
Let’s be honest, not everyone is a fan of answering general knowledge questions in a trivia contest! Guests are always eager to take on a trivia challenge around their interests and hobbies so one way to host trivia night is to fix a topic. This can be anything like sci-fi or Bollywood or classic movies and books, sports and even mathematics. A topic that interests all will make things more interesting and everyone will get into the mode of playing to win.
Source Questions
While sourcing questions, look up challenges on trivia apps which have a detailed format with several rounds and tie breakers to give the competition a structure. There are some online trivia databases too and quiz apps which might cater to specific topics. Since trivia nights began as activities conducted in bars and pubs on weekdays, their websites also have archived quizzes which can be borrowed. Make sure the difficulty level increases at every level to keep guests on their toes.
Draw Up Teams
Pick straws, throw chits or draw cards to form teams for trivia night. While playing host and quizmaster, make sure there is no cheating! Divide guests into teams depending on the number and create ample space in the drawing room for them to congregate and discuss game play. Have a back-up plan just in case teams are uneven, to ensure there is no partiality.
Start With A Warm-Up Round
To get guests warmed up for the quiz, start with small zingers or a quick stand-up so they can settle-in and get ready to play. It is also possible to begin the trivia contest with a trial round so that the teams get a hang of the game.
Offer Interesting Prizes
A trivia contest would be disenchanting if there aren't good enough prizes! Show guests beforehand what they can stand to win. During festive season, this can be gift vouchers, customised gift baskets or a bottle of premium wine. But the prize has to be worthy enough to fight for.
Wrapping Up…
A trivia night is about levelling up a house party with a bit of competitive fun. Source questions cleverly and raise the challenge at every round to make sure the players are always alert. Offer interesting prizes for the winning team to make the play worth their while.
