A good opening question! There are many reasons to host a quiz depending upon your situation. Quizzes have grown enormously in popularity over the last few decades and are now a staple pastime of the entertainment industry.
For the pub or club owner they offer the chance to turn an otherwise quiet and unprofitable night into one of the busiest of the week. The frequency of the event and an atmosphere of friendly competition create great customer loyalty.
For the charity event holder or the party organizer they give a superb and innovative focus to your event. This in turn creates that same friendly rivalry among competitors which ensures nobody becomes disinterested, or feels left out.
For the TV or radio show executive, or game manufacturer, they have for years provided a sound basis upon which to build numerous exciting and inventive formats. As a result they are some of the most highly-rated shows and games around – proven winners because of their enduring popularity.
And finally, for the quiz players and competitors they offer a leisure pursuit that everyone can get involved in and enjoy. We all have SOME level of general knowledge, and we can choose to play quizzes at a level which suits us individually – whether that is at home with family for fun, in the local pub with friends, in the district quiz league a little more seriously, or on the TV competing for huge amounts of money.
It is this diversity and range within the world of quizzes which make them a perfect choice for so many different occasions.
Whilst most people are limited in the choice of their location, it is worth trying to avoid yours being much too big or much too small for the number of people likely to attend.
If, for example, you intend to run your quiz in a pub, then you might choose to use the entire establishment, or just a single bar or room, depending upon how many players you expect.
Whilst the maximum number of people will obviously be limited by the size of your venue, it is just as important to ensure your venue is not far too big - otherwise the quiz will feel empty, quiet and unpopular.
If your participants are to sit down whilst they play the quiz, then tables and chairs will obviously be required.
However, the layout of your tables and chairs will depend upon how many people you decide are permitted / will ideally play on each team, as that many chairs will generally be distributed to each table.
It is also important to have some space between your tables, to prevent cheating, or teams having to whisper to each other so not to be overheard.
Finally, remember to reserve a place for your quizmaster to sit, if he or she wishes!
It may seem an obvious point, but it is a good idea to make sure your competitors can see what they are trying to write down, or the pictures in a picture round!
If the quiz is to take place in an area which is usually somewhat dark, it might be necessary to turn up the lighting for the duration of the event.
If you hold your quiz in an area which has background music playing, then it is important to turn it either off, or down to an acceptable level, so the questions being read out can be heard.
Unless your venue is particularly small or quiet, it might be worth considering using some sort of PA system so that your quizmaster can be easily heard by using a microphone.
The date upon which you hold your quiz really depends upon who you are and what the purpose of the quiz is. If it is a charity or annual event, then often the date will be preset for you, and obviously an informal event between friends or family can be held at almost any time.
If, for example, you want to hold a pub quiz or club quiz, and the purpose is to improve trade, then the choice of a traditionally quiet night, maybe midweek, is often a good one. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday commonly prove to be very successful days for a weekly quiz, for instance.
That is not to say that pub quizzes cannot be popular on traditionally busier nights – but it is important to remember that on such a night trade is already more likely to be good, and that a greater proportion of the people in the establishment will not be there specifically to play the quiz.
It is also important to consider the schedule of other establishments or events in the area before choosing a day or date for your quiz. If you schedule your event for the same day and time as that of a local rival, both are likely to suffer as a result.
Once you have chosen a day or date for your quiz, you must choose a time for the event to start. This should be a time that is convenient for your participants and one which allows the quiz to be completed comfortably.
It is likely, for example, that a 50 question quiz with a picture round and a tabletop round will take between 60 and 90 minutes to perform, with an extra 15 minutes for marking and score calculation. For such a quiz it would be prudent to allow 2 hours.
Therefore it is a good idea to decide when you would like the event to FINISH, and deduct the amount of time the quiz will take, to find your start time. For example, if you wanted to finish your pub or club quiz by 11pm, then a 9pm start would be perfect.
Of course, if you want a quiz to last a greater length of time, it is always possible to incorporate short breaks between sets of questions. Breaks also give competitors the chance to discuss their answers and take a well-earned breather!
If your quiz is a one-off then frequency does not apply, but if you intend to run a regular event then it can be an important decision.
For example, if you want to increase trade on a certain night of the week for your pub or club, then it is likely that you will run the quiz each and every week on the same night. However, you might choose to hold the quiz less often, for example fortnightly or monthly, in order to promote it as more of a “special event” and ensure high attendance.
Conversely, you might decide that trade might be improved on TWO nights per week (for example, Wednesday & Sunday) through use of a quiz, and this is also a system used successfully by many establishments.
If in doubt, then once per week, on the same night, is often a good place to start.
When deciding upon the details of your quiz, it is important to consider your audience. Their interests are likely to determine what type of quiz you hold.
For example, whilst general knowledge is the most popular solution, if your audience are the members of a local sporting club, then a sports quiz might be more appropriate. Or a younger crowd might appreciate a pop music or TV quiz more. Alternatively, if running a regular event, you could vary the type of quizzes you use, to maintain fresh appeal.
You might also consider running special themed quizzes at certain times of year. For example, a Christmas themed quiz might be good for the festive period, whereas a soccer themed quiz might be good to hold around the time of a major tournament such as the World Cup.
If your competitors are to play in teams, you also have to decide if there are to be any limits on the size of each team. Whilst this in theory ensures fairness, you must remember that groups of friends, for example, are unlikely to want to be broken up, and so any attempt to do so may not be a good idea.
One way to try to regulate team size is to charge a “per player” fee to play the quiz rather than a “per team” fee. This creates an incentive for people to form smaller teams, and means that larger teams have to pay more for the privilege.
It is important to try to match the difficulty level of your quiz to the standard of your audience, in order to keep everyone entertained and happy.
Questions that are consistently too hard will have the effect of alienating your quiz players and making them feel stupid, whereas questions that are consistently too easy will make your quiz boring and unchallenging, so finding the correct level of difficulty is crucial.
All of our quizzes come in a choice of three difficulty levels – Medium, Easy or Hard, so that you can choose the one that’s absolutely right for your audience.
Medium level is the most common choice, and is designed for the average pub quiz / club quiz audience, with an entertaining mix of simple and challenging questions.
Easy level is perfect for when you just want the quiz to be a bit more fun. Everyone should be able to answer at least a few, and some people will be able to answer them all!
Hard level is, as you might expect, a little more difficult! Suitable for the experienced quizzing crowd, a quiz league or just to stump your “know-it-all” friend, this level will prove challenging to most quiz players.
If in doubt as to which level to choose, take advantage of our FREE Medium level general knowledge quiz. Simply email freequiz@quickquizquestions.com and the download link to your free quiz will appear automatically in your email inbox. The free Medium level quiz will give you an idea as to the range of difficulty available and to the standard of your audience. If you think the quiz is too hard, you should order Easy level quizzes. If you think the quiz is too easy, you should order Hard level quizzes. If you find the difficulty just about right, then obviously you should order Medium level quizzes.
Whether you charge a participation fee to your players will depend upon what type of event you are running.
If it is a charity event, then you are likely to charge a fee, as this will probably be a major source of charitable revenue, whereas at a small party for friends or family it is very unlikely you would wish to charge them to play!
If you are hosting a pub quiz or club quiz, for example, a small fee for each entrant or team can be a good way to pay for the quiz itself. It can also pay for any additional supplies required to run it, such as paper, pens, advertising, food, or indeed a prize. However, you might decide that the quiz effectively pays for itself by increasing trade significantly, and so determine that it should be free to play.
If the quiz takes place in teams then you can decide to charge a fee per player or a fee per team. Whilst a fee per team often seems much more reasonable, a fee per player can be used to regulate team size by creating an incentive for people to form smaller teams, and meaning that larger teams have to pay more for the privilege.
Prizes can be a good way of providing an attraction for people to play your quiz. They do not usually have to be particularly large, but generally the more you charge competitors to play the quiz, the more they are likely to expect the prize to be.
A large prize might seem like a great incentive to participate. However if you, for example, offer a large cash prize for a local pub quiz, you are likely to attract a large number of “professional” quiz players from far and wide, eager to win it. If this is what you want then fine – but an influx of “foreign” talent can often disrupt the friendly nature of a small event, and drive regular players away.
One way to guard against this would be to offer a prize of a number of drink tokens, or something similar which can only be used at your bar. This also means the winning team is likely to return to your establishment.
As well as a prize for the winners, it might also be a good idea to offer prizes for second and third place. This keeps all teams interested, even if there is one outstanding team which regularly wins. A booby prize or “wooden spoon” can also be a good idea – so everybody, however lacking in knowledge, has a chance to win something!
Nothing undermines confidence in a quiz more than the feeling that someone else has been cheating. Therefore any quiz organizer must have a clear stance on the subject, and both decide and announce before the quiz what will and will not be tolerated.
For example, you must decide whether the use of electronic devices (such as mobile phones) or any other sort of encyclopedic material (such as books or newspapers) to gain answers during the quiz is prohibited. If so, announce this to your competitors, and indeed uphold it during the event.
The most important individual involved in a quiz is the quizmaster. They will usually have to oversee proceedings, ensure fair play and make the event run smoothly.
One of the quizmaster’s main jobs will usually be to read out the questions in a quiz, and the answers at the end, as well as being the general announcer on all quiz matters. For this reason, the quizmaster should always be someone confident and outgoing, with a strong voice and the ability to be decisive and authoritative if necessary. A good sense of humour also helps!
The quizmaster should always prepare well, including pre-reading both the quiz rules and the questions and answers, and checking any pronunciations of which they are not sure. They must also ensure they organize any required extras in advance, such as scrap paper and pens, so that the event can run as smoothly as possible.
A quizmaster must always anticipate the possibility of dissent, heckling, or argument from the audience, and ensure that everyone adheres to the most important rule: “the quizmaster and the quizmaster’s answer are always right”!
Finally, even the best laid plans can fail. If for whatever reason the quizmaster cannot make it to the event, it is a good idea to have someone on standby who can step in if required.
If you anticipate a large number of competitors or teams, then it may be necessary for the quizmaster to have at least one helper. This person might organize such things as distribution and collection of answer sheets and pens etc.
If, for example, your quiz is based in a pub or club, it might also be necessary to ensure you have enough extra staff working to allow for any anticipated increase in trade during the event.
Additionally, if your quizmaster happens to be a member of staff who would otherwise be doing a different job (such as a member of the bar staff) then it may be necessary to provide some form of cover for their position.
If no-one knows about your quiz, then no-one will attend! Advertising is all-important to ensure success.
Depending upon what type of event you are hosting, good methods include posters, blackboards or wallboards, radio and internet advertising, your website, and good old word-of-mouth, which will be particularly effective if the first few events of a frequently held quiz go down well, and the news spreads.
Quiz events can be made as much of or as little of as you wish. For example, you may wish to add a free buffet to your pub quiz to encourage more customers to attend, or use a quiz as post-meal entertainment after a dinner party. Combination with other types of event is usually easy and effective.
Additionally, such extras can be incorporated as a raffle or a “snowball prize”. This is a luck or skill based game or question, operated over several events, where a prize continues to rise every event that it is not won. Anything is possible.
Quizzes are one of the most popular, simple and rewarding choices of entertainment today, and we hope that you enjoy yours. Happy quizzing!
