Experienced quizmaster answers frequently asked questions re pub quiz
The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
Pub Quiz Facts For FAQs – Nothing Trivial
Weekly pub quiz nights are a perfect form of entertainment for the early part of the week, to entice a different crowd of customers to regularly attend at your venue. Trivia appeals to a wide range of people who may not visit your venue for other forms of entertainment.
Once aware of and participating in competitions, trivia fans become regular customers who have that night of the week booked as a weekly occurrence. As they also want to win, they are very active in encouraging new members to come along and help them out.
These frequently asked questions are about starting and running a regular pub quiz. They are mostly asked by venue managers. The answers are factual answers wrung from 20 years experience in the business. Your choice will be right however, if made according to conditions which are specific for your club, hotel, pub or bar, cafe or restaurant and your local target audience for your weekly team trivia pub quiz.
Just click on the question to reveal the answer below it…
Which is the best day of the week to run my pub quiz?
Monday to Wednesday are the usual trivia night choices. Thursday and Sunday are also chosen. Daytime competitions may be well attended on Friday or Sunday, but Saturday is rarely a good choice for daytime or evening competitions.
Should I choose Day or Evening for the pub quiz?
The answer depends on your target audience. Trivia Night competitions draw people who work. Trivia day competitions draw seniors who are retired and young parents actively looking for daytime social entertainment.
Memory Lane Trivia is the perfect daytime trivia show for seniors. Complete Trivia and Quizwiz are more suitable for locals for evening competitions. Some venues run both a day trivia show and a night trivia show, usually on different days.
What time should I start the pub quiz?
Most venues do a 2.00 pm after lunch quiz start. Some venues offer morning or afternoon coffee and cake, or a 10.30 am start before lunch. Some start at midday and include lunch.
Most venues start between 7.00pm-8.00pm so players will come early and eat there before the quiz. Some evening comps start earlier at 6.00 pm so people may eat during the quiz or stay to eat after it ends.
The quiz takes two to two and a half hours to complete so 8.30pm is the latest starting time you should pick.
Can I run a pub quiz as a fortnightly or monthly competition
If a monthly comp is run on a particular day and time, say the first or last Tuesday in the month, this will probably be ok, as it is easy to work out.
Fortnightly is too hard for people to remember, or to work out on a calendar which is the on/off week. It creates confusion and discord and people forget. If a team makes the effort to come, but come on the wrong night to find the show is not on, they are highly unlikely to return.
Can I try different days and times to start my pub quizzes?
You need to choose day or night outright. The time may be adjusted.
Asking or surveying your first or potential players which day is best for them is gracious when starting. There may be a strong rotary group nearby who would like to play but can't on Tuesdays.
After you start, you will attract patrons who play weekly, fortnightly and monthly, according to other commitments. You can't please all but you can make fine adjustments that will be acceptable to most.
Once you have built up your target rotation of regulars then you can establish a consistent day/time.
How many players do I need to attract to make a pub quiz work?
To work out your target number of people - count the number of the chairs around the tables you can fit in your event room. To establish a Trivia night of 40-50 regular players you need a rotation of 80-90 regular players.
Can I change the day or time after I've started the quiz?
The primary key to keeping your Trivia event well attended is to not risk breaking people’s habit patterns once set. You may get away with a half hour difference, or say "we absolutely have to change the day because...". Once, if you're lucky. Otherwise - NO!
People are creatures of habit. Set up the event and keep it fun and regular, that's all you have to do. A great quiz - same time same place - keeps players happy. Change the time and room location and you will lose players because they get lost and then they get cross.
How do I make money if I have to pay for a free event?
The cost is a promotion that is tax deductible. People purchase drinks and food and your bar and restaurant staff will earn their wage. There are more ways to make money but you can't expect us to give them away for free! Our clients know them though.
Working people and daytime trivia people mostly purchase wine, beer and soft drinks, they won't drink much alcohol if they must work next day. So make sure your trivia quiz makes it convenient for them to make a mealtime purchase.
Can I host the pub quiz myself?
Complete Trivia can organise a reliable professional trivia host for you, or train a staff member or person of your choice. The trivia host asks the quiz questions, tallies the answers, presents the prizes and keeps the crowd entertained without disputes during the two to two and a half hour show.
If you have someone in house that can dedicate 3-4 hours to run the event, who has an easy going friendly manner, a clearly understood voice that carries over conversation, good time management, accurate adding up and effective people skills, there is no reason why he or she cannot host the trivia night for you.
I'd like to know if I can just get a quiz?
Yes, you can purchase just the quiz from Complete Trivia.
There are some normal restrictions on it's usage.We work hard to create a quality product that is fresh each week and we claim and enforce our copyright of it. All Complete Trivia quizzes supplied are for performance on a given date and in a given location. The quiz is for single use only, unless otherwise agreed on under contract.
What prizes can be won during a Complete Trivia Quiz?
Although we help venues to choose their prize offerings we do not keep track of, or dictate, what they offer as prizes to the players in their venue. Specific prizes vary.
There may be a cash jackpot, a first prize ranging in value from $20-$100 with smaller value prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. Some venues offer 'Venue Vouchers' for winning teams to encourage repeat business, others may offer a bottle of fine wine for the lesser places.
Spot prizes are often vouchers of usually $5-$10, that may be redeemed in the bar or restaurant. Some venues have merchandise prizes such as hats, t-shirts, keyrings and stubbie holders. Food prizes are popular, a box of chocolates or biscuits, a packet of chips or nuts. Use what you have available and your imagination!
I've tried a pub quiz in my venue before, it didn't work - why?
The venue, the prizes, the host and the quiz questions are the major part of the mix. The timing and specific strategy, the targeted audience and the initial and repeat marketing are also part of it. Any lack of any factor in the mix can mean too few players to make it break even.
The main reasons for a comp to fail are lack of marketing and venue insensitivity to the player's comfort zone. The Complete Trivia mix works for us and has done for over 20 years in some venues. Maybe you should try again, using Complete Trivia...
How hard can it be to write a pub quiz?
Respectfully, the question should read "Is it hard to create a unique, entertaining, mixed variety of 20-40 interesting questions, with currently correct answers, every week and also run my business?"
The honest answer is, "It is hard and it may not be sustainable."
Why not use questions from a package or pub quiz book?
Trivia players move around, they will rub their hands with glee if they discover the same quiz in your venue that reaped them $200 from the venue across town. Your locals however won't be impressed, as there is no chance then for them to win.
There cannot possibly be any current questions in old products, ones that your trivia players just read about in the news. Numerous world records, political leaders, celebrity awards, TV show presenters and even country names and statistics can change weekly, let alone over a 3 year period since a book was published.
So? Run a fair competition - Trivia players know!
They come to be entertained and challenged, not insulted and disgruntled. Why return if they know their answer is correct but the hosts written answer incorrectly gets the points. Disputes, especially if cash prizes are at risk can be very difficult to resolve amicably.
What Is so Different about a Complete Trivia Quiz?
We always create and supply each weeks Trivia Quiz personally. Each Complete Trivia Quiz is carefully crafted each week from a mix of trivia topics and media. It includes a variety of questions about both past and recent current events and popular culture.
Each quiz is tailored to the audience in a specific location and according to the audience for the specific type of quiz. Each quiz is checked for current accuracy before going to the host on that day.
Why don't you make a video pub trivia quiz to show on a screen?
We see people of all ages and backgrounds come to life at our trivia nights. They start chatting and getting involved with each other, making new friends, keeping old friends. We see trivia encourages young adults to stay connected with other family members, keep in touch by sharing something that appeals to all ages.
Venues might like a CD they can put on a screen because it seems easier. It isn't fun though, it isn't social. Its passive. People don't get in their car and come to a trivia comp to watch television. Television is evil!
