How to Run a Successful Pub Quiz Night

games night at pub

Running a pub quiz night may seem like a simple thing to do, but there are several factors you should consider before you dive straight into being a quiz host. 

 

What you need to know about running a pub quiz

If you’re planning on running a pub quiz, there are a few things you will need to consider before the quiz goes ahead. 

Some important details to consider include:

 

  • The time and date of your pub quiz
  • How much you will charge for entry
  • What prizes are available 
  • How you are going to promote your quiz
  • How to get people back for future quizzes

Once you’ve determined all of the above, you should be ready to go and run a successful quiz night. 

 

Which night of the week should you host a pub quiz?

Ideally, if you’re going to be hosting your quiz in a pub, you should pick a night which tends to be a bit slower, such as weekdays from Monday to Thursday. You want to pick one of these weekdays since you are actually guaranteed to get people coming because they genuinely want to participate in the quiz. 

 

Hosting on a Friday or Saturday isn’t ideal as you will have to battle with the hustle and bustle of a busy pub environment, in which a lot of people will not likely be interested in the quiz. 

 

Plus, if you own or work for the pub you’re hosting the quiz at, having it throughout the week is a great way to boost the income for what otherwise may be a quiet night. 

 

Should you charge for entry to a pub quiz?

Although you don’t have to charge an entry fee at a pub quiz, it can be a good way to either build a jackpot prize or utilise it elsewhere in the pub. 

For example, if you charge each team £1 per player and you have 40 players in the room, that means your jackpot prize total will be worth £40, which is certainly nothing to turn your nose up at. 

This total amount could either be the final prize, or it could be used to help future quiz events by buying new equipment and having better resources. 

 

What prizes should you offer at a pub quiz?

As we’ve mentioned, one of the prizes you could offer is the total amount from the entry fees. This could be given out just as the cash itself, or you could put it back into your bar and have the total reserved as a bar tab. So for example, instead of giving the £40 straight to the winners, put it back behind your bar and give the winner £40 worth of drinks. 

 

If you’d rather have an actual prize to give away, gift cards are always a good option. This could be a voucher for your own venue, somewhere else local or online stores such as Amazon. 

 

Try not to make the prizes something desirable, and not just something too generic like a box of chocolates. Remember, your prizes are something that will make people want to come back for future quizzes. 

 

How can you promote a pub quiz?

There are a number of different ways you can promote your pub quiz, and that includes both online and in person. 

 

To promote your quiz online, you should be utilising social media such as Facebook and Twitter. These are both great platforms for spreading the word about your quiz, as well as getting other people to share it too. 

 

With Facebook, you can make event pages which allow people to mark whether or not they are going to attend. Their friends list will then see this and it may encourage others to join too. Events can also be shared into a number of different groups, which again may boost your numbers. 

 

In person, you should be spreading the word as much as possible. This can be done through your staff mentioning it to customers, posters throughout your pub and even encouraging people to book tables to ensure they definitely have a spot. 

 

You can find our full guide on how to promote your pub quiz night for more useful tips. 

 

How can I prevent cheating at a pub quiz?

One of the easiest ways you can stop cheating at your pub quiz is by making firm rules about phone usage. Be sure to remind your participants to keep their phones well out of reach and turned off if necessary. 

 

If you see someone using their phone in the quiz, be quick to act on it. You could quietly remind the team of the rules of phone usage, or if you deem it necessary, you could call the perpetrator out in front of everyone. 

 

We have a full guide on how to stop cheating at your pub quiz which is full of helpful tips and tricks to prevent cheating.

 

How can I make a pub quiz more fun?

Having a good mixture of different questions is one of the best ways to ensure your quiz is fun. It can get tedious for participants if you are using the same question and answer format.

 

Instead, opt for a variety of different rounds such as music, picture, multiple choice and so on. This will help to relieve the question fatigue that your participants may feel and will help to get every member of the team involved in some way or another. Many of our quiz packs come with standard Q&A’s, and a great picture round too!

 

A different type of round to include are table top quiz rounds. These rounds will keep your teams busy throughout the night and they can constantly be referred back to between your other quiz rounds.

 

Popular table top quizzes include Catchphrase, Dead or Alive and anagrams, and they are great as a fun bonus round for your teams to decipher. Our table top games are really unique and are effectively Google-proof, so this helps with keeping cheating at bay and engaging a large range of quiz brains!

 

It’s so easy to set up too – simply buy the pack you want, download the sheets and print as needed. No hassle, quick and easy; perfect for saving you time to organise the rest of your quiz night!

 

 

Where can I get pub quiz questions from?

At Quiz on Demand, we have a great selection of quizzes for you to choose from, all you need to do is head over to our quiz shop.

We strive to make unique weekly quizzes that will have your participants scratching their heads. By using our quizzes, it takes away the hassle and stress of planning a pub quiz, meaning you can relax knowing all the questions and answers are sorted for you.

 

We also aim to provide Google proof questions in each round, helping to eliminate the chance of cheating whilst creating a fair playing field for all participants.

 

How can you keep people returning to your pub quiz?

One of the best ways to encourage people to return to your pub quiz is by ensuring that they had a good time, so make sure you can be the best host possible to provide a fun and enjoyable experience.

 

A bit of friendly competition can go a long way too, so to ensure people return to your quiz, you should look into creating a leaderboard for the quiz season. This will encourage a bit of rivalry and will help to coax teams to return, especially if there is a good prize going for the final winners.

 

Being well prepared – which is easily done using our simple to download quiz packages – and offering a smooth quiz night will also entice people to return. 

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