Quiz round ideas.

Twenty rounds that work in a pub or a meeting room, and how to run each. Pick six for a night, with one twist round, and you have a quiz.

Twenty rounds

1. General knowledge. The backbone of any night. Mix the difficulty inside the round: three most tables get, five that split the room, two only one table will.
2. Picture round. A famous place, a logo with the name taken off, a face from the news. Reveal it slowly (blurred, or zoomed right in) and the room leans in.
3. Closest wins. Numbers nobody knows exactly: how tall is the Eiffel Tower, how many bones in the human body. Two points to the closest table, one to the next. Nobody sits it out.
4. Lightning round. Ten true or false questions, ten seconds each, first answer final. A change of pace after a long round.
5. Put it in order. Four films by release year, four countries by size. Rewards the table that argues it through.
6. Connections. Clues go up one at a time; the fewer clues a table needed, the more it scores. Good as the last round before the break.
7. Name as many as you can. The Beatles, the planets, the states of Australia. A point for each, and the host can see who got how many.
8. Music intros. Play the first few seconds of a song. Bring your own clips and keep them short.
9. The last few years. Things from the last year or two. Levels the field between the table of retirees and the table of uni students.
10. Local knowledge. The venue, the suburb, the town. Write it yourself; it is the round people remember.
11. Joker round. Each table picks one round before the night to score double. Watch the standings move.
12. Wager question. One question where tables bet some of their points. Best as the final question of the night.
13. Spot prize. One question with a drink or a voucher for the first table to get it right. Says "there is something for everyone" without a raffle.
14. Food and drink. Cuisines, ingredients, cocktails, brands. Works in a pub because everyone has an opinion.
15. Screen. Film and television across the decades. Name the film from the quote, the year, or the actor.
16. Sport. Keep it varied: not just the local football code. A round of famous moments rather than statistics.
17. Words. Anagrams, what does this word mean, which language did this word come from. Quiet tables shine here.
18. Science and nature. Animals, space, the human body. Easy to make fun without being a test.
19. History. Dates, people and firsts, with a fact read out after each answer. The fact is what people repeat on the way home.
20. Brands and logos. Slogans, logos and mascots. Pairs well with a picture round.

Putting a night together

• Six rounds of ten is a full night with a break in the middle. Four rounds of eight is an office lunchtime.
• One twist round (pictures, closest wins, lightning) breaks up the general knowledge.
• A tie-break question with a number for an answer, kept in reserve. Closest wins.
• Plan the break after round three, and put the scores up then or save them all for the end.

More on each: picture round ideas, music round ideas, quiz night themes and the full host guide.

Every round type, ready to run

Thinking Cap runs all of these: typed answers marked for spelling, multiple choice, closest wins, lightning, put it in order, name as many as you can, connections, picture reveals, a joker, a wager and a spot prize. Build your own rounds, or start from a ready-made night and swap what you like.