Five types of pub quiz formats.

Article by Monika Crann

Creating a pub quiz needs to have a lot of thought put it. Difficulty level, topics, and the amount of quiz rounds are all important parts to a quiz.

Standard Format. Standard format of a pub quiz is a set number of rounds, usually 4 or 5, often contain a handout round. A set of general knowledge quiz is usually the focus of the quiz with at least 50% of the quiz having various trivia questions. To set one up, you firstly need to pick the amount of rounds you want (usually about 5). Then write or buy for 2 or 3 of the sets of tens questions. Now select what kind of handout round you want. The most common being a picture quiz, but taglines, anagrams and small story boards are becoming very popular. Themed Format. Similar to the Standard pub quiz, but with the focus of the general knowledge questions being about the important date or event. Common themes are based around Christmas, Halloween, Valentines and St Patrick day. Usually the handout round is a picture with the whoever or whatever disguised with the clothing which relates to the theme, such as celebrities with a Santa beard on. Rounds Table Format. Round table format is a lot more relaxed with the quizzes given out as handouts rounds. They are a selection of quizzes such as handout rounds, anagrams and taglines. They can be handed out or you can leave one on the table and include them as one of the rounds of a normal pub quiz. First hand them out then mark them and give a fresh one out. Round table quizzes are excellent option for a couple times a week and you can do free ones with no prizes just leave them on the actual table or you can do them with prizes and entry fee. These are coming back as being popular and are perfect if you don’t have a competent quiz master. Story board Format. Story boards are relatively old, but new with regards to pub quizzes. You may remember doing these at school having a passage and then having to fill in the blanks from either a preselected list or your own general knowledge. A story board pub quiz can be handout rounds solely but are more fun to be read out by a quiz master with the answers being given out at the beginning. You have to have firm rules that everyone understands before starting this type of quiz otherwise you’ll be spending ages repeating yourself which loses the appeal. Read slowly and carefully pause to allow people to think before moving onto the next part of the passage. Cryptic Format. Cryptic formats again are becoming more popular. This is where mystery in the clues to link to the answer. Quiz rounds are usually 4 or 5 questions as they take longer to get and sometimes a prize is given for the one who gets it first but becomes a bit messy and time consuming. If thinking of doing a cryptic pub quiz be sure to have less questions per rounds