Running a Good Trivia Night
Round structure
Most hosts run 4-8 rounds of 8-10 questions, often themed by category (history, pop culture, sports, music). Keep each round under 10 minutes including scoring/reveal to hold attention.
Most hosts run 4-8 rounds of 8-10 questions, often themed by category (history, pop culture, sports, music). Keep each round under 10 minutes including scoring/reveal to hold attention.
Standard scoring
1 point per correct answer is simplest. Some hosts weight harder questions 2-3 points, or run a final "lightning round" worth double. Enter whatever point total a team earns for the round into the scoreboard.
1 point per correct answer is simplest. Some hosts weight harder questions 2-3 points, or run a final "lightning round" worth double. Enter whatever point total a team earns for the round into the scoreboard.
Wager / double-or-nothing rounds
A common twist: teams secretly wager some or all of their current score on one question. If they're right, they double their wager; if wrong, they lose it. This scoreboard doesn't need special wager logic — just type the resulting (already doubled, halved, or zeroed) round score directly.
A common twist: teams secretly wager some or all of their current score on one question. If they're right, they double their wager; if wrong, they lose it. This scoreboard doesn't need special wager logic — just type the resulting (already doubled, halved, or zeroed) round score directly.
Tiebreakers
A classic tiebreaker is a "closest guess" numeric question (e.g. "what year was X founded") — whoever's guess is closest wins the tie without needing another full round.
A classic tiebreaker is a "closest guess" numeric question (e.g. "what year was X founded") — whoever's guess is closest wins the tie without needing another full round.
Casting the scoreboard
Use the "Fullscreen / TV Mode" button on the scoreboard page to hide the host controls and blow up the score display — works well projected or on a TV via HDMI/Chromecast mirroring.
Use the "Fullscreen / TV Mode" button on the scoreboard page to hide the host controls and blow up the score display — works well projected or on a TV via HDMI/Chromecast mirroring.