Here's the short answer: six rounds of ten questions, teams of four to six, about two hours door to door, and one person who owns the running order and decides when the room moves on. A two-hour slot will comfortably take six to eight rounds of ten (pta.co.uk), and other guides push team sizes higher — six to ten, or up to about six (Macmillan Cancer Support) — but the numbers above are the ones I'd hand a first-time host.
What sinks a quiz night is almost never the questions. It's a round that overruns, marking that takes twenty minutes, and a tie nobody planned for. So that's where most of this guide goes: structure, timings, marking maths and tie-break wording.
Everything here works with pen, paper and a printout. Where hosting online — on a video call, in a browser, or in a Discord voice channel — changes the job, it's flagged as it comes up.
Settle the format before you write a single question
Four decisions before you write anything: where, how long, how big the teams are, and whether money is involved. Money bites hardest — charity nights typically ask £5–£10 per person or team (Macmillan Cancer Support), and selling alcohol yourself in England and Wales needs a Temporary Event Notice filed at least ten working days ahead (pta.co.uk).
Teams of four to six. Fewer and one weak category sinks them; more and half the table stops contributing.
Kit: printed answer sheets, spare pens, a speaker you have actually tested in that room, and a paper copy of the answers for when the laptop dies.
Online is a different job, not a smaller one: answers have to arrive without ten people talking over each other. A video call plus a private team chat works (emilyluxton.co.uk); so does letting a platform score. Trivialism gives you a browser room with a share code, guests playing without an account, and the same quiz through the Discord bot or as an Activity inside a voice channel.
Hybrid is the hardest version. Give remote players their own team rather than splitting a table.
A six-round structure that keeps people in their seats
Six rounds of ten is roughly sixty questions: enough for a proper contest, short enough that nobody checks their watch.
A running order that works:
- General knowledge warm-up — everyone scores, nobody feels stupid.
- Picture or music round, handed out early so teams can chip away at it all night.
- Themed round — food and drink, the 1990s, local history.
- Break.
- Connections or list round.
- Wildcard — something the host genuinely cares about. Enthusiasm carries a round.
- Fast final round, with the scores read out immediately before it.
Vary the shape of the questions, not just the subject: straight answers, multiple choice, name-the-year from three events read in one breath, nearest-wins numbers, odd one out. A connections round where the link is only revealed at marking gets the biggest noise of the night.
Handout rounds buy you marking time and give latecomers something to do.
Running an hour at a kitchen table or in a voice channel? Cut to four rounds rather than shrinking every round to five.
Writing questions people can actually answer
Aim for a winning score around 70–80% and a bottom team above half. A quiz where the top score is 38/60 isn't hard, it's a punishment.
Within each round, climb. Five to eight are the real contest. Nine and ten separate the top tables.
Phrase for one answer only. "Which English city…", not "Where…". Give the unit: "in metres". Avoid "first" unless you can defend it — vague or interpretable questions are the ones that cost you the room (pta.co.uk).
Write the answer out in full, including what you'll accept. Does "Van Gogh" score, or only "Vincent van Gogh"? Decide now.
Check two independent sources for anything numeric, recent or contested. If the history is genuinely murky, cut the question rather than argue at 9pm.
Where to get questions
You don't have to write them. Quiz books, newspaper archives, another host's old pack, or dedicated sites like quiz-zone.co.uk and bubbletreequizzes.com (pta.co.uk). Trivialism's bank runs to over 40,000 human-written questions across roughly 90 topics at three difficulty levels, and anything that looks wrong can be flagged in-game.
Keep three spares in your pocket: one for the tie-break, two for the questions that turn out to be broken.
The run sheet: a two-hour night, minute by minute
Announce a start time thirty minutes after doors — and mean it. Doors 7.30, first question 8.00.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8.00 | Round one (12 min) |
| 8.12 | Round two, picture sheet out |
| 8.25 | Round three |
| 8.40 | Marking and interval scores |
| 8.50 | Break — 15 minutes, no longer |
| 9.05 | Rounds four and five |
| 9.35 | Scores on the board |
| 9.40 | Final round |
| 9.55 | Results and prizes |
| 10.10 | Done |
Budget 60–75 seconds a question including the repeat, and double that for anything needing working out. Read each question twice, then move on; the second reading is not a negotiation.
Other guides allow a half-hour interval, cut short if you're overrunning (Macmillan Cancer Support). Fifteen keeps the room warm. Announce interval scores even when you're behind — the momentum is worth the three minutes.
Online, ask people to join fifteen minutes early (emilyluxton.co.uk), plan five rounds in the same slot, and expect drop-off after ninety minutes.
Marking, scoring and the tie-break
Swap sheets between teams to mark. Never let a table mark its own paper. If there's money or a charity pot involved, mark them yourself during the break — one host can handle ten to twelve tables alone, beyond that get an assistant (QuizNightHQ).
Read the answers out with one line of context each. It's the most entertaining part of the night, and it slows the room down in a good way.
Keep every round worth the same ten points unless you say otherwise; uneven scoring breeds complaints (QuizNightHQ).
Costs you nothing, gives a trailing table something to play for.
Have a tie-break written down in advance (pta.co.uk), worded as nearest-wins with a unit: "How tall is Ben Nevis, in metres?" Sudden-death questions can run forever; a number can't.
Announce your spelling policy at the start — phonetic accepted, unless the spelling is the question.
Online, the platform does this bit. Automatic scoring removes the slowest part of the night, and Trivialism's Speed and Sudden Death modes settle a tie on their own.
Hosting on the night: pace, phones and the room
Your job is pace and clarity, not comedy. Speak slower than feels natural, and get the room quiet before question one rather than talking over it.
Phones are the honest problem. Charity guidance says ban them outright, with volunteers watching (Macmillan Cancer Support); online hosts keep every camera on for the same reason (emilyluxton.co.uk). Both help. Neither works completely, so design around it: connections, nearest-wins numbers, picture rounds, "name all six", anything tightly timed. Ask for phones face-down, say it once lightly, enforce it once publicly and cheerfully. A quizmaster who nags loses the room.
Have an answer ready for the late team, the team of two, and the team querying a question: "I'll check it at the break" ends every dispute.
Small prizes, plentiful: last place, best team name, round winner.
Thank your helpers, name the cause, and announce the next date before anyone stands up.
Turning one quiz night into a regular fixture
Fix the next date before people stand up. Same night, same interval — monthly is the sweet spot; weekly burns out hosts.
Rotate the question-writing between teams so it stops being one person's unpaid job.
Keep a running table across the season using points for placing rather than raw scores, so a team that misses a night isn't out of it. Trivialism's leagues handle that with seasons and standings, and the daily Quiz of the Day keeps a group sharp between nights.
Save every round you write. A folder of old quizzes is the difference between an hour's prep and a weekend's.
Frequently asked questions
How many people do you need for a quiz night to work?
Three teams is the realistic floor — roughly twelve to eighteen people — because two teams is just a head-to-head and nobody enjoys finishing second out of two. Teams of four to six work best, though other guides go up to six to ten (pta.co.uk) or cap it at about six (Macmillan Cancer Support). Above ten to twelve tables you'll want a second person marking (QuizNightHQ).
What should I charge for tickets at a charity quiz night?
£5–£10 per person, or per team, is the usual range for a charity quiz (Macmillan Cancer Support). Take the money on entry rather than at the door queue, and raise the rest on the night: a raffle, and interval games or table questions that sell extra points (pta.co.uk). Some pubs give you the room free if you guarantee a minimum bar spend. Selling alcohol yourself in England and Wales needs a Temporary Event Notice, filed at least ten working days ahead.
What prizes work best for a quiz night?
Several small prizes beat one big one. A bottle per player on the winning team, a round of drinks, a box of chocolates — enough that winning feels like a win without anyone quizzing purely for the loot. Then add the cheap categories: best team name, last place, winner of the picture round. They cost almost nothing and give a trailing table something to play for right to the final answer.
Can one person host and mark a quiz night alone?
Yes, up to about ten to twelve tables (QuizNightHQ). Beyond that, get an assistant. The trick is buying yourself marking time: swap sheets between teams, hand out the picture round early so it marks itself later, and use the break — ten to fifteen minutes between rounds is enough to score and update the board. Hosting in a browser or through the Discord bot removes the marking job entirely, since Trivialism scores as you go.
How do I come up with a good picture round without breaking copyright?
Shoot it yourself. Extreme close-ups of items from your own kitchen, local shopfronts with the signage cropped out, or landmarks photographed on a walk round town all make a better round than celebrity headshots, and the rights question never arises. If you do use existing images, check the licence terms and credit the source on the sheet. A hummed or played music round is another route — same effect, different headache.