TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Intro
2. Game Ideas
   1. Warm-ups
   2. Trivia Picture Rounds
   3. Trivia Q&A Rounds
   4. Isolation Scavenger Hunt
   5. WikiGolf
   6. Subjective Trivia
   7. Scattergories ONLINE
   8. Questions of the Gang
   9. Pictionary
   10. Charades

Ah, Corona Virus (COVID-19) … what a pain you are! But QuizNightHQ is here to help you get through social distancing. Let’s get through the monotony of a day!

In these challenging times, it’s socialising that we often miss most. It’s also worth noting that completely denigrating a fellow competitor during a quiz night is also sorely missed in isolation

Well, do not fear! There are so many ways we can still connect and even create some healthy competition. See here for ways that you can get together with your friends and run a quiz / games night socially online.

Perhaps you want to run a family quiz night? Or maybe you have to lead your office in a video conference team building activity? You may even just be into an isolated trivia challenge? Well – read ahead for some ideas on how you can stay connected with others and play some great games during these isolated times.

Zoom

Zoom is a fantastic video conferencing tool that many people will already be using for work at home. There are other platforms including Webex, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams and more … They allow you to see everyone’s faces at once. The host can also share their screen or set it so EVERYONE can share their screen – very handy for some of the games suggested here.

Once you have set up a meeting (party) time and invited everyone you have plenty of fun! See below for creative and fun ways to use these platforms.

Quarantine / Isolation Game Ideas

Once you have a scheduled meeting play some of these games! Fun for everyone involved.

1. Warm-ups

1. Each person must find a GIF online that best represents their day so far.
2. Using the whiteboard function in Zoom (or any similar digital drawing tools) draw a self-portrait.
3. Each person plays the first 5 – 10 seconds of a song that best represents their day / week and everyone has to guess what the song is from that snippet.

2. Trivia Picture Rounds

This is a perfect 5 – 10 minute ice breaker / team building game for your workplace.

See QuizNightHQ’s Marketplace for rounds that are perfect for isolation games. These can be sorted by the filters on the right hand side of the page. Just select ‘Online – Social Games’. Or head straight to the page via this link. These products are ideal as they are much more difficult to cheat. You have to know the answer to be able to search for the answer online.

Start by sharing the file on the host’s screen for everyone to see. Then when running the trivia you can do it a number of ways:

1. People create a word doc and write the numbers down, filling in the answers as they go.
2. Use the chat feature
3. Create a Google doc so people can fill out the answers.
4. The host simply shares the screen of the File and people say the answers

3. Trivia Q&A Rounds

Just classic trivia! Host asks questions, everyone records their responses. At the end of a round the host reads aloud the answers and the obnoxious participants shout “Yessssssssssss” after each answer. People keep track of their own scores as the rounds go on.

Requires a bit of trust – but hey! we’re family or friends or coworkers or distant acquaintances …

4. Isolation Scavenger Hunt

A little more movement involved in this one and it forces people to have to interact with their environment. A fun one that no one can cheat at!

HOW TO PLAY

Using a Scattergories Dice or website letter spinner identify the letter that will be used for that round. Select a round from below and everyone has a limited amount of time to go and find the items beginning with that letter. At the end of the timer go through the list and get each person to prove their item that matches the letter. You get a point for each item you have that no one else has too. The item must be unique from anyone else’s to earn a point. Double points if the item has double letters e.g. book by

Starting with the letter _, find these items:

ROUND 1

1. Book titled …
2. Something from the kitchen
3. Article of clothing
4. Something blue
5. Something you can drink

ROUND 2

1. Toy
2. Something you can eat
3. Something bigger than your head
4. Something from the bathroom
5. DVD / BluRay titled …

ROUND 3

1. Toy
2. Something you can eat
3. Something from the bedroom
4. Book written by author starting with …
5. Something you wear

Alternatively run a round that doesn’t have to start with a certain letter. More of a round to entertain – perhaps points are given to more entertaining items.

ROUND 4

1. Something you have at your house that no one else would own
2. Something you hate
3. Worst photo you have
4. Worst article of clothing that you regularly wear

Alternatively, again run a round that is a direct competition. This round goes to a vote. Everyone finds the same thing and you vote on who meets the criteria the best.

ROUND 5

Who has the:

1. Worst titled book you own
2. Biggest ring of keys
3. Ugliest item of clothing
4. Best fancy dress costume
5. Most embarrassing DVD / BluRay you own

5. WikiGolf

HOW TO PLAY

Get everyone to share their screens. Everyone has to go to the Wikipedia main page.

1. Someone suggests a word / person / place.
2. You can move through pages by selecting links on the page.
3. You can’t select back.
4. The first person to land on the page that is titled the suggested word wins!
5. Everyone starts the next round from that page or everyone returns to the main page.
6. The winner suggests the next article title.

6. Subjective Trivia

This is a fun, interactive game that has different results every time!

HOW TO PLAY

1. Ask a question that could result in multiple answers e.g. Who played the best James Bond?
2. You have to answer the question, not with what you think is correct but what you think most people will answer …
3. The winners are those that wrote the answer that most people wrote down.

7. Scattergories ONLINE

A favourite at board game nights as you have to find an answer that no one

HOW TO PLAY

1. One person shares their screen with a copy of one of the cards.
2. Each team has until the timer ends to complete the questions on the card as best they can.
3. You only get a point when your answer is unique and no one else wrote that answer down.

8. Questions of the Gang

Ask miscellaneous questions and vote on who has the best answer. See here for some examples:

1. What’s the weirdest thing you ate today?
2. What’s the oddest thing you said to one of your children today?
3. Strangest website you’ve ended up at over the past 24hours.
4. Most interesting thing you’ve learned in the past 24hours while wasting time online.

HOW TO PLAY

1. One person poses a question.
2. Every records their answer somewhere on a device or piece of paper.
3. One at a time each person shares their response.
4. Vote as to which is the winner

9. Pictionary

The classic game brought to life online

HOW TO PLAY

1. Depending on numbers you may like to allocate teams.
2. One person is selected to be the drawer.
3. In Zoom there is a whiteboard function in the Share Screen tool so this is perfect. However, if using another tool you could use paper and pens held up to the camera.
4. Use a word generator website or list of words. There’s even some apps out there that do the same thing.
5. The drawer draws and the guessers guess.

Charades

The classic game brought to life online.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Depending on numbers you may like to allocate teams.
2. One person is selected to be the performer.
3. For a fun spin, the performer has to act out something they did that day.
4. Or use this terrific word generator website.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Many, many of QuizNightHQ’s products at the Marketplace are ideal for ONLINE QUIZZES too. Check out the filter ‘Online – Social Games’ or head to this page.

Contents

1. Download Process for Marketplace Products
2. Download Process for FREE Products
3. My Account at QuizNightHQ
4. Trivia Rounds
   • Displaying via projector / TV
   • Using the product at your Quiz Night
5. Table Question Rounds
   • Printing
   • Using the product at your Quiz Night
6. Using Quiz Night Templates for your Quiz
   • Using the Templates for your Quiz
     • Trivia Rounds
     • Trivia Question & Answer Sheet
     • Game Templates
     • Fundraising Templates
     • Other

Quiz Night HQ has a plethora of high-quality trivia round, table round and template products that will help to engage and entertain your trivia night attendees. This guide will give you a detailed look at how to use these products.

Download Process for Marketplace Products

• Once you have added all the products you wish to purchase to your cart you will be required to enter your payment information. Using your credit card or PayPal are the options available.
• During the payment process you will be required to setup a QuizNightHQ account which allows you to leave reviews and keep track of previous purchases.
• Once the payment process is complete you will receive an email within about 30 minutes. This will contain the download links for the products you have purchased. The payment confirmation page at QuizNightHQ also contains the download links.
• The product download can also be accessed via your My Account page.

Select the download link and your products will be downloaded to your computer.

Please note: all free Template products have no download limits and never expire. Paid products have a limit of 3 downloads and must be downloaded within 7 days. They can be printed as many times as you like. 

 

Download Process for FREE Marketplace Products

The QuizNightHQ Marketplace has a number of free products available. These products will greatly assist in planning, organising and running your Trivia Night. Products include sample products and game, fundraising and other templates.

• There is no payment required for free products.
• If you select ‘Add to cart’ on a free product and don’t add any other products you will not even be required to enter your credit card information.
• Once the payment of $0 is complete (just select ‘Place order’ at the checkout – no credit card number or PayPal details required) you will be sent to an ‘Order received’ page. Here you select the files to download. There may be some variations in filetypes (and resolutions for the Trivia Round Template). You will also receive an email within 30 minutes that has the same download links.
  The product download can also be accessed via your My Account page.
• There is no download limit or expiry date on any of QuizNightHQ’s free products.

My Account at QuizNightHQ

When completing the checkout process you will prompted to ‘Create an Account’. This is optional but recommended. You can complete the process without creating an account however creating an account has a number of handy benefits. You can head to the My Account page and review previous orders and access the download here rather than retrieving it from an email.

My Account provides a dashboard that summarises your account. The page includes information about your billing address, payment methods, accounts details and product purchase history.At the dashboard you can recover information regarding past product orders. This will help you keep track of your purchases and ensure that you received what you paid for. If you have any issues note the order number on the left and contact us.

There’s an extremely handy downloads page in My Account. Here you can easily see all your previously purchased products. This will ensure that when you return to QuizNightHQ to purchase more products for your next quiz night, you won’t double up on what you’ve previously used.

You will see how many downloads you have remaining and how long you have till the download expires. Please note: check the product description before purchasing as most products have an expiry and download limit.

Remember you don’t have to create an account at QuizNightHQ however it will make the process for you easier when returning to purchase products next time.

Trivia Rounds

Displaying via projector / TV

• The Trivia Round products from QuizNightHQ are both a digital presentation and printable question and answer sheets. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Equipment for more details on what is required to run the digital files on your computer.
• A compatible computer will be required to connect to a video display for the digital presentations. Depending on your venue this may need to be provided by the QuizMaster or organisers of the event. A projector onto a wall / screen or a large TV will work well.
• The files available for the product downloads are Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote accompanied by PDF question and answer sheets. If there is an alternative filetype that is preferred let us know via the Contact page.
• Check out the settings on your computer to ensure that when you’re connected to the screen you have the correct resolution for the display.
• The settings in Keynote and PowerPoint can also be adjusted on the computer screen to give you more control over the presentation.

 

Using the product at your Quiz Night

• The digital presentations are designed to be presented to your audience and trivia participants.
• The printable question sheets are to be given out to each team to complete as the presentation is delivered.
• The printable answer sheet is for the QuizMaster to refer to throughout the round and accurately mark the teams’ responses once the round is complete.
• Trivia Rounds vary in length depending on the amount of questions and speed at which the QuizMaster goes through them. Plan for 10-15mins in your Running Sheet for each round.
• Hand out the printed questions sheets to each team.
• Run the question presentation allowing enough time for teams to fill in their answers for each question.
• Once the round is complete, ask each team to bring up their question sheet for marking.
• Referring to the printed answer sheet, mark each team’s responses.
• Give each team a total for the round and add it to your Quiz Night Scoring Presentation.
• Display the Answer presentation and run through the answers to each of the questions.
• Give teams a running total using the Scoring Presentation.

Table Question Rounds

 

Printing

• Once the products have been downloaded to your computer they will need to be opened in image viewing software.
• To get the most out of the high-quality images it is strongly recommended that you should use a high-quality printer. This will provide your quiz night competitors the best chance at success.
• It may suit you to visit a business where you can print from a USB rather than using your own printer.
• Print as many copies of the question PDF as required. It’s recommended you do an additional 20% on top of how many teams you expect – this will allow for any last minute arrivals and issues on the night.
• Print 1-2 copies of the answer PDF to provide an easy marking process. These answer sheets are your reference for marking teams’ question sheets and announcing the answers.

Using the Product at your Quiz Night

• Hand out the printed Table Question sheet to each team. The product can either be used to accompany a standard Trivia Round or as a stand-alone round.
• Once teams have completed the round a representative of theirs needs to return the sheet.
• Use the printed Table Question answer sheet to mark each team’s responses.
• Give each team a total for the round and add it to your Quiz Night Scoring Presentation.
• Run through the answers to each of the questions.
• Give teams a running total using the Scoring Presentation.

Using Quiz Night Templates for your Quiz

Trivia Rounds Template

See QuizNightHQ’s guide to Creating High Quality Trivia Questions for more information on how to use templates.

Creating a trivia round can be time-consuming and refining the look of your round can be a formatting challenge. There is a template available in Quiz Night HQ’s Marketplace specifically designed to take the formatting issues out of the equation. It has numbered slides with consistent fonts and animations for the answers. All you have to do is insert the question and accurately researched answer.

For an example of the end result, check out the Trivia Rounds available for purchase in Quiz Night HQ’s Marketplace.

There are a number of options for file types and screen resolutions depending on your needs.

1. Widescreen Resolution PowerPoint (.pptx – PC or Mac)
2. Widescreen Resolution Keynote (.key – Mac)
3. Standard Resolution PowerPoint (.pptx – PC or Mac)
4. Standard Resolution Keynote (.key – Mac)

Please note: this is to create the visual display for your trivia night attendees. It is recommend that you use a projector or TV large screen so all your attendees can see the written questions, images and videos you have tirelessly inserted into your Trivia Round.

Keep in mind that you will need to create a question sheet to accompany the digital display. These question sheets are completed by each team and handed back to the marker at the end of the Trivia Round. A Question Sheet Template is also available in the Marketplace. Read on for more detail about that product.

Trivia Round Question Sheet Template

Once you have completed the PowerPoint or Keynote file for displaying the questions and answers you will need to create a way for teams to fill in the answers. This template is your starting point.

• When you download this product you will receive a Word document (.docx).
• Open the Trivia Round ‘Answers’ file that you have just created in Keynote or PowerPoint. You will be referring back to this regularly throughout this process.
• Start by matching the number of questions in the presentation to the number of lines on the answer sheet. Record the number and subset accordingly e.g. 1, 2, 3 A B C D, 4.
• Allocate one line for each point given. E.g. For questions worth 3 points (requiring 3 answers), provide 3 lines.
• The ‘Answer’ sheet will contain the worded answers.
• The ‘Question’ sheet will should contain spaces for teams to fill in their answers.
• Each line is created by using SHIFT + Hyphen on the keyboard – this will give it an underline look without anything on the line. It enables you to allocate the necessary amount of space required to answer the question too.
• To allow ease of marking the answers on the night ensure that the ‘Questions’ and ‘Answers’ sheets match in terms of their formatting.
• Once the digital versions are complete print enough copies of the question sheet for each team at your Quiz.
• Print 1-2 copies of the answer sheet to refer to throughout the rounds and to mark teams’ responses.

Game Templates

The game templates available in QuizNightHQ’s Marketplace comprehensively provide the resources for you to run a game at your event. See below for the Game and Activity Templates available and what you receive. For more details on how to run the

• 4 Corners
  Display the printed images of the suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades) in four corners of the room.
  See QuizNightHQ’s guide to Quiz Night Games for further details on running the game.

 

• Sit Down If …
  This template is a Word / PDF file that gives a list of 45 suggestions for running this game. You can add to the list or use it in its entirety to play the game.
  See QuizNightHQ’s guide to Quiz Night Games for further details on running the game.

Fundraising Templates

These templates provide all you need to run games that will raise money at your event.

• Silent Auction
  The editable template contains multiple sheets that can be adjusted to suit the needs of your Quiz Night. Give each item a number and name. Promote its value to increase the bids and identify the donor (if they want to be named). People at your event will bid on the item. It may be worth adding a minimum bid note at the top for some of the items on offer.
  See QuizNightHQ’s Ultimate Fundraising Guide for further details on conducting a Silent Auction.

 

• Not-So-Live Auction
  This editable and printable document informs your audience on what items they can bid on. Once you have inserted the details of the items to the digital document print them off and make sure there’s at least one for each team.
  See QuizNightHQ’s Ultimate Fundraising Guide for further details on conducting a Not-So-Live Auction.

 

• Buy-A-Square
  The Buy-A-Square template product offers various sizes detailed further in QuizNightHQ’s Ultimate Fundraising Guide. Once you have chosen the size that suits you best, print and display them clearly at your Quiz venue. Attendees will come up and purchase a square.
  Try printing onto coloured paper to attract additional interest in the game.

Other Templates

These extremely handy templates will assist with your logistic components leading up to your event. They are a great template that have all the formatting sorted and may provide some additional ideas that you hadn’t thought of in the planning of your Quiz Night.

• Running Sheet
  – The Running Sheet Template will greatly assist the planning of your Trivia Night. It’s the perfect way to share the details on how the night will run with those involved in the organising.
  – Once the download is complete edit the document, inserting the times and events you plan to hold during the event. Go into as much or little detail as you decide.
  – This can be a handy document to give to the venue, QuizMaster and volunteers to keep them in the loop of the proceedings.

 

• Quiz Night Scoring
  – The Scoring template is an option for presenting the team trivia scores throughout your event
  – The Numbers (.numbers) file is editable and should be updated throughout the event.
  – Use and external display (i.e. projector / large TV) to display the results throughout the quiz.

 

• Request for Donation LetterRequesting a donation can be tricky but this handy template will get you started. Simply download the document and insert the information relevant to your organisation and the event you’re holding. Print as many as you require. This will depend on the number of businesses you plan on visiting to request a donation.
  

If you have any questions regarding the use of QuizNightHQ’s products please feel free to comment below. Alternatively, check out the FAQs for more information.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Contents

1. 1. Summary of Required Equipment
   2. Computer
   3. Software
   4.  Audio
      • Speakers
      • Microphone
   5. Video
   6. Additional Equipment Suggestions

Equipment Required to Run a Successful Quiz Night

The equipment you need for a Quiz Night can vary. The suggestions below are a great start to organising your trivia event.

• Computer
• Presentation Software: PowerPoint / Keynote / Google Slides
• Sound system
  • Microphone input
  • Audio (aux) input for computer (alternatively Bluetooth may work well too)
  • Speakers that output to venue space
• Visual Presentation
  • TV / Projector with screen (or blank wall)

Equipment Breakdown

Computer

Having a laptop that runs your presentation software (PowerPoint/Keynote/Slides) and can play music is your basic benchmark.

Ensure that your computer (laptop) has the ability to connect to the visual component at the venue. Do you have VGA or HMDI video output?Carrying VGA and HDMI adapter for your Mac or PC in case you need both is important. Even an adapter from one to the other (like HDMI to VGA or VGA to HDMI) would be useful if your device doesn’t match the output. An adapter like this which connects Mini-DV to HDMI, DVI and VGA is pretty handy too.

Software

Make sure your have appropriate software to be able to download the Quiz Night HQ Trivia Question Rounds through the comprehensive Marketplace.

• Keynote – Apple Mac presentation software – FREE in the App Store
• PowerPoint – Microsoft presentation software for both Mac and PC. Office 365 is where you can acquire this software.
• Google Slides – online based – free with Google account.

All of these software options can have files converted between them.

Audio

Most venues will already have some kind of sound system. It will most likely have audio input, a microphone and speakers. I always recommend checking on the sound prior to the event so you know what you’re going to be up against and what equipment you may need to hire/access/buy for the Quiz Night.

Speakers

Throughout the Quiz Night you want to play music and create an exciting atmosphere. Any audio questions found in your Trivia Rounds will also need to played clearly for the teams.

Ensure the speakers are adequate for the size of the space. You want to make sure that sounds can reach all areas and every table that is in attendance can hear the questions and answers. If you have an unusually-shaped room you may need to run an additional speaker to another area of the venue.

May be worth bringing a backup system in case anything goes wrong with the system. As stated previously – check the space and venue ahead of time so you know what you’re up against prior to the event.

Microphone

Microphones are a must in order to capture the crowd’s attention and clearly state the questions. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to repeat yourself many, many times.

Keep in mind whether you will be required to roam around the room or stay static at the front. This will guide you as to the type of microphone you wear.

Types include:

• Handheld microphone: requires XLR microphone cable, non-portable.
• Wireless Handheld Microphone:
• Lapel Microphone: wearable, portable, battery operated, connects to sound system wirelessly.
• Headset Microphone: wearable, portable, battery operated, connects to sound system wirelessly.

May be useful to have a microphone stand (this one is desktop mounted and this one is floor mounted).

Video

For a truly engaging event you want audio and video. Having a screen to display the questions and share team scores is a must. It’s a focal point for the crowd. You won’t have to ask for quiet you can just display the next question and read it out – the crowd will quieten down and continue the competition. Repeating the questions is unnecessary as it’s all there for everyone to see.

Questions you need to think about when checking the venue for video equipment:

Does the venue have a projector or TV screen or possibly nothing – meaning you’ll have to provide video for your event? In the event of the venue having video output make sure you check the status of the connection from the screen/s to your computer prior to the night. These are some of the video options you will find:

• TV Screen – is it big enough for the crowd to read the text of the question from everywhere in the room?
• Multiple TV Screens – do they all work from the one output point? Does it cover the entire space in the venue?
• Projector – what is the resolution? Is it widescreen or 4:3? What is the connection to the computer – HDMI/VGA?

In the case of the venue not having anything then you will need access to a projector and screen. Often a large blank white wall to project on in the venue will suffice. Ask around your club/organisation for someone that has a projector or one they can borrow from work. With enough notice it’s more than likely you’ll be able to access one easily enough.

Otherwise go out and buy one. Projectors and projector screens often come up for reasonable cheap prices on eBay, Gumtree and the Facebook Marketplace.

Additional Equipment Suggestions

These added extras can really enhance the feeling of the space and enhance the atmosphere at your Quiz Night.

• Lights (Available at Amazon)
• Laser Lights (Available at Amazon)
• Smoke machine for true intensity and fun.

Let us know in the comments below if there’s another piece of equipment that you find to be a must.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Contents

1. Ideas for Trivia Rounds
2. Ideas for Table Questions
3. Worded Table Questions Ideas
4. Ideas for Whole Trivia Quiz Night Themes
5. Trivia Question Ideas
   • Funny / Entertaining Ideas
   • General Knowledge
   • Film & TV
   • Entertainment
   • Music
   • Sport
   • Audio
   • Video

Ideas for Trivia Rounds

These are your traditional Trivia Question Rounds. Quizmaster asks the question – teams record their responses and hand in their sheet at the end of the round. Here’s some suggestions for round themes.

• Sport
• Movies
• TV
• TV & Movies
• Music
  • Can be more specific – e.g. 70s/Film/Rock etc.
• Entertainment
• General Knowledge
  • When running a Quiz Night with only four rounds of trivia General Knowledge can be a good one to cover the other areas of interest.
• Science
• Mathematics
• History
• Geography
• Literature
• Back to School
• Flags of the world
• Famous sound effects
• Specific to your local area
• Specific to your club/organisation

Ideas for Picture Table Questions

These are the visual handouts that teams have a round or so to complete. It can be run concurrently with a traditional Trivia Question Round or on it’s own as the trivia round itself. See below for suggestions on Table Question Rounds you can create yourself or find all ready to go in the comprehensive collection at the Quiz Night HQ Marketplace.

• Famous Faces
  • Famous Musicians
  • Famous Names e.g. Davids, Steves, Johns etc.
• TV
  • Specific Series e.g. The Simpsons, South Park, Rick and Morty, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Star Trek etc.
  • General characters from TV
• Gaming
  • Super Mario, Game Covers, Consoles etc.
  • Board Games
• Movies
  • Film Posters, Oscars, James Bond, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Disney
• Cartoon Characters
  • Disney Princesses
  • Disney Princes
• The Arts
  • Books, Children’s Literature
  • Paintings
  • Album Covers
  • Architecture
  • Musicals
  • Music
•  Logos
  • Company Logos
  • Car Logos
  • App Logos
• Sport
  • Team Logos
  • The Olympics
• Kids’ Specific Rounds (these could be good interspersed with the other trivia to include younger members of the crowd)
  • Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Lion Guard

Worded Table Questions Ideas

• Song Lyrics (Name the song)
• Album Titles (Name the Band)
• Movie Taglines (Name the Film)
• Olympics Host City
• US Presidents
• Australian Prime Ministers
• Song and Artist
• Riddles

Ideas for Whole Trivia Quiz Night Themes

• Hit TV Shows
  • Friends, The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, Seinfeld, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Star Trek etc.
• Hit Movies
  • Harry Potter, Star Wars, Die Hard, Alien, Star Trek, Disney, James Bond etc.
• Musicals
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Broadway etc.
• Decades of Music/Film/General
  • 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
• Specific Upcoming Events
  • The Olympics, The Superbowl, World Cup, Christmas, Seasons etc.

Trivia Question Ideas

Funny/Entertaining Ideas

• Funny TV Commercial – Show a portion of the video and then ask what it’s advertising…
• Entertaining Photoshopped Images – for example Googling ‘movie face swap’ and asking for the names of the actors in the image creates a good laugh and interesting question
• Comedy of Errors – Find a video of a recent gaffe from a politician or celebrity and ask a relevant question

General Knowledge

• Name the country from its flag
• Name the country from its map
• Name the artist from the painting
• Name the painting
• Name the author/title from the book cover
• Give a series of clues to name the year
• Maths problem
• Spelling of a word – e.g. diarrhea (note: there are variations of the spelling of diarrhea)
• Political leaders
• Currencies from around the world

Film & TV

• Name the film/actor/character from the quote (can be audio)
• Name the film/actor/character from the visual cue
• Name the film from the poster
• Name the film/TV show from its theme song

Entertainment

• Advertisement taglines
• TV Commercials – name the product or company

Music

• Play a portion of a song and when the song stops write down the next line of lyrics
• Name the artist
• Name the song
• Edit and play 10 (or so) songs back-to-back and get tables to name all ten songs
• Name the album from its cover
• Which song contains the lyrics…
• Name the original artist from the cover version
• Play a music video clip with no sound and name the song/artist

Sport

• Sporting club logos
• Famous sportsperson
• Famous sportsperson caricature

Audio Questions

• Sound effects
• Quotes

Video Questions

• Movie re-enactments

Comment with your own ideas or any rounds that you have successfully run yourself…

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

In the Event of a Tie

Once your Quiz Night is over and all the Trivia Question Rounds and Table Questions have been handed in there can be occasions where there’s a tie. Even after 120 points and 10+ tables – they do happen. What can you do to determine a winner? A tie-breaker is required for your quiz. Here are three detailed ideas as to how to establish a winning table in the case of a tie.

1. Option A – Most Rounds Won
2. Option B – Tie-Breaker Question
   • Tie-Breaker Example Questions
3. Option C – Score Predictors

It’s vital that you establish the tie-breaker rule prior to any questions being asked so teams are completely clear on what will occur. Make sure it announced at the beginning of the event – perhaps during the announcement of the rules. Following this step should encourage less disputes in the case of a tie.

Option A – Most Rounds Won

Throughout the evening each winning table for the rounds are identified. Whichever table received the most points for a particular round is the winner and they are displayed with a coloured square on the current standings presentation (see below). At the end of the night, in the event of a tie, the table with the most coloured squares wins.

Option A means the whole Quiz Night doesn’t rest on one question – often a fairer and simpler way of deciding a winner. Saves the night dragging out too.

As you can see in the image below Cheese & Crackers and Charlie’s Angels have both finished the Quiz Night with the same score. However, Cheese & Crackers are the winners for the night as they had the highest score for three rounds. Compare this to Charlie’s Angels and they only had the highest score for two.

Even after following Option A there are times when there is a tie using that rule. In this case follow-up with option B. Or alternatively use Option B as your first preference.

Option B – Tie-Breaker Question

You may choose to make this your Option A if you would prefer or if there’s ample time at the end of the night. Don’t forget to clearly state at the beginning of the night how you will be finding a winner in the event of a tie.

In the case of a tie even after using Option A (see below for example) then this can be your best bet.

In the case of a tie, get each tied table to send a representative to the stage and participate in a final tie-breaking question. I suggest this question is reasonably obscure with the answer being many possibilities. This leads to a higher/lower – The Price is Right style game. Flip a coin to decide who gets to answer first and then continue alternating until one representative has correctly answered. (This is another good reason to have a prize for more than just first place – allowing a consolation prize.) See below for some great examples:

Tie-Breaker Example Questions

1. Which is the only barrier yet to have a Melbourne Cup winner? Barrier 18

2. How tall is the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world)? 829.8

3. How many minutes is the total running time of the 1997 original theatrical release of Titanic? 194mins

4. What is the distance between the Moon from the Earth? 384,400 km

5. How high is Mt Everest in metres? 8,848 m

6. In what year was the Great Pyramid of Giza Built? 2560BC

7. How tall was the tallest recording person in the world? 2.72 m (8ft 11.1in)

8. What is the length of the Great Barrier Reef in kms? 2,300 kilometres

9. How many people survived the sinking of RMS Titanic? 706 (214 crew and 492 passengers)

10. How many letters are there in the word “SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS”? 34 letters

11. What is the top speed of a hummingbird? 79 km/h

12. How deep is the Mariana Trench? 10,994 meters (36,070 feet)

13. In months, what is the gestation period of an elephant? 22

14. In what year did France conduct its last execution by guillotine? 1977

15. Jupiter has how many known moons? 79

16. How many people have allegedly set foot on the moon? 12

17. The famous Rumble in the Jungle fight went to how many rounds? 8

18. What was the distance of the Wright Brothers first successful flight? 852 feet (260m)

19. How high is the Empire State Building (including its antenna)? 1,454 feet (443.2m)

20. What is the top speed of a hummingbird? 79 km/h

Feel free to comment below with your own favourite Tie-breaker questions.

Option C – Score Predictors

Get each table to write on the top of the first round answer sheet how many answers in total they think they’ll get correct. In the event of a tie, the team that was closest to their actual number of correct answers at the end of the night wins. So, even as both teams answered the same number of questions correctly only one team comes away with the win due to this last ‘correct’ (or most correct) answer.

Once you’ve used one of these suggestions, comment below to let us know how it went? What worked well? Did you make an adjustment? Perhaps you’ve got your own way of determining a winner… let us know!

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Why, Why, Why?

• Raising Money
• Social Night
• Easy – everything you need right here at Quiz Night HQ

When thinking of running a Quiz Night full of trivia, games, prizes, auctions, eating and drinking you may think “This is all waaay too much for me to organise!” It can be overwhelming. But this is where the anxiety ends. QuizNightHQ was specifically created to make running a Quiz Night a breeze. Everything you need to know and do to hold a Quiz Night can be found here.

Quiz Night’s are fun, interactive, great social events and above all they are an opportunity for your club/organisation to raise some serious cash. Generally, people thoroughly enjoy a well-run, engaging Quiz Night. Using QuizNightHQ’s information and products will guarantee an enjoyable evening for both participants and those organising. It will make you want to run another one after the success of your first!

Think of the Money You Could Raise!

The table below demonstrates some of the ways you can raise money on the night and approximately how much you would earn from each of them.

A successful Quiz Night with around 100 attendees can expect to raise upwards of $3000 – just check out QuizNightHQ’s Guide to Fundraising for more specifics, ideas and many helpful hints.

A Great Social Night Out

Trivia is a great social game. Many people enjoy getting together in teams and competitively testing their knowledge. Nothing compares to the challenge of recalling completely unimportant information or the joy of proving a teammate wrong when your correct answer is announced.

Let’s not be coy though, there are those that shy away from trivia and quiz nights – that’s where Quiz Night HQ comes in. The suggested games in the Ultimate Fundraising Guide will give even your biggest ‘Trivia-Scrooge’ a smile on their face. The aim is to have people walk away from your event wanting more. Annual events or even more regular quizzes can be very successful for your organisation and are well worth putting in the hard-yards early. Although, once again Quiz Night HQ is here to make the difficult aspects of your event easy.

Here at Quiz Night HQ

• The Creator is your first step to getting the Quiz Night organising underway.
• The Marketplace is where you will find all the trivia you need to run the night. Table Questions, Trivia Rounds. Plus FREE Templates for Scoring, Requesting Donations, Silent Auctions and Games. Also, the Marketplace provides templates for creating your own Trivia Rounds.
• The Guides at QuizNightHQ will provide you with all the knowledge you need to organise and run your event . This is something you can do! You don’t need to pay someone big bucks to organise it all for you. See below for a list of the guides and details on what you will find in each one.

Creator

This is the conclusive checklist for EVERYTHING required to plan, organise and run a successful trivia quiz. From the smallest details of organising who’s setting up tables to booking a venue or seeking donations to sourcing questions. Using the Quiz Night Creator will save you the headache of worrying, ‘Have I forgotten something?!’ It’s all here!

Marketplace

The Quiz Night HQ Marketplace is full of products for use at your Trivia Quiz or any event requiring some fun competition. From Trivia Rounds to Picture Table Questions, the marketplace has a wide variety of products to fill out the trivia component of your event.

Guides

Quiz Night HQ’s comprehensive guides cover all the details of planning, organising and running a Trivia Quiz Night. They are detailed and provide access to FREE templates for running Silent Auctions, the scoring of your quiz and much more. If this is your first time running a Trivia Quiz then here is absolutely everything you need to know…

• Why Hold a Trivia Quiz Night?
• The Ultimate Fundraising Event Guide
• Quiz Night Games
• How to Create High Quality Trivia Questions
• Finding a Venue
• Quiz Night Rules
• Presenting Your Quiz Night
• How to Raise Money – Donations
• Structuring Your Quiz Night
• How to Promote Your Quiz Night
• Logistics – Before the Quiz Night
• Logistics – On the Day of the Trivia Quiz
• Tie Breakers
• Trivia Round Ideas
• Equipment Required

Please comment below with any other reasons you think a Quiz Night is the way to go! Why would you run one? Or if you have any questions, let us know. 

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Contents

1. Requirements
2. Set-up
3. Ticket Collector
4. Silent Auction Assistants
5. Live Auction Assistants
6. Raffle Collection
7. Go-To Person
8. Pack-up / Clean-up
9. Running the Quiz
10. Correcting the Quiz
11. Quick Tips

The comprehensive QuizNightHQ Creator contains much of this information in a handy checklist plus everything you need for planning and running your trivia event.

Requirements at the Quiz Night

Most of the important factors to consider during the event involve having people to help. Having organised all the prizes, donations, questions and much more in advance (as laid out in the guide Logistics Before the Quiz Night) means the event will run smoothly – event preparation is vital.  But sharing the load and giving other people roles during the Quiz also means it doesn’t all fall to you. Some of the roles you’ll need to consider throughout the event:

• Help with set-up
• Help with pack-up
• Doorperson
• Silent Auction assistants*
• Live Auction assistants*
• Raffle assistants*

*Required only if you are running these Fundraising activities. 

Set-up

Depending on the venue you have for your Quiz Night, set-up may be required by you – the organiser, or it could be pre-arranged with the venue themselves.

It’s best to organise a number of people to help with the set-up. Don’t underestimate the time it takes. It’s always worth giving yourself some more time and then having a break prior. A number of elements to set-up need to be thought about:

• Tables and chairs
  • Paper table clothes can be very handy – create an easy clean-up and teams can use it to record tentative answers to the trivia throughout the quiz.
• Table numbers/names
• Silent Auction Items 
  • Plus tables to hold them
  • Silent Auction Bid Sheets
• Arrangement of prizes on display
  • This includes – winning table, raffle, door/chair prize and any other prizes to games you are running during your event
• Audio and Video set-up
  • This may be something that’s pre-arranged with the QuizMaster
  • May even be something the venue can do – plug and play is best!
  • Speakers, Microphones – including access to power
• Table or room decorations
• Drinks – at the bar plus tea and Coffee
  • Likely to be a venue-arranged item but requires clarification

Someone to welcome/ticket collector

As your guests arrive, what do you need them to do? Have you allocated tables to teams? Do you need to check tickets? Are people buying access to the event on the night? These are just some of things to consider.

Pre-paid

If your attendees have already paid then that will save all the money handling. However, you will need to to double check that everyone entering the event has a ticket – remember if it’s a fundraiser every bit of money counts.

Pay at the door

Having someone at the door selling tickets is a fairly straight-forward role. They will need to be able to do basic financial transactions. Does your organisation have access to a credit card payment system?

Keep in mind that they will need to have change on the night. If you’re charging $10 for entry, then lots of $10 notes will help when people pay with a $20. Similarly if you’re charging $15, then $5 notes will be required. 

Silent Auction assistants

When conducting a Silent Auction at your Quiz Night, keep in mind the final moments can be mayhem! Occasionally you will have people aggressively bidding on items and prevents others from winning. This is a rarity but worth keeping in mind. There are a number of things you can do to mitigate these possible concerns:

• In the last 5 minutes of the Silent Auction have a number of assistants standing around ready to adjudicate as necessary. 
  These assistants will collect the pens and sheets at the conclusion of the Silent Auction.
• Have the QuizMaster or MC give a warning at the 5-minute mark. This will promote last minute bids and a fair warning for those who desperately want an item. 
• A 1-minute warning can help build momentum
• A final 10 second countdown will give the assistants plenty of time to hang around close to a highly-contested item. In the case of people trying to bid after the countdown the assistant can give a fair adjudication.
• The assistants may then help identify the winners and final bid amount – a simple penned circle or highlighted mark over it will indicate it clearly for the person collecting funds. 

Live Auction assistants

Having an auctioneer is terrific – they give the event some legitimacy and build excitement and momentum for the element of the night. They will require assistance for a number of things:

• Spotters – these people are spread around the room and assist the auctioneer to spot when someone is bidding.
• Bid Assistant – this person is in charge of keeping tracking of the bids and recording what $ amount the auction is up to. The Auctioneer may request the amount of the current bid to double-check we’re the highly-competitive bidding is at.
• Presentation Assistants – some items may need to be held up and displayed during the auction to encourage bidding and show people what they are actually bidding for. 

Raffle Collection

There’s a number of ways you can go about a raffle. Some of them will need more helpers than others. 

Trust System

Ticket books on each table – people write their name on the tickets and place their money and purchased tickets in an envelope. A team member brings the envelope to the QuizMaster or Raffle Organiser by a certain time during the event. 

Any leftover tickets are brought to the front separately – these can be sold on to others needing more or left out of the competition. 

The tickets are then put into a hat and drawn out during the allocated time. 

Raffle Assistants

Alternatively, a number of volunteers may roam the room at the beginning of the event and in the breaks of trivia speaking to attendees and selling them raffle tickets. The volunteers are in charge of recording people’s names on the tickets if required – generally if the person who purchased the ticket is still there on the night a name isn’t required. 

This system can build momentum, as one person on a table buys a bunch of tickets it will encourage others to buy some too. It also gives the organisers a good idea as to how many tickets have been sold. Also, what kind of monetary figure they can expect to bring in from the sale of the ticket. 

At the end of the selling process, the tickets are then put into a hat and drawn out during the allocated raffle drawing time.

Go-To Person

An organiser who is not already occupied with many others tasks may be identified to assistants, volunteers and QuizMaster in the event of a last-minute question. This may seem like a massive job with lots of people wanting you at beck-and-call. However, covering all the elements laid out in the detailed Ultimate Fundraising Guide and Logistics Before the Event Guide will mean this is a small job. Being organised will be your best friend. 

Having multiple go-to people may suit better too. If your organisation has a committee organising the event then any of those people should suffice. 

Pack-up / Clean-up

Requiring some assistance, with the pack-up from attendees is common – especially for charity or sporting club Trivia Quizzes. Make sure ANY important information you need to give out before the end of the event is done before the final scores are given. As soon as people know who won, that’s it – you’ve lost the crowd’s focus. Some suggestions for final information announcements prior to the end of the event:

• “Can you please take your garbage with you”/”Bins can be found … so please assist us by placing any garbage in those provided before leaving”
• “If some people could assist us in stacking chairs and putting tables away…”
• Any advertisement for your organisation’s next event/fundraiser.
• “Thank you to all our sponsors”
• “Thank you to all our volunteer support for the event”
• Silent Auction winners – and where they will collect and pay for their items

Running the Quiz

• Correcting
• Scoring
• Assistance

If you are the one running the Quiz yourself, read on for a number of additional logistical considerations for the event. More details can also be found in Quiz Night HQ’s guide to Presenting your Quiz Night.

Give yourself 10mins* per 10-12 tables to correct and fill in the scores. *This depends on how familiar you are with the answers – you will get faster as you go along too.

Correcting the Answers

For QuizNightHQ Trivia Rounds use the attached answer sheet to refer to the answers easily. To make correcting a simpler process format the answer sheet to look similar to the question sheet – align the questions and provide the same number of lines etc. This will be much, much easier and speedier to check and mark each response. 

Events with 12+ tables will most definitely require multiple correctors. However, having an assistant to mark the answer sheets for events with less tables will help the Quiz to keep moving – so it’s also recommended. 

Quick Tips:

• Do not return sheets with corrected answers to the tables. This will often prevent disputes and heighten everyone’s focus and attention when the answers are read out.
• Mark a whole round at a time before entering the scores into the Scoring presentation. That way you can batch the process.
• If you do have assistance, split the answers in half and correct each in your own time – halving the time to correct. Once one has completed their pile they can start filling out the scores.
• In addition to reading out the answers to the questions, provide a visual display that is easy for everyone to see. Such a display will often save you having to repeat yourself or even having to clarify.
• Any payments required on the night need to be finalised, e.g. QuizMaster, Venue Hire. You don’t want anything hanging over your head. 
• It can even be good to let the attendees know how much money has been made at the end of the event, perhaps during the final announcements.

 

Has something unexpected pop up on the day of your event? Let us know in the comments below – even share the way you dealt with it so it can be a help to others.

 

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Checklist | Before the Quiz Night

Here, before you, lies a handy summary of the logistics leading up to a Quiz Night. Ideal for planning a Quiz Night. More detailed information on each of these areas can be found in the links at each sub-heading. For details to consider on the the day of your event, and during the Quiz, check out the guide to Logistics on the Night.

Also, check out the user-friendly, comprehensive checklist at Quiz Night HQ’s Creator. It has everything you need to do and think about leading up to and on the night of your Trivia Quiz. This guide goes into a little more detail for each area compared to the Creator‘s complete checklist.

1. Pick a Date
2. Venue Hire
3. Sponsors
4. Marketing your Quiz Night
5. Ticket Sales
6. Prizes
7. QuizMaster
8. Questions (Create your own or purchase ready-made)
9. Preparation
10. Fundraising Games
11. Non-Fundraising Games
12. Running Sheet
13. People to Help on the Night

Pick a Date

Choose a suitable date. Saturday nights are ideal as Friday nights can mean people are tired after work and are not as keen for a night out. Make sure your event doesn’t clash with local major sporting matches or events that may have people unavailable due to their attendance or interest at something else. See

Venue Hire

Does your venue of choice fit your requirements:

• Is it available on the date you require?
• Is it big enough?
• Does it have an alcohol permit?
• What times can you hire

See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to Finding a Venue for more information, tips and tricks.

Sponsors 

Getting businesses or individuals to sponsor your Quiz Night will increase the amount of money raised and gives you much more freedom to do other things like, hire a larger venue or purchase some higher quality prizes. See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to Sponsorship for more information, tips and tricks.

Marketing

How are you getting people to attend? How will people find out about your event?

See How to Promote Your Quiz Night for great tips and tricks.

Ticket Sales

Start selling tickets early. Even offering a discount to those that purchase early can keep you informed of numbers attending and allow for an easier planning process. See Marketing Your Quiz Night for some more pointers on handy websites for ticket sales.

More details about ticket sales can also be found in Quiz Night HQ’s guides; Ultimate Fundraising Event Guide and Logistics on the Day of the Trivia Quiz.

Prizes

A committee or group of people in charge of this, is your best course of action. As it can be an overwhelming job for one person. Contact anyone and everyone you know who may have something they could donate. See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to prizes, specifically regarding sourcing donations.

Information on ways of using prizes can be found in Quiz Night HQ’s guides; Ultimate Fundraising Event Guide and Quiz Night Games.

QuizMaster

You will need someone capable of holding a crowd. They need to be available on the date and within your budget. Someone from within your organisation can be good but it’s beneficial having a neutral party running the night. Alternatively, someone within your club/organisation that would suit the role may be more willing to step up and be the Quiz Master if they know that the questions are organised through Quiz Night HQ’s Marketplace. See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to the perfect QuizMaster.

Trivia Questions

Quiz Night HQ’s comprehensive Marketplace is the go to place for all your questions. Some QuizMasters come with their own questions – but they will charge for that too. Knowing you have access to high quality questions in Quiz Night HQ’s Marketplace, you can focus on finding someone that you only have to pay by the hour on the night to present the quiz. The packages here at Quiz Night HQ are user friendly and come with all the question and answer sheets.

However, here at Quiz Night HQ there are free templates that make it easy to create your own Trivia Rounds. Perhaps you’re interested in then selling it on to others here at Quiz Night HQ’s Marketplace. Contact Us for more details about becoming a QuizNightHQ vendor.

The Guide to Trivia Round Ideas has plenty of brainstorming to get you started on creating your own amazing Trivia Quiz.

Preparation

Test all of your presentations on the system you’ll be using. Though it is a good sign when the system is testing well, there can be issues when interacting with a venue’s equipment, e.g. a venue’s projector. To the greatest extent possible, prepare for these problems by bringing along extra equipment. If your projector fails, for example, having a spare can prevent the night from being a disaster.

Fundraising Games 

Give yourself a goal for how much you want to raise on the night. How will you reach that goal? Silent Auction, Raffle, Games? See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to Fundraising Games for more ideas and ways to make your Quiz Night a great financial success.

Quiz Night Games

Keeping in mind that you want your Quiz Night to be an enjoyable event, running games on the night keeps things light and fun. Not everyone attending your night will be able or willing to put more money in to participating in the fundraising games so having some other games keeps everyone happy and involved throughout the event.

Running Sheet 

This is very handy to make sure you have everything covered within your Quiz Night. It’s also handy to refer to on the night so you can keep track of events and time. It will include all your rounds of trivia, breaks, Fundraising Games, Games, answers and starting & finishing times.

Create a running sheet with approximate times of each of the components of the night. This provides each of the organising stakeholders (host, silent auction organiser, live auctioneer etc.) an idea of when things need to occur and whether breaks need to be shortened on the night if time starts getting away from you. Check out  for a template of a running sheet from Quiz Nights that I regularly run.

People to help on the Night

Don’t go it alone. It’s a lot of work on the night – ask for help and delegate roles to people within your club/organisation. See Logistics on the Night for the things you need to think about on the day of the event and during the Quiz Night itself.

See Quiz Night HQ’s guide to Logistics on the Night for more tips and tricks concerning elements to consider on the day of and during the Trivia Quiz.

Thought of something we missed? Need clarification on something mentioned here? Please comment below. 

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-less. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engaged in an online quiz night or online video fun.

 

Once you have read this guide you will have everything you need to seek out donations for prizes and Auction/Silent Auction items. Templates and key ideas to keep in mind are provided. If you want to know more about seeking sponsorship such as monetary donations for your event, check out QuizNightHQ’s comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Fundraising.

Contents

1. Tips For Asking for Donations
2. Donation Request Letter Template
3. Where to Ask for Donations
4. Suggested businesses to approach

Tips for asking for Donation Prizes for your Quiz Night

Donations are a key way to making money for your club/organisation on the night. Other than getting people to attend and organising questions this is your major pre-Quiz Night point of importance. It will take a bit of time and the sooner you get into it, the better – you’ll build momentum for your event.

Once you have some donations advertising some of the larger, more valuable prizes/auction items prior to the night may even draw in a larger crowd too. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide on How to Promote Your Quiz Night for plenty more suggestions and helpful hints to marketing your event.

Key tips for seeking donations for you Quiz Night:

Don’t be afraid to ask!

Start with businesses and organisations in which you have an existing relationship. Most businesses will be willing to donate knowing that it will spread awareness of their business or just support another local business/club/organisation/charity. Start with people you know who own businesses. Often small businesses are happy to put themselves out there as a way of promoting their brand. A small product purchase from a Silent Auction can majorly raise awareness to of their brand.

Don’t do it alone.

Many organisations running Quiz Nights have committees. Don’t go alone in asking businesses and individuals for donations, for your own sake. It’s far too big a job and if you want to raise some serious money on the night, spread the load and get many people asking, emailing, phoning. That way you’ll also widen the net, in terms of the connections to businesses that you’ll have. You may even find someone within your club/organisation that is highly competent or possibly psychotically into asking businesses for donations! Those people are out there and they’re gold.

Small items are good!

Keep in mind that on the night lots of small items in a silent auction will often accumulate a higher return than just a few larger and expensive items up for bidding. So don’t worry if you’re only receiving vouchers of lesser value or small items. See {Fundraising Games Guide} for ways to make the most of these donations.
Attendees will be more likely to spend an additional $20-$50 on a smaller item than $100s on a more valuable item.
Also, you’ll quickly find that businesses will be less likely to hand over a larger and more valuable donation. Asking for smaller items is easier and will add up quickly on the night.

Sponsorship/Donation Request Letter Template

See here for a FREE TEMPLATE of a letter you could provide potential businesses when requesting donations. You will find when asking for donations that some businesses request a letter (with letterhead) as a way of proving what the donation is for.

Also, if you don’t get to see the owner or manager, the store-person can pass on your details through the letter. However, try and speak to the person in charge, or with the ability to provide you with a donation as a first point of call. This allows them to put a friendly face to the request and hear you out directly rather than through a casual worker who may have less interest in the business they work for.

Where to Ask for Donations

It can be intimidating going into a business and asking them to hand something over for nothing. But you’ve got nothing to lose in asking and the majority of the time, it’ll be well worth your while.

Major companies such as large supermarkets and liquor outlets actually have a monthly budget on how much they can give away. So don’t feel like you’re putting anyone out if you ask for some vouchers or a donation of a product. They may need you to fill out a form outlining what it is for. Some places, after speaking to the manager and handing them your letter (see Letter Template), will hand over vouchers for as much as $100 on the spot.

Companies (Australian) that accept walk-in sponsorship requests:

• Woolworths
• Coles
• Kmart
• Dan Murphy’s

Please comment below with any other places that also regularly donate. It’ll be added to the list for everyone to benefit.

Suggestions for places to ask for donations:

• Local grocers for vouchers or hampers
• Cinemas
• Large attractions (zoo, theme park)
• Smaller entertainment venues (roller skate rink)
• Small – Medium Retailers
• Supermarkets
• Department stores
• Hardware stores
• Friends’ businesses

Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask! You really do have nothing to lose …

Please comment below any additional thoughts you may have about seeking donations. Perhaps you’ve got an example of a success story that you would love to share.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the absence of traditional trivia nights our lives do not have to be completely trivia-free. Check out QuizNightHQ’s guide to Isolation Trivia + Games. It contains plenty of ideas to get your friends, family and workplaces engage in an online quiz night or online video fun.

Article Summary

1. Word of Mouth
2. Social Media
   1. Facebook
   2. Instagram
   3. Twitter
   4. More
3. Emails
4. Physical Signage
5. Ticket Sales
   1. Ticket Sales Websites
   2. Pre-Sale Tickets
   3. Tickets at the door

Getting people to the event

Marketing your night isn’t just about making people aware that it exists. You want people to make the effort to lock in the date, pay for a ticket, turn up and spend cash! There are so many ways to connect with people these days but, generally, some kind of a connection to your organisation / club is going to be your point of difference for getting someone in the door.

Creating an event that interests a variety of people will get people to attend, too. However, you may only want a specific crowd, so catering your event towards the group you’re wanting to interest may be a better fit for your event. For example, your hobby group may be organising a Quiz Night, in which case it might be preferable to do a themed event. Check out QuizNightHQ’s Guide to Trivia Rounds to get ideas for specific rounds and whole Quiz Night themes.

Keep in mind the main communication tool your organisation/club uses – whether it be email, social media or printed newsletters / bulletins etc. This will help you determine the best to make people aware of the event; particularly people within your group. After all, if people within your groupd don’t attend, then they also won’t bring others from outside your organisation/club.

You should also consider the size of your event. If you’re a major community organisation, then contacting local newspapers and radio stations (in addition to social media and physical marketin)g will assist in making many people aware of the event. If it’s an event for a smaller group or organisation, then email and SMS notifications may suffice.

Keep reading for specific information and handy tips on different ways to market your event.

What to Include in Quiz Night Marketing / Advertising?

Starting and Approx. Finishing Times

Common sense, but this is the first question you will get even if it is displayed in your advertising. It’s very important for people to know when to organise babysitting and to know that it’s not going to drag on for hours and hours.
It’s worth advertising specifically, for example, “7pm for a 7:30pm start” so people are clear on the arrangements. Then, when you start on the dot of 7:30pm you don’t get complaints from people who missed the first few questions.

Cost of Entry

Make it clear how much you are charging for attendance. You may even link to the payment method if tickets need to be purchansed in advance. This is much easier when promoting the event via social media, SMS or email. Also, make it clear in your marketing how people will need to purchase their tickets. You may decide to sell tickets in groups or by table. This method can help to ensure that you don’t have multiple tables with just 3 or 4 attendees on each.

Team Sizes

Clearly state the number of people that can be a part of the teams at your Quiz Night. A number in the range of 8-10 works well but smaller groups may suit your event better. Be clear from the start and it will save you from hearing complaints on the night about tables with too many people having an advantage. Be asssured, this will happen.

Fundraising Opportunities

Also worth mentioning in the marketing of your quiz: the different games and methods you plan on using on the night to raise money. This will often prepare people to spend more money on the night. For example, mention “Lots of Silent Auction Items Up for Grabs,” “Live Auction,” “Games,” “Trivia,” and, “A Great Night Out.”

Valuable Items in the Auction

If there are some seriously impressive items in the Auction or Live Auction, it can be worth mentioning these in your advertising. This may help in drawing a crowd. If an attendee knows they could purchase an amazing item at a low price, this could further motivate them to attend the event.

The Cause

If your event is to serve as a fundraiser, it’s well-worth mentioning this goal and, in particular, the people / organisation(s) for whom you’re raising money. If the cause is known upfront, people who supporting the cause could be more generous or willing to attend, purely out of a desire to be supportive. Be careful not to be too specific as to where the money goes. After all, things may change if not enough money (or more than enough) is raised; it may have to go to something else. You don’t want to mislead your crowd.

Sponsors

If you have managed to acquire sponsorship for the event, maybe for venue hire or a company has given cash to run the night, it’s important you mention them. It means they will see their name out there being advertised. It also doubles as an opportunity for you to ask the sponsor to advertise at their place of business. They will often take this up and it looks good for them to be promoting community events etc.

Word of Mouth

Having people from within your organisation/club to promote the Quiz Night to their friends is going to be your most successful way of bringing people to the event. As an outsider you are much more willing to attend something if your friend says “come along with me” rather than you saying “let’s go to that” after seeing a Facebook ad.

Social Media

Create a Facebook Event

Most people are on Facebook and this is a good one-stop location for all the event information. It can be easily shared by anyone attending or connected to your club/organisation. Just don’t use this as your guide to how many people are coming… people don’t RSVP like they used to. To get an accurate number make sure you get people to buy tickets prior. See below for more detail about ticketing – these will give you a better idea for your numbers on the night. Encourage your members and others involved to share the event and get the word out there.

Facebook reminders closer to the date will help people to book tickets/organise babysitters etc. Perhaps even on the night, including a short Facebook: LIVE video can help promote it and share some of the fun for the evening. This will help you when you’re promoting the next Quiz Night.

Instagram

Instagram is another common way of promoting events. It will certainly help in creating awareness for the event – sharing images and posters of your event on the platform. Getting people to invite others is what will bring people in. So using people with influence and large numbers of followers within your club/organisation to share the Instagram posts will be a good idea. Mentioning that they will be attending will also help.

Instagram is a fun way of promoting it as you can include video, graphics, imagery, comments and hashtags that could link people to the Quiz Night that would otherwise be disconnected from your organisation.

Twitter

This is the most public way of sharing details on your Quiz Night. If you want to make this open to anyone and everyone then Twitter can help. If you are wanting to keep it smaller and more personal for people just within your organisation/club then stick to the other social medias as you have better access to stricter privacy and sharing settings.

Email/Newsletters

Email is more for your internal information sharing. I suggest that this be the way you communicate the need for people to invite others and encourage people within your organisation/club to spread the word. Providing links to the event on Facebook and access to ticket sales through the email will help your members etc. to be aware of the Quiz Night.

Using email to remind people of the event or share last minute details is ideal as it’s not public and still shareable digitally.

Physical Signage

Having signs around the community will help raise awareness for the Quiz Night. Especially if you’re a charity or a Not-For-Profit there may be many more people in the community than you are aware of that would be keen to support your event.

Suggestion:
Driving around your city, you will notice Real Estate agents’ signs promoting upcoming community events. If you have a connection or someone in your organisation/club that is in Real Estate then ask if they’re willing to provide signage. Either at their place of business or on a member’s high-traffic front fence. These are highly visible and companies are often willing to support Not-For-Profits knowing that they’ll get some visibility.

Also, physical signage doesn’t have to be on a large scale. A3 posters on notice boards, in shop windows, staff rooms etc. can be enough to get the message out there.

Try asking around your local community as to whether businesses are willing to display a poster promoting your event – it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you are doing this, perhaps double-up by asking for a donation for your silent auction or a winning prize. It’s worth stating that you can promote their business on the night. In addition, they may be willing to sponsor a round. Check out QuizNightHQ’s comprehensive guide to Fundraising Ideas for much more information on getting support from local businesses.

Ticket Sales

It’s up to you how much you charge on the night. Entry fees for Quiz Nights can vary between $10 – $50. Even free could be an option if it’s within your organisation, perhaps as a team building event. No less than $15 and no more than $25 is good range for a standard Charity/School/Sporting Club etc. event. You want people to put some money in so they’re not booking a ticket and then pulling out at the last minute. Also, you want people to be willing to spend money on the night – charging too much will put people out-of-pocket before they’ve even bid on a Silent Auction item.

It can be worth mentioning that there are only limited tickets. Identify how many people you can have attend when booking your venue. For more ideas and suggestions for this stage of organising your Quiz Night check out the Guide to Finding a Venue. In addition, keep people posted about how many tickets are left after a portion of time. That way it builds momentum as people ‘have to be there’ once they see it’s getting popular.

Ticket Sales Websites

There’s a number of really simple websites out there that allow you to create an event and they sort out the transfer of money for the purchase of the tickets. There are fees involved but see below for a breakdown of some of the options:

• www.trybooking.com
  Customer is charged ticket price + 30cents
  Seller is charged 2.1% per ticket + 50cents per transaction
  If your event is free there is no fee.

• www.eventbrite.com.au / www.eventbrite.com
  Various Models but basic (‘Essentials’) looks like this:
  Customer is charged ticket price + 2% + 49cents per transaction
  Eventbrite also has digital tickets available which can be useful.

• www.ticketebo.com.au
  A lesser known option.
  Customer or Seller is charged 3.85% (with a $1 minimum) per transaction.

Most of these provide you with a list of those that have purchased tickets. This enables you to keep track of those that you can still ‘encourage’ to come along. Also, they can provide tickets that can be scanned using QR codes – a very high-tech, futuristic approach. Ooh, how impressive!

If you have your own suggestion for a great Ticket Sales Websites leave a comment below. We’d love to share it with others too.

Pre-Sale Tickets

Encouraging people to purchase tickets by a certain date/time before the night helps you to accurately plan your event. It gives you clear details on the outgoing going costs compared to profit on the night. You want to know numbers as close to the final total before the night for many reasons:

1. You may need to let the venue know the numbers so they can have chairs and tables available.
   The venue may also need to provide additional bar staff if you have larger numbers of attendees.
2. You can prepare adequate prizes for the winning tables (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc).
3. You can organise more silent auction items or even live auction items with higher numbers of attendees – knowing that there’s more chance you will get bids.
4. With greater numbers you may be more willing to have higher outgoing costs for prizes etc. Knowing that you will easily make it back on the night from ticket sales + fundraising – this can help create more hype for the event too.

Another ideas is to offer a $5 (or so) discount to tickets sales if you get in early or a percentage off if you book a whole table in advance. It’ll encourage numbers and help you identify numbers of attendees early. You don’t want to have to have a late drive for numbers as that’s when people may state their unavailability, perhaps due to a clash with another event.

Tickets Sold on the Night

Having someone at the door checking tickets and selling last-minute tickets will create a smooth process for your Quiz Night. Using some ticket sales websites will provide you with a list of attendees too. Check names off as people arrive so you can keep track of when everyone has arrived. You may find everyone’s there nice and early so you can get the night underway. Or you may find a large number of people have not turned up yet. If they’re running late you may have to delay the start time slightly – make sure you make this clear to the teams already in attendance.

 

Perhaps you have another way that you promote your events. Comment below to share your ideas.