Good Live Trivia Vs. Bad Live Trivia: A Side-By-Side Analysis

Whether running a local pub quiz or using trivia as a corporate team building activity, the overall goal is the same: everyone in attendance should have an enjoyable, memorable experience. However, as those who have attended multiple trivia parties can attest, not all live quiz events are created equal. As a quizmaster in New York City, where there are plenty of events to choose from, I am often told about both great and not-so-great events, as well as why they succeeded- or didn’t.

Below is a brief analysis of good live trivia vs. bad live trivia:

GOOD Trivia Events:

1. Provide a well-balanced mix of challenging questions, ranging from easy to difficult
2. Offer a diverse range of themes and topics
3. Include multiple forms of media (audio, video, pictures etc.)
4. Are comfortable for attendees, with ample seating & tables
5. Are in a venue well-suited for live trivia hosting, with professional-quality A/V and a stage
6. Are in a space with ample room for everyone who wants to play
7. Are hosted by someone with personality, who knows what he/she is doing
8. Feature questions which are customized for the audience in attendance
9. Start and end on time
10. Aren’t ridiculously short, nor are they insanely long
11. Include opportunities for participants to socialize
12. Allow for audience interaction
13. Are about the attendees, not the host
14. Offer prizes to the winners
15. Are high-energy, humorous and FUN!

BAD Trivia Events:

1. Are flooded with questions which are way too easy, or impossibly hard
2. Focus only on a handful of topics
3. Consist entirely of the same question-answer format, with no mixed media
4. Make attendees uncomfortable by forcing them stand the entire time
5. Have terrible audio where people can’t hear anything, and the host can’t do their job
6. Are cramped, crowded, poorly lit and way too hot/cold
7. Have a bland host – or worse, a host who thinks he/she is hilarious, but isn’t
8. Feature questions which are totally inappropriate for the age & demographic of attendees
9. Start late, end late
10. End after 3 rounds, or last so long people are staring at their watches
11. Have people stuck in their seats, with no break in between questions/answers
12. Don’t allow for audience participation other than turning in answer sheets
13. Are all about the host, with the audience an afterthought
    
14. Don’t even have prizes for the winning team
15. Are monotonous, boring and make you want to slit your wrists

In fairness, it isn’t easy to run live trivia events well, and it’s flat-out impossible to please everybody. However, the organizers, venue and host should always strive to achieve an incredibly fun event which is dynamic, competitive and intellectually challenging.

What are some other characteristics of both good & bad trivia parties?