Quiz round ideas
33 quiz round ideas for a pub quiz, office quiz or family quiz night. Stuck on what to put in your quiz? Here are tried-and-tested quiz round ideas, from classic pub quiz rounds to rounds with a twist, picture and music rounds, seasonal themes and team games, each with sample questions you can use tonight.
Planning your rounds
- Six to eight rounds of 10 questions fill a two-hour quiz night comfortably; allow 10-15 minutes per round including scoring.
- Start with an easy warm-up round, put your hardest round in the middle and finish with something fun, like a music or picture round.
- Mix difficulty within every round: two or three gimmes, a few mid-level questions and one or two stinkers keep every team in it.
- Print one answer sheet per round with the round name and space for the team name, and have teams swap sheets for scoring while you read the answers.
- Hand out the picture or puzzle sheet at the start so teams can work on it between rounds, and collect it before the final round.
- Have a tie-breaker ready, such as a closest-number question about a year, a height or a distance, so a tied finish is settled in seconds.
- Playing recorded music in a pub or other public venue usually needs a music license (TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS in the UK, or licenses from bodies such as ASCAP and BMI in the US), so check before a music round.
Classic rounds
General knowledge
A mixed bag of 10 questions across science, history, geography and culture. It works as an opener because everyone can answer something.
- How many sides does a heptagon have? Seven
- What is the largest internal organ in the human body? The liver
Geography
Capitals, rivers, borders and landmarks. Mix world questions with a couple about your own country so local teams get a boost.
- Which country has three capital cities? South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein)
- What is the largest lake in Africa? Lake Victoria
History
Ten questions running from the ancient world to the 20th century. Read them in date order so the round tells a story.
- The Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, stood on which Greek island? Rhodes
- In which city was Julius Caesar assassinated in 44 BC? Rome
Film and TV
Mix classic films with well-known TV shows from different decades so every age group in the room gets a few.
- In which US city is the original Frasier (1993-2004) set? Seattle
- What is the name of the paper company in the US version of The Office? Dunder Mifflin
Sport
Cover several sports rather than one so non-fans can still score. Rules and records age better than "who won last season" questions.
- In snooker, how many points is the black ball worth? Seven
- How many players does each netball team have on court? Seven
Food and drink
Dishes, drinks and where they come from. It pairs well with snacks on the table.
- The cheese halloumi traditionally comes from which island? Cyprus
- The caipirinha, made with cachaça and lime, is the national cocktail of which country? Brazil
List round: name as many as you can
Give teams a category and two or three minutes to write down as many answers as they can. Award one point per correct answer, and a bonus for a full set.
- Name the nine countries that border Germany. Denmark, Poland, Czechia (Czech Republic), Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands
- Name the six New England states. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
Rounds with a twist
True or false
Read out a statement and teams write T or F. It's quick to score and great for surprising facts and popular myths.
- True or false: a group of flamingos can be called a flamboyance. True
- True or false: goldfish have a memory of only about three seconds. False: experiments show goldfish can remember things for weeks or even months
Missing link
Every answer in the round is connected, and the last question asks teams what the link is. Alternatively, give three answers and ask for the connection.
- What links Mercury, Gemini and Apollo? They were NASA's first three human spaceflight programs
- What links a Mustang, a Beetle and a Panda? They're all animals and car models (Ford Mustang, Volkswagen Beetle, Fiat Panda)
Higher or lower
Give a known number, then ask whether a second thing is higher or lower. Add a bonus point for the closest exact figure.
- The Shard in London is about 310 m (1,016 ft) tall. Is the Eiffel Tower, to its tip, higher or lower? Higher: about 330 m (1,083 ft)
- Mount Everest is 8,849 m (29,032 ft) high. Is K2 higher or lower? Lower: 8,611 m (28,251 ft)
One-letter answers
Every answer in the round is a single letter. It's fast to score and ideal as a quick-fire bonus round.
- Which letter is the chemical symbol for potassium? K
- Which is the only letter that doesn't appear in the name of any US state? Q
What came first?
Name two events or inventions and teams pick which came first. The best pairs are ones that feel the wrong way round.
- Which came first: Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza? Stonehenge: its first earthwork dates from about 3000 BC; the Great Pyramid from around 2600 BC
- Which came first: teaching at Oxford University or the founding of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan? Oxford: teaching there dates back to at least 1096; Tenochtitlan was founded around 1325
Odd one out
Read four items and teams pick the one that doesn't belong. Give a bonus point if they can also say why.
- Pacific, Atlantic, Caspian, Indian Caspian: it's an inland sea (often classed as the world's largest lake), not an ocean
- Tomato, cucumber, carrot, pepper Carrot: the other three are fruits in the botanical sense; a carrot is a root
Finish the proverb
Read the first half of a well-known saying and teams write the ending. It's a gentle round that suits mixed ages and family quizzes.
- A bird in the hand… …is worth two in the bush
- Don't count your chickens… …before they hatch
Picture and music rounds
Music intros
Play the first five to ten seconds of each song and teams name the song and artist, one point each. Mix decades so everyone gets a few.
- Play the opening guitar riff of "Sweet Child o' Mine". "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses
- Play the opening few seconds of "Mr. Brightside". "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers (from their debut album, Hot Fuss)
TV and film theme tunes
Play a few seconds of each theme and teams name the show or film. Add a bonus point for the composer or performer.
- Play the opening bars of the Pink Panther theme. The Pink Panther: the theme was composed by Henry Mancini
- Play the opening of the Friends theme song. Friends: the song is "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts
Flags
Print a sheet of numbered flags, or show them on a screen, and teams name the country. Include a few lookalikes to sort the experts from the guessers.
- Show the flag of Cyprus. Cyprus: one of only two national flags showing a map of the country (the other is Kosovo)
- Show a blue, yellow and red vertical tricolor and ask which two countries use this design. Romania and Chad: their two flags are almost identical
Country shapes
Show the outline of a country with no labels or neighbors. Rotate a few, or show them upside down, to make it harder.
- Show the outline of Italy, rotated on its side. Italy: the famous boot-shaped peninsula
- Show the outline of Japan with no surrounding coastline. Japan
Zoomed-in landmarks
Show a tight close-up of a famous building or monument (use your own photos or public-domain images) and teams name it. Reveal the full picture with the answers.
- Show a close-up of the green rays of a crown and the folds of a robe. The Statue of Liberty: its copper skin turned green as it formed a patina
- Show a close-up of stacked white marble arcades on a round tower, cropped so the tilt isn't obvious. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, the bell tower of Pisa Cathedral
Emoji round
Spell out films, songs or phrases in emoji, on a screen or a printed sheet. It works brilliantly for family and office quizzes.
- 🕷️🧑 Spider-Man
- 🐼🥋 Kung Fu Panda
Themed and seasonal rounds
Christmas round
Add a festive round of carols, films and traditions to any December quiz, or make the whole night Christmas-themed.
- In the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas", what is given on the fifth day? Five gold rings
- Which actor played Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990)? Macaulay Culkin
Halloween round
Spooky films, folklore and traditions for a late-October quiz. Costumes are optional, but worth a bonus point.
- At Halloween parties, which fruit do people try to grab from a tub of water using only their teeth? Apples (apple bobbing)
- The Salem witch trials of 1692 took place in which present-day US state? Massachusetts
Thanksgiving round
A November round on the history, food and traditions of the holiday. It's a good one for a family quiz after dinner.
- Which turkey bone do two people pull apart to make a wish? The wishbone (furcula)
- According to colonist Edward Winslow, how many days did the 1621 harvest celebration at Plymouth last? Three
Guess the year
Read three clues from the same year and teams name the year. Give two points for the exact year and one point if they're within a year either way.
- The Channel Tunnel opens, Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's president and Friends premieres on NBC. 1994
- Arizona and New Mexico become US states, Captain Scott's party reaches the South Pole and the Oreo cookie goes on sale. 1912
Famous firsts
Every question is about the first person, place or invention to do something. It's an easy theme to build a whole round around.
- In 1893, which became the first self-governing country to give all women the vote in national elections? New Zealand
- Who became the first person to swim the English Channel without artificial aids, in 1875? Captain Matthew Webb
Kids' round
At a family or school quiz, give the children their own round, or let them answer one round for their team.
- How many colors are traditionally listed in a rainbow? Seven (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet)
- How many days are there in a leap year? 366
Interactive rounds and team games
Heads or tails
Everyone stands and picks heads (hands on head) or tails (hands on hips) before each coin toss. Anyone who called it wrong sits down, and the last player standing wins a prize.
- Host: "Hands on heads for heads, hands on hips for tails." Then flip the coin. It lands tails: everyone with hands on their head sits down. Keep flipping until one player is left.
Play your cards right
Inspired by the game show: turn over a playing card and the team in play calls whether the next card will be higher or lower. Each correct call scores a point; one wrong call ends their run.
- The card shows a 5. The team calls "higher" and the next card is a jack. Correct: they bank a point and can call again or stop. Decide in advance whether a matching card counts as a loss.
Joker round
Before the quiz starts, each team picks one round to play their joker on and writes it on their answer sheet. Their score for that round is doubled.
- A team plays its joker on the sport round and scores 7 out of 10. They score 14 points for that round
Bonus question per team
Ask each team its own question in turn. If they get it wrong, it passes to the next team for a bonus point, which keeps everyone listening.
- Team 1: How many continents are there? Seven (under the usual English-language convention)
- Team 2: What is the largest ocean on Earth? The Pacific Ocean
Puzzle sheet on the table
Leave a printed sheet on each table at the start, with pictures, anagrams or a wordsearch, and collect it before the final round. It keeps teams busy while you score answers.
- Anagram: rearrange PAIRS to make a European capital. Paris
- Anagram: rearrange MAIL to make a South American capital. Lima (Peru)
Blind taste test
Give each team small numbered samples to taste blindfolded, and they write down what each one is. Check for allergies first and always offer a no-taste alternative.
- Taste three numbered squares of chocolate from unbranded plates and name the brand of each. One point per correct brand; reveal the wrappers when you read out the answers
Wipeout
Teams can stop at any point and bank their score for the round, but one wrong answer wipes out everything they've scored in it. It forces some brilliant tactical decisions.
- What is the tallest living land animal? The giraffe
- What is the capital of Japan? Tokyo
Ready-made rounds
Short on time? Use our pub quiz (eight rounds with an answer sheet), the general knowledge quiz, funny pub quiz questions or the Christmas pub quiz. Every one of our quizzes has 20 questions with answers for a themed round.