Rules and Regulations of Trivia
The Script to Read and Follow
10 min read
Table of Contents and Rule Overview
Welcome and Greetings
2 Point Score System
Picture Round
Audio Round
Bonus Questions (Optional)
Final Round: Category, Wagers, and Submission
Repeating Questions
Go Over the Categories
Ranking
No Cheating, Be Civil, Have Fun
Team Names
Reading the Questions and Starting the Game
Round 4 Picture Round Reminder
How to Read the Scoreboard Scores (Halftime)
Round 5 Audio Round Reminder
How to Read the Scoreboard Scores (Going into Final)
How to Read and Present Final
How Read the Scoreboard Scores (After Final)
If There’s a Tie Breaker
Extra Host Notes: Duration and Pacing
Extra Host Notes: Prizes (Main Prize or Bonus Prize Ideas)
Here are all the rules and regulations we use when playing trivia.
If you haven't already, check out our blog on How To Run a Successful Trivia Night first. Click Here.
Follow along and by downloading our Kickstarter Trivia Packs. Click Here.
Feel free to use what we have as a template or edit the wording or script that fits your preferences and likings.
1. Welcome and Greetings
“Welcome to Trivia at the (Name of your establishment). My name is (insert name here) and I am your host for trivia this evening. Before we begin, let’s go over the rules and regulations of trivia.”
2. 2 Point Score System
“As you can see on your quiz packages there are 7 categories. Each category ranges from a variety of different topics with varying difficulties. Each question will be scored out of 2 points. The reason why we do 2 points is if you get a partial answer. Maybe you got a person’s first name but not their last name or you got their last name but not their first name. Or maybe you got the song title but not the artist or the artist but not the song title. You can give yourself 1 point out of 2.”
Daniel _________
______ Radcliffe
Mamma Mia - ____
_____ ___ - ABBA
3. Picture Round
“For category number 4 we have the picture round. You are free to work on that category anytime you like but there will also be time for you to work on it as well.”
4. Audio Round
“For category number 5 we have the audio round. There will be 10 audio clips that will be played for 10 seconds each. Each clip will be played twice back-to-back. At the end of the 10th clip, it will loop back round to clip number 1, and the audio will be played again for a third time. After that I can not play the audio again.” (“Try not to speak too loudly so everyone has a fair chance to hear the audio”).
“Don’t worry about the Audio Round too much, I’ll explain again when we get there.”
5. Bonus Questions (Optional)
“We will also have bonus questions you could win throughout this evening. They will be played after category 2, category 4, and category 7. I have put all your names on a wheel and I will spin the wheel to determine who gets first crack at answering the question. The questions are multiple choice so pay attention to the question and potential answers so you don’t blow your shot and repeat an incorrect answer.” For a virtual wheel check out wheeldecide.com Here.
[Host notes: Bonus questions can literally be anything you want or it can be a small reward for the team that gets the questions right. You can reward that team with a small prize or extra points (1-3) towards the main game. Bonus questions are just an opportunity for other teams who aren’t the best at trivia to still be involved. ]
6. Final Round: Category, Wagers, and Submission
“For our Final category, here’s how it works: I will tell you all where you rank on the scoreboard. A single category will be presented. Every team will participate and can wager between 0-20 points depending on where you rank and how confident you are in the category. You will gain or lose the amount that you wager so strategy is important. I will then ask the question, every team will tear off the ‘Final Trivia Round’ section of their answer sheet and on that small piece of paper, you will all submit the answer, putting your team name and the points you would like to wager between 0-20. And I will mark who is right and who is wrong."
“Don’t worry about the Final category too much, I’ll explain again when we get there.”
7. Repeating Questions
“As we are going through the questions, I will read each question twice back-to-back and at the end of the tenth question, I will ask if any question needs to be reread for a third time.”
(During the game) "Now that we have gone through all ten questions in the category. Does any team need me to repeat a question for a third time?"
8. Go Over the Categories
“Going over our categories we have…” (Read each category).
Category 1 is General Knowledge
Category 2 is Villains and Antagonists
Category 3 is 1980's Moments
Category 4 is our picture round, Famous Landmarks - You name the landmark
Category 5 is our audio round, Stranger Things Soundtrack - You name the song and artist/band
Category 6 is Space
Category 7 is Writers Life for Me
9. Ranking
“I will do a half time ranking letting you all know where you currently stand after category number 4 (the picture round) and after category number 7 (before going into the Final category).”
10. No Cheating, Be Civil, Have Fun
“Obviously this goes without saying, but there’s no cheating here. Don’t use your phones to Google answers or text a friend (instead bring them out here), don’t peek at other teams' answers, don’t shout out your answers so loudly the entire place can hear you.” [Host Notes: There are two main ways to score/grade. You decide which one fits best for your establishment.]
Peer Review Method: “When we reveal the answers, pass and exchange your answer sheet with a neighboring team.”
Honor System Method: “You’re responsible for scoring your own quiz package, this is an honor system, don’t lie about your scores. It’s ok to not know something, we’re here to have fun and enjoy ourselves.”
11. Team Names
“Here are our teams we have for today. We have…(List out the team names)."
Gryffindor
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Gordon Ramsay's Paradise Kitchen
Jeff Bezos' Charity of Wealth
Meesa Jar Jar Binks
Dunder Mifflin Dream Team
99% Club
Krusty Krab Pizza
"Is there any team I did not call out?" (Put in any team that wasn’t mentioned).
[Host Notes: Teams should absolutely have fun with their name, but don't be afraid to tell a team to change their name if it goes too far or people take offense. Remember you're going to have to call out team names to collect scores.
12. Reading the Questions and Starting the Game
“Alrighty, here is category number 1: General Knowledge, Question 1…”
(During the game) "Now that we have gone through all ten questions in the category. Does any team need me to repeat a question for a third time?"
13. Round 4 Picture Round Reminder
“Now that we are at category number 4 the picture round, you can work on the pictures if you haven’t already and I’ll give everyone 5 minutes to work on it and chat amongst yourselves.”
14. How to Read the Scoreboard Scores (Halftime) (After Round 4 Picture Round)
In (Number place) with (Number of points), is (Team Name)
In 10th place with 20 points, is “Slytherin”.
(Number of teams tied) for (Number place), they are (Team Name) and (Team Name), both with (Number of points).
Two teams tied for 4th place, they are “Ravenclaw” and “Hufflepuff”, both with 50 points.
And in (Number place) with (Number of points), is (Team Name)
And in 1st place with 70 points, is “Gryffindor”.
15. Round 5 Audio Round Reminder
“For our audio round. There will be 10 audio clips that will be played for 10 seconds each. Each clip will be played twice back-to-back. At the end of the 10th clip, it will loop back round to clip number 1, and the audio will be played again for a third time. After that I can not play the audio again.”
16. How to Read the Scoreboard Scores (Going into Final)
In (Number place) with (Number of points), is (Team Name)
In 10th place with 65 points, is “Slytherin”.
(Number of teams tied) for (Number place), they are (Team Name) and (Team Name), both with (Number of points).
Two teams tied for 5th place, they are “Ravenclaw” and “Hufflepuff”, both with 100 points.
And in (Number place) with (Number of points), is (Team Name)
And in 1st place with 120 points, is “Gryffindor”.
17. How to Read and Present Final
“Now that you guys all know where you stand on the scoreboard, here is a reminder to how our Final question works.
A single category will be presented and every team will participate.
You can wager between 0-20 points depending on where you rank and how confident you are in the category. You will gain or lose the amount that you wager so strategy is important.
I will then ask the question, every team will tear off the ‘Final Trivia Round’ section of your answer sheet and on that small piece of paper, you will all submit the answer, putting your team name and the points you would like to wager between 0-20. And I will mark who is right and who is wrong.”
“Our Final Category for this evening is (Final Category Name Here). I’ll give you all a moment to strategize” (Host Notes: Most teams will wage 20 points for the sake of simplicity, give the teams 30 seconds to 1 minute to strategize)
“We’re all set for our wagers, here is the Final Question…” Read the Final Question (give some time to teams to discuss possible answers).
Collect all the answers.
Mark the answers right or wrong on the piece of paper first, separating into two piles: Right and Wrong piles.
Input all the wagers for the teams that got the Final question wrong first. If they are wrong, add the dash/subtract sign “-” to their wager number in the scoreboard.
Input all the wagers for the teams that got the Final question right second. If they are right, add the wager number in the scoreboard.
Build suspense and anticipation before you reveal the answer(s). “We have some interesting answers” or “only one team got it right”.
Reread the Final Question and the potential answers for the last time, then revealing the correct answers: “The correct answers are…”
If there’s a correct answer the majority of teams share/wrote down, reveal that first.
Have a pause before you reveal the answer(s).
18. How to Read Scoreboard Score (After Final)
After inputting and updating all the scores. Read the updated scoreboard, to determine the final rankings and who is the winner (1st place).
19. If There’s a Tie Breaker
“We have a tie for 1st place between (Team A) and (Team B). I will ask both teams to write out their team name and give me their answers on a sheet of paper. The Tie Breaking question is…”
20. Extra Host Notes: Duration and Pacing
Games should last anywhere between 75-90 minutes. Enough time to be worth the outing but not take up so much time, that the evening becomes a drag.
As a rule of thumb, the reading of every question should have a 20-30 second pause between each reading. Strike the balance in your timing to keep the game moving yet suspenseful; don’t take too long that the game becomes a drag and don’t go too fast that players can’t keep up.
You can usually tell when the teams are done by the increased chatter. Quiet chatter usually means they are discussing the question, and when things start to get louder, it usually means they are ready for the next question.
21. Extra Host Notes: Prizes (Main Prize or Bonus Prize Ideas)
Food or Drink: Teams could receive a round of drinks, an appetizer, a dessert, or an entrée.
Percentages: Teams could receive a percentage off of their tab (30% for first, 20% for second, and 10% for third). The discount could be applied that night, or be in the form of a certificate they can use the next trivia night.
Discounts: Teams could receive a cash discount or win a gift card.
Clothing or Accessories: Does your establishment have T-Shirts or cool products teams can win and earn?
Monthly Prizes: Offering a monthly prize to the team that has the highest cumulative points for the month will also lead to repeat customers and more excitement.
Status, Recognition, Bragging Rights: Take a picture of the winning team and place it on your Facebook page (or on the website of the bar/restaurant).
