The guide
How to write your own quiz night
Updated October 12, 2026
A night can mix five round types. Pick one below for short, specific tips — not a lecture.
Write your quizWhen the rounds are in, host the night from this computer. Guests watch the screen. They do not need an app.
How to write it
Write a board the room will fight over
Six categories. Clues climb from warm-up to groan. The TV shows the prompt; you keep the answer on this computer.
- Name categories so they read from the sofa. Short titles win.
- Mix two columns only this room knows, two anyone can guess, two that play as banter.
- One idea per clue. One breath. If you have to explain it, shorten it.
- Easy first, hard last in each column. Points step with the climb.
- Never put the answer on the television. Host view stays on this laptop.
Watch out If a clue needs a picture, use a public link. Private albums will not show on the TV.
How to write it
Pick clips people can shout from the sofa
You play a short clip that gets longer. Phones buzz when someone knows it — then they get a few seconds on the clock to answer.
- Choose songs the room has actually heard, not deep cuts only you love.
- Mix eras and moods so one person does not win every track.
- Set answer time for after the buzz — how long they have once they are on the clock.
- Reveal title and artist only after you judge the guess.
Watch out If the preview starts on a spoken intro or silence, skip ahead or pick another track so the room hears music immediately.
How to write it
Ask for a number the room can argue about
The answer is a number. Phones join from a QR code. Closest ranks highest — exact is nice, near is enough.
- Write prompts where a guess makes sense: years, distances, prices, counts.
- Spread the field. If everyone will type the same number, the round is dull.
- Say the unit in the prompt (years, km, people) so phones know what to type.
- Keep one clear number as the host answer. No ranges on the answer side.
- Harder prompts can still be guessable — “how many” beats “name the obscure fact.”
Watch out Avoid answers that need a calculator or a secret spreadsheet. If you cannot judge it from the sofa, rewrite it.
How to write it
Show a picture the room can almost name
Paste a picture. It reveals slowly. Phones buzz when someone knows what they are looking at.
- Pick a subject with a clear shape — a place, a person, a logo, a snack the house fights over.
- Start with something gettable. Save the tight crop or odd angle for later.
- Use images you are allowed to show on a TV in a living room.
- A short prompt on screen helps (“Who is this?” / “Where?”) without spoiling the answer.
- Wrong buzzes use a try. Leave enough tries for the room to steal the fun.
Watch out Blurry phone dumps and private album links fail on the TV. Prefer a clear public image the whole room can see.
How to write it
Type the order. Phones drag it back.
You write the lines from first to last. Phones get the same lines, scrambled, and drag them into place.
- Say the direction in the prompt. Earliest at the top. First step at the top. Smallest at the top.
- Three to five lines. Short enough to read on a phone held by four people.
- Make two neighbors easy to swap, so a near miss still teaches.
- Turn the clock off for a class. Thirty seconds is the loud one.
- Two lines that say the same thing cannot be told apart once they are scrambled.
Watch out If the top of your list is not the start, the phone will mark a correct drag as wrong.
Before you host
- Open the contestant view on the television and sit where guests will sit. If you cannot read it, shorten it.
- Sign in with Google to keep the night. Guests still just watch the TV — phones for buzz, numbers, and order.