Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Establish your audience and theme. Will your guests be family members of all ages or a group of college or work friends? The trivia questions you come up with should be tailored to your audience. For example, if your trivia night guests will be old college buddies, questions about events, inventions and news headlines from the year you all graduated would make an excellent theme. Some themes for an all-ages group might be television show titles or actors.
Figure out how many questions you will need. A good ball-park estimate is two minutes total per question. That equates to 30 questions per hour. Some groups will be faster or slower. One hundred questions should be more than enough for a fun trivia night. Fifty questions is a good amount for a shorter trivia game if you only want to do trivia for half of the night and mingle for the rest of it.
Compose the trivia score card and question-and-answer sheet(s). The score card can be as simple as a list with every player's name and a tally of how many questions he answers correctly before anyone else. Make one set of questions and answers if you want to be the quiz master asking all the questions. Make a few extra sets if you want to take turns asking questions with guests.
Resolve what the prize will be for the winner of the trivia contest. Be creative and make or bake the prize to go easy on your budget. Other possible prizes to consider are bottles of wine, gift cards or restaurant certificates.
Pick your snacks and party drink menu. Buffet-style, casual food like pizza, chips and chicken wings work best. Keep things inexpensive by making your own tossed salad with an assortment of dressings on the side, or have cut vegetables and dip, cookies or brownies. Set plates, cups and silverware out so everyone can help themselves throughout the night.
Mix up the trivia night with snack breaks and other games or activities so players don't become bored. Have television and music available in another area for those who wish to sit out the trivia game. Children will become bored quickly, so plan a secondary activity especially for them, like a movie on DVD or playroom time.