Pub quiz
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A pub quiz is a quiz held in a pub. It is a large British phenomenon, but was at its peak in the early 1990s. Pub quizzes are still quite popular and they may attract people to a pub who are not found there on other days. The pub quiz is a modern example of a Pub game. The questions asked are wide and varied, but pub quizzes generally have a certain feel to them and hold certain things in common.
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Quizzes for Individuals or Small Teams
The Format
Pub quizzes are often weekly or bi-weekly events and will have an advertised start time. This time is only approximate and it may be up to half an hour after it that any quiz-related activity begins.
First of all, one of the bar staff will come around with pens and quiz papers, which may contain questions or may just be blank sheets for writing the answers on. A mixture of both is common, in which case often only the blank sheet is to be handed in. Often the pub expects paper should be split in two - one half to hand in and one half to be kept as a record of the answers.
It is up to the patrons to form teams, which are generally based on tables, though if one table has a large group around it, they may decide to split up. Some pubs insist on a maximum team size (usually between six and ten). The team members decide on a team name, which must be written on all papers handed in.
Rounds
There can be any number of rounds between one and half a dozen, generally falling into the following categories, given in approximate order of commonness:
- Trivia rounds - these are usually spoken, either over a public address system or just called out. Common topics are:
- General - a mixture, including those listed below, if they're not a separate round and also topics like history, geography and science. There may well be more than one of these.
- Sport - comprising the statistics and minutiae of popular, well-known sports and general facts about others.
- Entertainment - Movies, TV shows and music.
- Picture rounds - these are on photocopied hand-outs and consist of photos of various famous people to be identified. The copies may be poor quality.
- Music rounds - these consist of songs played over the PA system, usually the teams must identify the song and the singer or band.
- Puzzle rounds - generally on a handed-out sheet. Typically these consist of crossword puzzles, anagrams and basic maths problems.
The questions may be set by the bar staff or landlord, be bought from a specialist trivia company, or be set by volunteers from amongst the contestants. In the latter case, the quiz setter may be remunerated in the form of beer or a small amount of money.
Often questions may be drawn from the realm of 'everybody' knows trivia, therefore leading to controversies when the facts are false or unverifiable. In addition as the quizes are not formal affairs, slight miswordings may lead to confusion and have led to a recent court case [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4168275.stm) in the UK.
Marking
In some cases, the papers are marked by the bar staff. Alternatively, teams may have to mark their own answers and the handed-in papers are consulted only to check that prize claimants haven't cheated by altering their answers. Another method is to have teams swap paper before marking, though this can be divisive as there are inevitable disagreements over whether, for example, both names of a person need to be stated in order to get a point. In even the first case, the answers will be read out.
Prizes
Prizes are awarded to the highest scoring team and possibly the second and third place teams as well.
Many of the prizes revolve around alcohol. A case of beer or some money on a bar tab to spend at that pub are common. Lesser prizes may consist of various items sent by a brewery, such as t-shirts and beer glasses advertising their products.
Money may also be offered, though it may not be won every week. A team that scores a certain amount may get a cash prize, or there may even be a separate short set of questions. Sometimes unwon money is rolled-over, making a larger prize the next week.
Quizzes for League Teams
The Format
Another common format is: a quiz held as part of a Pub league, just as in an American pool or a Darts league.
Two teams, one Home, one Away play each other, responding, perhaps alternately, often orally, to a questionmaster.
Another interesting format for quizzing is called "Infinite Bounce". This format is generally used when the number of teams in the quiz is large - usually around 8-10. Every question is addressed to the team succeeding the team that answered the previous question. If no team answers the question, the next quesiton is addressed to the team succeeding the team to whom the previous question was addressed.
Points earned for each question are equal, irrespective of whether it was a direct question or a passed on question.
Marking
The questionmaster normally marks the teams' answers.
Prizes
No prizes are normally awarded at such a league match, but prizes and kudos may go to the quiz team winning a league or a Knockout competition.
See also
External links
- James and Fran's Pub Quiz (http://www.jambell.com/cgi-bin/pubquiz.pl) Try a pub quiz online
- Quiz Database (http://123Quiz.net/w/QuizDB) A listing of pub quizzes by day and location
- Online Pub Quizzes (http://www.games2go.co.uk/trivia.php) Online pub quizzes for free
- Pub Quiz Nights in London (http://www.quizquizquiz.biz) Organisers of quality pub quizzes
- Quizlist (http://www.quizlist.com) A listing of pub quizzes in London and other locations