Host your own virtual pub quiz

With the pubs currently closed, quizzers around the country have been left with no choice but to host their own pub quizzes. But have you taken the leap yet? Here we’ll teach you how to create and host the perfect virtual pub quiz.

Round 1. General knowledge

First things first, you’ll need to choose how you’re going to see and hear your fellow quizzers. The easiest way is to use a video calling service like Zoom, Google Hangouts or Skype – just make sure that the platform you choose will let you host the number or participants you’re expecting, and remember, some free services will limit the time you can spend per session.

When it comes to the playing of the quiz itself, you could do this the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, but if you want to get into the digital spirit then here are a few handy options…

Kahoot! – Best for intense competition!

Although mainly used as a learning tool for teachers to test their students, Kahoot! is also the perfect app for creating a shareable pub quiz. There are a whole host of user-generated questions you can use to build your quiz, or you can write some of your own. Plus, you can adjust the points for each question and the time your participants have to answer.

When you’re ready to host your quiz, you’ll get a PIN that participants can use to join the desktop version or app. Everyone will need two devices, one to see the questions and one to log their answers. The app is available on iOS and Android.

Google Forms – Best for multimedia options

You may already be familiar with Google forms – but you probably haven’t used them to host a pub quiz. It’s simple and easy, but requires a little preparation. You’ll need to write all of your own questions – but you can choose multiple choice or free type. Plus, you can add multiple sections, add images or videos to break it up. You can also set it to mark the responses, so you don’t have to tally up the points yourself.

Once created, all you have to do is email your form out or send a shareable link to your quiz participants, and let the quizzing commence!

myQuiz – Best for simplicity

Now this online quiz platform feels like it was made for lockdown. myQuiz allows you to easily create a simple, but fun, multiple-choice quiz with images and videos. Once your quiz is complete, you’ll get a code that participants need to enter on the myQuiz homepage to gain access.

If you could use a helping hand with questions, there are 10 free and ready-made quizzes that you can use. Plus, while you can’t currently add multiple rounds into a single quiz, you can achieve the same effect by making multiple quizzes.

Bonus round…

So, with your quiz created, it’s time to turn your attention to the hosting. Make sure you schedule a couple of breaks into your quiz to let people chat, pop to the loo, or top up their drinks. We’d also recommend making sure everyone has a hefty supply of snacks.

Ahead of the quiz, be sure to send across any links or online documents so that the quizzers can check they’re working, plus do a video and sound test on your webcam. No-one wants to wait while Sandra figures out how to turn ‘mute’ off.

All that remains is for us to wish you good luck and happy quizzing!