Pub Quiz for Quizmasters

If you've found yourself in the position of having to write the termly pub quiz, here are some suggestions and tips to help you out!

Writing the quiz

• The key to a good pub quiz is striking a good balance in the questions - you don't want to lean too heavily on a particular topic (in general), so everyone has a shot, no matter what their filmic interests. You want to have at least one question on:
  • Classic and older films, as well as recent releases
  • As many genres as you can (in the events of westerns/war films/epics, this gives you a good chance to incorporate older films)
  • Easy and hard questions. In each round, it's normally good to have at least one per round that you think are stupidly easy (it's your shout, of course, but I don't like a round that I think there is a chance of scoring a zero)
  • A wide variety of films, actors, directors, etc. - you may love Toy Story, for example, but five questions on it is probably a bit unfair on those that don't
• You'll want to figure out how you're structuring the pub quiz - I normally find that six rounds, split into three blocks of three, gives enough time for marking without being overlong. There's also the space for a bonus round between rounds, if there's demand for one. The typical running order is like so, but this isn't set in stone by any means:
  • Rounds One and Two
  • Intermission (Rounds One and Two are marked)
  • Bonus Round (if you want one)
  • Answers for One and Two
  • Rounds Three and Four (typically, you and some helpers can mark the Bonus Round during)
  • Intermission (Rounds Three and Four are marked
  • Bonus Round Results
  • Answers for Three and Four
  • Rounds Five and Six
  • Intermission (remainder of marking
  • Answers for Five and Six, prize-giving
• You probably want to prepare a tie-break question or two - this can be as easy as something with a numerical answer, and the closest wins, or something more elaborate. I quite like a competition - in the past, I've given a minute and list of things (Meryl Streep films, Best Actor Oscar winners). They take turns answering, and whoever's turn it is at the end of the minute loses.