The landlord's blog Quiz nights
Pub quiz round ideas: 15 rounds that work (and a few with a twist)
Fifteen pub quiz round ideas that work in a real pub, from a local round and table-top hand-outs to connections and "higher or lower", with how to run each one, how hard to make it, and the licence and copyright points to watch.
The same eight rounds of general knowledge every week gets stale. But a quiz full of clever twists can lose the teams who just want to have a go. The trick is a mix: a few solid rounds people know, and one or two that change each week.
Here are 15 round ideas, how to run each one, and a few things to watch.
The solid ones
1. General knowledge
The backbone of any quiz. Mix the topics, mix the difficulty, and aim for the middle team to get about half right. Open and close with general knowledge so nobody is lost at the start or the end.
2. The local round
Questions about your town, your street, your estate, the local club. This gives your regulars an edge over the clever lot who only come for the prize, and it makes it your quiz. Check every answer yourself, because a regular will know if you've got it wrong.
3. Sport
Keep it broad. Football, yes, but also rugby, cricket, darts, snooker and the Olympics. Put a local club question in every week.
4. Food and drink
Easy to write and people enjoy it. Where does a dish come from, what's in a classic cocktail, which county is famous for which cheese.
5. Film and TV
Name the film from the line, name the actor from three of their films, which year did a famous show start. Keep questions to things most people have heard of.
The ones that get people talking
6. Picture round
Close-ups, famous faces, logos, landmarks. Hand it out at the start so teams can work on it all night. Use photos you've taken yourself where you can. GOV.UK says copyright "protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission", and that includes photographs. Pictures pulled off the internet may belong to someone else.
7. Table-top hand-out
A sheet on every table to fill in while the quiz goes on: mystery years, chart toppers, anagrams of towns, "what links these". Mark it at the end. It keeps teams busy during the break.
8. Connections
Five answers that link together, plus a bonus point for the link. For example, five questions whose answers are all types of tree, or all Sunderland streets. Teams love working the link out early.
9. Higher or lower
Read out a number, like the height of a famous building, and ask whether a second thing is higher or lower. Quick, easy to mark, and good for mixed teams.
10. True or false
Ten statements, true or false. A good "breather" round between two harder ones. Make the false ones believable.
11. Music round
Intros, name the artist, finish the lyric. Very popular, but if you play recorded music to customers you'll usually need TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. If you just ask questions about music without playing any, there's nothing to license. Our music licence post explains it.
Rounds with a twist
12. The joker
Each team picks one round before the quiz starts to score double. It adds tactics without making the quiz harder.
13. Answers that start with the same letter
Every answer in the round starts with, say, "B". It's a hint and a puzzle at once.
14. In the news this week
Questions from the last seven days. It rewards people who pay attention and changes every week, so nobody can learn it.
15. Name the year
Three events from the same year. Teams guess the year. Give a point for the exact year and half a point for within two years.
How hard should each round be?
A simple rule: winners around 75%, the middle team around 50%, and nobody below 25%. If the winners score 90%, it's too easy. If the bottom team scores 20%, they won't come back.
Mark your rounds after each quiz and keep notes. If one round always scores low, make it easier or drop it.
How many rounds?
Six to eight rounds of eight to ten questions suits most pubs, with a picture round or hand-out running all night. That's about two hours with a break. Our post on how to host a pub quiz has a full running order, and we've got tie-breaker questions ready for when two teams finish level.
Themed nights
Seasonal nights are a good excuse for a themed round. We've written a ready-to-use Bonfire Night round and a Christmas quiz with sources for every answer. Keep the themed part to one or two rounds so everyone can still play.
How StockTap TV helps
At our place in Washington, the Tuesday quiz starts at 7:30pm and every question goes up on every TV at once. Picture rounds go up on screen, and table-top hand-outs get their answers shown on every TV when it's time to mark. Picture rounds and hand-outs on the TVs are new and in pilot, so founding pubs will help us shape them. See the hand-outs and quiz night on every TV, or join the founding pubs.
Frequently asked questions
What are good pub quiz rounds?
General knowledge, a local round, sport, food and drink, film and TV, a picture round and a music round are the core. Add one round with a twist each week, like connections or the joker.
How many questions should a pub quiz round have?
Eight to ten. Fewer and it feels rushed. More and teams lose interest.
Can I use pictures from the internet in a picture round?
They may be protected by copyright. Photos you've taken yourself are safest. If you didn't take it and don't have permission, leave it out.
Do I need a licence for a music round?
If you play recorded music to customers, you usually need TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. Questions about music with no music played don't need one.
Sources
- GOV.UK: How copyright protects your work
- PPL PRS: TheMusicLicence for pubs and bars
We checked every source on 24 October 2026. Rules change, so check the latest version before you act. Nothing here is legal advice.