Pub Quizzes

Pub quizzes are a popular form of entertainment that began in Great Britain most likely in the 1970s and spread to Australia and the United States. No one is sure who held the first pub quiz and exactly when that was. It has become a quintessential aspect of British pub culture.

The quizzes are either created by pub owners/managers, downloaded from specific websites, or run by a company specializing in this form of amusement. In the United States, many are run by outside quiz companies and are apparently popular at private parties.

Pub quizzes are loosely regarded as a type of trivia game, but encompass a variety of challenges and levels of seriousness and competition. While factual recall is a core element of the pub quiz, other elements such as celebrity photo identification, naming of musical tunes, completion of pencil and paper puzzles such as crosswords, anagrams, rebuses, etc., are popular features.

The quiz generally is played in rounds. Each round is devoted to a specific type of play such as the knowledge question round, the paper puzzle round, the musical round, etc.

The quiz participants or quizzers choose their own teams and typically select amusing names for them. The teams are often made up of between six and ten people, but as all elements of the pub quiz, this varies. Typically there is an entry fee that is used as the prize money. In some pubs there is no fee and this is a way to draw customers into the bar. Prizes offered to the winners may run the gamut from free drink vouchers to cash prizes and gifts.

Pub quizzes are regular events in many drinking establishments in the U.K. and bring steady trade for these businesses as many people enjoy the camaraderie and challenge in the relaxed atmosphere. Trade publications have put the statistics at 50% of all licensed establishments in the UK as holding regular pub quizzes. Some have speculated that it is an interactive entertainment dominated by men in the 30 – 50 age group, while others contend that many women are avid fans of the game.

The format of the pub quiz is varied, but the event is usually held weekly at the pub and has a pre-determined start time, usually held in the evening. The bulk of the quiz consists of answers written in response to questions announced by a quizmaster or written on another sheet of paper. Usually the quizmaster tallies the scores, but scores may also be tallied by a team exchange of answer sheets, which may provoke the occasional controversy.

The pub quiz interactive entertainment of today hearkens back to the historical games such as draughts played in Roman taverns with the descendant amusements of darts, skittles, cribbage and other card games, dice games, cue and ball games, board games and many others that have been played in the local pub down through the years.

While the format of pub quizzes varies, the fun seems to be a steady feature.