12 pub quiz hosting mistakes (and how to avoid them)

I've been to a lot of pub quizzes. Some brilliant, some mediocre, and some so badly run that people left halfway through. The difference usually isn't the questions themselves. It's everything around them.

Here are 12 mistakes I see quiz hosts make repeatedly, along with how to avoid them. If you're running your first quiz, read this and you'll already be better than most.

1. Making It Too Long

This is the big one. Excited quiz hosts prepare 100 questions across 10 rounds, thinking they're giving great value. What actually happens is people lose interest around round 6, start checking phones by round 8, and actively want to leave by round 10.

The sweet spot is 4-6 rounds of 10 questions each. That's 40-60 questions total, taking about 90 minutes with breaks and answers. Any longer and you're pushing your luck.

If you've written too many questions, save some for next time. A 50-question quiz that ends with people wanting more is better than a 100-question quiz where people are clock-watching.

2. Reading Questions Too Fast

You know your questions. You've read them multiple times while preparing. The teams are hearing them for the first time.

Slow down. Pause after key information. Read tricky names or numbers twice. Watch the room and wait for pens to stop moving before continuing.

I once attended a quiz where the host rattled through questions so fast that half the room couldn't keep up. People got frustrated, stopped trying, and the atmosphere died. That quiz didn't run again.

3. Choosing Wrong Difficulty

This goes both ways. A quiz that's too easy is boring because everyone's getting 9/10. A quiz that's too hard is demoralising because everyone's getting 3/10.

You want most teams scoring in the 50-70% range, with separation between the best and worst. That means including some questions everyone will get, some that are genuinely challenging, and mostly questions in the middle.

Test your questions on a friend beforehand. If they find them all obvious or all impossible, recalibrate.

4. Poor Audio

If people can't hear you, the quiz falls apart immediately. This seems obvious, but I've seen hosts mumble into a bad microphone while half the room strains to hear.

Test the PA system before teams arrive. Check volume levels. If the venue doesn't have a microphone, position yourself centrally and project your voice. In a small room, no mic is better than a bad one.

For music rounds, check your audio setup plays clearly through speakers. Phone speakers aren't good enough for anything bigger than a living room.

5. No Answer Verification

"I think the answer is 1987, but I'm not 100% sure..."

If you're not sure, check before the quiz. Teams will dispute wrong answers, and they'll be right to. Getting an answer wrong as a host damages your credibility for the whole night.

Check answers against reliable sources. Wikipedia is fine for most things, but verify anything controversial with a second source. The Britannica website is more reliable for facts that matter.

6. Uneven Rounds

One round is all 80s pop music. The next is obscure military history. The geography round has three questions about capital cities and seven about mountain heights.

Balance matters. Each round should have a mix of difficulties. The quiz overall should cover different topics so that different teams can shine at different points.

The team of 20-somethings shouldn't dominate every round, nor should the retired history teachers. Spread the opportunities around.

7. Terrible Tiebreakers

The quiz ends with two teams on 47 points each. You don't have a tiebreaker prepared. Awkward silence ensues.

Always have a tiebreaker ready. The best format is a "nearest wins" question where teams guess a number: "In what year was the London Underground opened?" or "How many steps are there to the top of the Eiffel Tower?"

The team with the closest guess wins. No arguments, clear result, everyone accepts it.

8. Reading Answers Immediately

You read the question, three seconds pass, then you read the answer. Teams don't have time to discuss or even write their guess.

Give teams time. The amount varies by question type, but 20-30 seconds for a standard question is reasonable. For questions requiring discussion or memory, longer.

Watch the room. When most teams have stopped writing and started chatting, it's time to move on.

9. Being Boring

The quiz master sets the tone. If you sound bored, the room feels bored. If you rush through mechanically, the quiz feels like an exam.

Bring energy. Comment on interesting answers. Make jokes between rounds. React when a team gets something obscure correct. Be a host, not just a question-reading machine.

You don't need to be a comedian, but you do need to seem like you're enjoying yourself. Fake it if necessary.

10. Over-Complicated Rules

"You get two points for a correct answer, one point for being half right, minus one for a wrong answer, but if you don't answer that's zero, and on picture rounds the first five questions are worth double unless you use a joker..."

Keep it simple. One point per correct answer. Maybe bonus points for a complete sweep of a round. That's it.

Complex scoring systems confuse teams, create disputes, and make scoring slower. They're not worth the headache.

11. No Phone Policy

Someone on Team 3 keeps checking their phone suspiciously. Other teams notice. Accusations start.

Have a clear rule from the start: phones away during rounds. Not because everyone's a cheater, but because it removes any doubt. Most people are honest, but one visible phone creates suspicion that ruins the atmosphere for everyone.

The UK Quiz League and similar organisations have standardised rules about device use that you can borrow.

12. Ignoring the Room

The best quiz hosts adapt. If a round is going badly, they acknowledge it. If the venue gets loud, they speak up. If teams are struggling, they offer hints.

Pay attention to what's happening. Are teams engaged or losing interest? Is the scoring fair or has one team run away with it? Is the timing working or are you running long?

The quiz you planned might need adjustment on the night. That's fine. Being responsive to the room beats rigidly sticking to your script.

How to Actually Be Good

Avoiding mistakes is half the battle. The other half is doing the positive things:

Start on time. If you say 7:30, start at 7:30. Latecomers can catch up.

Keep rounds moving. Dead air between rounds kills momentum. Have answers ready, know your scores, keep the energy flowing.

Be fair but firm. Consistent rulings matter more than being "right." If you accept a slightly wrong answer for one team, apply the same standard for everyone.

Have fun yourself. If you're enjoying it, that's contagious. If you're stressed and frustrated, that's contagious too.

Finish strong. The last round and final scores should feel climactic. Build to the winner announcement. Make people want to come back.

Running a quiz isn't hard. Running one that people genuinely enjoy coming back to takes a bit more thought. Avoid these mistakes and you're already most of the way there.