How to host a virtual quiz that people actually enjoy

The pandemic turned everyone into reluctant virtual quiz hosts. Some of us got good at it. Most of us discovered that staring at a screen while someone reads questions is significantly less fun than being in a pub.

But virtual quizzes don't have to be painful. Done right, they can actually work. I've hosted dozens of them for family, friends, and corporate clients, and I've figured out what makes the difference between "that was fun" and "let's never do that again."

Why Most Virtual Quizzes Fail

Let's start with what goes wrong. Understanding the problems helps avoid them.

They're too long. In person, a 2-hour quiz flies by. Online, attention starts drifting after 45 minutes. Screen fatigue is real, and no amount of good questions fixes it.

There's no atmosphere. Half the fun of a pub quiz is the chat between rounds, overhearing other teams' debates, and the general buzz of the room. On Zoom, it's just you and your questions.

Technical issues kill momentum. "Can everyone see my screen?" "You're on mute." "Someone's got background noise." Every interruption makes it harder to get back into the flow.

The format doesn't translate. Answer sheets passed to a quiz master don't work when everyone's in different locations. You need to rethink how answers get collected and scored.

Keep It Short

This is the most important rule. Your virtual quiz should be half the length of an in-person one.

Aim for 30-45 minutes of actual quiz time. That's about 4-5 rounds of 8-10 questions each. Yes, it feels short when you're planning it. Trust me, it's enough.

Build in breaks between rounds. Not long ones, just a minute or two for people to grab drinks, stretch, and chat. This natural downtime happens automatically in pubs but needs to be deliberate online.

Create Conversation Opportunities

The social element is what makes quizzes fun. Without it, you're basically running a test.

Before you start: Get people talking. Ask teams to introduce themselves or share something funny that happened that week. Five minutes of chat makes the whole event feel warmer.

Between rounds: Don't rush straight into the next set of questions. Comment on the scores, share a funny answer someone gave, or tell a quick story related to the next round's theme.

Breakout rooms work. If you're using Zoom, let teams chat in breakout rooms while you read out answers. It's closer to the pub experience where teams can discuss and groan together. Zoom's support page explains how to set these up.

Visual Questions Are Your Friend

In a pub, you can ask ten audio questions and people stay engaged because there's stuff happening around them. Online, audio questions blur together.

Pictures, videos, and visual puzzles break up the monotony. Plan at least one visual round, ideally more.

Ideas that work well:

• Album covers with the text removed
• Screenshots from films or TV shows
• "Spot the difference" puzzles
• Maps with countries unmarked
• Close-up photos of everyday objects
• Logos with colours swapped

Share your screen and give teams time to look. Visual rounds naturally slow down the pace in a good way.

The Answer Sheet Problem

You can't collect physical answer sheets remotely. Here are the options:

Direct messages. Teams message you their answers privately via Zoom chat, WhatsApp, or however you want. Simple but creates admin work for you.

Google Forms. Create a form for each round and share the link. Responses auto-collect and you can see them instantly. Google Forms is free and most people can figure it out.

Shared spreadsheet. Each team has their row in a Google Sheet. They type answers directly. You can see everything in real-time. Requires trust that teams won't look at each other's answers.

Honour system. Teams write answers on paper at home and mark their own. Read out answers at the end of each round. Less admin for you, relies on honesty.

For casual quizzes with friends, the honour system works fine. For competitive events, use forms or messages.

Audio and Video Quality Matter

Bad audio ruins everything. You can survive with mediocre video, but if people can't hear the questions clearly, the quiz falls apart.

Use headphones with a mic. Built-in laptop mics pick up room echo. Even cheap earbuds are an improvement.

Test your setup beforehand. Run through a few questions with a friend before the main event. Check your volume levels and that screen sharing shows what you expect.

Have a backup plan. Tech fails sometimes. Keep a copy of your questions somewhere you can access from your phone. If everything breaks, you can read questions off your mobile while someone else screen shares.

Mute everyone by default. Random background noise is distracting. Let people unmute for celebrations or comments, but keep things quiet during questions.

Structure That Works

Here's a template for a 40-minute virtual quiz:

0-5 mins: Welcome, tech check, team introductions 5-15 mins: Round 1 (general knowledge) + answers 15-25 mins: Round 2 (picture round) + answers 25-35 mins: Round 3 (themed round) + answers 35-40 mins: Final scores, winner announcement, chat

Notice there's no music round. Audio clips through video calls often have quality issues and lag. Skip them unless you've tested thoroughly.

Making It Feel Special

A few small touches elevate virtual quizzes from "fine" to "actually enjoyable":

Send invites properly. A nice calendar invitation with joining instructions feels more official than a WhatsApp message.

Use slides. Questions on nicely designed slides look better than you reading from notes. Canva has free templates if you don't want to start from scratch.

Have prizes. They don't need to be big. A bottle of wine delivered to the winner, or bragging rights for next time. Something at stake makes it more engaging.

Play some music. Background music while teams discuss answers adds atmosphere. Share your screen with a YouTube playlist or Spotify.

Corporate Virtual Quizzes

If you're running a quiz for work, a few extra considerations:

Keep it voluntary. Mandatory fun is not fun. Make it clear this is optional.

Choose inclusive questions. Not everyone drinks, follows sports, or watches the same TV shows. Mix up the topics so different people can contribute.

Don't make it too competitive. Work relationships matter more than quiz scores. Keep the mood light.

Shorter is better. People have had enough of video calls. 30 minutes is plenty for a work quiz.

Avoid anything that could get HR involved. You know what I mean.

Tools That Help

Beyond basic video conferencing:

Kahoot lets players answer on their phones with real-time leaderboards. Good for fast-paced, game-show style quizzes.

Mentimeter creates interactive polls and word clouds. Useful for ice-breaker questions.

Random Name Picker is a simple wheel you can spin for random selection. Handy for tiebreakers or picking who goes first.

Spotify shared sessions let everyone listen to the same music. Good for filling dead air.

The Honest Truth

Virtual quizzes will never be as good as pub quizzes. The medium has limitations you can't entirely overcome.

But they're better than nothing. They keep groups connected when meeting in person isn't possible. They give remote teams something social to do together. And when done well, they're genuinely enjoyable.

Just keep them short, keep them visual, and keep the energy up. You've got this.