When you first set out on your trivia journey, you enjoy discovering new ways to play trivia games. Playing Trivial Pursuit and other trivia board games with your family at home may have been your gateway to the world of trivia. The more TV you watched, the more you paid attention to programs like Family Feud and Jeopardy!. Perhaps you downloaded a couple of trivia games on your smartphone and started playing in your free time. You may even have some experience with earning money for your right answers, like in HQ Trivia.
Evenings in front of the TV or on your phone may slowly turn into nights at the pub, attending pub quizzes and real trivia games. Nothing compares to the rush of answering questions in real-time, competing against other teams, and getting rewarded for it. After all, Trivial Pursuit is not quite the same as getting together with a group of friends and strangers and battling it out for a gift card or some other prize. You know better than anyone that it’s not the prize you’re after; it’s the joy of winning! (Or playing).
If you can relate to the above, then LearnedLeague sounds like the perfect place to show off your skills and knowledge. LearnedLeague is an online global quiz league that has over 26,000 members. Members get to compete in real trivia games, on par with Jeopardy! and other television game shows and the winner gets crowned the champion. The league has been able to keep its numbers relatively low because it’s invitation-only. Getting in is not easy, which makes it even more desirable.
We can try to help you get in! In this article, we’ve compiled a list of official and unofficial ways to get admitted to LearnedLeague. If you’re serious about joining the league, try these out and let us know what worked or didn’t work for you!
Be Referred by an Existing Member
This is the best and only official way to get an invitation. To join LearnedLeague, you need to be referred by a person already a league member. In addition to that, they must have at least one season of experience. The player that refers you must vouch for you, meaning they could potentially get in trouble, and their membership might even be revoked if you try to cheat.
Once you’ve been referred, you will receive an email with your unique referral code allowing you to join the membership waitlist. It may take a while for your membership to get approved, but being on the wait list is undoubtedly promising! Members have shared that they often have difficulty finding people to refer, so we can assume that there is no long list of trivia buffs waiting to join LearnedLeague.
If you have a friend that can refer you, hold on to them! One league member, Matthew, shared in an interview that they only get to refer one person per season. I suppose that’s another tactic that helps them keep their membership numbers low. Now you know you only have one chance per season, so don’t waste it!
Ask a Stranger for a Referral
Yes, you can ask a stranger on the internet for a referral. They might even help you out. Stranger things have happened! Though slightly frowned upon, it’s not against the rules to refer a stranger or be referred by a stranger. LearnedLeague strongly encourages its members to refer friends they can vouch for. The two pillars of LearnedLeague are: don’t forfeit and don’t cheat. It might be hard to promise a person you’ve never met will follow these rules. However, you might get lucky as nothing is at stake—no prizes or money.
If you’re all out of friends with LearnedLeague memberships, try your chances with a stranger online. You can find members on Reddit. Make sure to present yourself as a friendly and respectful person, who only wants to join for the love of trivia, and getting on that waitlist is not out of the question. Don’t be upset if the stranger you’ve chosen doesn’t end up helping you out. Remember that most members of LearnedLeague only get to refer one person per season. You might just be too late.
Meet and Get to Know an Existing Member
If there are no LearnedLeague members in your circle of friends and your attempts to connect with a stranger online have been fruitless, try to establish a new connection with an existing LL member! The platform organizes member-hosted live events all over the US. Most occur in California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Florida. Find the closest location to yours and attend the event!
You may need to attend a few events before you build trust with one member. Put your social hat on, smile, mingle, and don’t be shy. You’ll find that some people will be reluctant to help you, while others will be a lot more open to it. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t make any friends the first time you attend a LearnedLeague event. Keep trying! Remember, you have to channel your trivia lover energy and create the appearance of a passionate trivia player, who would never cheat or skip a game. Can you do that?
Get in Through a Former Jeopardy! Player
Many Jeopardy! players are also LearnedLeague members. Where do you think they get to practice their skills? If you grew up with a person who ended up competing on Jeopardy!, or a friend of a friend of yours was on the show, reach out to them! In the least creepy way possible, find a way to get close to them and ask them if they would help you out. This may be a long shot for some, especially if you live outside of the US or Canada. If, however, there is any chance you can ask a former Jeopardy! player for a referral, do not miss that chance!
Network
Let’s say none of the aforementioned ways to score a referral worked for you. Maybe none of your friends are trivia lovers, you’ve had no luck finding a kind soul that would refer you online, and none of the LearnedLeague events are within driving distance from your state. While that looks like a tough predicament, not all hope is lost! You can still find your way to LearnedLeague.
“Network!” That’s the advice people give to those looking for a job, clients, employees, or a potential partner. While networking is annoying, time-consuming, and difficult for introverts who grew up in the internet age, it is also excellent advice. Through networking, you can find your LearnedLeague membership!
To start, look for and join online trivia communities. Reddit is an excellent site that allows different communities to gather online. Join trivia-related subreddits and be active on them. Interact with members of the subreddits, make your own posts, and leave comments on others’ posts. If you’re unwilling to interact, joining these subreddits will prove pointless.
Attend pub quizzes and trivia events in your city. There may not be many, and you may have to look for them. Those living in larger cities will certainly have an easier time finding these events. Once you start attending them frequently, you can get to know other trivia fans and event organizers. Who’s to say that the person who put the pub quiz together isn’t a member of LearnedLeague? Perhaps your competitor has a membership too. Even a random person sipping on a beer at the bar may be a member with their one referral unused.
That brings me to the next point: you never know where you can find your LearnedLeague referral. Treat meeting new people as an opportunity to score a referral. Telling your friends, family members, colleagues, and neighbors about your trivia obsession won’t hurt anybody. In the worst-case scenario, they’ll think you’re a nerd. If all goes well, they may be trivia buffs themselves, or they might introduce you to another friend/colleague/family member who is just as into trivia as you are. With perseverance and a little bit of luck, you will come across a member of LearnedLeague that will be happy to refer you.
Though sticking to open trivia lovers may be safer, don’t hesitate to spread your wings. You won’t lose anything by mentioning trivia as one of your hobbies. Don’t limit yourself to only networking with other trivia enthusiasts.
Final Words
Currently, no hack would allow you to bypass the referral process. Perhaps that’s exactly what has allowed the founders of LearnedLeague to keep their community so tight knit. Whichever way you spin it, the only way to get in is by being referred by an existing community member. On the plus side, there are many ways to find a member to refer you! If you’re serious about your desire to join LearnedLeague, finding your referral won’t take long. Remember to be open to meeting new people and outspoken about your passion for trivia.
What’s your experience with LearnedLeague? Have you scored a referral to the most exclusive online trivia community? If so, please share your story with us in the comments!
TYLER says
I was just at SporcleCon, and for the main event, I was seated with 5 randoms (we finished tied for 18th!)
While making small talk, I “learned” about LL. Then another guy sat down and started talking about LL. Then Master of Ceremonies Buzzy Cohen was joking about LL. Soon, I knew who the mythical Victoria was.
BUT. No one told me about the referral. Ugh.
On the off-chance you’re reading this, are a member of LL< and have a referral burning a hole in your pocket, let me know. I'm a Sporcle OG (2008), have hosted pub trivia, and was on Millionaire with Regis!
Thanks– Tyler