Are you having a hankering for a good trivia night? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve talked at length about how to host a trivia night—from figuring out whether they’re right for you to hosting your own trivia night virtually, how to make beautiful invitations for your event, and even what snacks to serve while you answer questions with the group. Before considering these things, however, you ought to think about where you’re going to host your trivia night, as well as for which occasions a trivia game might be most appropriate.
There are plenty of settings that are suitable for holding a trivia night, and some of them are relatively unexpected. Several of these settings are better suited to trivia during the day than at night. Keep this in mind when scheduling your event, reserving your space (if needed), and sending out invitations.
In this article, we’ll focus both on occasions for which to host a trivia night and on locations for where to host them. We hope these suggestions provide you with some inspiration for your next trivia event. There are 14 suggestions featured below to help you brainstorm for a big trivia endeavor. Without further ado, let’s get into them.
Birthday Party
There are plenty of themed events that are conducive to playing trivia. For instance, if you’re hosting a birthday party for a bunch of trivia heads, why not entertain the bunch with some birthday trivia?
There are a couple of different ways you can play birthday party trivia: you can either choose to feature trivia categories that are favorite topics of the birthday person, or you can make each trivia category or question centered on them. You can also combine these two methods to add some variety to your game.
Something important to remember is that the guest of honor shouldn’t have to be the one hosting the game unless they want to be! Another host or guest should take over the role of trivia emcee so that the birthday person can enjoy being a player and fully immerse themselves in the game.
We’ve got some birthday trivia category suggestions in this article, which focuses on Jeopardy! but can be adapted for any trivia game of your choosing. Depending on your group size, you can also opt to play a trivia board or card game.
Bachelor or Bachelorette Party
Similarly, a bachelor or bachelorette party can also be a great setting for some trivia fun. Bachelor and bachelorette parties tend to be high-energy ordeals—there’s usually a lot of drinking involved, and it can get pretty intense with a lot of activities spent out and about. Chill out with your crew during a low-key trivia game and take some time off your feet.
A bachelorette or bachelor party is all about embarrassing the guest of honor—in good fun, of course—so consider asking some questions about them and their future spouse. Avoid asking anything that could be hurtful and opt for trivia facts about them that celebrate their uniqueness and charm.
You might want to play a raunchier game of trivia at a bachelor or bachelorette party than you would at another type of party. They aren’t usually family affairs, after all! We’ve got a list of a few of our favorite adult trivia games available here if you’d prefer not to make your own trivia game.
Baby Shower
A baby shower is another excellent occasion for a trivia game. Oftentimes, not all baby shower guests know each other ahead of time. This makes a trivia game a great method to break the ice and help everyone bond a little more.
Regarding categories, you can opt for topics that relate to babies and pregnancy as a whole or focus on the mom-to-be. If you’re interested in specific topics, we’ve got a guide to baby shower Jeopardy available here. Get your guests excited for the new baby’s arrival and offer support to the parents by asking questions about the joys and woes of raising a little one.
Wedding Shower
It can be a nice respite to let loose with a little trivia if you’re prepping for a big wedding. If not all of your wedding shower guests are super familiar with each other, this can be a great way to unite them using a topic everyone can get enthusiastic about: weddings!
Ask questions about the spouses-to-be or just about wedding traditions in general. You’ll be surprised how many fun wedding facts there are to include in your quiz.
Holiday Party
Holiday parties can be fun, but they’re usually pretty similar year after year; after attending a few, they all start to blend together. Make yours stand out with a memorable trivia game!
Since holiday parties tend to be relatively unstructured compared to other types of parties, you can choose to make your trivia game an optional activity with one small group or rotating groups. Either answer trivia about the holiday itself or play a non-themed trivia game—whatever you think will enthuse your guests.
Workplace Happy Hour
Ever go for drinks with your work friends and run out of things to talk about? That’s when a good ol’ trivia game can come in handy.
Whether you’re at a work-sanctioned event at the office or meeting up of your own accord elsewhere, trivia with coworkers can be fun. Getting to know how your coworkers act during a somewhat competitive game can give you a newfound perspective on the people you spend 40 hours a week with.
Keep trivia with your coworkers light by choosing clean topics that span a wide array of categories. Avoid any topics (i.e. politics or anything sexual) that might make things uncomfortable later on at the office!
Your Home
Yes, this one is pretty self-explanatory, but don’t forget that one of the best settings for a trivia night is the simplest and most economical: your home. Invite some friends over for drinks, charcuterie, dinner, or dessert, and promise them a top-notch trivia game along with it.
If you’re in search of creating your own trivia questions, check out our massive trivia database. With tens of thousands of trivia questions available for free, you’ll never run out of fun trivia facts to quiz your friends on.
A Local Dive Bar
There’s no trivia setting more classic than that of pub trivia. If your favorite local pub or dive bar doesn’t already offer trivia as an option, you can bring the trivia to them. Head there with friends and a small trivia board or card game—something inobtrusive that won’t take up the entire bar or table—and get to it.
When playing trivia at someone’s business, be sure to treat it as such. Order plenty and tip generously if your budget allows. Who knows, maybe the dive bar will see your trivia enthusiasm and hold its own trivia night next time!
The Park
Outdoor trivia sounds awfully refreshing, doesn’t it? If you’ve got a favorite local park, head there for your next trivia night (or day, because a lot of them close at dusk).
Spread out on the grass or see if you can reserve a gazebo or covered outdoor space ahead of time with your local parks and recreation department. If you’ve got access to picnic tables, consider opting for a trivia board game.
Your Backyard
In the same vein, why not hold a trivia night outdoors in your backyard? Ask friends to bring their own lawn chairs or picnic blankets so you can play your trivia game somewhat comfortably.
Do be advised that a backyard trivia game is best during the daytime as opposed to at night, so make sure you invite your guests to come while there’s still daylight. Of course, you’ve got to have the light to read the trivia questions!
A Farmer’s Market
Picture this: you’ve just bought fresh produce, a hot sandwich, and a cold bottle of kombucha. Doesn’t that just scream trivia to you?!
All jokes aside, a farmer’s market can be a fun place to try out some trivia. Most are centrally located in or near a public park where you can stake out space on a picnic blanket or some lawn chairs.
If you’re worried that a trivia game isn’t enough of a draw for your friends, coax them with the promise of the farmer’s market, then enjoy your quizzing after you’ve made some delicious purchases.
A Barbeque or Cookout
Have you ever felt like you had too much downtime while waiting for food to cook at a barbeque? Let the host grill away while the rest of the guests embark on a trivia endeavor instead.
You could also wait to play trivia at a cookout until all the food has been grilled and everyone has made themselves a plate, but at that point, everyone will probably be too busy eating and chatting to start a trivia quiz! Starting off the event with a quiz works as an ice breaker and gets the crowd ready to bond, making for more fruitful conversations during the meal afterward.
A Local Event Space
If you’re trivia group is going to be huge (think more folks than could fit in your apartment) and you don’t see the people you’re inviting loving the idea of an outdoor trivia game, it might be time to seek out a local events space for your game night.
Many community centers are equipped with large rooms for rent, often for conferences or group special occasions (prom, anyone?). There might also be at a country club, a wedding venue, or someplace more akin to a warehouse available in your city or town. If you’ve got a big budget and want to host a trivia night that everyone’s sure to remember, booking a local events space is a good idea for you.
Online on Zoom
Lastly, if your guests aren’t keen on meeting up in person, try out a trivia game on Zoom. Zoom is a handy digital frontier for trivia lovers, and it’s super simple to host a game using the video call service.
If your family and friends live far away, Zoom trivia is a great option for you. On the other hand, if your friends live nearby but are isolated at home due to illness, a game of Zoom trivia can really cheer the group up! You can also unite coworkers who work from home across the state or country by playing some trivia on Zoom.
We’ve extensively covered Zoom trivia nights, from how to play Jeopardy! on Zoom to virtual buzzers that are compatible with the platform. Feel free to browse Trivia Bliss to find out the best methods for hosting a trivia game virtually.
Final Words
Thank you so much for reading through our list of great settings to host a trivia night. We hope they help you think outside the box the next time you plan a trivia night with friends, family, or coworkers.
Where was your favorite trivia night hosted? Did you host, or were you an attendee? And what were the best and worst parts of the setting? Let us know in the comments down below.
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