How to host a trivia night at home
The kit list, the round format, the scoring - and an app that does all of it for you. Everyone answers on their phones, the quiz plays on your TV, and Auto-Host runs the night so you can play too.
Free forever for home quizzes - browse the free packs
What you need to host a trivia night at home
Six things. You almost certainly own five of them already, and the sixth is free.
A screen the room can see
A TV you can cast to, a monitor, a projector, or a laptop propped on the coffee table.
Wifi, and your guests' phones
Every phone is a buzzer. Nobody installs anything - they open a link and they're in.
Any speaker (optional)
Needed only for music rounds, so the room can hear the clips.
Questions you didn't write
A free pack is two rounds and twenty questions: a warm-up, then a picture round on the big screen.
A prize worth winning
It does not need to cost anything - see prizes and house rules below.
No pens, no paper, no scoring
Answers, timings and the final table are counted automatically. Nothing to mark.
How to host a trivia night at home in three steps
Put the quiz on the TV
Open Quizado on a laptop, tablet or phone and cast it to the TV. A projector, a spare monitor, or just a laptop on the table works exactly the same.
Everyone joins from their phone
Guests point a camera at the code on screen, type a team name and pick a mascot. No app store, no accounts, any phone. Latecomers can join mid-game.
Pick a pack and press play
Choose a free question pack, tick Auto-Host in the lobby, and sit down with everyone else. It runs to the final scoreboard without you.
Auto-Host runs the quiz.
You get to play.
The worst job at a home trivia night is being the host - reading questions off a phone, marking answers, arguing about spelling. Turn on Auto-Host and that person joins a team instead.
Runs the clock
Each question goes up on the big screen with a countdown, then locks itself. The room keeps up without a quizmaster.
Keeps every score
Answers, timings, bonuses and the final table - all counted, nothing to mark.
Pauses when you do
Snacks, an argument, a phone that died - hit pause and pick it back up.
A pack, one tap
Twenty questions across a warm-up and a picture round, in about 20 minutes.
A code goes on the TV. Phones are in, teams are named, mascots picked.
Large on the big screen, with a countdown the whole room can see, then answers lock.
Correct answer, who got it, who was fastest. No marking, no disputes.
The leaderboard reshuffles on the big screen between questions.
Round intro, difficulty ramp, and a finale worth double.
A trivia night format that works in a living room
Five rounds, about 50 minutes, one clear winner. Short enough that nobody drifts off to their phone. A pack is two rounds, so stack two or three to build the night below.
Playing with a big group or a wide age range? Swap round 4 for a second everyone-answers round - no buzzer means no advantage to fast thumbs. The full breakdown is in how to play trivia: rules, rounds and scoring.
Free question packs for a home quiz
Not a random question dump. Each pack is two themed rounds - a warm-up, then a picture round on the big screen - and twenty questions. Twelve of them are free on the Home Plan.
Classics
Warm-Up
Confidential
Toppers
Life
Wonders
Rewind
buster
Three ways to unlock more packs - none cost money
You start with the free library. Do any of these and another full pack lands in your account, permanently.
Follow us on Instagram
Tap follow, tap the button in the app, pack unlocked. We post a question a day and the packs we're writing next.
Follow @quizadoappFollow us on TikTok
Same deal on TikTok. Short rounds you can play on the sofa while you wait for everyone to arrive.
Follow @quizado.comInvite a friend who hosts
Share your link. Every friend who sets up their venue unlocks another pack for you - and one for them, so it isn't a weird favour to ask.
Get your invite linkTrivia house party ideas for every occasion
Family game night
Start on an easy pack so the youngest player stays in it, then move up a difficulty for the finale.
Birthdays & house parties
Sixteen phones, one screen. Add a round of questions about the birthday person.
Christmas & holidays
Seasonal packs for the afternoon when everyone has eaten too much. Pairs with our Christmas questions.
Dinner parties & big groups
Teams of one or teams of six, up to 16 players. Everyone-answers rounds keep a loud room fair.
Prizes and house rules
The prize matters more than its price. What works at home: the winning team picks the next film, gets out of the washing up, keeps a trophy on their shelf until the next quiz, or chooses the pack you play next time. A bag of something chocolate is fine too.
Three house rules save every argument before it starts:
- Phones face down between rounds. The quiz already runs on their phones, so make looking things up obvious.
- Teams, not individuals. Pairs at minimum - trivia is a conversation, and a solo player who doesn't know an answer just sits there.
- The screen is the referee. Scoring is automatic, so nobody has to defend a marking decision. It is the fastest way to end a spelling dispute.
If you're brand new to running one, start with the rules, rounds and scoring. Coming from a console party game? Games like Jackbox that use your phone covers what changes.
The Home Plan is free. Actually free.
No trial clock, no card, no free for 14 days. If you're running quizzes at home, this is the whole product.
Everything you need for trivia night in your own home.
Create a free accountNo credit card. Ever.
- Auto-Host mode, unlimited nights
- 12 free question packs
- Big-screen themes
- Up to 16 players per game
- Phones as buzzers, no app to install
- Live scoreboard on the big screen
- Picture rounds on the big screen
- Unlock more packs by following or inviting
Running quizzes for a pub, a venue or a company? See the host plans
Hosting trivia at home: FAQ
Keep reading
How to play trivia
The rules, the round types and how scoring actually works - including large groups and mixed ages.
Games like Jackbox that use your phone
No console, no purchase, no player cap. What changes when the party game runs on phones.
Free trivia questions by topic
Thousands of questions and answers to read out, or play straight from the app.
Play tonight, host nothing
Pick a free pack, put the code on the TV, and let Auto-Host do the running.
No card - Works on any phone - Set up in five minutes