What you need to host a virtual quiz night
- A host. One person picks the games, starts each round and keeps the running score.
- A phone or laptop per player. Every question appears on each player’s own screen, so you do not need to share your screen.
- A call, if you want one. Letternerd has no voice or video, so most groups keep Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet or Discord open alongside. The quiz also works in the same room, or with no call at all.
- About an hour. Six rounds with short breaks fit comfortably into 60 to 75 minutes.
Nobody needs to install anything or make an account. Players open the link you send, or type the room code at letternerd.com/join, and join as guests.
A six-round quiz night plan
This plan mixes knowledge, guessing and a team round so the same person does not win everything. Player ranges and lengths are from each game page.
| Round | Game | Players | Minutes | Why it works here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Quick fire: know-it-all? | 1 to 12 | 4 | Eight general-knowledge questions while people settle |
| 1. Numbers | Ballpark | 2 to 20 | 9 | Estimates, so nobody is shut out |
| 2. Pictures | Emoji Decoder, then Only 3% name every flag | 1 to 12 | 4 + 4 | A change of pace from text |
| 3. Film and TV | Name the movie from the line | 1 to 12 | 4 | Everyone has seen something |
| 4. Team round | Team showdown | 4 to 16 | 10 | The room splits into two teams for ten questions |
| 5. House round | A quiz you made about the group | Your choice | About 5 | The round people talk about afterwards |
| Final | Head to Head | 3 to 10 | 10 | Paired trivia duels to settle it |
Quiz night timings, minute by minute
- 0:00 Everyone joins the call. Post the first link and explain the rules: no searching, scores are added up at the end.
- 0:05 Warm-up: Quick fire: know-it-all?.
- 0:10 Round 1: Ballpark. Closest guess wins each question, and landing it exactly earns a bonus.
- 0:20 Round 2: Emoji Decoder and Only 3% name every flag.
- 0:30 Short break. Post the scores so far.
- 0:35 Round 3: Name the movie from the line.
- 0:40 Round 4: Team showdown.
- 0:50 Round 5: your house round.
- 0:55 Final: Head to Head, and then the winner.
Each game shows its own scores at the end, but scores are not added up across separate games. Keep a running total in a note or a message in the chat, and read it out after each round. That is part of the fun of a pub quiz anyway.
How to make a house round about your group
The house round is the one your friends cannot get anywhere else: questions about the group, your shared history or the person whose birthday it is. Make a quiz about your friend group by describing it in a sentence, or write your facts as notes and turn them into questions. Then check every question in the editor, because the builder only knows what you tell it.
Our step-by-step guide on how to make a quiz for friends covers it in detail. Make the house round a day before, so you are not writing questions while everyone waits.
Running teams at an online pub quiz
Team showdown does the team split for you: when the game starts, the room is split into two teams, every right answer scores for your side, and the top team wins together. It needs at least four players.
For the other rounds, players answer as individuals. If you prefer a team pub quiz throughout, put teams of two or three on a single phone each, with their own video call or chat to confer. Give each team a name and use it as the player name in the room.
Quiz night ideas and themes
A theme gives the night a shape and makes picking games easy. Some that work with the built-in quizzes:
- Film and TV night. Guess the movie from the plot, Which film has these stars?, and a series quiz such as Friends or Stranger Things. More on the movie and TV quizzes page.
- Football night. Guess the footballer from the clubs, Match the stadium to its home and Bet you don’t know football’s rules. More on the football and sports quizzes page.
- Myth or fact night. Gym myth or fact?, Wellness myth or fact? and Spot the fake fact. Good for groups who like to argue.
- History night. Which Came First?, Order Up and Rank it.
- Nigerian night. The Nollywood quiz, Afrobeats: who sang it? and Naija slang decoder. See Nigerian party games for more.
- Confidence night. 90% Sure asks for a range you are 90% sure holds the answer, and You’re 90% sure. Are you right? makes you bet on how sure you are.
Hosting a quiz over a week instead of one night
If your friends live in different time zones, a live quiz night can be impossible to schedule. Instead, host each round as a room that runs over several days. Post a new round in the group chat each day, everyone plays when they are free, and you announce the weekly winner on Sunday. It works especially well for a family quiz across countries.
A game that cannot be played over days says so when you choose, so you will know before you send the link.
Rules that keep a quiz night fair
- No searching. Say it at the start; most groups keep each other honest.
- The host plays too, unless they made the house round.
- Ties are settled with one Ballpark question: closest number wins.
- Late arrivals start from zero on the running total and join the next round.
If you are coming from tools built for classrooms or for a shared screen, our Kahoot alternative and Sporcle alternative pages explain how Letternerd differs. For game-show formats, see games like Jeopardy and games like Trivial Pursuit.
Play the games from this post
Free in your browser. Share the room code and everyone joins from their own phone, no signup.
- Quick fire: know-it-all?1–12 players · 4 minEight general-knowledge questions where the obvious answer is sometimes wrong.
- Ballpark2–20 players · 9 minWild numbers, smart estimates. Get closest—or land it exactly.
- Emoji Decoder1–12 players · 4 minA film told in a handful of emoji. Which one is it? Every wrong answer shares a picture with the right one.
- Only 3% name every flag1–12 players · 4 minChad or Romania? Monaco or Indonesia? The flags that catch everyone out.
- Name the movie from the line1–12 players · 4 minA famous line of dialogue. Which film is it from?
- Team showdown4–16 players · 10 minTwo teams, ten questions. Every right answer scores for your side.
- Head to Head3–10 players · 10 minGet paired off each round and out-answer your rival in a trivia duel.
- 90% Sure1–12 players · 6 minGive a range you’re 90% sure holds the answer. Narrow and right scores big. Wrong scores nothing.
Frequently asked questions
How do you host a virtual quiz night for free?
Plan five or six short rounds, pick a free Letternerd game for each, and share one room code or link per round. Everyone answers on their own phone, and you keep a running total of the scores.
Can I host an online pub quiz on Zoom?
Yes. Keep the Zoom call open for chat and banter, and send the Letternerd link in the call chat. Each player sees the questions on their phone, so nobody needs to share their screen.
How many people can play an online quiz night?
Most quizzes take up to 12 players per room, Team showdown up to 16 and Ballpark up to 20. For a bigger group, pair people up on one phone or run two rooms.
What are good rounds for a quiz night?
A general-knowledge warm-up, a numbers round with Ballpark, a picture round with Emoji Decoder or flags, a film round, a team round with Team showdown, a house round about the group and a head-to-head final.