There’s hardly a game more engaging and
universally appealing then Trivia. It is enjoyed by people of all ages,
backgrounds and can be played in virtually any setting. There are no boards,
cards, etc. required - just a group of people. Plus, the rules can be altered
to your liking, as long as the concept remains the same. Considering all of
these aspects, it’s no wonder why the game is still among the most beloved
recreational activities in history. However, hosting a memorable Trivia game is
a challenging and highly involved task.
The key is thorough preparation. If you want
to organize a successful Trivia event, the first thing you want to make sure of
is that you choose the right question categories. And the only sure way to do
that is picking from the most widely-enjoyed subjects - ones that have proven
to work time and time again. Here are the 10 most popular Trivia topics of all
time:
1. Brands
There are a few ways to angle this topic for Trivia. Using visuals as clues,
such as logo’s or brand mascots, always gets people engaged. As long as a brand
isn’t too obvious or completely unknown, most people will have seen it’s logo
at some point. Another time-tested method is describing the events of a
commercial in an “alternate” fashion. For example, the clue is “A group of
sadistic, unsupervised children continually starve their pet rabbit and turn
violent each time he tries to eat ” and the answer is Trix Yogurt.
2. Celebrities
Celebrity-related questions are popular due to the way they encourage teams to
really collaborate and just talk among each other. Because no one is clueless
about the subject, yet there are no real experts on it either, teams need to
exchange information before deciding on an answer.
3. Pop Culture
Though it’s a rather wide question category, pop culture is also one of the
most popular. To make this interesting, answers should be relatively
well-known, while the questions are misleading. With the right questions, pop
culture can be the best way to break the ice and get everyone engaged. The goal
is to have people think “wow, I knew that!” and become more involved in the
game. A great way to do that is ask a question that contains the answer. For example,
if the question is “Which member of the Beatles released a solo album after
John Lennon left the band in 1969?”, the answer is sure to catch most people by surprise, unless everyone is already holding their breath in excitement (in
which case, it’s time for more difficult topics.)
4. Geography
This one can also be played using visuals. All it takes is a projector, a large
TV screen or just some cardboard cutouts shaped like countries. The questions
could range from naming the country or its capital, to counting the number of
seas/oceans within its borders. For the bonus round, the teams can take turns
naming the nations it borders.
5. Music
This is a topic that should be divided into genre-based sections, giving each
player the chance to answer questions about their own favorite music. To
lighten the mood, the host can recite lyrics instead of clues, preferably
quoting rap lyrics in a Shakespearean manner and singing 80’s rock songs to the
ABC’s Song tune or perhaps Dora the Explorer’s theme song. You get the idea.6. The Movies
Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Jeopardy knows film is a popular category.
Everyone likes movies and many (if not most) people are self-proclaimed experts
on the subject.
7. History
We’ve all studied it at some point, so history is one of the few Trivia topics
that don’t need to contain simple answers. Chances are, out of 10 people, one
will remember any given high-school or college level history fact, regardless
of how obscure it is.
8. General Knowledge
Somehow, “general” is among the favorite categories in Trivia. The topic
implies unclassified questions, which are most often related to fashion and
trends. If all the players share a town neighborhood or office, the host would
be wise to fill the general knowledge category with related questions.
9. Science
The fact that science is a highly used Trivia topic doesn’t mean that it’s a
good one to use for any occasion. That being said, by giving the category an
appropriate twist, the host can end up with some killer questions. So, a
family-friendly setting may be perfect for subjects like Animal Science or
Nutrition, while Chemistry and Anatomy questions might work better at a local
pub’s Trivia night.10. Technology
Science doesn’t include Trivia questions about technology because the answers
are most often brands, models or inventor names. This is a category that
quickly rose to the top 5 when the Internet became the world’s most
talked-about subject.
Finally I'd like to recommend you this website about quiz questions. I found it has great resources for free and other paid stuff that looks interesting.
Check it out and let me know in the comments what you think.
Sally.
