Picking a trivia game online looks easy, because dozens of them are one search away. The trouble starts when you send the link to six people and the game turns out to need an account, shuts out anyone who misses a question, or asks things nobody can check. Trivia Tavern is the game I made on Boardit, my one-person site, for exactly this evening. These are the seven checks I use, on my own game too.
Does everyone get in without a fuss?
Test the way in first. If each guest has to register, confirm an email and pick a password, half the table will drift away before the first question. In Trivia Tavern a display name is enough to take a seat, and the host's invite is a link. Whatever you choose, open the invite on a phone. Most of your players will use one.
How many people does it seat?
Look for a number, not a vague promise of "multiplayer". My game has between two and eight chairs. That suits a family or a small team playing trivia with friends, and it is why I say the limit out loud before anyone promises a whole office a place.
Can you check an answer afterwards?
A trivia quiz is only fun while people trust it. Disputes about a wrong key can sink the evening. Look for trivia questions that show the right answer and a reason once the clock stops. Each of mine has a source link behind it and a one-line explanation that appears with the reveal.
Here is the kind of thing I mean. Which Greek letter is the last in the alphabet? Omega, the twenty-fourth. The explanation adds that the name means "big o", a later coinage to tell it from omicron, "small o". You can check that on Wikipedia in half a minute, and it hands the table a small story to tell.
Do the questions climb?
A round that opens on a hard question loses the shy players at once. One pub-quiz guide suggests a split of two fifths easy, two fifths medium and one fifth hard, with every round ordered from easiest to hardest. Every round of mine starts gently and ends sharp. If you would rather hold one level, Easy, Medium or Hard can be fixed in the lobby.
Who sets the pace?
HQ Trivia, the live show app, gave everybody 10 seconds, with three answer options, and sent you home on a wrong answer. At its peak, on 28 March 2018, 2.38 million people played at once. That works for a show. It is harsh in a living room, where one slow thumb ends someone's night.
So look for a pace you can change. In my lobby the clock per question runs from ten seconds up to half a minute, and the length of each round and the number of rounds are yours to set.
Does a wrong answer end your night?
This one decides whether people stay. Look for a game that keeps every player in until the end, with a way back for whoever is behind. In mine a wrong answer only costs you the points. The closing round pays twice by default, and an optional final question lets players stake part of their score. The standings stay in view all the way.
Can you try it alone first?
A free game worth recommending lets you rehearse. Mine has a mode called Play on your own, where you pick the subjects and the length. A five-minute run there tells you more than a description does, and it is cheap trivia online practice before the group arrives.
What about time and topics?
A short game gets played again, and a full match of mine takes about 14 minutes. The subjects sit in nine categories, from General knowledge and Geography to Video games. Tick a few, or choose Mixed so each one gets an equal share. That makes a decent trivia night opener for a group that cannot agree.
Boardit's Trivia Tavern is free, and the checks above are the ones I built it to pass. Use the same seven on any other site, and trust the one that holds up.
A last test before you send the link
Play one round yourself. If the first question is fair, the answer is explained, and nobody is out when it ends, send the link.
Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site.
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