Trivia rules and scoring, explained

Keep the basic rule simple

The simplest scoring is one point for each correct answer. Everybody understands it in five seconds, the host can add it up without a calculator, and nobody feels that the system, rather than the questions, decided the winner. Trivvy works this way in rooms: every correct answer is worth one point, and the standings update after each question.

Most arguments about scoring come from rules that were made up halfway through the evening. Decide the rules before the first question, say them once, and write the main points where everyone can see them. People accept almost any rule, as long as it was the same for everyone from the start.

Bonus points, wagers and doubles

If one point per question feels too flat, add one extra element, not three. A popular option is a final question where each team may wager some of its points. A correct answer adds the wager and a wrong one loses it, which gives teams at the bottom a chance and keeps the end of the night tense. Another is a themed round where answers are worth two points, such as a round on a subject the host announces in advance.

Be careful with systems that need a lot of arithmetic. If the host has to stop and calculate, the pace dies. A rule that fits on a whiteboard in one line is usually the right size.

Rewarding speed

When everyone answers at the same moment, you can also reward the fastest. In Trivvy's hint mode, the letters of the solution appear one by one while the clock runs, never more than three and never more than half of the answer. An answer given before the first hint is worth four points, and each hint that has appeared when you answer takes one point off, down to a minimum of one. It rewards knowing over guessing, since a late answer after several hints is worth less.

Speed rules suit digital quizzes, where the answer time is recorded, better than paper quizzes, where it is the host's guess who finished first. If you play on paper, skip speed points.

Breaking ties

Plan the tie-break before you need it. The most reliable method is a question whose answer is a number, such as a year or a distance: whoever is closest wins. It is quick, it cannot be argued with, and it works for any number of tied players. Sudden death, where tied players get one question at a time until only one gets it right, is more dramatic but can drag on.

The third option is to accept the tie. In Trivvy's challenges, players on the same score share the same place, and the awards on a room's final screen are shared when players are level. For a friendly evening, two winners is a perfectly good result.

How strict should you be about answers?

This is where a quiz night is most often won or lost. Decide in advance what counts. A good starting point is that spelling does not matter as long as it is clear what was meant, that the first name is not needed if the surname is unambiguous, and that an answer that is correct but more specific than asked for is accepted. What does not count is a vague approximation, or a list of several answers hoping that one is right.

Trivvy is built around typed answers, so it needs a clear policy. It accepts the stored solution, common variants and typos, and answers in any of the languages the question exists in. For year questions, a card can carry a margin, and the margin is shown with the solution. If an answer is not clearly right or wrong, an AI judge compares its meaning with the solution. It only decides whether your answer matches, never what the correct answer is.

Settling disputes

Somebody will think their answer was marked wrong unfairly. The fairest approach is to give them a say without making the host the villain. Either the host rules and the ruling is final, or the group votes. In a Trivvy room, a disputed answer goes to a vote among the other players who are present, and the majority decides whether the player gets the point.

If the question itself is flawed, for example because it has two valid answers, be generous: give the point to everyone who gave a defensible answer, note the question, and move on. Trivvy has a button for exactly this, “Something wrong with this card?”, so we can fix it for everyone afterwards.

Teams or individuals

Team scoring rewards the group that is best at pooling knowledge. Individual scoring rewards the person who knows the most. Neither is better; choose according to the mood. A useful hybrid is to play in teams for the main rounds and finish with an individual round, so the team winners and the individual champion are not always the same people.