10 Sure Fire Ways To Annoy The Hell Out Of A Quizmaster
Want to be a better person at your local pub quiz? Then here's what not to do.
Hosting pub quizzes is a lot of fun. I should know, as I do it four times a week. It's a brilliant job which encourages creativity and finding the balance between putting together a good set of questions while having fun is very rewarding. The vast majority of those who come along are up for the fun too, taking the quiz somewhat seriously, while still realising that enjoying yourself is the most important part of any event.
But as with every other type of gathering that involves humans, there's always a small handful who try to wreck it for everyone. It's unavoidable. It doesn't matter whether it's someone who wants everyone to know they're too cool for quizzes, or someone who think it's a comedy show and wants to heckle repeatedly, or someone has had more beers than they can handle. No matter how good a night it is, as a quizmaster, there'll almost always be at least one person who makes you wish pub quizzes had never been invented.
As mentioned, the vast majority of quiz-goers are fine, upstanding people, who respect pub etiquette and generally understand how to not be a tool in public. But there are some habits you might not realise are appalling displays of quizzing that you might be indulging in at your local. I'm here to call you out on it, and help you become a better person.
10. Buying No Drinks
In a lot of cases, the quizmaster doesn't really care if your team is the type to all buy a Coke, and gently nurse it over a couple of hours, dragging out the longest lasting pub entertainment for the shortest monetary output possible. It's not a condition of doing the quiz that you need to be an alcoholic who'll struggle to get home afterwards.
Where it does bother the man with the mic is that they'll likely need to listen to incessant bitching from the landlord about how those "cheap twats" ran up a bar tab of under a tenner in a couple of hours. After all, you're taking up valuable space that could have been taken by degenerate drinkers.
It's not too much to ask on a night out. Who cares if it's Wednesday? Have a few beers. Be sociable with your friends. Do the quiz, and get a little tipsy while you're doing it. Feeling 100% at work the next day is overrated anyway.