Tasty pints, interesting questions and big prizes, what more could you want on an otherwise dull midweek evening? The pub quiz is a British institution, with thousands of people attending them weekly, and they only seem to be becoming more and more popular. So what is the appeal, what makes them so good, and why are they so important?
There is no clear start date for pub quizzes in Britain, but we do know that by the late 1950s there were leagues and competitions springing up around Merseyside. By the late 1970s the trend had spread and a whole industry began to spring up, producing quiz TV shows and a variety of quizzing books and guides.
But for a while it appeared, whilst popular, that it was an old persons game. I remember being 18 and being subjected to a bunch of questions about EastEnders in the 1980s and long-dead politicians from the 1970s. Now, however, a lot of pub quizzes are populated by young people and sometimes run by young people.
There are a few reasons for this, more and more pubs are running quizzes. As margins tighten it is a sure-fire way to bring in punters in an otherwise quiet mid-week. A decline in youth clubs and third spaces in general has meant that there are less and less ways to socialise as a young persin in Britain. Finally the pub quiz is a much more professionalised thing, easily accessible with the advent of speed quizzing and easily tailored to a young audience with the mass of companies whose sole purpose is to churn out quizzes for pubs.
But what makes a good pub quiz? Well for one, the quizmaster. A charismatic and well liked person can really bring a good vibe and atmosphere to a quiz, creating a rapport with regulars and a welcoming environment for newcomers. This is a quizmaster who will also be in touch with what the punters are looking for in their quiz, what rounds they like and what they don’t. A quiz is like ingredients, important, but it requires proper care and a good chef to turn it into a full meal.
Another factor in a good quiz is the environment, most pubs run one but I don’t really want to do a quiz in a pub with black mold and a bunch of fellas who look like they kick peoples heads in for fun. A nice relaxing environment can make for a laugh and can also encourage regular quizzers to swing by the pub on a weekend or a date night and become more of a pub regular.
But beyond looking into what makes them fun, pub quizzes are actually quite important. In the absence of third spaces (a social environment that isn’t your work or home) it is vital that the ones we do have are kept lively and afloat. On a week night, how can we really socialise in the UK? We can go to the gym or to the theatre but other than that there really is little. A quiz is a good excuse for friends to meet up, have a relatively cheap night and a catchup. When presenting a quiz in my hometown I would notice that bigger teams often only had 4 or 5 people actually quizzing, the rest were just chatting and chipping in with the occasional answer. Similarly, it can be quite cheap, people can drink as little (or as much) as they want, meaning they’re not going to be (too) hungover for work the next day. A pub quiz is a low-key, cheap and easy way for friends to socialise and break up their mundane weeks.
Another reason it is important is in order to support the hospitality industry. The pandemic and harsher austerity measures mean that more and more venues are closing down. Working in a pub or a bar is almost a right of passage for young people in this country and lots of people’s jobs are on the line. They are also important places for people to socialise, as illustrated above. The job-market is tough out there, it seems to be only sales or hospitality jobs that are actively hiring (thanks to the ever-intensifying crisis of capitalism) and the decline of the hospitality industry only adds to that. The survival of pubs provides an important space for young people, not only to socialise but also to get experience of work which is important for their careers and also for not being a knob when going to a pub.
The pub quiz is a beautiful British thing, and it should be protected. Where else can you go flex your knowledge of obscure Star Wars facts, convince your team that the chemical symbol for lead is actually L only to be proven wrong in embarrassing fashion later on? Go to your local pub quiz, don’t cheat (too often) and have a laugh, you’ll feel much better for it.
by n8n.