Christmas quizzes have a habit of being either brilliant or a shambles, and the difference rarely comes down to the questions. It comes down to planning: knowing who is hosting, how people will answer, and how the scores get counted without three people arguing in a side chat. Running yours through an Onyx Chat group takes care of most of that. Questions, banter and scoreboard live in one place, and nobody spends the evening switching between five different apps.

Choose a format before you write a single question

Most virtual quizzes fall apart at the format stage. Twelve people, one host reading questions aloud and an open voice channel is a recipe for everyone talking over each other. Pick something with structure.

Team quiz

Teams of four to six, each with their own group chat to confer in. The captain submits one set of answers per round. This scales well — anything from ten to forty people.

Everyone for themselves

Best for small groups of four to eight. Answers go privately to the host, or through a poll if your group supports one. Quieter, but easier to run fairly.

Head-to-head

Two players at a time, everyone else watching and commenting. Slower, but it turns the quiz into a proper occasion rather than a form-filling exercise.

Decide the length too. Ninety minutes is about right: five rounds with a break in the middle. Push past two hours and people drift off, particularly if they have work in the morning.

Set the group up so nobody has to ask questions

Create the group a week ahead and name it something people will recognise in a crowded list — "Christmas Quiz 2025" rather than "Quizzy McQuizface". Add a short description with the date, time and format, then pin a message with everything a newcomer needs.

A good pinned message covers:

  • Date, start time and rough finish time, plus the time zone if anyone is abroad.
  • The format and team sizes.
  • How to answer: typed in the group, sent privately to the host, or entered through a poll.
  • What to have ready — a pen, a drink, headphones.
  • One rule about microphones: muted unless it is your turn.

Make one other person an admin. Two admins can split the job on the night: one reads the questions, the other keeps score and watches the chat for stragglers. If your group supports separate threads, set up an "Answers" thread so the main chat stays readable. If it does not, agree that answers go privately to the co-host until each round closes.

Run a five-minute test with your co-host beforehand. Share your screen, play a music clip, check that a poll works. It is far easier to fix a sound problem on Tuesday than at eight o'clock on quiz night.

Write rounds that work on a screen

Screen-based quizzes have one clear advantage: you can show things. Use it. Five rounds of forty questions each is not a quiz, it is an exam.

Round ideas that hold attention:

  • Picture round. Share eight or ten images with the titles cropped out — Christmas films, festive food photographed close up, famous front doors.
  • Music intros. Twenty seconds of a song, players name the artist. Ask everyone to wear headphones; open laptop speakers create a feedback loop that ruins the round.
  • Badly described films. Read a deliberately dreadful plot summary and let people guess the title.
  • Local knowledge. Questions only your group would know — the name of the pub near the old office, the year of the first team Christmas lunch. This is usually the round people talk about afterwards.
  • Quickfire true or false. Ten statements, thirty seconds, no thinking time. A useful palate cleanser between slower rounds.

Keep each round to eight or ten questions, allow sixty to ninety seconds per round, and read the answers before moving on. Announcing answers as you go keeps everyone involved and heads off the "I had that one" arguments that can drag on for twenty minutes.

Hosting the night: timing, turns and keeping the peace

Open the call ten minutes early so people can sort their audio and find a drink. Start properly at the stated time, even if two people are late — they can catch up in the next round.

During the quiz:

  1. Post the round number and the rules in the chat before you start reading.
  2. Read each question twice, slowly, and resist the urge to add hints.
  3. Mute everyone if your platform allows it, then unmute for the answer discussion.
  4. Announce scores after every round, not just at the end. It keeps the stragglers interested.
  5. Take a ten-minute break after round three. People need it, and it is when the best conversations happen.

If a question causes an argument, award the point and move on. Nobody remembers the disputed question. Everybody remembers the host who spent fifteen minutes on it.

Scoring, tie-breaks and prizes

One point per correct answer, half a point where someone is nearly right, and no bonus points for creativity. Simple scoring means your scorekeeper can keep up without a spreadsheet.

Keep one tie-break question in reserve — something with a numerical answer, where the closest guess wins. Write it before the night, not during it.

Prizes do not need to be expensive. A voucher, a decent bottle, or a trophy that gets passed on each year all work. If there is genuinely nothing to win, make the forfeit good-natured: the losing team hosts the next quiz, or supplies the playlist. If you are collecting money for a prize, agree the amount in writing beforehand so nobody is caught out.

A quick checklist for quiz night

  1. Post the pinned reminder 24 hours before, with the start time in bold.
  2. Charge your laptop and have the charger within reach.
  3. Test screen share, audio and polls fifteen minutes before kick-off.
  4. Have a backup set of questions in case a round falls flat.
  5. Confirm who is keeping score, and make sure it is not you.
  6. Keep the tie-break question written down somewhere you can find it.

Afterwards, post the full answer sheet and the final table in the group. People who missed the night will ask for it, and it gives everyone something to argue about until next December.

Photo: Furkan Parakat / Pexels