Initials Game Live Host Handbook

Everything you need to know about hosting The Initials Game Live.

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

Game Overview
How to Host Initials Game Live
The Initials Game Live App
Tips & FAQ

Trivia Mafia Company Policies and Procedures

PTO and Holidays
Subbing
Glossary

About Trivia Mafia

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

Everything you need to know to run the coolest new trivia game in town.

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

Game Overview

What is The Initials Game Live?

The Initials Game Live (known internally as IGL) is a fast-paced live trivia game, played by teams or individuals in a bar or taproom setting, that offers a new twist on traditional pub trivia.

Given a two-letter set of initials and a series of short but increasingly helpful clues, players use their phones to submit two-word answers that adhere to the given initials. Critically, only one answer may be submitted for each item. The sooner a correct answer is submitted, the more points that player/team receives. Incorrect answers receive 0 points.

Initials Game Live is based on The Initials Game, a weekly radio game show that has been played on the "Power Trip Morning Show" on the Twin Cities sports radio station KFAN since 2014. Trivia Mafia developed the live version of the game in 2024 in partnership with KFAN host Cory Cove, the game's inventor.

Game Overview

Every answer in an IGL round uses the same two-letter set of initials. These answers (known as "Items") can be just about anything: a person's name, the title of a movie, or simply a concept. For example, a "TM" round could include such items as "Tobey Maguire," "Thin Mints," "Total Mayhem," or "Trivia Mafia."

Players are given a series of six short clues about each item. The sooner a player identifies the correct answer, the more points they receive.

Gameplay

Initials Game Live is played on smartphones or other internet-enabled devices via the IGL web app.

Prior to the start of a round, the host reveals the initials that will be in play for that round. Once a round has begun, a series of clues will begin to appear on the player's screen. At the same time, a 1500-point timer will begin counting down at a rate of 10 points per second. The in-game audio also begins to play at this point.

Clues begin vague and obscure, and grow gradually more obvious. Once the player submits a correct answer, they are awarded the number of points shown on the timer at the time of their submission.

Crucially: Players are only allowed to submit one answer per item. If that answer is wrong, they receive zero points and are out of the game until the next item.

Game Breakdown

A round of IGL consists of five items. Each item contains six clues. A typical game is three rounds (15 items).

Clues are revealed at 25-second intervals. The total run-time of each item is 2 minutes 30 seconds, and a complete round (with scoring breaks, leaderboard updates, and host banter) takes roughly 20 minutes. With 10-minutes breaks between rounds, a full game should take approximately 90 minutes.

Prizes

All Trivia Mafia/Initials Game Live venues are required to offer prizes with a minimum combined cash value of $60.
For IGL, this typically means three $20 gift cards.

Prizes are awarded at the end of each round to the team/player with the highest score for that round. Players and hosts can track their score throughout the round on the Leaderboard tab of the web app.

The recommended prize for the winner of each round is a $20 gift card to the game's venue.

If available, additional supplemental prizes may be awarded at the host's discretion. For example, a free beer token might be awarded to the team with the highest single-item score in a given round. Or a free drink could be awarded to the team with the best name, as chosen by the host. This helps spread the wealth and keeps players engaged even if another player/team is clearly dominating the scoreboard.

Next: How to Host Initials Game Live >

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

How to Host Initials Game Live

So you want to be an Initials Game Live host? Great choice! This guide, and the pages that follow, will outline everything you'll need to know to become a successful IGL host.

Before You Arrive

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First, your pregame checklist:

On the day of your event, double-check the location, travel time, and event time. You are expected to arrive on-site at least 20 minutes prior to the game's start time.
Make sure you have a stack of IGL instruction cards (pictured at left). These cards help your teams/players navigate to the game website (play.initialsgamelive.com) and create an account. They include a space to write down your game's join code. Make sure you bring a pen or a Sharpie to jot down this four-digit code on each card you hand out.
Bring the tablet/phone/device you will use to run the game. Make sure it is fully charged. Even if it is, bring an extra charging cable. You will need to plug thisdevice into a sound system; Apple users should keep a dongle handy.
If you are unfamiliar with the sound system at your venue or other venue-specific particulars, please review the venue's ICOE document.
If you are DJing music between rounds, make sure you have a playlist ready to go.

If you do not have any app instruction cards or you're running low, reach out to Chuck (chuck@triviamafia.com) or Sam (sam@triviamafia.com) right away to get more. You can also order more when you fill out your host feedback.

Set-Up & Pre-Game

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Run of Show

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Example Scripts

Running the Game

End of Game & Prizes

Not Done Yet! The Host Feedback Form

Next: The Initials Game Live App >

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

The Initials Game Live App

The Initials Game Live web app is located at play.initialsgamelive.com. It can also be accessed from the home page at initialsgamelive.com.

The Initials Game Live app is a web app developed by Trivia Mafia that facilitates playing The Initials Game.

As with the Trivia Mafia app, the Initials Game Live app is a web app, rather than a native app. This means it is essentially a web page and does not require anyone (host or player) to download or install any apps or software. You can simply navigate to the app using a browser on any internet-connected device.

The following guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Initials Game Live app while hosting an IGL event.

Step 1: Logging In and Creating a Game

All users with hosting permissions should see a Host button when they login at play.initialsgamelive.com. To begin your game, just hit that button!

If you have not yet created an account at play.initialsgamelive.com, you'll need to do that first.

If you have an account but you do not see a Host button, you need your hosting permissions updated. Please contact Chuck (chuck@triviamafia.com).

To Create a Game:

First select your venue from the dropdown at the top of the page.
If you are using the in-app audio, make sure you unmute the Use Audio? button. (Using the in-app audio is highly recommended! See below.)
Then click Create a New Game.

Step 2: Starting the Game

Once you've created a new game, you will be shown the game's join code. Share this code with your players.

Once a player/team joins the game using the join code you've provided, their screen name will appear on this page, in the order that they've joined.
Once all players have joined the game, click Start the Game. This will generate the game's first set of initials.

Note: The Initials Game Live app generates game content randomly based on which players are currently signed into the game. This way, we can guarantee that players will never see repeated content. For this reason, hosts will not know in advance which initials will be played in a given game. This also means that multiple games played simultaneously on any given night will all contain content unique to those games.

This is very different from Trivia Mafia Classic, where all quizzes on a given night use the same content.

Private events running Initials Game Live are set up in advance, so those hosts will know their initials prior to the game.

Step 3: Running the Game

You will now see the game's first set of initials, or "Round 1."

Each round will consist of five Items, all sharing the same two-letter initials. In the example below, the Round 1 initials are CS, and the first item is Colonel Sanders.

Note: Clicking Peek at Answer will show you the answer without revealing anything to players.
Click Start to begin the game. The score-timer at the top of the screen will begin counting down from 1500 in deciseconds (1 point every 1/10 second), and the in-app audio will begin to play.

Each item contains six clues, revealed at 25-second intervals.
Hosts read the clues as they are revealed. The audio will prompt you whenever a new clue is about to be revealed. You will hear "Clue number one" as the first clue is revealed; this is your cue to read Clue 1. For every subsequent clue, you will hear five beeps prior to each clue reveal, followed by "Clue number 2," etc.
Hitting the Pause button will pause the game, meaning the score-time will stop counting down, the audio will pause, and the players' answer fields will become inactive.

The Pause button is for emergencies only! It is our hope that you will never have to use it.
Players are shown the clues on their devices as they are revealed:

The clues are designed to begin obscure and confusing, and grow progressively easier.
Once a player submits a correct answer, they receive the number of points shown on the score-timer when they hit "Submit."
If their submitted answer is wrong, players receive zero points and are out until the next item.
When a submitted answer is correct, players see a check mark:
When a submitted answer is wrong, players see a red X:

After the item's timer runs out, players are shown the correct answer:

Once the fifth item in a round is complete, the host may create a new round simply by clicking Create Another Round.

Step 4: Scoring and Updating the Leaderboard

Scoring is handled automatically by the app!

As players submit their answers, those answers will begin to appear on the Host's app in the Scoring tab.
As with the Trivia Mafia app, all answers are automatically marked "Correct" or "Incorrect" by the app as they are submitted. Hosts may override the app's scoring decisions as necessary. In the example below, the answer was "Nicolas Cage," and the app didn't recognize "Nic Cage" as a correct answer. The host simply hits Tap to Adjust to fix this.

While answers are coming in, the host may want to use this opportunity to call out teams/players who've gotten the item correct ("Looks like Susie B is in with the right answer! Nice work!") or teams who missed the mark ("Sorry Jeff, but that's another miss. Better luck on the next item!") Be sure to always be courteous, and never accidentally reveal a correct (or incorrect) answer. (e.g. don't say, "Sorry Jeff, but 'cheese sandwich' is incorrect.")
After each item is complete, double-check the scoring, and then hit Update Leaderboard.

On the Host side, the Leaderboard tab displays the leaderboard in two ways: by Round, and by Game.

The Round view will show you the standing for the selected round. Use the arrows in the top navigation (next to the initials blocks) to view the standings for other rounds.
The Game view will show you the standings for the entire game (ie all rounds combined). This is particularly handy for private events that wish to award prizes to overall winners.
For regular games, however, prizes are awarded to winners of each round.
Hosts are also shown the Highest Item Score. In the Round view, this is the highest single-item score in each round; in the Game view, it's the highest single-item score of the entire game.

Navigating Within the App

Navigating the app is very simple and intuitive. Here are a couple of helpful pointers to help hosts and players find their way around!

The app will automatically move users to new items as play begins. To view previous items items, players or hosts on mobile devices can swipe left and right. Additionally, tapping the round block at the top of the screen (the square displaying the round's initials) will toggle through that round's items.
For both hosts and players, the top navigation bar is also how you can navigate from round to round. To move to another round, simply tap the left or right arrows as needed.
The bottom navigation tabs allow players to switch between the Game screen and the Leaderboard screen.
Hosts have an additional tab at the bottom of their screens for Scoring.

In-App Audio

Using the in-app audio while hosting Initials Game Live is highly recommended!

The in-app audio adds an atmosphere of tension and drama to the game, drowns out players' voices as they mull over potential answers with teammates, and includes countdown cues to alert players (and hosts) whenever new clues are about to be revealed.

To use the audio: First make sure the device you're using to run the game is plugged into a Trivia Mafia PA or the venue's house sound system.

Note: It is possible for multiple hosts to log into a single game simultaneously from multiple devices. If you do this for any reason, make sure the device used to started the game is the one that's connected to the sound system. This is the device that should be used to start each item as well. Other devices can be used to read clues, check scoring, etc.

Other notes about using audio:

There is a mute button on the host's main game screen. Use this to mute the audio if necessary.
The audio is linked to the score-counter. If you need to reload the game page for any reason, the score-counter will continue running, even if the host is no longer on the app. When the host returns to the app or reloads the page, the audio will still be synced to wherever the score-counter is (i.e. the music won't start over from the beginning).
Use your device's volume or the PA/house mixing board to adjust the volume of the in-app audio.
If you would like to play any music between rounds, you may do so from the same device you're using to run the Initials Game Live app.

Next: Tips & FAQ >

The Initials Game Live Hosting Guide

Tips & FAQ

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- game code: where is it?

Next: The Initials Game Live App >

Trivia Mafia Company Policies and Procedures

The ins, the outs, the what-have-yous of being a Trivia Mafia employee.

Trivia Mafia Company Policies and Procedures

PTO and Holidays

Paid Time Off and Holidays

PTO

All Trivia Mafia employees (full or part time) accrue Paid Time Off (PTO) at the rate of 1 hour per 28 hours worked.

Employees may use their PTO for any shift they had the reasonable expectation to work. Took a planned vacation? Site cancelled due to schedule conflict or weather? Dog ate your phone and you had to get a sub? All good reasons to use PTO!

Any PTO balance over 80 hours of banked time will be automatically added to the first paycheck of each new calendar year. If an employee leaves Trivia Mafia (either voluntarily or involuntarily), any accrued PTO will be included in the final check.

To view your available PTO balance, please visit your profile at Gusto.com.

To use PTO hours, employees must send an email within seven days of the applicable date to payroll@triviamafia.com.

Trivia Mafia is a Minneapolis-based company and our PTO policies comply with the sick-and-safe policies of Minneapolis and St. Paul (which are applicable company-wide, regardless of where an employee works). To view those policies in full, please visit these links:

Paid Holidays

Any Trivia Mafia employee averaging 35 hours per week or more qualifies for paid holidays. These holidays are: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, the Day After Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, plus one floating holiday.

Holidays with No Trivia

Trivia Mafia does not run any regular, public games on the following holidays: Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Eve. If a host would have had a shift on one of those days, they may use their accrued PTO by emailing payroll@triviamafia.com.

Trivia Mafia Company Policies and Procedures

Subbing

Getting A Sub

If you know you are unable to keep a shift, you are going to require a substitute host to run your regular trivia night, and it is up to you to find and confirm that sub host in a timely fashion. Many of our hosts stay on the lookout for extra shifts! Utilize the Sub Form to Request a sub (it creates a post in the #sub-needed channel in the Host Slack), or DM/email/text people you know directly. The On-Call staff can help get you ideas on who might be game if you don’t know anyone!

When you do schedule a sub, make sure you fill out the Sub Form to notify the Powers That Be that you found someone to cover your event. If you have someone covering your shift, you must fill out the Sub Form (under Notification): triviamafia.com/subform. This allows us to make sure they get the questions that day, and to make sure our payroll is accurate.

When you complete the Sub Form, both you and your Sub will get a confirmation email, which includes any notes you wrote in the form and a link to the folder of In Case of Emergency (ICOE) forms. An ICOE is automatically generated for every new site and should be updated within your first few weeks as the host; contact the AV Expert Davis for support with finding/filling in the ICOE.

Verify that your Sub has the necessary materials! You are responsible for ensuring your Sub has (access to) a PA (if applicable). Notify the On-Call or Host Manager immediately if you’re unable to get them supplies in time for your scheduled shift.

Ideally, start looking for a sub about two weeks before it’s needed. However, we understand that a sub may be needed on short notice. We consider emergencies to be situations related to illness, family issues, transportation — not the results of poor planning. (We want you to see

If you find yourself in need of a sub within 48 hours of your trivia night, please reach out to the On-Call or Host Manager in addition to posting your sub request to the Slack group. We can not guarantee a sub for your shift if you have not allowed more than 48 hours notice and it is not an emergency. We can and we have cancelled trivia with the customer if no sub is available, but it's the last resort - that can damage our relationship with the customer (and, ultimately, remove your job there if they end their contract with us). Post early, post often.

NO-CALL/NO-SHOWS ARE UNACCEPTABLE, AND ARE GROUNDS FOR IMMEDIATE TERMINATION.

Regarding Sub Frequency: We strive to provide a consistent experience for our players and our bars, and the best way to provide that is with a regular host. Our trivia players develop positive, personal connections with their hosts. When hosts frequently sub out of their shifts, turnouts decline and the customer may end their contract. We monitor for trivia nights that use a sub more than once a month. When we see that happen, we will reach out to the host and caution them that too much subbing can be problematic for the ongoing health of a trivia night. If you feel you need to take on that amount of substitutions on a routine basis, a weekly trivia night might not be the best fit for you and we may look to explore alternative options, like sharing the site with another host or shifting you to another location.

Subbing In for Someone Else

If you pick up someone else’s shift, please make sure that you know the vitals details for their venue (i.e. scope that ICOE sheet), especially if it will be your first night working at that particular location. If you do not have materials for the night, check with the person who you’re covering for, the On Call, or the Host Manager to get you the materials you need. If you do not see the questions email by 3:30 PM on the day of your event, post in #general on Slack or email Sophie. You should get a confirmation email when the Sub Form is submitted as well.

If you are traveling more than 20 miles round-trip, you can fill in the Reimbursement Form and we’ll pay you up to $22.50 as a bump for doing this solid for your coworkers and the company. It’s valuable to us!

Please consider taking sub shifts, particularly last-minute requests. Not only does it help out your fellow hosts, but it’s also great way to get mileage under your hosting belt, accrue more PTO, and build some karma for when you find yourself in need of a sub!
However, no host is required to be a sub outside of their regularly scheduled gig.

Trivia Mafia Company Policies and Procedures

Glossary

Here are some of the frequently used jargon, terminology, acronyms and abbreviations used internally here at Trivia Mafia, LLC.

Term/Abbv	Simple Definition	Longer Explanation

IGL	Initials Game Live	newest offering from Trivia Mafia, partnership with KFAN host Cory Cove: three rounds with one initials set each that has five items; customers get full staff and marketing support
PE	Private Events	one-off or limited series contracts for wide variety of clients, from corporations to birthday parties to fundraisers; clients can do content-only or get fully hosted programming of nearly any length, with customizable content; typically TMC
PTB, TPTB	the Powers That Be	referring to the Trivia Mafia leadership; specifically Chuck, Brenna, Sean, but generally the admin people who run things
QB or QB!!	QuizBang!!	a sister brand, utilizing vetted content that is scaled to be more accessible, and delivered directly to customers who run their own shows. Trivia Mafia does not provide staff, online presence, or social media support, just the questions and marketing asset templates.
TMC	Trivia Mafia Classic	the original flavor format of Trivia Mafia: eight rounds, ~two hours; customers get full staffing and marketing support

TMC = Trivia Mafia Classic = the original flavor format of Trivia Mafia: eight rounds, ~two hours, with full staffing and marketing support

IGL = Initials Game Live = newest offering from Trivia Mafia: three rounds with one initials set each that has five items; customers get full staff and marketing support

QB!! = QuizBang!! = a sister brand of trivia, utilizing vetted content that is scaled to be more accessible, and delivered directly to customers who run their own shows. Trivia Mafia does not provide staff, online presence, or social media support, just the questions and marketing asset templates.

Event = a single instance of a trivia game (as in, a theme night is an event, a regular Tuesday game is a schedule event, a one-time special game is a Private Event, etc)

About Trivia Mafia

Trivia Mafia began in 2007 as a weekly Sunday trivia night in Northeast Minneapolis, then called "Chuck & Sean's Trivia." It started small, but quickly grew, and was soon dubbed "the best bar trivia in Minneapolis." By 2009, they were getting asked to run games at enough other businesses that they got serious and created Trivia Mafia, LLC.

In 20xx, Trivia Mafia partnered with the people at 331 Club to create the Drinking Spelling Bee, which ran under our auspices until 2020. In 2021, we sold the rights to that game to the hosts, so they could continue the magic.

In 20xx, we invented a few holidays so we could play more games - Buxtahooda, which was like lawn games on steroids (with very little trivia) and Laborial Day, a taproom crawl with trivia at four spots, that happened sometime between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

In 20xx, we partnered with Ellie B. to take on the operations for Blingo! - a blinged-out Bingo game that specialized in hip-hop playlists and golden chalice prizes.

In 2018, we first hit 100 regular trivia events in a week. We also introduced theme trivia events for the first time after testing the waters with "The Big Lebowski," "Gilmore Girls," and the "Game of Thrones" Geography Bee.

In 2019, we introduced QuizBang!! as a sister brand, creating a format with two 45-minute games that contained all general-knowledge questions. When we relaunched it in 2021, it evolved to the lean DIY format it has today, allowing customers to download just questions and marketing templates and do the rest on their own for a more affordable price.

In 2020, just as we hit 200 customers, we had to stop everything. (There was a pandemic, you may recall.) We pivoted to online games, developing proficiency in Zoom and Twitch: the former, so we could make some money on Private Events, and the latter, so we could continue to bring joy into the lives of our loyal players. We also created a Patreon so that our company wouldn't crater; that support continues today!

In 2021, we returned to running live, in-person events, and introduced our digital answer site, or "the app." We changed the way we offer theme trivia so that customer locations could pick any day in a given month for a Featured theme.

As of 2024, we have nearly 200 employees, customers in seven states, run