Pre-Game

Pre-game

• Arrive at your location ~30-20 minutes before trivia begins. Give yourself extra transit AND pre-game time if this is your first time at this location!
  
• Set up your sound system and start playing music (if you are DJing the event), and be sure to test the mic.
  • If it's a House Sound system, hopefully we will have some Operation Notes we can provide from checking in with our contacts there. We also ask that someone be onsite who knows the basics of their system, whether it be built-in speakers with a wireless mic, a soundboard and corded mic, a freestanding PA, or whatever else they come up with.
  • If it's a Trivia Mafia PA, refer to this handy guide on how to set it up! Approximately one-quarter of our sites rent these from us; most will store them onsite.
  • Start playing your playlist if you're controlling the music for the night. 
• Connect with the manager (or bartender) and get the three prizes (typically gift cards). These are given out for first and second place, and for either third place or another fun designation (best team name, best team spirit, etc).
• Set up the game in the app, if you haven't already, and jot down the game code on your app cards and the laminated sheet. Depending on how many tables you have, you would need about 8-10 cards/sheets to start with. 

• Hop on the mic about 10 minutes prior to the start, introduce yourself, and say “I’m here with Trivia Mafia. Trivia begins in ten minutes!”
  • Feel free to add colorful commentary in your own personal style, like complimenting them on being lucky enough to exist in that space in that moment. Primarily, you just want to say, trivia is free, it's fun, and it's about to begin.
• Set out app cards/answer sheets for people to pick up, and make a lap to approach tables to hand out the app cards, and greet people who are already logging in. Folks without materials are either unaware of trivia or missed your announcement (or, maybe, sadly, they don't want to play, but it never hurts to double-check.) Remember we mentioned the Three Speeches you should memorize? The first one happens here, when you're standing at a table, encouraging teams to play - you need to quick way to explain and entice. 

SPEECH 1: How To Play

YOU: Hi! Would you like to play trivia this evening? 
THEM: Maybe? Is it hard? Is there a theme? How long does it take?
YOU: The process is pretty simple: I’ll be reading the questions aloud over the PA. You follow along and enter your answers in our app - which is a simple mobile site, at play.triviamafia.com.

Set up a login or play as a guest. Name your team - the funnier the better, no pressure - and then enter the game code. You can start working on Round Four right away - it's just images! Hit the red "Submit" button once you have an answer.  You can swipe back and forth to look at previous questions, or use the numbers across the top to jump to another round. You can change your answers as many times as you like, but be sure to hit "submit" every time you change it, or it won't save.

The questions are general knowledge - you will be asked about a bunch of random stuff, from Taylor Swift to President Zachary Taylor! It take a little less than two hours. Also, we ask that you not use your phone for anything other than entering your answers - no side searches or calling lifelines! Let me know if you have questions at any time.”

If they say no to playing, be cool, give them the option to join later, and move on. We don’t want to do a hard sell. But we encourage you to talk to everybody at least once!

A Note on Prizes

Prizes are provided by the site, and are given out at the end of the game (though, a very few customers provide a prize at the halfway point - this was standard in the BeforeTimes). 

Trivia Mafia stipulates the value but not the type of prizes that the customer venue provides; in most cases, it’s gift cards. But maybe you’ll have merch or other items to give away! First Place gets a $30-value prize, Second Place gets a $20-value prize; the $10-value prize can be given out at your discretion. Reward Third Place, or “Best Team Name,” or “Most Improved,” or “Third Worst,” or “Best Wrong Answer.” It’s up to you, is what we’re saying, just do it the same way every time.

Announce the prize values and who they will go to at the start of the game, and near the end when you're reminding people what is at stake. It should never be a surprise to the third place team that they don't get a prize, if your policy is to award the third prize for different criteria. It makes them bummed out! Set the right expectations. 

Next: First Half