Never Leave Home Without
Before the beginning, there's you at your house. Many hosts prep a bag (or pouch) that always has their essentials: app cards, backup pens and answer sheets, a dongle, a phone charger. You know if you will want breath mints, maybe some stickers; just plan ahead.
The Trivia Questions
Questions are linked in an email sent by 3pm on your trivia day.* Read them over and make sure you know how to pronounce everything.
*Exceptions: Block Z is sent to everyone on Tuesdays; Weekend questions are sent on Fridays.
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The questions are also in the app, of course, but are also formatted into a Sheet and a Doc - both live in Google Drive.
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When you read a question into the microphone, it should never be the first time you’ve read the question. We recommend that you print out the questions. Check out this handy document of commonly mispronounced words we frequently use in our questions!
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Be sure to download the Sound Round (if your location uses it; if it doesn’t, you’ll have a second image round instead), and make sure that it plays properly from your device. This MP3 file lives in Dropbox.
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Note that we use different blocks of content throughout the week! Block A = Tuesday, Block B = Wednesday, Block C = Thursday-Friday, Block D = Saturday/Sunday/Monday
App Cards or Answer Sheets
The Host Kit includes a stack of cards for the mobile app (to help get players onto the answer site), paper answer sheets, pens, a Sharpie, and a laminated app info page to reuse. The answer sheets are necessary if you’re using pen-and-paper; if you’re running on the app, then the app cards are super helpful. The vast majority of our sites use the app, but the paper sheets will be a helpful lo-fi backup if the WiFi dies or something. That's also where the pens come in, though some hosts will offer a free point to teams that provide their own pen (it's not encouraged, but it is allowed).
Your Photo Taking Device
You are required to take photos of winners for the Host Feedback - they appear on our website and Facebook. It’s easiest to upload them directly from a phone or iPad/tablet when you’re filling in the Host Feedback Form at the end of the night. However, if you're keen to lug around a digital SLR, you do you.
Music Player (if you are playing music)
Some locations cannot run the Sound Round due to licensing restrictions, or technical limitations. Some venues will ask us to DJ before and after trivia for a bit, as well as between questions, and still not run the Sound Round. A few will keep to house music during the game, but switch over just for the Sound Round! Some sites will be all possible music, all the time. Stay ready.
Make sure you know whether you’ll be playing music at your event, and if you are, have a playlist of music prepared that lacks foul language and is pretty much universally enjoyable. Consider taking requests from players! (Please play music you own, or stream from a service you subscribe to - ads wreck the vibe.) Remember to keep this in mind when subbing at other venues as well! Pay attention to the ICOE Sheet and note whether you can connect via Bluetooth or headphone jack.