Ideas for "What's the connection?" pub quiz rounds
August 21, 2021 7:00 AM
I regularly host a quiz night at my local pub, and I like to include a "what's the secret connection?" round in each quiz. In these rounds, I ask nine disparate general knowledge questions, the answers to which all have a hidden connection, and then the last question is "what's the connection between the previous answers?" I've done it a few times now and I'm running out of ideas for the secret themes. Do you have any ideas?
The themes should offer scope for at least nine possible questions (more is good!) that can be drawn from a wide variety of sources/topics. To give an idea, some of the successful themes I've used so far are as follows:
- Indiana Jones
- Batman (inspired by and partly stolen from this comment)
- the NATO phonetic alphabet
- the zodiac
Of these, my favourites (to create and to host) were the NATO phonetic alphabet and the zodiac, because they didn't require much specific pop culture knowledge and they offered lots of scope for variety in topics.
I also like themes that aren't too difficult to get and that aren't country-specific (I'm in the Netherlands and the attendees are very international). I've found plenty of example rounds on Google, but most of them are very obscure, like "horses that have won the Grand National".
Thanks in advance!
The themes should offer scope for at least nine possible questions (more is good!) that can be drawn from a wide variety of sources/topics. To give an idea, some of the successful themes I've used so far are as follows:
- Indiana Jones
- Batman (inspired by and partly stolen from this comment)
- the NATO phonetic alphabet
- the zodiac
Of these, my favourites (to create and to host) were the NATO phonetic alphabet and the zodiac, because they didn't require much specific pop culture knowledge and they offered lots of scope for variety in topics.
I also like themes that aren't too difficult to get and that aren't country-specific (I'm in the Netherlands and the attendees are very international). I've found plenty of example rounds on Google, but most of them are very obscure, like "horses that have won the Grand National".
Thanks in advance!
Rice; Kipling; Root; Perrin; Angell; Buck; Appleton; Bunche; Libby; Natta; Porter; Meade; Grass;
Edible Nobel prize winners
Atlas, Mercury, Apollo, Mazda, Phaeton, . . .
Vehicular deities
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2021
Edible Nobel prize winners
Atlas, Mercury, Apollo, Mazda, Phaeton, . . .
Vehicular deities
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2021
You could get some ideas from watching old episodes of Password. Or maybe it’s Password Plus. One of them (or maybe both) had a process where all the individual answers were connected and added up to a final answer.
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2021
No specific ideas, but episodes of Only Connect on YouTube probably offer a lot of ideas.
posted by synecdoche at 8:04 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by synecdoche at 8:04 AM on August 21, 2021
Maybe this is too obvious, but:
How many countries use the Euro?
When was the International Year of the Child?
How many countries other than The Netherlands are signatories to the Treaty of Rome?
What is the atomic weight of bismuth?
When did the Dutch defeat the Spanish in the Battle of Gibraltar?
How many countries on the island of Britain?
When the League of Nations was dissolved in 1948, how many founding members (that were still existing states) did it contain?
How many provinces of The Netherlands aren't you in?
How many cardinal sins are there?
(edit: I can't spell Gibraltar)
posted by pompomtom at 8:06 AM on August 21, 2021
How many countries use the Euro?
When was the International Year of the Child?
How many countries other than The Netherlands are signatories to the Treaty of Rome?
What is the atomic weight of bismuth?
When did the Dutch defeat the Spanish in the Battle of Gibraltar?
How many countries on the island of Britain?
When the League of Nations was dissolved in 1948, how many founding members (that were still existing states) did it contain?
How many provinces of The Netherlands aren't you in?
How many cardinal sins are there?
(edit: I can't spell Gibraltar)
posted by pompomtom at 8:06 AM on August 21, 2021
Include Ned Flanders as an answer and you can make them all left-handed
posted by noloveforned at 8:13 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by noloveforned at 8:13 AM on August 21, 2021
I play trivia where we have to make up categories, and I use names a lot. So all answers could relate to John, Mary, or Joe and be not just people, but also songs, place names, books, flowers, foods, etc. It also includes variations of the names, so John might include Juan and there are a million variations of Joe/Joanne/Josie. And I’ve never had to limit the answers about people to one gender, even using a traditional gendered name as a jumping off point.
posted by FencingGal at 8:18 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by FencingGal at 8:18 AM on August 21, 2021
- desserts
- types of transportation
- watery places
- socialism
- the beatles
posted by aniola at 8:20 AM on August 21, 2021
- types of transportation
- watery places
- socialism
- the beatles
posted by aniola at 8:20 AM on August 21, 2021
The Gallerij portion of the Dutch quiz show The Slimste Mens might provide inspiration too as it is eight photos with one theme. They often do have first names, countries with a certain shared property, types of tools, works by a famous author etc.
posted by vacapinta at 8:25 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by vacapinta at 8:25 AM on August 21, 2021
What is the narrowest country in the world?
In which country is the largest diamond market in Europe?
Which country has is Valduz the capitol of?
Where did coffee originate?
What is the smallest country in mainland Africa?
What country declared independence on 9 August 1965?
Which North African nation was never part of the Ottoman Empire?
What is the second-largest island in the Indian Ocean?
The 1985 Live Aid benefit concert was organised in response to famine in which country?
posted by pompomtom at 8:37 AM on August 21, 2021
In which country is the largest diamond market in Europe?
Which country has is Valduz the capitol of?
Where did coffee originate?
What is the smallest country in mainland Africa?
What country declared independence on 9 August 1965?
Which North African nation was never part of the Ottoman Empire?
What is the second-largest island in the Indian Ocean?
The 1985 Live Aid benefit concert was organised in response to famine in which country?
posted by pompomtom at 8:37 AM on August 21, 2021
All answers are people whose first names are names of the apostles.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:09 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by sciencegeek at 9:09 AM on August 21, 2021
I've found the names of racehorses a rich field when writing tricky trivia questions. Also, ships.
posted by eotvos at 10:07 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by eotvos at 10:07 AM on August 21, 2021
A few other random ideas, (probably all stolen from the original Ask Me Another book): names of cities that are also names of treaties, places that are also the names of geological epochs or used in biological taxonomy, places that all in the titles of popular songs/poems/etc.
Edit: I see you anticipated my racehorse answer in the question. Sorry!
posted by eotvos at 10:17 AM on August 21, 2021
Edit: I see you anticipated my racehorse answer in the question. Sorry!
posted by eotvos at 10:17 AM on August 21, 2021
The MIT mystery hunt often has themed puzzles, and often they involve a group of themed answers that you have to extract a final answer from - that same kind of group might be interesting to you? Here's a giant index of topics they've used, if you click through to specific puzzles' solutions, they may have good starter lists for you.
posted by february at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2021
posted by february at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2021
Another random one that may be too geeky and specific - ordinary words that are also the names of specific things in contemporary physics: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, top, color, quintessence, flavor, wimp, macho, field, candle, entangled, etc. I'd probably be tempted to include one really obvious one (e.g., "big bang") so as not to make it too hard.
One could do the same with units of measurement: chain, stadium, scruple, grain, yard, foot, barn, carat, nit, everything named after people (Jansky, Amphere, Gauss. . . ), bit, byte, catty, etc.
(This is a fun question!)
posted by eotvos at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2021
One could do the same with units of measurement: chain, stadium, scruple, grain, yard, foot, barn, carat, nit, everything named after people (Jansky, Amphere, Gauss. . . ), bit, byte, catty, etc.
(This is a fun question!)
posted by eotvos at 10:43 AM on August 21, 2021
Ken Jennings has a feature on Mental Floss where he does a series of questions each week where the answers point to a hidden theme. Kennections. Only 5 questions each but could come up with additional questions for many of them. Might be some good inspiration there, as well.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/kennections
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 11:27 AM on August 21, 2021
https://www.mentalfloss.com/kennections
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 11:27 AM on August 21, 2021
My favorite one was at a bar trivia I went to many years ago and none has beat it since. All the questions/answers were completely unrelated two word things. Like Froot Loops and Mr. Ed and Ted Nugent.
They were all US state abbreviations.
Maybe since you're not US based, country codes would work.
posted by phunniemee at 11:29 AM on August 21, 2021
They were all US state abbreviations.
Maybe since you're not US based, country codes would work.
posted by phunniemee at 11:29 AM on August 21, 2021
If you do a music round, one of my favorite themes is songs where the name of the song does not appear in the lyrics. Also means you don't have to cut them off right before the answer is said. You don't have to tell them that's the theme.
posted by TheAdamist at 12:06 PM on August 21, 2021
posted by TheAdamist at 12:06 PM on August 21, 2021
Following phunniemee's acronyms you could go Meta. None of the answers using "e"; answers with 5 6 7 8 etc letters;
All at 48°N: Bratislava; Donetsk; Khabarovsk; München; Paris; Seattle; St John’s Nfld; UlaanBaatar; Victoria BC; Wien;
I'll shut up now; having too much fun.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2021
All at 48°N: Bratislava; Donetsk; Khabarovsk; München; Paris; Seattle; St John’s Nfld; UlaanBaatar; Victoria BC; Wien;
I'll shut up now; having too much fun.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:44 PM on August 21, 2021
Chinese zodiac.
Words that can be added to another to form a new word or thing - for example, day, shine, flower, light can all be combined with "sun" to make new words.
Alchemy - general concepts like transmutation, substances like the three primes or seven planetary metals, equipment like crucibles. There's a lot of stuff in there that crops up in a wide variety of other contexts.
Tarot - major arcana (death, strength, the empress etc) will give you most but you can also put in the four main suits of the minor arcana.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2021
Words that can be added to another to form a new word or thing - for example, day, shine, flower, light can all be combined with "sun" to make new words.
Alchemy - general concepts like transmutation, substances like the three primes or seven planetary metals, equipment like crucibles. There's a lot of stuff in there that crops up in a wide variety of other contexts.
Tarot - major arcana (death, strength, the empress etc) will give you most but you can also put in the four main suits of the minor arcana.
posted by Athanassiel at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2021
Star Wars: force, saber, android, swamp, solo, princess, hermit, cantina, falcon, millennium…
D&D: charisma, dexterity, dice (or the words for eight-sided, ten-sided, twenty-sided), stats, loot, map, adventure time, character, sheet, gold, treasure…
cats: Persian, litter, canned food, long hair, Sphinx, quadripeds, whiskers, claw, mammals, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Egyptian gods, familiars
monopoly: car, hat, dog, shoe, house, hotel, jail, bank, chance, railroads, water, electricity
Harry Potter: wizards, schools, flying, friendship, curses, magic, trains, stone, prince, prisoner, phoenix, centaur…
posted by dywypi at 2:37 PM on August 21, 2021
D&D: charisma, dexterity, dice (or the words for eight-sided, ten-sided, twenty-sided), stats, loot, map, adventure time, character, sheet, gold, treasure…
cats: Persian, litter, canned food, long hair, Sphinx, quadripeds, whiskers, claw, mammals, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Egyptian gods, familiars
monopoly: car, hat, dog, shoe, house, hotel, jail, bank, chance, railroads, water, electricity
Harry Potter: wizards, schools, flying, friendship, curses, magic, trains, stone, prince, prisoner, phoenix, centaur…
posted by dywypi at 2:37 PM on August 21, 2021
Came in to n-th lifting some questions from Only Connect
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:34 PM on August 21, 2021
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:34 PM on August 21, 2021
I suggest listening to a few episodes of PodQuiz, which is a trivia podcast. The creator often does "connections" questions at the end of rounds.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 3:40 PM on August 21, 2021
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 3:40 PM on August 21, 2021
Tarot card iconography (the Sun, the Moon, Death, the Hanged Man, Cups...)
Beatles song tie-ins (Michelle Obama, Das Boot, throwing rice at weddings, Lucy from Charlie Brown, diamonds...)
Cities that have hosted the Olympics
Ikea product names (Billy, etc)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:44 PM on August 21, 2021
Beatles song tie-ins (Michelle Obama, Das Boot, throwing rice at weddings, Lucy from Charlie Brown, diamonds...)
Cities that have hosted the Olympics
Ikea product names (Billy, etc)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:44 PM on August 21, 2021
Photographed by Matthew Brady.
Sang with Tony Bennett.
Were members of Abe Lincoln's "team of rivals".
posted by SemiSalt at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2021
Sang with Tony Bennett.
Were members of Abe Lincoln's "team of rivals".
posted by SemiSalt at 3:46 PM on August 21, 2021
Animals are good for this... seemingly unrelated answers can be types of a particular animal. e.g.
Goblin, epaulette, nurse, cookie cutter, blue, thresher... types of shark.
Peacock, wolf, trap door, huntsman, widow, recluse... types of spider.
Coral, rattle, king, garter, garden, boa... types of snake.
Etc., etc.
posted by cgs06 at 7:13 PM on August 21, 2021
Goblin, epaulette, nurse, cookie cutter, blue, thresher... types of shark.
Peacock, wolf, trap door, huntsman, widow, recluse... types of spider.
Coral, rattle, king, garter, garden, boa... types of snake.
Etc., etc.
posted by cgs06 at 7:13 PM on August 21, 2021
Types of apples - empire, jazz, Rome, envy, cameo, Holstein, liberty, ambrosia
Similarly Types of tomatoes
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 11:02 PM on August 21, 2021
Similarly Types of tomatoes
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 11:02 PM on August 21, 2021
Also dating sites/ apps- her, grindr, tinder, scruff, mamba, manhunt, bumble, Facebook
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 11:06 PM on August 21, 2021
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 11:06 PM on August 21, 2021
Triple Decker Trivia is exactly this!
Figure out the correct answers to these trivia questions, find their connection, and then go one step further to find a final connection. On each spread, you'll find four quizzes that each have a "missing link."
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:54 AM on August 22, 2021
Figure out the correct answers to these trivia questions, find their connection, and then go one step further to find a final connection. On each spread, you'll find four quizzes that each have a "missing link."
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:54 AM on August 22, 2021
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