What equipment do I need to host a trivia night?

At minimum, questions, a way to be heard and a way for teams to answer. A full setup is a laptop, a TV or several, a speaker and microphone, a reliable connection for the host, printed table cards and a few spares.

Do I need a TV for trivia night?

Not for a paper night, though it helps with picture rounds and scores. For phone-based trivia the TV is central: it shows the question, timer, join code and leaderboard.

Does the venue need good Wi-Fi for phone trivia?

The host device needs a reliable connection, ideally wired. Players can use their own mobile data, so the guest Wi-Fi does not have to carry the room.

What do I need to print for a phone-based trivia night?

Table cards with the join QR and code, one per table, plus a printed backup of the questions and answers. No answer sheets or pencils.

Guide

Trivia Night Equipment: What You Actually Need

By the 321Trivia Team · Updated October 3, 2026

The bare minimum for a trivia night is a host with questions, a way to be heard and a way for teams to answer. A full setup adds a laptop, one or more screens, a speaker and microphone, a reliable internet connection for the host, printed table cards and a few spares. Most bars already own more than half of this.

Here is the list from the bottom up, what changes when players answer on phones instead of paper, and a checklist to run before the doors open.

The list, from bare minimum to full setup

Item	Bare minimum	Full setup
Host computer	A phone or tablet with the questions on it.	A laptop with a charger, running the host controls in a browser.
Screen	None; the host reads everything aloud.	One or more TVs showing the question, timer, join code and leaderboard.
Sound	The host’s voice in a small room.	A speaker and a wireless microphone; music between rounds.
Internet	None, for a paper night.	A wired connection or strong Wi-Fi for the host device; players on their own data.
Printing	Answer sheets and pencils for paper.	Table cards with the join QR and code; a printed backup of the questions.
Timer and scoring	A phone timer and a whiteboard or scoresheet.	Built into the software: timed questions, automatic scoring, standings on the TV.
Spares	A spare pen.	Spare HDMI cable, charger, mic batteries, a hotspot, printed questions.

The host’s computer

A laptop is the right tool. It runs the host controls in one browser window, has a keyboard for quick rulings, and can drive a TV over HDMI. A tablet works and a phone can run a game in a pinch, but a bigger screen is easier. Bring the charger, close everything that is not the game, and if the laptop also drives the TV, extend the display rather than mirror it so the room does not see your host view.

Screens and how to connect them

With phone-based trivia, the TV is the centre of the night: question, countdown, join QR and code, answer reveal and standings. With paper trivia it is optional but useful for picture rounds and scores.

HDMI from the laptop. The most reliable option. A long cable reaches a TV across the room, and the TV window becomes a second display.
Casting. Wireless casting to a smart TV or streaming stick avoids the cable but can lag and drop. Good as a second screen, risky as the only one.
A second browser window on a separate device. The TV display runs in its own browser window, so any device that can open a web page and connect to a TV can show it. That is how you run several TVs in a big room.

The practical detail of extending displays, casting and running the same game on several TVs is in how to display trivia on TVs.

Sound

In a small, quiet room the host’s voice is enough. In anything with a kitchen and more than a handful of tables it is not, and a host who shouts for two hours is hoarse by round three and gone by week four. A powered speaker and a wireless microphone are the best equipment upgrade a trivia night can make.

A handheld wireless microphone suits a host who moves around and talks to tables.
Run the laptop audio into the same speaker so music and the countdown sound fill the room.
Keep spare batteries within reach, and check the volume from the back table.

Internet

The host device is the one connection that matters. Wired ethernet to the venue’s router is the gold standard; strong Wi-Fi is fine; a crowded guest network is not. If the venue’s connection is doubtful, a phone hotspot in the host’s pocket is cheap insurance and often the fastest thing in the building.

Players answering on phones are a lighter load than people expect: they can use their own mobile data, and a trivia game sends very little compared with a video. The venue does not need to upgrade its Wi-Fi for the players, only to make sure the host does not drop.

Printing

For a paper night, printing is the core of the preparation: an answer sheet per team per round, slips for a picture round, a scoresheet for the host, and a box of pencils, because they walk.

For a phone night, printing shrinks to two things. First, table cards with the join QR and game code, one per table, so a team that cannot read the TV can still join; 321Trivia prints these for each venue, and laminated cards last a season. Second, a printed copy of the questions and answers, so that if the laptop dies the host can finish the round aloud.

Timers and scoring

A visible timer keeps a round moving and ends the “thirty more seconds” negotiation. For scoring on paper, a whiteboard the room can see beats a sheet only the host can see, because teams trust what they can check.

Hosting software folds both into the TV: each question has its own countdown, answers lock when it ends, scoring is automatic and the leaderboard is on the screen between questions. With 321Trivia, points count down while a question is open so faster correct answers score more, and the host can still mark an answer right or regrade a question. See how to score trivia for the rules and digital vs. paper trivia for the trade-offs against a whiteboard.

What changes when players answer on phones

No answer sheets, no pencils, no collecting. The biggest change to the host’s bag and the pace of the night.
A visible QR and join code become essential. Put them on the TV between rounds and on a card at every table. Players scan or type a short code at the website; there is no app to download.
One phone per team is enough. The table huddles and one person answers, so phone-shy guests are not left out.
The host’s connection matters more, and the TV becomes the stage, so sightlines matter more than they did on paper.

How to host trivia with phones covers running the night itself, and 321Trivia’s host tools show what the host, TV and player screens look like.

Spares that earn their place in the bag

A second HDMI cable and an adapter for your laptop’s port. Cables fail more than anything else.
The laptop charger and a phone charger.
Batteries for the microphone.
A phone hotspot, or at least the login details for the venue’s router.
A printed copy of the night’s questions and answers, a pen, and tape for the cable someone will otherwise trip over.

The pre-night checklist

Laptop charged and plugged in; notifications off; only the game open.
TV showing the display window, readable from the worst seat, with the join code visible.
Microphone and speaker on, volume checked from the back, spare batteries within reach.
Host device online, wired or on strong Wi-Fi; hotspot ready as a fallback.
Game loaded, every image viewed on the actual TV, and a test join from your own phone.
Table cards out, one per table; printed questions and a pen at the host’s spot.
Staff told the round and break times.