Get a team together

by Vanessa
(London)

Pub quizzes can be a lot of fun and a good way to socialise and at the same time challenge your brain.

Usually there's a small entry fee that often goes to a good cause but it's worth it for the prospect of an enjoyable evening with friends. If you have a group of friends that you do quizzes with it's worth it to try and have a cross section of people with a range of specialities.

I'm hopeless at music, film and TV questions unless it's something pretty old. I stopped listening to pop music years ago! But on the other hand I'm pretty good at history and geography questions. I like general knowledge trivia too, so sometimes I can answer random questions about all kinds of things. My friend is an ace at music though, so between us we can cover quite a few topics.

The key to winning is to be able to recall the things you know quickly. This is a skill that takes time to learn. The best way to remember facts and figures is to share them with others. Whenever I come across something interesting I try to tell at least three other people. For some reason three is a good number and it really helps you to remember things.

Reading a lot is another good way of building your knowledge base. Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't seem to matter too much. It's just the act of reading that seems to help your brain to build a database.

And regardless of whether your team wins or loses the quiz it's a fun way to spend an evening.