Start where everyone already is
The hardest part of a game night is getting everyone into the same game. On Discord, most of your friends are already in one place: the voice channel. If the game opens right there, nobody has to download anything, fill in a sign-up form or leave the call to join.
That is how Tidbit Trivia works in Discord. It is an Activity, so it runs inside the channel. You talk in the voice call while you play, and the question, the answers and the scores reach everyone’s screen at the same moment.
Here is how to plan the evening, start the game and keep it moving until the last round.
Before the night: three things to settle
- When and where. Pick a time and a voice channel, and tell people both. A game night in a channel everyone already uses is easy to find.
- How many are coming. One Tidbit party in Discord holds up to 10 people. If more want to play, split into two channels and start a game in each.
- Who leads. The party leader chooses what to play. 10-player trivia games are free to play. The other party modes need one player in the party with Premium, and a Premium trial counts.
Each day, one of the other party modes is free for everyone, so even a free party has something new to try.
It’s the same Premium as on the website, bought on tidbittrivia.com. If one person in your group already has it, let them lead.
Start the game in your voice channel
- Join the voice channel you picked for the night.
- Open the App Launcher in that channel and choose Tidbit Trivia.
- Start it. Friends in the channel join the same game, up to 10 in all.
- Press Invite friends to bring in anyone who is not in the channel yet. It opens Discord’s own invite window.
- When everyone is in, the leader can lock the party.
Nobody has to sign up first. Tidbit makes each player’s account from their Discord name, and everyone starts with their Discord name and picture, so the scores already say who is who.
If more than 10 people turn up
One Tidbit party holds up to 10 people. For a bigger crowd, open a second voice channel, start a second game there with its own leader, and play the same subjects in both. At the end, bring the two winners together for a final in one party.
Or take turns: one group plays a round while the rest listen in and heckle, then swap. Keep the rounds short so nobody waits long.
Plan the evening in rounds
- Warm-up: a free Game Show round on subjects everyone knows. Everyone answers the same question at the same time, and answering faster scores more.
- Subject turns: each round, someone new picks the subjects. With 30 to choose from, there is room for everyone’s favorite.
- A change of pace: Conviction. You answer in secret, then see what everyone else picked and can change your mind. Every question becomes a small debate.
- A numbers round: Higher or Lower. Everyone gets the same two cards at the same moment, and a fast right answer scores more.
- A finale: Tournament, with one-on-one Game Show bouts through Swiss rounds and finals or a double-elimination bracket.
A game night feels better with a little shape. Three or four short rounds and a finale fill an evening nicely, and you can always add one more if nobody wants to stop.
Conviction, Higher or Lower and Tournament need one player in the party with Premium, unless one of them is the day’s free mode. Every party mode has its own settings, so the leader can shape each round to the group.
Picking subjects for a mixed server
- Start broad. General knowledge gives everyone a chance in the first round.
- Play to the server. A gaming server might enjoy Games, a music server Music, a film club Film & TV.
- Ask before the night. A quick poll in the server picks the first subjects, and people arrive already invested.
- Save the hardest subjects for later, when everyone has warmed up.
There are 30 subjects in all, from Animals and Space to Mythology & Religion, so a regular game night can run for a long time without repeating itself.
Keep the talk and the game working together
- Talk after the answer, not during the question. Shouting the answer spoils it for the people still reading.
- Let the scores do the bragging. Faster right answers score more, so a quick correct answer speaks for itself.
- Take a short break between rounds so people can grab a drink and come back.
- Mix easy and hard subjects so newer players get some wins too.
- Keep each round short. Ending while people still want more is how the next game night happens.
The best part of playing in a voice call is the noise: the groans, the bluffs, the “I knew that”. A few small habits keep it fun for everyone, including the friend who is new to trivia.
If someone cannot get in
Most problems at the start of a game night are about getting in. Anyone who cannot see the game should check that they are in the right channel, and the leader can also send them an invite with Invite friends.
If Tidbit will not start in your channel at all, the server may limit who can start Activities there. Try another channel, or ask someone who manages the server to check that channel’s permissions.
When someone is not on Discord
Some friends will not have Discord open, or will not use it at all. They can still play: friends on tidbittrivia.com can join your party with its code, from their own browser.
Your Discord account is a real Tidbit account. Sign in with Discord on tidbittrivia.com and the same account opens there, which is handy for anyone who wants to keep playing after the night is over.
If your group would rather skip Discord, you can host a trivia party on the website and keep any voice call open alongside it. The Discord trivia page has the short version of everything above.
After the game
When the party ends, the trivia does not have to. Ranked 1v1 Arena plays inside Discord too, so anyone who wants one more challenge can try a ranked match.
And there is always tomorrow’s question. The Daily Question on tidbittrivia.com is one question a day, the same for everyone, and comparing answers the next morning keeps the group chat going.
Planning for friends who are not on Discord? These tips for an online trivia night cover the same evening in a browser, and party trivia in the same room covers it around a table.
Tidbit is for ages 13 and above.
By the team making Tidbit. Questions or a correction? Get in touch.
