Why ads and quizzes do not mix

Trivia has a rhythm: question, answer, next question. An ad in the middle of that breaks it. You lose your train of thought, a good streak feels a little less exciting, and a five-minute break becomes eight.

On a phone, an ad can also mean a mistaken tap and a store page you never asked for.

Many free games pay for themselves with ads, and for some players that is a fair trade. But if you want a quiz that stays out of your way, it helps to know what to look for, and how a game without ads pays its way instead.

How free games usually pay for themselves

  • Ads between rounds, or videos you watch for an extra life or a hint.
  • Lives or energy that run out, refilled by waiting or paying.
  • One-off purchases inside the game.
  • A subscription for players who want more.

Most free games use one or more of these. None of them is wrong, but each one shapes how the game feels. A game paid for by ads does better when you see more ads. A game paid for by a subscription does better when the free part is good enough that some players want more of it.

What to look for in an ad-free trivia game

  • No ads at all, not just fewer. Check the free version, not only the paid one.
  • A clear free part. You should see what you can play without paying before you start.
  • No pressure to sign up. A good quiz lets you play first and decide later.
  • Nothing to download, so nothing extra lands on your device.
  • A clear price for the paid part, if there is one, and a simple way to cancel it.

The last point matters more than it looks. A game without ads still has to pay for itself somehow. The good ones tell you exactly how, on a page you can find before you play.

Tidbit Trivia has no ads

Players are shown no advertising. Not between questions, not after a game, and not in the free version.

The free part is real, too. Trivia Freeplay and Higher or Lower Freeplay are free, and so is ranked 1v1 Arena. Anyone can host a Game Show party for up to 4 people, host included, and joining a party is always free. Statistics are free for every player, there is nothing to download, and no sign-up is needed.

There are over 12,000 questions and 30 subjects to pick from, so there is plenty to play before you ever think about paying.

A closer look at the free part

  • Trivia Freeplay: choose your subjects and difficulty and play at your own pace. Picture questions are included unless you turn them off.
  • Higher or Lower Freeplay: two cards, one question, which number is higher?
  • Arena: ranked 1v1 trivia, with five placement matches, ranks and two-month seasons.
  • Parties: host a Game Show party for up to 4 people, host included, or join any party.
  • The Daily Question: one question a day, the same for everyone.
  • Your statistics, for every player.

That is a lot of game before Premium comes into it, and none of it shows ads. You can play all of it in a browser with no download, and no sign-up is needed.

How Tidbit is paid for

Tidbit is paid for by Premium, an optional subscription that costs $5 a month or $48 a year. Players who want more of the game pay for it, and everyone plays without ads.

Premium unlocks every mode and lets you play trivia offline. It needs a linked account, so when you start it you link yours with Google, Microsoft, Discord or email.

A share of every payment goes to removing carbon.

There are no ads to remove, so Premium is not an “ad-free” upgrade. It is more of the game.

What Premium adds

  • Every game mode, including the picture modes and the Higher or Lower modes beyond Freeplay.
  • Every party mode, in parties of up to 10.
  • Offline Freeplay: connect once, then keep playing Freeplay with no internet connection.
  • Early access: new features and modes on day one.
  • Training in Arena, and a few cosmetics that come with Premium.

That is the whole trade: the free part of the game is free, and Premium is there for players who want more of it.

Premium does not buy an edge in ranked play. Arena is free for everyone, with the same rules for every player, and Premium gives no extra XP.

Try Premium before you pay

There is one free trial per person, and you choose which kind. The 3-day trial needs no card and simply ends. The 7-day trial needs a card, and nothing is charged until the trial ends.

Choose carefully: it is one trial per person, so starting the 3-day trial means you cannot use the 7-day one later. The 3-day trial is the easy one to try, with no payment method, no subscription and no automatic charges.

Cancel anytime with one button. Cancelling before a trial ends costs nothing, and you keep Premium until that date.

Card details go to Stripe’s form and never reach Tidbit.

Free does not mean everything is free

It is worth being plain about this, because “free” gets stretched a lot. Tidbit is free to play: you never have to pay to play it. But not every mode is free. Additional game modes require Premium.

We think that is a better deal than ads. You know what you are getting before you start, and nobody pays for the game with their attention.

How to check a game for ads before you play

  • Read the pricing or Premium page first. A game without ads usually says so, and says how it is paid for instead.
  • On app stores, look for a label saying the app contains ads.
  • Play three rounds of the free version, not just the first screen.
  • See what happens when you lose. That is when many free games show an ad or ask you to pay.
  • Check how the paid version is described. If it is sold as “ad-free”, the free version has ads.

Two minutes of checking can save a lot of skipped videos later.

Where to start

Open Tidbit Home and play a few questions of Freeplay. It is the quickest way to see how Tidbit plays without ads. To see everything before you decide, Game Modes shows each way to play.

Comparing trivia sites? Here are eight things to check before you play, and more about who makes Tidbit in an indie trivia game.

Tidbit is for ages 13 and above.

By the team making Tidbit. Questions or a correction? Get in touch.