Jason Hanrahan from over at
PubsQuiz.co.uk kindly sent over the following thoughts on Pub Quiz cheating and anti-cheat measures to stop Phone cheats ruining pub quizzing to discuss on the blog.....
Is the Smart Phone Killing the Pub Quiz?
So you are at your local pub quiz night, and the quiz master is in full flow. The latest question
is a tough one, and the members of you team are all in disagreement. As you put heads
together to come up with an answer you spot some guy on the next table with a smug look on
his face and an iPhone in his hand. The problem is that as mobile phone technology
advances, and people can access information at the touch of a few buttons, then the
temptation to cheat to win the local pub quiz is ever increasing. And if one team can do it,
then why shouldn’t you all get in on the act?
Whatever happened to the British sense of “fair play” and “good sportsmanship”? It seems
that in the heady atmosphere of the pub quiz, when the booze is free flowing, where team
rivalries run large, and teams strive to be the most knowledgeable, the idea of cheating by
using mobile phones has become more and more commonplace. With only a few points
making the difference between claiming victory and bragging rights, the availability of the
whole internet of information on a smart phone, can be a boon to those otherwise struggling
with trivia.
But surely this ruins the spirit of the quiz, that people pit their brains, memory and intellect
against the barrage of questions thrown out by the quiz host. And not all information surfers
are made equal – some may not have phones, some only have text messaging, whereas
others have instant access to Google and Wikipedia. How fair is it to those who cannot cheat
on a level playing field?
Have A Policy – Make It Clear Where You Stand
It is important to be sure that before your quiz starts you state your position and that you have
a policy on mobile phone use. Most commonly it would be that phones should be switched off,
and out of the players immediate area. You should appeal to player’s better nature and sense
of fair play, and ensure that perceived use of phones for cheating be frowned upon. You
might want to declare up front that anyone seen using a phone will be banned, or have x
number of points deducted in the event of a win or draw.
Alternatively you might take a laissez-faire attitude and allow users to check out and research
on the internet. If so, you need to set your questions appropriately to ensure the quiz is still a
challenge of intellect and skill rather than the ability to hit Google for facts.
The Golden Rule
Whatever your stance on the use of mobile devices in your pub quiz, try not to become too
overbearing. Whilst it might be fair do deduct points for cheating, it is no fun and detracts from
the overall pleasure of the evening if you have to evict and bar several teams on suspicion of
using their mobile phones to cheat. Realistically it is almost impossible to prevent cheating
from happening, all you can do is try and instill a sense of fairness, and limit the scope and
opportunity for it to occur.
Remember the golden rule is that your quiz evening should be an entertaining and enjoyable
event. If you fail on this front then people will not come back regularly.
The Quizmaster’s Challenge
The challenge now faced by quiz masters and compilers of pub quiz questions is to create
questions which are not so easy to simply look up on the latest WAP enabled phone.
Consider for example “Family Fortunes” style rounds, where the players have to guess the
top 5 answers in a particular category – with bonus points for guessing the correct top answer
in the category. For example, “We asked 100 people to name a well known astronaut”. The
emphasis is less about what the “correct” answer is, but what the people surveyed might have
said. Depending on the demographics, answers might range from the obvious answers like
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the ridiculous but popular such as Buzz Lightyear!
Alternatively true or false rounds on totally obscure facts might also provide the right level of
challenge. Also questions which rely on an aggregation of information such as "How many
films has Tom Hanks appeared in which won oscars?" will stretch even the most adept
internet nerd.
A skilled quizmaster will be able to rise to the challenge and find questions to test the best
brains rather than the best technology.
Share Your Experiences
So what are your experiences of mobile phone cheating? How do you deal with the issue?
What solution works for your quiz night? I would love to hear from you on this topic so please
feel free to share your thoughts and comments.
