In case you might not be aware, Red Tooth pretty much have a grip on the pub quiz market in the UK. they provide their own branded question sets and answer sheets to various pubs around the country and I am sure at some point anyone who attends pub quizzes even semi-regularly has played a Red Tooth Set.
The "Its Your Round" set is the most common I have come across which involves a nice diverse format with pictures, connections, current affairs Trivia Trail (Last letter in the answer is first letter of the next) and Wipeout rounds. It is this quiz I am referring to when I say Red Tooth here as the other formats are a) less of a "quiz" and b ) less commons I have found.
I will set my stall out straight away. I like Red Tooth. I have played in Red Tooth quizzes regularly for a few years now and everyone I have played with has shared the same opinion. Red Tooth quizzes I go to tend to be well attended (I realise this isn't just the draw of the format of the quiz) showing they format works. Amongst the general pub quiz playing population there is no doubt they are enjoyed and played by thousands every week.
I must also add that when it comes to a quiz you simply cannot beat a quiz crafted by an experienced quiz master who labours all week to produce a set of questions he knows his audience will enjoy. These are the most creative, enjoyable and often best quizzes you can play in in a standard pub quiz. Red Tooth because of its very nature can never match this.
But Red Tooth is far better than having a lazy or reluctant quiz master. I would much rather have a Red Tooth quiz than have one simply printed from the first site a lazy question setter has found or one put together with no thought or effort. At least Red Tooth tries.
I have noticed also that the Red Tooth quizzes I have played in in the last 3 months, especially since the company has expanded into other areas, have improved. Gone are the "nobody cares" or "obscure" current affairs rounds, the trivia trail has much more thought and craft put into it and the Wipeout round has been improved. I have always enjoyed Red Tooth sets but whatever the change has been lately its one for the better,
I also like the diversity in the quiz in terms of the range of rounds. Don't get me wrong, I am not the sort of quizzer who needs a gimmick to enjoy the quiz. Give me a 50-straight up question set anyday. But in Red Tooth particularly the list style rounds test different kinds of knowledge and you tend not to get many list rounds these days in other quizzes so its good to see!
So what is the opinion of others on Red Tooth and Red Tooth quizzes you have played in?
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you like them, and good luck to you or any other reader who enjoys them.
I can't say that I have ever left a Redtooth quiz feeling that it was particularly good. Not bad at all was the best I could say about the one I most enjoyed.
Put in simple terms they are not really for me. Too gimmicky by half for my liking. I prefer a quiz which rewards superior knowledge, and if it does rely on guesswork at least relies on educated guesswork. Many of the Redtooth quizzes I have played in - and granted I have only played in two during the last 4 or 5 years - have seemed unnecessarily bitty and uninteresting to me.
However -
You can't argue with box office. Most of the Redtooth quizzes I have ever played in have been well attended. A small part of me says that a proportion of the teams only do so because they don't have experience of what really good quizzes can be like, but I've no proof of this at all.
I don't really have an axe to grind against Redtooth - although I don't think that they like me very much - they've made their business and to all intents and purposes they seem very successful, and are producing a product which pubs want.. Good luck to them.
But I still don't think they are great quizzes.
Hi Dan, good post - enjoyed it. I'm currently working on a start-up that is hoping to shake up the pub quiz market a bit, and would really value some of your expertise on some of the stuff we've pulled together so far. Are you up for having a look? Drop me an email at info@quizchicken.com if you are. That goes for you too Londinius.... Cheers!
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