Customer Resources and FAQs

Everything You Need to Know About
Being an Initials Game Live Venue

If you can’t find your answer here, you can always reach out to Sam (our Sales & Account Director) or email initials@triviamafia.com.

Not yet a customer? Contact us and we’ll let you know how to bring our games into your business!

If you need to call off an upcoming trivia night, please fill out this form or email initials@triviamafia.com. Remember: We require 48 hours notice for cancellations (except for bad weather/emergencies)!

If you’re looking for Trivia Mafia venue resources, those are over here!

FAQ

How do I call off one night of IGL?

Fill out this form to cancel your event for a night, or reach out to Sam and let him know about the need for a cancellation. We ask for a minimum 48 hours notice to ensure you’re not billed, and give us time to alert players and the host. You can call off a trivia night for any reason; if you want us to share additional info on our calendar or social media (i.e. you’re closed for a special event, or not having trivia due to a sports game), just let us know!

There is no charge/penalty for emergency cancellations, including inclement weather.

I have a billing question. Who do I contact?

Email billing@triviamafia.

My upcoming IGL event falls on a holiday. Will Trivia Mafia still run the game?

Trivia Mafia does not run events on the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Eve. They are automatically cancelled on our calendars and our staff have those days off.

All other days, including national holidays and Election Day, we are prepared to put on the show! Please contact us via form or at sam@triviamafia.com at least 48 hours ahead of your scheduled game if you will be closed or otherwise need to call off a game.

Do we have to run games on an app, or is there a pen-and-paper option?

The Initials Game Live runs exclusively on our web app (play.initialsgamelive.com) and does not have a non-digital option. This allows us to make every game unique to the players at your site so they are always getting new and fresh items!

What’s the best way to promote my Initials Game night?

We provide posters for onsite marketing, social graphics for digital marketing, Meta ads for new customers, and more. But to make sure these tools are working as hard as they can for your Initials Game night, we need your help!

Some easy ways you can help us help you get the word out about your events:

Make sure our posters are up and highly visible to all of your business’s patrons. (If you need more, just let us know!) Put ‘em in bathrooms, on front windows and doors, and along walls in well-trafficked areas. Nearby coffee shops, liquor stores, libraries and gas stations too!
Utilize our social media graphics! Post them to your social feeds and let your customers know about the cool new game coming to their favorite spot. We’ll boost whatever you post.
Make sure your staff is aware of your upcoming Initials Game events, so they can talk to your patrons throughout the week about how fun they’re going to be. Share an accurate calendar of events on your website or socials, and always tag us when you are posting!

I want to change the day or time of my trivia. How do I do that?

Reach out to Sam, our Sales & Account Director, to request a day or time change. We require a minimum of 15 days advance notice, even if you provide your own host. This will allow enough time for the host to announce to players at least two weeks in advance, get your new posters and marketing materials made with the new time/day of the week, and update all public-facing communications across our shared digital platforms.

Our sound system isn’t working; can we still run trivia?

If your sound system is not working, please contact our A/V Expert Davis. We’ll do our best to arrange an immediate loaner PA (for an additional fee of $20/event if you need it more than one week) until your sound is back online, and can have our A/V Expert help you troubleshoot what’s going on and find a solution. We do not recommend trying to run events without a microphone!

What should I give out for prizes?

Trivia Mafia stipulates a prize for the winner of each game for three prizes total, valued at $20 each. Gift cards are the most common, but prizes are at the location's discretion (gift cards, beer tokens, merch, sponsored items from other businesses, etc).

Prizes must be consistent from week to week. We recommend these prizes go to the winners of each game. If possible, we encourage the site to give out drink tokens or similar small, fun prizes for other wins, such as “Highest Scoring Individual Answer” of each game, or “Best Team Name.” You could also have a prize for any player whose initials match the initials for that round!

Rather than a few high-value prizes, using your budget for more prizes is strongly recommended - this will spread the prize love! Most people never win, and there will always be individuals playing on their own, so making sure that more people feel included keeps them coming back each week.

Event Marketing 101

Promote your game night on social media

Whether Instagram makes you jump for joy or roll your eyes, the fact remains: Social media is a crucial tool for promoting trivia at your site. If a player is looking for quick, digestible information about your event, there’s a solid chance they’ll check your Instagram (or Facebook page) before they check a website.

To put together an effective social media post, you’ll want:

A good photo. You can go a couple of directions here — a photo of people playing trivia, the host reading questions, or a plate of yummy food are all good options. You can also use the social media graphics we provided to you! Let us know if you need those refreshed or in new dimensions. Having a good photo sized for the platform where the user is seeing it will help!
A good timeline. It’s not just about what you post, it’s when. If you want to promote something a few days ahead of time, make an Instagram feed post where people can check all week leading up to trivia; Instagram stories are better for day-of promo! Facebook posts are likewise great for day-of promos, since recent content trends to the top of peoples’ pages. Post at least once a few days ahead, and once again the morning of your game.
A helpful caption. Being clever is great, but a straightforward caption that tells people when and where trivia is happening is your bread and butter. It never hurts to include information on your food or drink specials, either!
Examples:
Get ready to move fast and have fun, The Initials Game Live starts tonight at 8pm sharp! Whether you form an unbeatable team or just come for the camaraderie, trivia at [venue] is the place to be on Tuesdays at 8.
Hump Day is surmountable thanks to Wednesday night trivia and $2 off domestic taps. See you tonight for The Initials Game Live at 7!
A clear message. If your trivia night starts at a certain time, but you know that it’s helpful for staff, patrons, or both to have people arrive early, communicate that directly. If you list an earlier start time without context, you might be missing out on attendees who don’t think they can make it in time!
Example:
The Initials Game Live every Wednesday night, starting at 6:30! Sign up starts at 6.
The Initials Game Live every Thursday night at 7pm! Advance reservations strongly recommended to guarantee seating.
Our hosts are told to arrive 15-20 minutes before trivia starts, so any reservations or recruitment prior are the responsibility of your team.

Get the Lay of the Land

It’s tempting to put a host in a corner to keep them out of the flow of traffic, but it’s hard to hold the attention of a crowd from behind a pillar. Here are a few questions to answer when situating trivia in your business!

Does trivia have a designated space, or is it a trivia takeover? For particularly big spaces, restaurants with a separate bar, or spots with TVs for sports, you may want trivia folks seated in a special spot. Consider saving a seating section just for The Initials Game Live players. And if you want players to call for reservations, make sure we know that so we can note it on our calendar and your landing page!
Where is that sound coming from? If you’re using a freestanding PA (yours or ours), the host will need to be near an outlet, for starters. Make sure the speakers can be positioned in front of where they will stand or sit. If you have an in-house sound system, make sure the host can access the controls or know who can, to adjust the volume and input levels.
Can you even see them? When a patron walks in, they should be able to know where to go to find the excitement. Make sure the host can be seen from everywhere players will be seated, and if possible, where walk-ins will be able to pick up on the fact that something rad is happening!

Feel free to call or email us with pictures if you want more particular advice on how to set up your space for success!

OK, You’ve got the PEOPLE… now keep them!

Here are a few ideas on how to entice players to linger beyond the announcement of answers.

People are already gathering in your space, and our games help keep them around. Tempt them to linger with smart specials and creative takes on your usual offering!

Happy Hour
The trick for piggy-backing Happy Hour with trivia is that it should overlap the end just a little, or end right as trivia begins.
So, if your usual trivia is at 7pm, the game would be ending around 8:30pm. Have Happy Hour start at 8:15pm, so the host can announce it during the game, and it’ll encourage players to linger over one more drink or eat as they go over the results of trivia! (Conversely, HH could end half an hour before trivia, incentivizing early arrivals.)
Specials Tied to Scores
For all those teams that don’t win one of the three Initials Game Live rounds, you could offer a discount to folks who made it on the board, even if their score was low! For example, if their score was 500, you could offer 5% off or $5 off. It doesn’t matter how much or little you offer — people love to be acknowledged for their effort!
Sponsored Prizes
If you’ve got a good relationship with one of your neighbors, ask them to pitch in and sponsor one of the prizes! It could be one of the regular prizes, at the $20 or $10 value level, or it could be a unique prize: Most Average, Best Team Name, or Most Optimistic (for last place)!
This is especially great for taprooms with regular food trucks or with nearby restaurants that deliver to the taproom. It rewards more players, and gives them more reason to stick around!

Whatever you might choose to do to enhance the offerings on your trivia night, please make sure everyone knows about it! Tell the host when they arrive, send us an email with the details (and a picture or graphic if you have it), and have your staff mention it to every table.

The Initials Game Live’s tone is fun, friendly, and authentic. We want people to know that when they play at one of our partner venues (that’s you!), they will enjoy a fun night out with real people who care about building a community of players. Our staff and our content are intentional about being inclusive and welcoming.

The Initials Game Live is produced by Trivia Mafia and was developed in partnership with The Initials Game, which you may know about from the radio.