Bring a team.
Win a bar tab.
Every pub quiz in NYC by night of the week, Black Rabbit's Nerd Alert, Metropolitan Bar's drag trivia, GeeksWhoDrink, IP-themed (Office, LOTR, Star Wars).
Pick a Tuesday GeeksWhoDrink night. Reliable format, friendly to drop-ins, no IP pack to memorize.
Most NYC hosts pair solo arrivals into open teams at the door. Just say you are alone when you walk in.
Email us. We don't charge anything to be listed.
How a NYC pub quiz actually works
Trivia in NYC sorted itself by night of the week. Monday belongs to Black Rabbit in Greenpoint and its 'Nerd Alert' format. Wednesdays are Metropolitan Bar in Williamsburg, hosted by a drag queen and famously rowdy. Thursdays float across The Winslow, a half-dozen GeeksWhoDrink franchises, and the venues run by NYC Trivia League. The big draw of 2025 was the IP-themed format: The Office trivia at IYKYK Forest Hills sells out three weeks ahead, LOTR and Star Wars themed nights run on rotation at Slattery's Midtown and Triona's.
Format is mostly uniform: 4 to 6 rounds across roughly two hours, picture or logo round, music round, themed bonus, finals tiebreaker. Entry is almost always free. The prize is usually a bar tab, sometimes a gift certificate, occasionally cash for tournament-season finals. Teams are 2 to 6, with most hosts capping at 6.
Solo and pair players get pulled into open teams at the door at most NYC quizzes. Show up 20 to 30 minutes early to claim a table, especially at the IP-themed nights. The big-name shows (Black Rabbit Mondays, Metropolitan Wednesdays) run a soft reservation list via Instagram DM the morning of.
- Typical entry
- Free
- Team size
- 2 – 6 (solo welcome)
- Duration
- ~2 hours
- Rounds per quiz
- 4 – 6
- Prize
- Bar tab (sometimes cash)
Best NYC neighborhoods for trivia
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Black Rabbit on Mondays. The 'Nerd Alert' brand draws sci-fi and fantasy regulars; bar fills by 7pm.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Metropolitan Bar on Wednesdays. Drag-hosted, loud, the most theatrical pub quiz in the city.
Forest Hills, Queens
IYKYK runs themed quizzes (The Office, Friends, Parks and Rec) that book three weeks ahead.
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Winslow on Thursdays. NYC Trivia League's flagship night; multiple teams of regulars, hardest pack in the city.
Midtown West, Manhattan
Slattery's Midtown Pub. Reliable Tuesday GeeksWhoDrink night, post-work crowd, friendly to drop-ins.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Greenwood Park hosts a sprawling outdoor quiz in summer; Hair of the Dog runs a tighter indoor Wednesday.
Trivia glossary
- GeeksWhoDrink
- Franchise trivia operator with a uniform question pack across all venues. Reliable format, picture and audio rounds standard, runs at a dozen NYC bars.
- Host pack
- The pre-written question set hosts read from. GeeksWhoDrink uses one pack per night across the country; independent hosts write their own.
- Themed round
- A single round on one subject (one-hit wonders, 90s sitcoms). The IP-themed quizzes run all rounds on one franchise.
- Music round
- Identify songs from short clips, usually 3 to 5 second snippets. Sometimes themed by decade or genre.
- Finals tiebreaker
- End-of-night question for tied teams. Usually a numerical 'closest to' answer, you write a number on a slip and submit.
- Open team
- Team you can join even if you came alone or as a pair. Most NYC hosts run an open table.
Frequently asked
How much does a NYC pub quiz cost?+
Almost all NYC pub quizzes are free to play. Some IP-themed nights (Office trivia at IYKYK, Star Wars nights at Triona's) charge $5 to $10 per person and split a larger pot.
Do I need a team?+
No. Most NYC hosts pair solo arrivals and pairs into open teams at the door. Just say you are alone when you walk in.
Which night is the biggest?+
Wednesday is the busiest weeknight quiz slot in NYC, mostly because Metropolitan in Williamsburg pulls a big drag-trivia crowd. Monday at Black Rabbit Greenpoint is the second biggest.
How early should I show up?+
Twenty to thirty minutes early to claim a table on a weeknight. The IP-themed nights (Office, LOTR, Star Wars) want a soft DM reservation by the morning of.
What is GeeksWhoDrink?+
A franchise trivia operator that runs the same question pack at a dozen NYC bars in a single week. Pack is solid, picture and audio rounds standard, format is uniform across venues.
Are themed quizzes harder?+
They lean specialist. The Office and Harry Potter packs are dense with deep-cut character names and minor plot beats. If you have not rewatched the show, bring a teammate who has.
Can my team of 8 play together?+
Most NYC hosts cap teams at 6. You will be asked to split into two tables. The captains can sit close to compare answers between rounds, but you score separately.
What is the prize?+
A bar tab almost everywhere, usually $50 to $100 for first place. A handful of nights pay cash for finals (NYC Trivia League quarterly tournament). The drag-trivia at Metropolitan also gives out novelty merch.
Related guides
Pick a night, pick a borough, bring a friend who knows 90s TV. We list every recurring quiz worth the table.