How to write a good trivia question
Ludiko editors · 21 October 2026
What makes a trivia game fun is the quality of its questions. You can use the same rules we use to write and check the questions on Ludiko when you make your own quiz.
One correct answer, and only one
Every question needs exactly one indisputable answer. Words like “biggest”, “longest” and “first” are risky: biggest by what? Area or population? State the measure in the question. For example, “the longest river that flows from source to sea entirely within Türkiye” ends the argument before it starts, where “Türkiye’s longest river” does not.
Check the answer at the source
Confirm every answer with at least two reliable sources: encyclopaedias, official institutions, academic publications. A large share of the “fun facts” shared online are wrong. For facts that change over time (records, populations, titles), put a date in the question or leave such questions out.
Make the wrong options believable
In a multiple-choice question the wrong options matter as much as the right one. Keep them of the same kind: four rivers for a river question, four close years for a year question. A joke option that cannot be true gets one laugh but makes the question easier. Move the correct answer around too; if it is always in the same slot, players notice fast.
Balance the difficulty
Mix easy, medium and hard questions in every game. Easy ones keep newcomers in the game, hard ones challenge the enthusiasts. The best way to make a question harder is not to ask about an obscure detail but to look at a well-known fact from an unexpected angle.
Keep it short and clear
- Read the question aloud; if it does not fit in one breath, shorten it.
- Avoid negative forms such as “which of these is not”; under time pressure they are easily misread.
- Keep options short; no more than two lines on a TV screen.
- For questions that need local knowledge, think about who your players are.
Make it right for everyone
Questions should never hurt anyone, belittle a group or start a political argument. In a game families play together, choose questions that players of every age can read comfortably.
Add one sentence after the answer
A short explanation after the reveal turns a question into something people remember. A line like “The Euphrates is longer, but it also flows outside Türkiye” settles any objection from those who got it wrong and teaches everyone something new.