Half-Time Games and Tiebreakers

Half-time games that run themselves

• The picture sheet: 12 faces, logos, or close-up objects on one printed page, handed out at the break. Teams work at their own pace; collect with round four. Zero host effort during the break, which is the point — the break is for the bar.
• The anagram sheet: 10 anagrams of a theme (cocktails, US cities). Same self-serve mechanics, cheaper to produce than picture hunting.
• The estimation question: one number nobody knows (“how many hot dogs does Costco sell a year?”) posted at the break, closest team gets a bonus point. One question, ten minutes of table argument.
• The music sheet: lyrics with blanks. Only if you are not already running an audio round — two music segments a night over-serves the music table and starves everyone else.

Tiebreakers, ranked

The rule above all: never settle a tie with one more trivia question. Whoever knows it wins on luck of specialty, and the loser feels robbed. Settle ties with estimation — everyone has an equal shot and the reveal is theater.

1. Closest-number showdown: “What is the height of Mount Everest in feet?” Both teams write; closest wins. Have five of these pre-written; you will use two a month. (29,032.)
2. The countdown list: “Name the 10 most populous US states — one team member each, alternating, first miss loses.” Loud, fast, made for the mic.
3. The wager-off: both teams get the same question and 60 seconds; a wrong answer loses to a blank. Adds one decision layer to a coin flip.
4. Rock-paper-scissors, captains, best of three — only for third place and below, where the stakes are a sticker. For first place it is a cop-out; for third it is somehow perfect.

The estimation bank

Keep ten estimation questions with verified answers in your host kit at all times. Height of Everest (29,032 ft), length of the Nile (4,132 mi), year the Eiffel Tower opened (1889), weight of a blue whale’s heart (~400 lb), number of keys on a piano (88), McDonald’s locations worldwide (~40,000), speed of sound at sea level (767 mph), US Interstate system length (~48,000 mi), bones in the human body (206), and the number of official languages of the UN (6). Refresh any that your regulars have seen twice.