The rules

How to play Terrace Trivia

Gather your mates, answer trivia about the 92 clubs of the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, then pin each club on a map of the UK and score for accuracy. Everything below expands those three steps into a full game.

  • 2 to 6players, or two teams
  • 30 to 45 minfor a standard game
  • 92 clubsacross the top four tiers
  • Age 10+a football fan of any age can join in

What is in the game

Terrace Trivia is a deck of cards. There is one card for every club in the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, so 92 in all. Each card carries the trivia about that club and the answer to where it belongs on the map.

You also need a map of the UK that everybody can reach, and something to pin or mark with. A printed map and drawing pins works at home. Sticky notes or a whiteboard marker over a laminated map works better in a pub, where pins and pints are a poor mix.

House rule: keep one pen and one scrap of paper per player or team for scores. Nothing in the deck keeps score for you.

Setting up

  • Shuffle the deck and place it face down where everyone can reach it.
  • Put the map in the middle of the table, or on a wall the whole room can see.
  • Agree how many rounds you are playing before the first card is turned over. Ten rounds each is a good length.
  • Pick a reader for the first round. The reader holds the card and asks the questions, so they sit that round out.

How a round works

A round is one club. It has two halves: the trivia, then the map. Both are scored, and the map half is where games are usually won.

  1. The reader draws a card

    The reader takes the top card without showing it to anyone else. The card names one of the 92 clubs and gives the trivia for it.

  2. Answer the trivia

    The reader asks the trivia about that club. Everyone else answers. First correct answer takes the point, or in a team game the first team to call it out. If nobody gets there, the reader gives the answer and the round moves on.

  3. Name the club

    Once the trivia is done, the reader names the club. Now everybody knows which club this round is about, including anyone who missed the trivia.

  4. Pin it on the map

    Every player places one pin on the map where they think that club plays. One pin each, no moving it once it is down and no leaning over to copy. Pin at the same time if you can, because it stops people following the room.

  5. Score the accuracy

    The reader reads the true location from the card. Score each pin by how close it landed, using the accuracy table below. Then pass the card to the discard pile and the reader role to the player on the left.

Play until you have used the number of rounds you agreed, or until the deck runs out if you have the evening free. Highest total wins.

Scoring

Trivia is worth one point. Accuracy is worth up to three, because knowing roughly where a club is beats knowing nothing at all, and a pin dropped on the right street should beat a lucky guess in the right county.

House rule: the point values below are the ones we play with. They are not printed on the cards, so use them as a starting point and change them if your group prefers.

Points awarded for trivia answers and for how close a pin lands
What you didPoints
First correct trivia answer1
Pin lands within 10 miles of the ground3
Pin lands within 25 miles2
Pin lands within 50 miles1
Pin lands further out than that0
Right city, and you named the ground unprompted1 bonus

Judging distance without an argument

Nobody wants a tape measure at the table. Two ways to settle it:

  • Use the scale bar on your map. Mark 10, 25 and 50 miles on the edge of a beer mat or a strip of card, then hold it against the pin. One person does the measuring for the whole round.
  • Or judge it by town. Right town scores 3, neighbouring town scores 2, right region scores 1. This is quicker and it is the version to use with children.

Whichever you pick, pick it before the first round and stick with it. The reader has the final word on a close call, and the reader changes every round, so it evens out.

Players and length

Two players works. Six is about the limit before people are waiting too long between pins, and beyond that you are better off splitting into teams of two or three and pinning one pin per team.

A ten round game runs to roughly 30 to 45 minutes, longer if the room argues about distances, which it will. For a quick game, play five rounds. For a long one, deal the deck out and play until the cards are gone.

House rule: these timings are what a normal group takes. Nothing sets a clock, so play as fast or as slow as suits the night.

Two ways to play

Pub night

Play in teams. Two teams of three or four keeps everyone talking, and it means a table can lose one person to the bar without stopping.

  • One pin per team, agreed between them before it goes down.
  • Thirty seconds on the trivia, then the reader gives the answer.
  • Distance judged by town, not by measuring. It is faster and it is louder.
  • Losing team gets the next round in. Optional, and non negotiable in some pubs.

Ten rounds fits neatly into a single sitting.

Family game

Play individually, and even out the age gap rather than the questions.

  • Younger players get a second guess on the trivia for half a point.
  • Score the map by region, so a pin in the right part of the country still counts.
  • Let the youngest player read first. Reading the card out is the easiest way in.
  • Play five rounds to start with. It is easier to add another five than to abandon a long game.

Nobody needs to know all 92 clubs to enjoy it. Knowing the map covers a lot of gaps.

Other variations worth trying

  • League ladder. Split the deck into its four leagues and play one league per round. Premier League first, League Two last, when everyone is warmed up.
  • Map only. Skip the trivia. The reader names the club, everyone pins, accuracy alone decides it. This is the fastest version and the one children usually ask for again.
  • Away day. After pinning, the closest pin also names the nearest club to the one just played. One bonus point if they are right.

House rule: these variations are ours, not printed in the deck. Invent your own and they count just the same.

Before you start

Agree the number of rounds, agree how you are judging distance, and agree who reads first. That is the whole setup, and it takes about a minute.

Running a junior team? There is a voting tool for that, for player of the match and end of season awards.

Back to home Open the voting tool