What makes a great quiz question

Anyone can ask a question. Writing a good one is harder than it looks. After writing thousands of them, we have come to believe a great quiz question follows a few quiet rules.

It is fair

A fair question can be answered by someone who knows the subject, and only guessed by someone who does not. The wrong options — the distractors — must be plausible but clearly wrong once you know the answer. Throwaway options like "a banana" waste the player's time.

It teaches something

The best questions leave you knowing more than you did, whether you answered correctly or not. That is why the explanation matters as much as the question. A question you get wrong should feel like a small gift, not a trap.

It respects the player

Trick questions, ambiguous wording and "gotcha" phrasing are lazy. If two answers could both be defended, the question is broken, not clever. Clarity is a form of respect.

It has a centre of gravity

Great questions are about something interesting — a turning point, a surprising fact, a common misconception. "What is the capital of France?" is fine. "Which European capital was moved inland and purpose-built in the twentieth century?" invites curiosity.

Get these right and a quiz stops being a test. It becomes a conversation with a curious friend who happens to know a lot.