Classic Trivia
One point for each correct answer. The highest total wins. Choose it when you want everyone to answer each question and compare how much they know.
Compare trivia formats
Which kind of quiz fits your group?
Showtime has solo practice, rooms with computer opponents, and live trivia for friends. Everyone uses a browser, with ready-made questions and automatic scoring. Other formats suit custom questions, larger rooms or different party games.
Start with what you need
| Format | Setup | Good fit | Consider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showtime | Open a browser for solo practice, or create a room with friends or bots. Built-in questions and automatic scoring. | 2–8 friends, family members or coworkers who want to start a live trivia game with little preparation. | Individual scores, built-in packs and a separate call for remote chat. |
| A quiz you write and read aloud | Prepare questions and answers, read them to the group and keep score yourself. | Personal questions, local jokes, themed evenings and groups whose rules you want to customise. | Preparation, answer checking and scoring are your responsibility. |
| A quiz-authoring platform | Create or find a quiz, check its settings and choose a plan with enough player places. | Classrooms, training, custom questions and events with more than eight players. | Features, participant caps and prices depend on the product and plan. |
| A hosted party-game collection | Choose a title and follow its host, controller and shared-screen requirements. | Groups who want different party-game formats as well as trivia. | Purchases, compatible host devices and screen sharing depend on the title. |
Showtime, Kahoot! and Jackbox
This is Showtime’s own comparison, checked against official competitor documentation on 4 November 2026. Features, plans and titles can change; check the linked sources before choosing.
| Product | Access | Questions | Group and cost | Remote play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showtime | Play solo or with others in a browser. No account or download. | Built-in trivia packs; no custom question uploads. | Free solo practice and rooms for 2–8 players. Add clearly labelled Easy, Medium or Hard bots. | Each human answers on their own device. Use your own voice/video call. |
| Kahoot! | Host through a browser or app with a Kahoot! account. | Ready-made games or quizzes created by the host. | Free hosting exists. Participant limits and features vary by account type and subscription. | Supports live remote hosting; questions can appear on player devices. Check the setup for your account. |
| Jackbox | The host purchases and installs a supported game. Guests use browser controllers. | Trivia and other party-game formats depend on the title. | Purchase price, supported platforms and player limits vary by title. | Remote play commonly uses a call to share the host’s screen. |
Official sources: Kahoot! live hosting; Kahoot! quiz creation; Kahoot! participant limits; Jackbox setup; Jackbox remote play.
Choose Showtime when you want to start playing
For friends around a table, everyone can use their phone. For a remote group, keep your usual call open and share the room code. The host picks packs rather than writing a quiz, and can pause for conversation between answer reveals.
There is no account or download. Hosting and joining are free. You can play a short five-question game or choose up to 50 questions. Allow time for reveals and conversation as well as each answer timer.
Playing on your own?
Solo practice lets you choose packs, difficulty, question count and a timer without creating a room. Only you can play, and the finish shows your accuracy, speed, streaks and category results.
For a competitive game, create a room and add Easy, Medium or Hard bots. Their names and difficulty are clearly labelled. They take time to read, can make mistakes and count towards the room’s eight places. Add at least one bot to start playing on your own.
Choose a different tool when you need more
Showtime does not accept uploaded questions, support more than eight players, combine team scores or provide a voice call. Those are useful reasons to pick a quiz-authoring platform or another party-game format. Check a product’s current features and limits before organising an event.
Within Showtime: knowledge or speed?
Fastest Finger First
One point for the first correct answer received by the server. Wrong guesses lock that player without stopping the others. Choose it when you want the race to be part of the game; connections can affect close finishes.
An optional Sudden Death Tie-breaker settles a tie for first place using Fastest Finger First in either mode. Each player gets one guess per question.
Product facts checked 4 November 2026.