Top Quiz Nights In Shenzhen


Cian   |   August 21, 2019

The quiz night is one of the great pastimes of going to a bar. It’s where you can spend a few hours a week having a bit of fun and letting off some steam, where your encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly useless information suddenly comes in handy, and where friends are made, and lost, and made again by the end of the last round. It really is something quite special.

The Shenzhen quiz scene is currently thriving, and there are quiz nights on most days of the week all across the city. Shenzhen Party highlighted five of the best around for your consideration.

Xpats Bar & Grill Sea World

Time: Tuesdays, 19:30 – 21:30

Prizes: RMB500 voucher for 1st place, RMB200 for 2nd place

We begin our tour with one of the youngest quiz nights in town. The quiz night at Xpats Bar & Grill Sea World may have only been running for a year, but its already made a strong impression on the local scene. Their quiz has great promos, a larger-than-life host, and a format like no other in the city.

You see, the quiz is entirely paperless. To play all you need to do is scan the QR code on the screen, register, and then you can join in the quiz. Questions are multiple choice and points are awarded based not only on getting the correct answer, but also on how fast you answer. This actually makes it impossible to cheat on the quiz. There’s simply no time to search for all the answers on your phone.

The whole system was developed by the quizmaster himself, Gary. Gary is well-known in the expat community and has been arranging and hosting events in the city for the past ten years. He loves to inject a bit of humor into both his hosting and the questions, and he has a style that some has described as “like the announcer at a strip club.”

Still need another excuse to come down? Happy Hour runs from 3 to 9 PM, during which time you can get buy one get one free on selected beers, spirits, and wines. Quiz Night is also Taco Tuesdays, where from 5 to 10 PM you can enjoy hard shell tacos for RMB 10, bottles of Corona for RMB 20, and shots of tequila for RMB 10.

The promos are the perfect ingredients for a great night out. Plus, with shots given out to the winners of each round and vouchers handed out to the top teams, your quiet Tuesday night might just turn into something altogether more epic and wild.

Address: Xpats Bar & Grill Sea World, Hotel Entrance, Ground Floor, Inside the Minghua Ship, Sea World Square, Shekou, Shenzhen  (明华船, 楼,酒店 。 深圳市南 区蛇 上世界 场 )

The Brew

Time: Wednesdays, 20:30 – 22:30

Prizes: RMB 600 voucher for 1st place, RMB 300 voucher for 2nd place, and a free tower of beer for second to last place

Located in the heart of Futian at one of the biggest pubs around, The Brew is one of the most popular quizzes in town. With anything from eight to fifteen teams competing each week, there’s always a great atmosphere come quiz time.

The quiz follows the classic format, with five rounds of ten questions. Round two is always a picture round and round five is always the music round, but beyond that, the quizmaster likes to mix it up regularly.

With the winners taking away RMB 600 worth of vouchers, the quiz at The Brew offers one of the biggest prizes in town. RMB 300 for second place is not a bad consolation either, and there is plenty of motivation for any struggling teams to keep playing as the second to last placed team will win a tower of beer. Just be careful you don’t finish third from last, or worse yet, dead last.

The Brew’s famous chicken wings are also half price all night long, just in case you were looking for another reason to give the quiz a try.

For those visiting town, new to the city, or just new to quizzes, The Brew is a great option. With one of the biggest quiz crowds, great deals on wings, and plenty of prizes to be won, it’s a safe bet for getting over that midweek hump.

Address: Fuhua Rd, New Yijing Center Walk South Entrance L1015-1016, Futian, (深圳市福田区福田街道福华路新怡景商业中心LRL1015-1016号铺)

McCawley’s Shekou

Time: 20:30 – 23:00

Prizes: RMB 500 voucher for 1st place, RMB 200 voucher for 2nd place, and RMB 100 voucher for 3rd place

Having first started seven years ago at The Tavern and moved to McCawley’s three years ago, this is quite possibly the longest running quiz in Shenzhen. Key to its success and longevity has been its hosts such as Irishman Liam, the quirky rounds such as having to guess movie characters based off their Lego counterparts and celebrities from bad waxworks, and the ongoing league format.

One of the first locations to introduce a regular league, McCawley’s have two seasons per year. Regular teams battle it out to win the coveted trophy, which is presented at the final quiz of the season. The bar also puts on a buffet on the same night to show their appreciation to all the players.

If you still need some convincing to join the quiz, then the exclusive food and drink specials for quiz players might seal the deal for you. All pizzas are half price while there is also 50% off margaritas just in case you needed a little liquid courage.

The prizes aren’t half bad either. The winning team gets a RMB 500 voucher to spend at the bar, and second and third place get RMB 200 and RMB 100 respectively. You can use that to pay off your tab that night, or do what most teams do and agree to use it the following week or save the vouchers up to celebrate at the end of the league in style.

So come down and be part of one of the longest – if not the longest – running quizzes in Shenzhen. For those who win the league, glory awaits. For everyone else, you can console yourself with the top buffet put on by the bar at the end of the season.

Address: Shop 118 Sea World, Taizi Rd, Shekou(深圳蛇口海上世界118号商铺)

Craft Head

Time: 20:30 – 23:00

Prizes: 3 drinks to 1st place for each round, 2 drinks to 2nd place for each round, and 1 drink for 3rd place for each round

Craft Head is something of a cult-favorite in the Shenzhen beer scene, and its new location in Xinzhou has been earning rave reviews for their handcrafted ciders and beers and fusion roujiamos. But what some people might not know is that they also put on an awesome quiz night.

When they started the quiz, they wanted to make sure that more people got to partake in the prize, so they developed a rule system that reset the prize every round. They call it the 6-5-4-3-2-1 model: 6 people per team maximum, 5 rounds 4 fun and glory, 3 drinks to the winning team in each round, 2 drinks to the second place team in each round, and 1 drink to the third place team in each round.

Rather than having a regular quizmaster, Craft Head rotates through a roster of ten or so people who take turns to host. Players are encouraged to take the plunge and host as it helps to build the community, keep the questions fresh, and avoid the quiz being “too American.”

Each quizmaster has their own style so the five rounds can change every time. You can expect to find the classic categories like sports, movies, and history, but they also like to include a round about China and it can get a bit out there with rounds on 8-bit versions of famous songs and an entire round on zombies.

Watch out for the Kidnapping round too, where you can steal a player from another team for a round. You keep the points that they earn you for beer, and the only cost to you is that you buy them a beer, and if your round score is greater, the other team keeps the score for points for the trophy.

With the 6-5-4-3-2-1 model and rounds like Kidnapping, the quiz at Craft Head is super fun and super open. You don’t even need a team to play. Just come down by yourself and someone will hook you up with some teammates.

Address: Xinzhou 2nd Street and Xinzhou 7th Street Second Floor, Futian (深圳福田区新洲二街七街交叉口Craft Head佳卡哈)

Evil Duck

Time: Thursdays, 20:30 – 22:30

Prizes: Two crates of beer or cider for 1st place, round of drinks for 2nd place, and shot giveaways all night

If you are looking to join a regular quiz where everyone knows each other, then you could do a lot worse than giving the quiz at the Evil Duck a try. The cozy pub nestled in the charming narrow streets of Shuiwei always has something going on, and on Thursdays it’s the turn of the weekly quiz night.

What sets the Evil Duck apart from many other bars is that every week the quiz night has a theme. It can be anything from True Crime and the Animal Kingdom, to Game of Thrones or Star Wars. The themes help to mix things up and while one team might be useless at Harry Potter one week, they might know every answer on Languages the next week.

There are plenty of great offers going on too. Its buy two get one free on all snacks all night. The happy hour running from 3 PM to 8 PM, and then again on your first drink after the quiz finishes. With the quizmaster giving out shots throughout the evening too, the quiz at the Evil Duck is definitely one of the most fun quizzes around.

Address: Shuiwei 5th Street, No. 76, Futian (福田区水围五街2176)