A trivia night runs on answer sheets coming in and a quizmaster adding up columns between rounds. Get the totals wrong and the room will tell you. This guide covers how to set up scoring before the first question, how to put in each round's points, and how to keep it all on your iPhone with Tally Cat, our counter and scorekeeper for iPhone and iPad.
Before the first question
Settle a few things before teams sit down:
- How many rounds, and what each is worth. One point per right answer is the simplest way. If you have a bonus round or a picture round worth more, decide that now.
- Team names. Ask each team for a name when they arrive and write it on their answer sheet. You'll use the same names in the app.
- A tie-break. Have one closest-number question ready in case two teams finish level.
- Who marks. If you're marking and reading questions alone, mark one round while the next is being answered.
Set up the game
- Open Tally Cat. On What are you counting?, tap Game scores. The app remembers your choice and opens straight into it next time. The grid button at the top left brings you back.
- Tap the game's name at the top (it says Game at first) and call it something like "Quiz night". This is the name on your score sheet.
- You start with Player 1 and Player 2. Each "player" can be a team: tap a name to rename it, and tap Add a player for every other team. There's no limit on teams or rounds.
- Leave the way to win on Highest total wins, the setting to begin with.
Each team gets a card in its own colour (after 12 teams the colours come round again), with its running total in big numbers and this round's points underneath.
Put in each round's points
When the answer sheets for a round are marked:
- Type the round's score. Tap the round's points on a team's card (it shows 0 until that team scores), type the number and tap Save. A minus sign takes points off, if your quiz has penalties.
- Or tap + and −. Each tap adds or takes off one point, handy for a fast buzzer-style round.
When every team has its points, tap Start round 2 at the bottom. The line under it says Round 1 is added to the totals. The button stays grey until someone has scored in the round, so a stray tap never leaves an empty round behind.
Under the game's name, Tally Cat shows who's ahead and by how much, like "Round 3 · Ann leads by 4", or who's tied. The leading team's card wears a Leads crown. That makes the between-rounds standings easy to read out.
Fixing a mistake
- Just tapped the wrong thing? Tap Undo at the top. It takes back the last change of any kind: a point, a typed score, a new round, a rename.
- A team queries a mark from an earlier round? Open the score sheet (the table button at the top), tap that team's score for the round, and type the right number. The totals and the leader change to match.
- A team leaves early? Leave its card where it is, so its scores stay on the sheet; its later rounds just show "–". Its card's ⋯ menu has Remove, but that takes the team's points off the sheet too (the app asks first). Undo brings it back.
Ties
If two or more teams share the top total, the line under the game's name says who's tied, like "Round 6 · Tied: Ann and Bo". Ask your tie-break question, then tap Start round 7 and give the winner its point with +. A round only needs one team to score, and it shows on the sheet as one more round.
The score sheet
The score sheet shows the whole quiz the way you'd write it on paper: team names across the top, a row for each round, and the totals at the foot, with the leader's column shaded and a line saying who leads or won.
Pick Letter or A4, then:
- Print sends it to your printer.
- Share PDF sends the page to any app.
- Share image sends a picture of the first page, handy for the venue's or the team's group chat.
The printed sheet has the game's name and date, a band with the result, every round, the totals and, when there's room below them, ruled lines for notes. Up to 8 teams fit across a page; with more teams or rounds, it carries on to more pages.
Next week's quiz
When the night is over, open the ⋯ menu and choose New game. The quiz moves to Past games with its scores and winner, and the same team names start again at zero. Remove any team that doesn't come back, and add the new ones. Nothing is deleted.
Tap the clock button at the top for Past games. Each one shows who won, its name and its date. Tap one to open its score sheet, print it again or fix a score.
Just two teams? Use the scoreboard
For a head-to-head final or a two-team quiz, the two-team scoreboard (the split-screen button at the top) fills the screen with two big halves, Us and Them. Tap a side to add a point; its minus takes one off. Tap a name to rename the side. It has its own Undo, so it never touches your game, and Reset puts both sides back to zero after asking first. The screen stays awake while it's open.
What it costs
Game scores is free: any number of teams and rounds, typed scores, + and −, running totals, Undo, the two-team scoreboard, Past games, and the score sheet to print or share as a PDF or image. There's no account and no ads. The printed sheet carries a small "Tally Cat" line at the foot.
Tally Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase, one purchase for counting and game scores. For games it adds game templates, player stats across past games (wins and win rate, matched by name), a colour of your choice for each team, and the score sheet as a CSV. Losing Pro never deletes a game. More on the Tally Cat page.
Your teams and scores are kept on your iPhone or iPad. They leave only when you print or share them yourself.
Quick answers
Can a "player" be a team?
Yes. A player is just a name with a card, so name it after the team.
A team says we marked them wrong two rounds ago. Can I fix it?
Yes. Open the score sheet, tap that score and type the right one. The totals and the leader update.
How many teams can I have?
There's no limit. Up to 8 fit across a printed page; more carry on to further pages.
Keeping score for cards at home instead? See how to keep score for a card game.
Try Tally Cat
Try Tally Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/tally-cat