What is The Initials Game Live?

It began as a super addictive radio game show.

Then it became a wildly popular home game.

And now it’s a live trivia game that’s taking over bars, restaurants, breweries, and more around the country!

How do you play?

Person holding a smartphone at a wooden table with three glasses of beer and a colorful can in the background.

Bring a crew of your favorite companions to the nearest Initials Game Live location. You can play solo or with a team — either is allowed! Max number of players is 8 per team.
You’ll hear six clues per item. They start out tricky, but don’t worry! They get progressively easier.
The sooner you submit the correct answer, the more points you get. If you guess wrong, you’re out until the next item.
Each round contains five items. A full game consists of three rounds. Prizes awarded at the end of each round!

Instructions for playing The Initials Game Live, including rounds, items per round, clues per item, and examples of initial clues.

Play a Round With Us!

See what The Minnesota Star Tribune had to say about The Initials Game Live!

FAQ

Everything you need to know about The Initials Game Live!

Initials Game Live is a speed-based trivia game. Players are given the two-letter initials of a person/place/thing, followed by a series of clues designed to lead you to the correct answer. The sooner you get there, the more points you get!
Here's a sample round:
Let's say we're playing the initials "TM" Your host reveals the following clues, in order:

1. It may go back and forth.
2. Apple operating system backup mechanism.
3. Popularized by H.G. Wells.
4. Seen in "Napoleon Dynamite."
5. It might be a hot tub.
6. It might be a DeLorean.
...
If you guessed "time machine": You're right! And the sooner you guessed it, the more points you would have received.
Look out, though: You only have one guess per item! Do you play it safe, or risk it all?
A round of The Initials Game Live runs about 20-25 minutes, with prizes awarded at the end of each round. A full game consists of three rounds. With breaks between each round, a standard game is roughly 90 minutes.
The winner of each round receives a gift card to the host venue valued at $15-20. Additional beer tokens or other consolation prizes are awarded at random by our hosts (for things like "funniest wrong answer" or "best team name" or "you look pretty sad because you haven't won anything yet").
It’s pretty tricky at first! But you'll soon realize that the clues get easier as more are revealed.
And there are lots of items played throughout the game, so even if you miss one, you don’t have to wait long to try again.
Give it a shot! We think you’ll find it as addictive as we do.
Always!
You can play solo or with a team — either is allowed! Some folks like competing with their friends at the same table, and some folks like to put their heads together.
The maximum number of players is the same as in a Trivia Mafia game: 8 players. That said, we always leave it up to our hosts' discretion!
We sure do! Send us a note and let us know what you're planning!
It's pretty fun to run the show, and you only have to commit to one event per week with us. Head to triviamafia.com/apply to fill in our host application! (Initials Game Live is operated by Trivia Mafia, which means hosts are employees of Trivia Mafia, LLC.)
If you have a question about Initials Game Live merch purchased at our online store, reply directly to the purchase confirmation email you received after making your purchase, or reach out to us via our Contact Page.

If you have a question about your purchase of the play-at-home version of The Initials Game, respond directly to your purchase confirmation email, or track your purchase at the Initials Game website.

Note: We partner with The Initials Game to produce live events based on the game, but we do not directly sell the play-at-home version.