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A quiz show hosted by comedian Tom Gleeson, who in each episode gets to quiz and mock four contestants, each of whom has selected a specialist subject area. The winner gets to own Tom's coveted Big Brass Mug.

Hard Quiz is a weekly comedy quiz series. In each episode, four contestants, who are each billed as "experts" in a specific subject area that they have selected before their appearance, compete against each other over four rounds, with the winner receiving the Big Brass Mug. Each episode begins with host Tom Gleeson interviewing each of the contestants, then Tom says "Let's play - HARD!" and the game begins.

The first round is the Experts' Round. In this round, Tom asks five questions in each of the contestants' expert subjects. For each question, the first contestant to press their buzzer gets to answer the question. If the first contestant to buzz in is the expert in the question's subject area and they give the correct answer, then they will receive 5 points. If a contestant with a different expert subject buzzes in first, known as a Steal, and gives the correct answer, they will receive 10 points. If the first contestant to buzz in gives an incorrect answer, then they will lose points, 5 points in the case of the contestant who is the expert in the question's subject area or 10 points in the case of a contestant attempting a Steal (from Season 2 onward, an unsuccessful Steal results in that contestant only losing 5 points), and the other contestants have another chance to press their buzzer if they think they know the answer. If no contestant buzzes in within a set time limit or all four contestants give incorrect answers, then Tom will say what the correct answer is.

The second round is Tom's Round. In this round, Tom asks the contestants five multiple-choice questions from a subject area of his own selection. Each contestant then selects which of the answer choices they think is correct, with their choices appearing when they are made. Tom then reveals which of the answers is correct. The first four questions in this round offer four possible answer choices, and any contestant that chooses the correct answer receives 5 points, while a contestant that chooses an incorrect answer loses 5 points. For the final question, there are six possible answer choices and any contestant who chooses the correct answer receives 10 points, while an incorrect answer choice costs the contestant that makes it 5 points.

At the end of this round, the contestant with the lowest score is eliminated from the competition. They are given a chance to discuss what went wrong for them before Tom says to them, "You know what this means - OUT!" and they exit the studio. If there is a tie for the lowest score, then it is broken with a Hard Off, in which the tied contestants are asked a question and given two possible answers, which often involve a comparison between two people or things (for example, "Who has had more divorces - Elizabeth Taylor or Richard Burton?"). The first contestant to press their buzzer gets to choose between the answers. If they choose the correct answer, they will stay in the game, and the other contestant, or the last contestant not to give a correct answer if there are more than two tied contestants, is eliminated, but if the buzzing contestant chooses the incorrect answer, they are eliminated and the other tied contestant(s) will be safe.

The third round is the People's Round. In this round, the three remaining contestants are given 60 seconds of general knowledge questions. The first contestant to press their buzzer after each question gets to answer it. If they answer correctly, they will receive 5 points, but if they give an incorrect answer, they will lose 5 points. After the time runs out, the contestant with the lowest score is eliminated, and if there is a tie, then it is broken by a Hard Off with the same rules as apply at the end of Tom's Round.

The two remaining contestants go head-to-head in the final round, in which, after Tom asks both of them what they will do with the Big Brass Mug if they win it, each contestant is asked some harder questions about their expert subjects in a best-of-five penalty shootout-style, with the questions alternating between the two contestants. The contestant who answers more questions correctly wins. Sometimes, fewer than five questions per contestant need to be asked to determine the winner if the lead becomes big enough - for example, if one contestant correctly answers two questions more than their opponent, they will be declared the winner after four questions are asked to each. If the contestants are tied after five questions, then the round goes into sudden death with an additional pair of questions asked. If this fails to break the tie, then the contestants play Tom's Tie-Breaker, where they both receive a question from the subject they played in Tom's Round, which requires a numeric answer. After they both make a guess at the answer, Tom reveals the correct answer, and the contestant who is "nearest the pin" with their answer wins. The winner is declared as that night's Hard Quiz Champion, which means that after their opponent is eliminated and leaves, they receive the Big Brass Mug, and also get to sign off by saying "Thanks for playing - HARD!"