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Trivia Buzzer

A quiz buzzer for one phone, tablet or laptop: every team gets its own tap area and key, the first press wins and locks out everyone else until the host scores the answer.

Buzzers open. First press wins.
Chart: score after each question
Settings: teams, keys and scoring

Each team buzzes with its own letter key or with its number key (1 to 8). F, M and U are kept for full screen, sound and undo.

How to use the trivia buzzer

Pick the number of teams in Settings (2 to 8) and type the team names. Each team has a colored tap area on the screen, a letter key and a number key. When the host finishes reading the question, the first team to tap or press its key buzzes in: its area turns black, a tone plays, and every other team is locked out.

The host then presses Correct to add the points and move to the next question, or Wrong to open the buzzers again for the other teams. Next question clears everything without scoring, for example when nobody knows the answer. The line at the top shows who was first and how many seconds after the buzzers opened they pressed.

For a quiz in front of a room, press Open display window and drag the new window to a TV or projector: it shows the team that buzzed in huge letters, the answer countdown and the scores, and it follows the host's window. Share link copies the teams, keys, scores and settings, never the question log.

Scoring and settings

Quiz rules vary from one pub, classroom or club to the next, so the scoring is yours to set. By default a correct answer is worth 1 point, a wrong answer costs nothing, and a team that answers wrongly sits out the rest of that question while the others may buzz. You can change the points for a correct answer, take points off for a wrong one, let a wrong team buzz again, hide the scores, and switch on an answer timer that sounds a horn when the time runs out.

Every buzz and every point is kept, so Undo takes back a buzz or a score, the Chart shows the score of each team after each question, Download CSV lists each buzz with its reaction time, and Print sheet prints the final table. Print blank sheet gives a paper quiz score sheet with 15 question columns. For rounds scored on paper answers instead of buzzers, the score keeper adds up points round by round, and the team scoreboard shows several team totals on one board.

Keyboard shortcuts

A key held down buzzes only once, so leaning on a key never gives a team a second press.

Questions

How does the buzzer know who pressed first?

The browser handles taps and key presses one at a time, in the order they arrive, and the first one locks the round. Two teams pressing within a few milliseconds of each other are split by that order. On a touch screen several people can tap at once, and on a laptop each team can sit at its own end of the keyboard.

Can each team use its own phone as a buzzer?

No. Everything runs on one device and nothing is sent over the internet, so all teams share one screen or one keyboard. A laptop with the display window on a TV works well for a room: the teams use keys or a large touch screen, and everyone watches the TV.

Can I use it without keeping score?

Yes. Untick Show scores and set the points for a correct answer to 0. The buzzer still shows who pressed first and locks out the rest.

Does it work as a buzzer online for a classroom?

Yes. Open the page on the classroom computer or interactive board, give each group a key or a corner of the touch screen, and use Full screen or the display window. It needs no sign-up, and the teams and scores are saved in the browser so a refresh loses nothing.

More in Scores and games

Put this trivia buzzer on your website

Free for classrooms, clubs, blogs and shops: paste this code into any page. It works the same inside your site, and counts stay in each visitor's own browser. For a dark version, add ?theme=dark after /trivia-buzzer/ in the code.