Buzzer Mode Settings

In one line: Everything buzzers — how players join and get named, how answers come in, how the buzz queue behaves, and what shows on everyone’s screens.

You might call it: buzz-in, virtual buzzer, PIN join, “phones as clickers.”

Buzzer Mode lets players “buzz” into a game from a mobile device or computer. You can use it in every play mode — and in Loop Mode for events. As host you choose how questions and buzzers appear on participants’ devices, enable or disable the buzzer at specific times, and manage the response order. All of it lives in the Buzzer Mode section of the Settings page. Set these once for all your games — or differently for a single game. How both work: Global and Game Specific Settings.

Supported devices: physical buzzers — no. Factile does not support third-party physical buzzers. Instead, any browser-based device running Chrome, Safari, or Edge becomes a virtual buzzer — players buzz in from their own phones, tablets, or computers.

Joining & identity

In the screenshot: (1) Prompt individual name, (2) Join after the game begins, (3) Edit team names, (4) Buzzer for Final Factile, (5) Typed Final Factile answers, (6) Typed answers after buzzing in.

• Prompt buzzer player to enter individual name — players are prompted to enter their names as they join; the name is shown in addition to the team mascot name — on their own device, on the podium, and on the Leaderboard, so you can see exactly who is on top. (In Multi-Member team games players are always asked for names, regardless of this setting.) Want names off the projector but kept everywhere else? Game Settings → Turn off captain/player name tags.

• Users can join Buzzer mode after the game begins — a Join Code stays available during the game: direct latecomers to playfactile.com/join and have them enter the PIN shown in the top-left corner of the game board. When someone asks to join, the PIN box turns yellow — click it and decide:
  • Cancel — “not now”: the box returns to normal and would-be joiners are told the moderator isn’t admitting players at the moment.
  • In the waiting list, each mascot has two icons: the trash icon on the left rejects that player, the ＋ icon on the right accepts them — then click Done to apply.
  • Admit all accepts everyone waiting at once; Reject all clears the whole waiting list.
    Essential for classrooms (someone’s Chromebook always restarts at 9:03); turn it off for locked tournament rosters.

• Allow Buzzer players to edit their team names — players can modify or personalize their team names from their seats; team names show on the mascot podium.

Answering

• Allow players to type answers after buzzing in — the old page called this Enter Answer after Buzz. The player who buzzed in first types their answer directly on their own device, and you read each answer from the Host display. Perfect for remote games; playing in the same room with verbal answers? Leave it off.

• Use the Buzzer for the Final Factile question — the finale, buzzer-style. Pair with Allow players to type or select answers after buzzing in Final Factile to give players a text field for their final answer; submissions appear on your screen.

• Automatically display the next team’s answer — when scoring, the next team’s answer appears on your screen in buzz order, no clicking through. Once typed answers are on, there’s little reason to leave this off.

• Buzzer in choice mode — previously players could select answers directly; with this on, they must buzz first and the first team to buzz selects and submits their answer before anyone else. Off: everyone answers from their own device, no race — secretly “everyone plays every question” mode.

• Display choice options on host screen in buzzer mode — you see the multiple-choice options next to the question; when off, only the question shows on your screen while players still see the choices on their devices.

• Allow pressing the buzzer or selecting the answer only before the question timer expires — the hard cutoff: no buzzing or selecting once the timer hits zero.

The buzz queue & control

The mental model: reading timer ends → buzzers go live → every buzz queues in order → team 1 answers → a miss passes down the queue automatically.

In the screenshot: (1) Buzz only before the timer expires, (2) Host manual buzzer control, (3) Prevent buzzer spam, (4) Show buzz sequence on player screen.

• Prevent buzzer spam — mashing the buzzer repeatedly before it goes live blocks that buzzer for 2 seconds. One calm press wins; tell your class.
• Allow the host to manually control the buzzer — adds a control button so you open the buzzers instead of the timer. When off, the buzzer enables automatically when the question is shown — or after the reading timer, if one is set. The countdown timer still runs while you hold the buzzers.

In the screenshot: (1) Stop timer, (2) Stop thinking music, (3) Stop uploaded media on buzz-in, (4) Maximum teams who can buzz in, (5) Enable additional buzz-in rounds, (6) Number of rounds.

• Maximum teams who can buzz in (default: All) — the old Number of Buzz-Ins Allowed Per Try: cap how many teams can queue per question; once the limit is reached, no more buzz-ins. With 20+ teams, 3–5 keeps things moving.
• Enable additional buzz-in rounds + Number of additional buzz-in rounds (default: 1) — the old 2nd Chance Buzz In: if the whole first group answers incorrectly, remaining teams get another chance to buzz and steal the points. Example: with 5 teams, allow 2 steal rounds.

• Stop timer on buzz-in of (1–100) (default: All) · Stop thinking music on buzz-in of (1–100) (default: 1) · Stop the uploaded sound and video for the moderator on buzz-in of (1–100) (default: All) — by default, timer and music run until everyone has buzzed or time runs out; these dropdowns stop each one after your chosen number of buzzes. Setting Stop timer to 2 halts the countdown once at least two teams have buzzed. The defaults give the classic feel: music dies at the first buzz, the timer keeps running for stragglers.

• Sort buzzed-in teams by their buzz-in sequence, left to right — the podium on the host display reorders into buzz order (first buzz on the left) so scoring is easy to track. Just turn it on.
• Show buzz sequence on player screen — players see the order in which they buzzed (“you’re 3rd”), so they know their buzz registered.

What players see: display options

Display options for players’ buzzer devices — three choices:

In the screenshot: (1) Only Buzzer, (2) Question and Buzzer, (3) Board, Question and Buzzer — each with desktop and mobile previews.

• Only Buzzer — players see just the buzz button. In-room games where the board is on the projector.
• Question and Buzzer — the current question rides along. Remote players on phones.
• Board, Question and Buzzer — the full board too. Remote players on laptops; nobody needs your screen share.

Share the live Leaderboard

Give players (and the audience) a real-time scoreboard:

1. On the moderator screen, click Leaderboard.
2. Share the link playfactile.com/leaderboard or have players scan the QR code shown.
3. They enter the provided PIN and click Join — live scores on every device.

Timers, music & chat

Timer and music behavior in Buzzer Mode is driven from Timer Settings and Game Play Settings: the timer and music continue until all teams buzz or time runs out (unless your stop-on-buzz thresholds above say otherwise), thinking music can wait for the reading timer, and Final Factile can have its own countdown. While a timer runs, click the countdown on the board to pause; click again to resume.

Chat: on Home/School Plus and Business plans, the moderator can broadcast messages to all players in Buzzer mode — one-way; players cannot message you back. In Multi-Member team games, teammates can optionally chat among themselves (off by default).

*Ready to run one? The full hosting walkthrough is at Buzzer Mode, and join steps for players are in For Players: Join & Play.