Turn your phone into a quiz buzzer

How it works

The Buzzloo quiz buzzer runs in the browser. One device acts as the host screen: that’s where the room code, the first player to buzz and the scores appear. Every player uses their phone as a buzzer.

Nothing to install, no account, no email address. Up to 30 players can join the same room. For a quick summary of the rules before you start, “How to play” is waiting for you on the buzzer page.

Step 1: create the room

On the TV, a laptop or a tablet, open the buzzer page and choose Party mode. Create a room: a QR code and a 4-character code appear.

Use the biggest screen you can: everyone needs to see who buzzed first. Switch it to full screen, which is much easier to read from the couch. And tap “Turn sound on” once: this is the screen that will play the first buzz.

Step 2: let the players in

Each player:

1. scans the QR code with their phone’s camera, or goes to the site and types the 4-character code;
2. chooses a first name, a color and a sound: Beep, Honk, Ding, Pew, Boing or Ta-da;
3. sees a big buzzer appear on their screen.

Tip: ask everyone to pick a color and a sound of their own. You’ll know faster who buzzed, even without looking at the screen.

More than 30 people, or guests without a phone? Play in teams: one phone per team, with the team name instead of a first name.

Step 3: open the buzzers

Read your question all the way through, then press “Open buzzers”. On a computer, the Space bar or the O key does the same thing.

• The first player to press appears big on the host screen, with their sound. Their phone vibrates, if the phone supports it.
• The next buzzes are listed in order of arrival, with the gap to a hundredth of a second: “Olivia +0.21 s”.
• Anyone who presses before the buzzers open sees “Too soon!”, and their buzzer stays locked for one second.

Step 4: judge the answer

The player on screen answers out loud. You press:

• “Correct” (J key): +1 point for them;
• “Wrong” (F key): that player can’t buzz again on this question, and the next player in buzz order gets to answer.

The scoreboard appears on the host screen.

The host’s other buttons

• “Cancel question”: misread a question, or not sure about the answer? Move on to the next one.
• +1 and −1 on each player: to fix a point given by mistake, or award a bonus.
• “Reset scores”: to start over from zero, for a rematch.
• “Random question”: a true or false question drawn from the topic you choose. “Reveal the answer” then shows it, with an explanation.

Want to see the questions ahead of time? They’re on the quiz questions page, sorted by topic, for example general knowledge or science.

Getting the host screen on the TV

It’s best when everyone can see the screen nice and big. Three options:

• The TV’s own browser: many smart TVs have one. Open the buzzer page directly on it. Typing with the remote is a bit slow, but it works.
• Screen mirroring: show your laptop, tablet or phone screen on the TV wirelessly, with Chromecast or AirPlay depending on your devices.
• An HDMI cable: plug the laptop into the TV. It’s often the simplest and most reliable option, if you have the right cable.

None of these handy? A laptop or tablet in the middle of the table will do the job.

Switching devices along the way

Created the room on your phone, but you’d rather use the laptop plugged into the TV after all? That’s what the “Open the host screen elsewhere” link is for. Open it on the other device, and you’re back in your room.

Keep this link to yourself: it opens the host screen, with all its buttons. Whatever you do, don’t send it to the players' group chat.

Sound and vibration

• Turn up the volume on the host screen: that’s where the sound of the first buzz plays. Through a TV or a speaker, it’s a guaranteed hit.
• Don’t forget “Turn sound on”: one tap, at the start of the game.
• Phones vibrate too, when the phone supports it.
• Do a test run: open the buzzers once, with no question, to check that everyone is connected and the sound works.
• Playing music, for a music quiz? Stop it as soon as someone buzzes. Our guide on how to host a music quiz explains how to go about it.

Wi-Fi or mobile data?

Both work: each phone just needs an internet connection, and the phones don’t need to be on the same network.

• Give your guests the Wi-Fi password if mobile data is patchy at your place.
• A very weak connection can delay a buzz. If a player feels they’re always a beat behind, check their connection.
• The phone screen stays on during the game. If a phone goes to sleep anyway, reopen the page in the same browser.

Keeping it fair

A buzzer is far fairer than someone yelling “Me!” across the room. The server sets the buzz order, based on when each buzz arrives: neither the host nor the players can change it. A few more rules:

• No hammering the button before it opens: “Too soon!” locks the buzzer for one second, and that’s on purpose.
• The host opens the buzzers after finishing the question, never halfway through a sentence.
• Same conditions for everyone: phone in hand or flat on the table, but the same for all.
• No whispered answers: the player on screen answers alone.
• If in doubt, the order on screen settles it, with the gap to a hundredth of a second. No arguments!

Before the first question

The buzzer settles “who pressed first”. For everything else, the other Buzzloo tools prevent debates:

• random teams, for teams of the same size, give or take one person;
• a random order, if everyone hosts a round in turn;
• the random name picker, to choose the first host.

For the rest of the evening (topics, running order, forfeits), read our guide on how to host a quiz night. And to prepare your own questions, the one on how to write good quiz questions.

And after the party?

Nothing to tidy up: the room is deleted automatically 24 hours after its last activity. To play again another day, create a new room, with a new code.

Some of your friends live far away? Remote mode takes over, with a link sent on WhatsApp or Snapchat. The game lasts 1 day, 3 days or 1 week, and everyone takes turns asking a question. When you press BUZZ, the question appears, and you have 20 seconds to answer. It’s all explained in our guide to playing a quiz remotely.