Running the game and connecting devices

The game is run by the operator in the Control panel. The other devices show the game to the players and the host. This chapter describes them together — stage by stage: what the operator does and what happens on the other screens at the same time. Rules of the rounds Round flow and the duel and the final The game show final.

Devices and connecting them

The Control panel does not work on a phone — you need a computer or a tablet with a wide screen. The host does not control the game — the operator does. One person can do both jobs, but it takes smooth switching between talking to the players and working the panel.

How to open the Control panel. Select a ready game in My games and choose Play. The first step is Devices. In the panel's top bar, dots show which devices are connected; the device buttons let you get back to their codes and sharing, also during the game.

The Display is always needed — you cannot continue without it.

• A second monitor or projector next to the computer. Turn on the extended desktop (Windows: Win+P, Mac: ⌘+F1), choose Open next to the Display, drag the window to the second screen and switch it to full screen.
• A TV with a browser. In the TV's browser, open familiada.online/connect/tv/ — a simplified page with a field for the 6-digit code and a Connect button. Enter the Display code from the panel; the up/down arrows switch between the field and the button, OK/Enter confirms. You can also use the regular Connect device page. You do not need to sign in on the TV.
• Another device. Open familiada.online → Connect device → Connect by code and enter the code.

Host and Buzzer — scan the QR Code with a phone or enter the code via Connect device. The Connect a device page works without signing in: after you enter the code, you will see the game's name and its owner — check them and confirm. On a phone and tablet there is also Scan QR (scanning with the camera; if your browser doesn't support it, use the system camera app). QR on display shows the codes on the Display, so the crew can quickly scan them from the room. It is best to use two separate devices.

Each device works in one place at a time. Opening it in a new tab or on other hardware (e.g. after scanning the code again) takes over its role straight away, and the previous screen shows "This device was opened elsewhere". To go back to the previous screen, click Use here on it — the other one switches off.

Copy copies the code. Shares (next to the code, with the number of people) shows who the device is shared with in this session — revoke a share with the trash icon. Share (for the Display next to Open, for the Host and the Buzzer below the QR codes) sends the device to another person — enter their email address or username, or select friends, and choose Share; the window closes. A recipient with an account will find the device in Connect a device → "Devices shared with me", and a person without an account — in the email and on the My notifications page. In the shared list, a phone and a tablet show the Host and the Buzzer, and a computer shows the Display. Sharing devices requires an account.

Without some of the devices:

• "No host tablet" — you play without a host screen; the host reads from the panel.
• "Physical buzzer" — you use your own buttons or raised hands; in the duel the operator marks the team that was first.

Test mode shows the Display, the Host and the Buzzer in one window, next to the panel — for trying out a game on one computer (it needs a large window). For a real game, use separate devices Problems during the game.

The host screen has two parts: top and bottom in portrait, left and right in landscape. The first shows the game stage (e.g. "ROUND 1 — PLAY") and the question, the second — the materials: the answers with points, the final questions or the details of answer scoring. The second part is sometimes covered by a cover, so the players cannot peek at the answers: in portrait, swipe it down to uncover it and up to cover it; in landscape — right and left. Only the host sees what is uncovered. After each change of stage, the cover may come back.

The theme selected in the game settings also matches the Host screen. Wings, Radar, Cabinet, Ribbon and Bridge have their own frames and covers, with framing colors based on the background and accents in the team colors. The question and answer layout and the uncovering gestures stay the same.

A device disconnects. When a required device stops responding, after a few seconds the panel shows which devices have disconnected and pauses the game. Check the internet and the device's screen; if needed, connect it again with the buttons in the top bar. The game unlocks on its own when the devices are back. Actions confirmed earlier stay saved, and a running timer keeps counting down. Common causes and fixes Device problems.

Preparing and starting the game

1. Devices. Connect the devices Devices and connecting them. On the "Sound" card, choose where the sound should come from:
   • Control panel — sound from the operator's computer. With a TV connected via HDMI, it is usually enough to pick the TV as the computer's sound output.
   • Display — sound from a separate TV or device. Press Unlock sound on the Display (on a TV — OK or Enter on the remote); without this you cannot continue.

Choose Next.

1. Settings summary. Check the teams, the look with a preview of the Display and the host screen, the sounds, and the round and final questions. A volume changed here applies only to this game — next time the values from the game settings are loaded. Reshuffle changes the drawn questions, Change settings opens the game settings Game settings. Choose Done — start the game — this button is inactive when the final does not have 5 questions.
2. Starting the game. The Display now shows the team names. The Buzzer is already visible but does not accept presses. In this state the panel can wait until the actual start. Start game plays the intro and the logo entrance on the Display. Then choose Start to begin the round.

The browser may mute the Display's sound after it is reloaded or the TV goes to sleep — then the Unlock sound button appears again, and the panel waits until it is pressed.

How the panel works. The hints column tells you who is answering now, what the next step is and the rules the buttons do not show (e.g. that the end of the 3 s countdown is an X, and the third X starts a steal); when a tile is selected, it reminds you to click it again. The bar under the board shows the playing team and the round pool. The button for moving on changes its name depending on the step (e.g. Go to the final). Actions that change the score — revealing an answer, an X, accepting a buzz, passing control — need two clicks: the first selects the tile, the second confirms. Greyed-out buttons are temporarily unavailable, e.g. while a sound or animation plays — wait until the panel unlocks them.

Running the rounds

The duel.

1. After Start, "ROUND 1 — BUZZER" appears on the host screen. The question is under the cover, so the players do not see it before it is asked.
2. The host reads the question, the players press their button (A or B) — the button lights up straight away. The panel shows who was first: confirm with Accept: {team} or choose Retry to repeat the press. With a physical buzzer, the operator chooses team A or B and confirms.
3. The operator marks the player's answer or gives an X. The app settles the duel on its own: the top-scoring answer wins straight away; otherwise the other team answers and the higher answer wins (in a tie — the first one). If both answers are off the board, the next pair of players plays the duel. The Display shows which team is playing.

The team's turn ("ROUND 1 — PLAY" on the host screen).

• A correct answer: select it and confirm. On the Display the text is revealed, then the points, and finally the new round pool total. The revealed tile in the panel turns green.
• X adds a mistake (counter "1 / 3", "2 / 3", "3 / 3"); an X appears on the Display with a sound.
• 3s starts a three-second countdown when an answer is taking too long. When the time runs out, the app adds an X on its own. Clicking again or doing anything else turns the countdown off without an X.
• Pass control hands the question over to the opponents — once per round, right after winning the face-off: the team's first answer (correct or an X) removes this option. A red hint then appears on the host screen.

The host sees the question and all the answers with points, e.g. "2) Bike (24)" — a green row is an answer already shown to the audience. The host checks the pool, the X's and the team scores on the Display.

Steal ("ROUND 1 — STEAL"). After three mistakes, the opponents give one answer: the operator marks it or gives an X. A hit moves the pool to the opponents, a miss leaves it with the playing team.

End of the round. End round awards the pool multiplied by the round multiplier. Then you can reveal the remaining answers for the audience ("ROUND 1 — REVEAL") — they no longer give points. Then choose Go to next round, Go to the final or Go to end of game. When the game is ending (threshold without a final or no questions left), the remaining answers are not revealed End of the round and threshold check, How the app handles it.

Running the final

Preparation. Prepare a waiting spot and headphones with music for the second player How the final goes. Start the final to open the final board: the winning team's score stays, a timer appears in place of the opponents' score, and the final total — at the top.

Player 1 — entering answers.

1. Start the timer (15 s) with the Start countdown (15s) button or the Ctrl+Enter shortcut (Mac: ⌘+Enter) — the timer does not start on its own.
2. The host reads the questions, and the operator types the answers into five fields. Enter and the down arrow move to the next empty field, the up arrow — to the previous one. To correct an entry, click its field.
3. You can stop the timer only after all five answers are entered; when the time runs out you can move on even with gaps. Every player must use the timer.

The host sees "FINAL ROUND 1 — COUNTDOWN 12s" and the five questions with a status: "entered", "missing" or (for the second player) "repeat". You can also fix typos after the time runs out.

The Display has 11 places for an answer. Letters that do not fit are orange and struck through — in the entry fields, on the answer buttons while scoring and under Show answer. A word cut in the middle ends with a full stop on the Display, e.g. "Tea with milk" → "Tea with m.". Characters the Display cannot show (e.g. emoji) are in a struck-through red box — the board skips them without leaving a gap.

Player 1 — scoring and revealing. For each question, compare the entry with the list of answers:

• choose the matching answer from the list,
• "Not on the list (0 pts)" — the Display shows the answer exactly as entered and zero,
• "No answer" — zero.

Then Show answer and Show points — the total goes up only when the points are revealed. Next moves on to the next question. The host sees the question, the operator's entry ("Entered"), the matching status and the full list of answers with points. Once revealed, answers cannot be changed.

Player 2. Start the second round of the final — the second player comes back; the first player's answers are on the Display again, so the second player turns away from the board. The operator sees them next to the fields, which helps spot a repeat. The timer is 20 s.

• When the player repeats the first player's answer, click Repeat (or Shift+Enter in an empty field) — a signal sounds, and the host asks for a different answer. Each click plays the signal again; the mark disappears only once a new answer is entered.
• As long as there is time, the host can go back to skipped questions.
• Scoring and revealing — as for player 1. The host also sees player 1's answer to the same question.

End of the final. When the finalists reach the target — 200 points by default The final points target — further scoring is blocked, and the button changes to Finish final — the operator chooses when to finish. If the target was not reached, Finish final appears after player 2's last points.

Ending the game

• After the final — Finish final shows the end screen: the logo, the points or the prize amount Additional settings. Then Finish game plays the ending music; the result stays visible.
• Without a final — Go to end of game settles the pool and shows the end screen, and Finish game plays the ending music. With the prize amount setting, a game without a final shows the points, and in a tie — the logo.

The host screen is then cleared. Finally, choose Start over or Back to my games.

Always end the game in the panel. If you close it in the middle, the game stays in progress and blocks changes to the settings Preparing the settings. The logo on the host screen depends on the "Host logo" setting Display.

Panel keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts work when the cursor is not in a text field. The hints column also shows the shortcuts available at the current step.