App FAQs
These are questions we’ve been seeing a lot from hosts who are using the app! If your question isn’t answered here, email Chuck or head to the #answer-app channel on Slack.
What’s the best way to introduce the app to teams who haven’t used it before?
Great question! Host/On-Call Charles Spolyar has provided this helpful script for his fellow hosts.
[Script for introducing the on-line scoring platform]
Hi. Welcome to Trivia Mafia trivia. Have you played Trivia Mafia before? Have you used our new online system?
If you have played online - tonight’s code is XXXX. Do you need a card with that on it, or are you already logged in and ready to go?
If you haven’t played online - We have started a new system that has a lot of advantages. Here’s a card with some directions. But, you go to Play.triviamafia.com and set up a team. It’s probably best if you register as you’ll get an email which will help if your phone dies mid game. Once you are set up tonight’s code is XXXX. You will see the numbers 1 to 8 at the top. Those are the rounds of trivia. Round 4 is an image round, which you can get started on right away - so get started with that.
You can also invite the rest of the team to join you by going to the Menu (circle at the bottom of the screen) and sending an invite link. That way everyone can look at the image round on their own device. It’s probably best if just one of you answers the questions - but if you have a disagreement it will be whoever hits submit right before I lock the round who will get to answer the question.
One of the great things about the system is that once I ask a question I hit a button and the question will appear on your phone - so if there is any question about my pronunciation you’ll see the question and be able to pronounce it the way you want.
I’ll ask the first 3 rounds of questions and then it will be half time. Be sure to have the image round done by then. I’ll give you a few minutes and then start to lock the rounds. Then do some correcting, read the answers and update the leaderboard.
Let me know if you have any trouble getting set up.
If there are any late arriving teams - same spiel, but let them know that they can get caught up since the online system shows them the questions!
What if my device dies, or I am disconnected while hosting the game?
Once you are back online (bring a charger), you simply need to log back into the app and select the same Game and Venue. The in-progress game will still be there, and you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off.
What if a team’s device dies, or they are disconnected?
Same answer: Once they get back online, they can rejoin the game they had previously played, as long as they are logged in as the same team. If they log in as a different team, they will start over at the beginning of the game with 0 points.
Players who play as a Guest will not be able to log back in as the same team unless they had previously written down their team code. (This is separate from the event code. The team code allows different players to join the same team, while the event code allows different teams to join the same event). It is a good idea to tell all players that if they are playing as a guest, they should write down their team code.
If they had just hit “back” in the browser, they can click forward again if they do it quickly, but usually they will need to re-enter the team code and game code!
How do I help teams set up their profiles?
An individual user has to have joined to set up a team - if they join as a Guest, they can create a team name but should write down their team code (just in case they get booted out of the app). They can find this by clicking on MENU in the bottom right corner - it should show the team name and code up at the top!
We recommend, therefore, that they set up a unique profile so they can easily rejoin, and also easily invite other users to join their team!
Can a team change their name once they’ve started a game?
Yes! Only the player who first created the team can do so, but they’re given the option under Manage Profile in the Menu at the bottom of their screen.
How do I view an old game that I hosted?
Remember the join code? You can use that to see any previous game. Simply log in and go to this URL: play.triviamafia.com/host/CODE, replacing the word “CODE” with the four-digit game code.
Is there a preferred browser for playing on, or hosting on, the app?
Any browser will work!
Since teams no longer need repeats, what should I talk to them about? Why am I even here?
A live host is still a vital part of the Trivia Mafia experience! You give vibrance to the reading of questions and build suspense for the reveal of answers. You can also help with technical troubleshooting (of which we hope there’s very little).
Teams may not need you to say the questions again, since they can read them in the app, but you should still frequently walk around and check in with your teams. The first question would probably be, What is your team name?, since you won’t be seeing it written down when handing back sheets anymore. After that, if they are confident in navigating the app, ask them other normal questions - which round is their favorite so far? What are they eating/drinking, and would they recommend it? How do they know each other?
You were hired as a host because we believe that you like trivia and people! The trivia part just got easier - so now you can spend a little more time with the people.