Quiz game board maker

How to make and run a quiz board

1. Choose how many categories (1 to 6) and rows (1 to 6), and the values: 100 to 500, 200 to 1,000, or your own start and step. The page opens with an original sample board you can play at once or overwrite.
2. Type the category names across the top, then tap each tile to write its question and answer. A tile can also show a picture from your device: a map, a painting, a chemical structure.
3. Or write the whole board in a spreadsheet, one tile per line (category, value, question, answer), copy the cells and paste them under Paste from a spreadsheet. A 5 × 5 board is 25 lines.
4. Pick 0 to 3 double tiles, by ticking Double tile on a tile or with Place at random, and write a final round question if you want one.
5. Set up 2 to 8 teams on the right, with names, colours and a buzzer key each, then press Play and Full screen on the projector or smartboard.
6. Tap a tile: the question fills the board and the buzzers open. The first team to press its key or zone is highlighted. Press Show answer, then ✓ to give the team the points or ✗ to mark it wrong; after a wrong answer the buzzers re-open for the other teams. Back to board greys the tile out.

The scoring rules it uses

A right answer adds the tile's value. With Wrong answers lose the tile's points on (the default), a wrong answer takes the same amount away, so a wrong guess on a 400 tile costs 400; switch it off for younger classes and a wrong answer costs nothing. Undo takes back the last score change.

Double tiles are played by one team without buzzing: the team that last answered right, or one you pick. Before the question it wagers any amount from 0 up to its own score or the board's highest tile value, whichever is larger. With a 5 × 5 board of 100 to 500, a team on 200 may wager up to 500; a team on 1,300 may wager up to 1,300. A right answer wins the wager, a wrong one loses it.

In the final round each team types a wager from 0 up to its own score (a team at 0 or below can only wager 0) into a box that hides the digits, the question is shown, you mark each team's written answer, and Reveal applies every wager at once. Example: teams on 1,200, 800 and 300 wager 1,000, 800 and 0; if the first is wrong and the others right, the finals are 200, 1,600 and 300.

What it cannot do

• No buzzers on players' own phones. That needs a server and a room code; here every team buzzes on the same keyboard or touch screen.
• Share links carry the text only. Pictures stay in this browser and are left out of the link and the printout's answer key.
• It does not write questions or check answers: the host reads the answer and taps ✓ or ✗.
• Many keyboards cannot register some keys pressed at the same moment (key rollover, often 2 to 6 keys). Test your teams' keys together on the keyboard tester before a big quiz.
• A board has at most 6 categories of 6 tiles, 3 double tiles and 600 characters per question or answer.

Privacy

The board, used tiles and settings are saved in this browser's local storage under polyatic-quiz-game-board-v1, the teams and scores under polyatic-quiz-game-board-teams-v1, and pictures in this browser's IndexedDB; nothing is uploaded. Clear saved deletes all three in one tap. A share link puts the board's text after the #, the part of a link a browser never sends to a server. The page counts an anonymous page view and three fixed words, board-open, board-play and board-share; never a question, a name or a score.

Questions

Is there a free game show board maker for the classroom with no account?

This one: the board, the buzz-in, the double tiles, the final round, pictures and up to 8 teams are all free, with no sign-up and no limit on boards. Everything runs in the browser and is saved on the device you use.

Can I make the quiz board in a spreadsheet and paste it in?

Yes. Put one tile per line with four columns, category, value, question and answer, select the cells in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, copy and paste them into Paste from a spreadsheet. Comma-separated text works too. Copy as tab text puts the board back on the clipboard in the same shape, ready to paste into a sheet.

How does buzz-in work on one screen?

When a question opens the buzzers arm. Each team has its own keyboard key or a coloured touch zone under the board; the press with the earliest browser event time (event.timeStamp) wins and locks the other teams out, even if the browser handed the presses over in the other order. If that team answers wrong the buzzers re-open for the rest. The same rules run the stand-alone quiz buzzer.

How are double tiles and the final round scored?

A double tile is played by one team, which wagers from 0 up to its score or the board's top value, whichever is higher, and wins or loses that wager. In the final round every team types a secret wager from 0 up to its own score; the wagers are revealed and applied together once you have marked each answer.

Can I share the board or print it?

Share link packs the board's text into the part of the link after the #, which is never sent to a server; pictures stay on your device. Print with answer key gives the board on the first page and every answer on the next, on A4 or US Letter.