Trivia Mania
Skills Guide: Getting Started vs Advanced
A roadmap for learning Trivia Mania — what to focus on first and what to explore as you grow
This guide breaks down Trivia Mania skills into two tiers: Getting Started and Advanced. Use it to prioritize what to learn before your first event, and to know what to come back to as your activations grow more sophisticated.
Getting started: You can log in, build a standard trivia game, run a live event, apply your branding, set up a participation prize, and pull a post-event report.
Advanced: You can run on-demand campaigns, chain multiple rounds, import question banks, configure rank-based prizing with SMS or email delivery, customize fonts and margins, and work with full analytics and prize reports.
Getting Started
These are the skills to focus on before your first event. Once you are comfortable with everything in this section, you can run a standard Trivia Mania activation independently.
Login & navigation
Logging in with your branch ID, secret, and credentials
The first step for every user — you need these credentials from your account team before anything else.
Using the product navigation bar to open Trivia Mania
How you reach the product from your dashboard each time you log in.
Accessing the main menu for global settings
Where branch-wide design, language, mobile menu, and Global Prizing live.
Instances
Understanding what an instance is and working from Default
Foundational concept — your activation settings all live inside an instance.
Creating a new instance when needed
Required when different events or visual themes need separate configurations.
Knowing that deletion is permanent
Prevents accidental and unrecoverable data loss.
Sharing your game
Finding and sharing the participant QR code
How guests access and join the game — the most important link to get right.
Saving a high-resolution QR code for print
Common need for in-venue signage and printed promotional materials.
Copying and sharing the participant URL
Essential for social media and digital promotion.
Setting up the mainboard output on your display screen
Required at every live event — the video board display will not work without this step.
Building a trivia round
Creating a round and naming it
No round means no game — the first required step inside Control.
Adding multiple choice questions
The most commonly used question format.
Adding free response questions with acceptable answer variants
Needed for any open-ended question where players type their answer.
Understanding the 120-character question limit
Knowing this ahead of time prevents issues when building your question bank.
Uploading question media for the video board and participant devices
Images increase engagement significantly — both screens have separate upload fields.
Reordering questions using the drag handle
You will almost always need to adjust order before going live.
Game modes
Understanding Manual mode and using Move to Next Stage
The most hands-on mode — used at most live-hosted events with an MC or host.
Understanding Automatic mode and how timers drive the game
The go-to mode for self-running activations.
Recognizing when On Demand is the right fit
Knowing the difference at a conceptual level helps you choose the right setup from the start.
Starting and stopping a game session
The core operational loop — Start, monitor, Stop — for every session.
Timers and scoring
Adjusting the countdown stage timer
Commonly shortened for live events — 60 seconds is often too long.
Setting the question duration
The primary control for pacing and difficulty.
Understanding points per question and deduction per second
Needed to set up fair, engaging scoring that rewards faster answers.
Adjusting the question reveal timer
Controls how long the correct answer is shown after each question.
Design basics
Changing colors using the color picker
Visual customization is expected for every branded event.
Understanding color contrast between text and background
The most common beginner mistake — invisible text is the most frequent design issue.
Uploading mainboard and mobile background images
Sets the visual identity of the activation.
Uploading logos and sponsor images
Standard requirement for any branded activation.
Using the participant link to preview your design before going live
The fastest way to check what guests will see.
Editing stage text in the Dialogues drawer
Commonly updated for event branding — countdown title and leaderboard title especially.
Prizing basics
Navigating to Global Prizing and creating a simple prize
The core prizing workflow for any activation with a giveaway.
Attaching a prize to an activation with participation-based Automatic distribution
The simplest and most common prize setup.
Analytics basics
Viewing game session records
Needed for even basic post-event reporting.
Exporting a game report to Excel
The standard post-event deliverable most clients need.
Advanced
These skills are for more complex activations, high-production events, multi-day campaigns, and sponsor integrations. Come back to this section once you have your first events under your belt.
Question management
Importing question banks via JSON
Dramatically speeds up setup for large or recurring question sets.
Exporting questions for backup and reuse
Protects your work and enables sharing across events.
Inserting media slides between questions
Used for sponsor messages or video segments mid-game.
Adding images to individual answer choices
Creates visually rich questions for premium activations.
Advanced game configuration
Round chaining for multi-game events
Lets multiple games run back-to-back without stopping the activation.
Round chaining flow modes and leaderboard duration
Controls how transitions between chained rounds are managed.
Running a multi-day On Demand campaign
A different operational approach — player-initiated over an extended window.
Using Manual prize distribution in On Demand mode
Prevents rank prizes from being awarded too early in asynchronous activations.
Why Random question order should only be used in On Demand
Avoids mainboard/device sync issues — a common and impactful mistake if missed.
Fast-forwarding stages mid-game in Automatic mode
Operational flexibility for live event troubleshooting.
Using the Question Number Stage
Enhances pacing for high-production live events.
Advanced design
Using gradients and opacity in the color picker
Needed for premium activations with complex brand guidelines.
Making questions sit on the background with no frame or box
Setting both Question Background and Question Frame to 0% opacity.
Uploading and activating a custom font
Required for activations with strict brand typography standards.
Using the Disable Media Frame toggle
Needed when uploaded images should layer cleanly over the background.
Setting custom mainboard margins
Required for venues with specific screen safe zones or display constraints.
Using the custom mainboard editor
Advanced screen-by-screen layout customization for high-end productions.
Configuring the QR countdown display style
Design decision affecting how the countdown stage looks to guests.
Setting up rotating sponsor banners
Required for activations with multiple sponsors or advertising partners.
Creating and using splash pages
Common for events needing a branded holding screen before game start.
Advanced prizing
Rank, points, time, and games-played condition types
Required for competitive prizing beyond simple participation.
Understanding prize limit precedence
Global Prizing limits override instance-level limits — critical for avoiding over-distribution.
Enabling SMS and email prize delivery
Used when direct-to-device prize delivery and contact data capture are objectives.
Backend registration for lead generation
Adds a data collection form to the prize claim — common for sponsor-driven events.
Loading custom promo codes via CSV
Required when prizes use sequential or partner-issued unique redemption codes.
Cloning prizes for large multi-prize events
Saves significant setup time when an event uses many similar prize variants.
Reading and using prize reports from Global Prizing
Essential for post-event sponsor reporting on prize delivery and collected data.
Analytics and integrations
Interpreting unique vs returning player metrics
Needed for audience insight reporting beyond simple participation numbers.
Cross-referencing game reports with prize reports
Advanced analysis for sponsor reporting packages.
XML/JSON feed integration with external display systems
Required for operators pulling Trivia Mania data into third-party platforms.
Readiness Checklists
Use these checklists to confirm you are ready before your first event, or before taking on a more complex activation.
Before your first event
I can log in and navigate to Trivia Mania
I understand instances and can work from Default
I can share the QR code and set up the mainboard output on a display screen
I have built a round with at least one multiple choice question
I understand the difference between Manual, Automatic, and On Demand modes
I have adjusted my timers and tested a game using Manual mode
I have applied my brand colors and uploaded background images
I have created a participation prize in Global Prizing and attached it to my activation
I know how to export a game report after the event
Before a complex or high-production activation
I can import and export question banks via JSON
I can set up and run a round-chained multi-game activation
I understand On Demand mode strategy for asynchronous campaigns
I know when and why to use Manual prize distribution in On Demand mode
I can configure rank, points, or time-based prizing
I have enabled SMS or email prize delivery on at least one prize
I have uploaded and activated a custom font
I can set custom mainboard margins and use the layout editor
I have configured rotating sponsor banners
I can save and read prize reports from Global Prizing
I understand that Global Prizing limits override instance-level prize limits