Trivia Mania
Platform Behavior & Troubleshooting Guide
How the platform works under the hood — and how to fix the most common issues
This guide explains how Trivia Mania behaves in specific situations, what the platform's rules and limits are, and how to resolve the most common issues encountered. Use it whenever something behaves unexpectedly or you want to understand exactly how a feature works.
Instances
What each instance contains
Design settings — colors, fonts, uploaded images, banners, and dialogues
Control settings — rounds, questions, game mode, timers, and question variables
Prizing — which prizes are attached and how they are distributed
Analytics — available at the bottom of the Instance panel, Analytics are sorted by Instance - all game session records run from this instance
What is shared across all instances (not instance-specific)
Global Prizing prizes — created once, available to any instance of any product
Main menu settings — branch-wide design, language, mobile menu structure, signup settings
Branch login credentials — the same ID, secret, and password for all instances
Instance rules
Default instance: Always present, safe to use as a starting point for any activation
Isolation: Changes in one instance never affect any other instance — colors, uploads, rounds, and prizes are completely separate
Deletion: Permanent and irreversible — the platform shows a warning before confirming, but there is no recovery option
How a Game Progresses: Stage Sequence
Standard single-round sequence
1. Splash page (if uploaded) or Title/Welcome page — visible until Start is clicked (if a splash image is uploaded)
2. Countdown stage — runs for the configured duration after Start is clicked
3. Question Number Stage — optional; 3-second interstitial showing the upcoming question number
4. Question — runs for the configured question duration
5. Question Reveal — correct answer highlighted for the configured reveal duration
6. Steps 3–5 repeat for each question
7. Leaderboard — displays at the end of the round
How Manual mode behaves
Every stage transition requires the operator to click Move to Next Stage
Timers count down to zero but the game waits there indefinitely — it does not advance on its own
The operator can click Move to Next Stage at any point, including before the timer reaches zero, to advance early
How Automatic mode behaves
The game advances through all stages automatically based on timer settings — no operator input needed
If the Question Number Stage is toggled on, it fires automatically between every answer reveal and next question
How On-Demand mode behaves
A Start button appears on each participant's device — they begin the game individually
The operator starts the activation once; participants can join at any time while it is running
The video board shows a live leaderboard — not the questions — because all participants are at different stages simultaneously
The activation stays live until the operator clicks Stop — the window can be minutes, hours, days, or weeks
The question sync rule — important
Important: In Manual and Automatic modes, always use Sequence question order. Using Random in these modes can cause the video board and participant devices to display different questions at the same time. Random order is only safe in On-Demand mode, where each player is on their own timeline.
Round Chaining Behavior
Round chaining connects multiple rounds so they play back-to-back without stopping the activation
Only one round is active at a time — chaining handles the transitions between them
Leaderboard Duration appears in settings only when Round Chaining is enabled — it is not available for single-round games
When Round Chaining is on, the Flow Mode setting controls how the game transitions between rounds (not within a round). The
All Rounds should use the same operation mode
The Leaderboard is cumulative
The Prizing is specific to each round (not cumulative)
Design: How It Works
Color system
Hex input: Enter any six-digit hex code — the platform automatically adds full opacity (FF) to the end as the final two alphanumeric characters. You do not need a # symbol.
Opacity slider: Controls transparency from 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque). At 0%, the element becomes invisible.
Gradient options: Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal, and Radial gradients are available on any color field that supports it
Swatches: Click Add Swatch after selecting a color to save it for quick reuse across the activation
Making questions visible on a custom background — the full fix
This is the most common design issue. There are two separate problems that look similar:
Problem 1: Question text is the same color as the background
Go to Design → Color → Question Text and change it to a color that contrasts clearly with your background
Problem 2: A colored box is covering your uploaded background image
The Question Background and Question Frame are two separate elements — both must be set to transparent
Set Question Background opacity to 0%
Set Question Frame to Solid type, then set opacity to 0%
Both steps are required — doing only one will still leave a visible element
Upload slots — when each appears
Visible before Start is clicked
Mainboard Background and Mobile Background
Mainboard Game Title and Mobile Game Title
Team Logo and Sponsor Logo
Mainboard Splash page and Mobile Splash page; these override the elements list above, if uploaded
Visible after Start is clicked
Mainboard Background and Mobile Background — persist throughout the entire game
Mainboard QR Code — appears during the countdown stage if QR countdown is enabled in Design Settings
Note: Once Start is clicked, the splash page disappears and does not return during that session.
Team and Sponsor logo behavior
Both Team Logo and Sponsor Logo uploaded: they share the center space under the Game Title, proportionally
Only one logo uploaded: it centers automatically under the Game Title
To remove a logo: click the three-dot dropdown next to it and select Delete
Font rules
Accepted formats: OTF (OpenType) and TTF (TrueType)
Multiple fonts can be uploaded, but only one is active at a time
The active font applies to all text in the activation — questions, answers, headings, and leaderboard
Fonts are instance-wide — they apply across all rounds within the instance
Mainboard margins
Margins are set as percentages of the total screen dimensions. Each side is out of 50%
Left and right margins each apply to their respective sides — entering 5 creates a 5% margin on each side
By default, left and right are mirrored — toggle off the equals icon to set them independently
The background always fills the full screen, regardless of margin settings
All other content (questions, answers, timer, leaderboard) scales proportionally within the margin area
The maximum allowable margins on each side for Trivia Mania are 20% for On-Demand activations and 25% Manual and Automatic mode activations
Answer display modes
Auto: the platform chooses grid or list based on content — grid if images are present, list for text-only answers
Grid: answers display in a grid layout — best for image answers
List: answers display in a vertical list — standard for text answers
Prizing: Rules and Behavior
Prize limit precedence
Important: Limits set in Global Prizing always override limits set at the activation level. If Global Prizing says one prize per guest and your activation says 10, guests receive a maximum of one. Global Prizing limits take final priority in all cases.
Prize distribution types
Automatic
Prize is delivered immediately when the guest meets the condition and reaches the Leaderboard Stage
Participation prizes: delivered as soon as the guest completes the game
Rank prizes: delivered automatically once the game ends and ranks are finalized
No action required from the operator after the game ends
Recommended for Automatic and Manual game modes: use Automatic distribution for convenience
Manual
Prizes are held and not delivered until the operator clicks Distribute All Manual Prizes
Cannot be delivered prior to the end-user reaching the Leaderboard Stage
Recommended for rank-based prizes in On-Demand games — prevents the first guest to finish from automatically winning before others have played
What counts as one event for Global Prizing prize limits
One "event" is one Start-to-Stop session
"Limit one prize per guest per event" = one prize per Start/Stop cycle
"Limit one prize per guest" (no per event) = one prize across all products and sessions ever
Where guests find their prizes
Prizes are saved to the Prize Vault — guests access it from the mobile menu on their device (if enabled); Otherwise, prizes pop-up on screen at the completion of the activation if Automatic Distribution is selected and when the operator chooses if Manual Distribution is selected
The Prize Vault option must be enabled in Main Menu → Mobile Menu
Post-claim messages in the prize settings can remind guests to check their vault
Analytics: What the Data Means
What creates a session record
Each Start → Stop cycle creates one session record in Analytics
Test runs count as sessions and appear in the same list as real event sessions
Analytics fields explained
QR code scans: Total times the QR code was scanned during the session (this does not count scans >60s prior to the session being started
Total players: Everyone who participated in the session
Unique players: Participants who have not appeared in any previous session for this instance
Returning players: Participants who appeared in at least one previous session
Duration in game: How long the participant was active within the game
Total questions answered: Number of questions the participant submitted an answer for
Total points: The participant's final score for that session
Global Prizing Prize report fields
Username: The participant's display name
Prize category: The category assigned to the prize in Global Prizing
Timestamp: Exact date and time the prize was delivered
Collected data: Any contact information submitted during the claim — phone, email, or form fields
Troubleshooting: Common Issues and Fixes
"My question text is invisible on screen"
Cause: The question text color matches the background color, or the question frame is covering your uploaded background.
Fix 1: Go to Design → Color → Question Text and change it to a contrasting color.
Fix 2: If a colored box is covering your background image, set Question Background opacity to 0% AND set Question Frame to Solid at 0% opacity. Both must be set.
"My video board and participant devices are showing different questions"
Cause: Question order is set to Random while the game mode is Manual or Automatic.
Fix: Go to Control → round settings → change the question order to Sequence.
Prevention: Only use Random order in On Demand mode.
"A guest received a rank prize before others had a chance to play" (On-Demand)
Cause: Prize Distribution Type is set to Automatic — the first guest to complete the game received the prize immediately.
Fix for future activations: change Distribution Type to Manual. After the activation window closes, click Distribute All Manual Prizes.
"The video board is showing nothing or a blank screen"
Cause 1: The mainboard link URL has not been opened on the display device.
Cause 2: The game has not been started yet, and no splash page or logos have been uploaded — the pre-game screen appears blank.
Fix: Make sure the mainboard URL is open and in fullscreen on the display device, and that Start has been clicked.
"I accidentally deleted an instance"
There is no recovery option. Contact your CUE Client Success representative to determine if additional measures can be taken to have developers manually recover your instance (not always an option).
Recreate the instance from scratch. If you previously exported questions as JSON, you can re-import them to restore the question set.
"Players are not seeing the correct answer after the question closes"
Cause: The game is in Manual mode and the operator has not yet clicked Move to Next Stage to reveal the answer.
Fix: Click Move to Next Stage to advance from the question stage to the Question Reveal stage.
"The Leaderboard Duration setting is not visible"
Cause: Round Chaining is not enabled — this setting only appears when Round Chaining is on.
Fix: Toggle Round Chaining on in Control to access Leaderboard Duration.
"Guests say the game link is not working or the game is unavailable"
Cause 1: The game has not been started — Start has not been clicked.
Cause 2: The game has already been stopped — Live/Stop was clicked.
Cause 3: The game is complete – often seen if a game was intended for On-Demand play, but was started as an Automatic mode activation
Fix: Confirm Start has been clicked and the game is actively running before guests access the link.
"My marketing banners are not showing"
Cause: Banner images may not be the required 8:1 aspect ratio, or the files exceed the 2 MB limit.
Fix: Resize banners to an 8:1 ratio and confirm each file is under 2 MB, then re-upload.
"My custom font is not showing even though I uploaded it"
Cause: Multiple fonts may be uploaded but the desired one is not selected as active.
Fix: In Design → Fonts, click on the uploaded font to select it as the active font.
Note: Only OTF and TTF files are accepted — other formats will not upload successfully.
"A guest says they can't find their prize"
Guests access prizes from the Prize Vault in the mobile menu.
Confirm the Prize Vault option is enabled in Main Menu → Mobile Menu.
Remind guests to look for the gift icon in the mobile navigation.
