MULTI-PLAYER COMPUTERIZED QUIZ SYSTEM

QUIZ MASTER PRO (QMP) is a computerized quiz system that allows a number of players to participate in a question and answer type game. The system can handle as many as 24 players. What is nice about this system is that it can operate in two different modes: All-Answer and Lockout.

ALL-ANSWER

In this mode, everyone gets to answer. The questions can be either multiple-choice or True / False. It is a free running system requiring minimal intervention or supervision.

It can be used in a number of different situations such as schools, libraries, museums and even restaurants. In industry, it can be used for corporate training.

Each player is equipped with a hand-held box containing three colored push buttons that are used in selecting an answer to a question. The questions can be on any topic and can even include pictures. For example:

Which president is pictured to the right?
	Thomas Jefferson
	Abraham Lincoln
	George Washington

The three colors above indicate which button you would press on your button box: Red, Yellow or Green to indicate your answer. In this case, you would press the green button for George Washington.

This game system is similar in some ways to the Who wants to be a Millionaire TV show. A question is displayed on the computer screen along with three answers. In the QMP system, every player gets to answer. After each player has pressed one of his colored buttons to answer, the correct answer is displayed and each player’s score is calculated and updated.

To the left is a screen-shot of the actual QMP program window. Notice on the right, the question point value is decreasing.

Whistle’s is the name of the restaurant or club but it could very easily be the name of your organization.

Time is an important factor in answering because the faster a player answers the more points he receives. For example, the question point value might be set at 100 points. As each second elapses, the question point value decreases by 10 points until it is worth zero points. If a player answers within the first 1-second window then he earns 100 points. Likewise, if a player answers correctly after 5 seconds he will earn only 50 points. You have the option of deducting points for incorrect answers.

Shown to the right is an actual three-button player box. The buttons are over an inch in diameter and are arcade quality. The buttons come in different colors so young players can easily identify which button to press.

Some quarter coins are shown to give some idea of the physical size of the buttons and boxes.

There are two sizes of button boxes pictured: Button A and Button B. Player boxes are identified or labeled using the letters of the alphabet.

Button A

Button B and Button C

The dimensions of the Button A box are 6x3.5x2 inches. The Button B box dimensions are 5x2.5x1.5 inches. The Button A box contains all the electronics circuitry and connects directly to the Interface Control Box. The Button B box and the Button C box each connect to the Button A box. All three boxes function exactly the same way and allow three players to compete in the quiz contest. We refer to this 3-button box combo as a cluster.

Cluster ABC consists of buttons A, B and C:

Button A Button B Button C

The next two clusters of three buttons would be DEF and then GHI. This cluster information does not affect the operation of the quiz game. Using this scheme there could be eight allowable clusters with three button boxes in each cluster. There can be 24 players total.

The following is a block diagram of the system:

The computer is an IBM PC (Pentium) running Windows and the QMP software program. The QMP program manages the entire quiz game. It displays the questions on the screen(s), totals the scores and communicates with the player buttons through the Interface Control Box (ICB). The ICB is little more than a connection point for all the cabling. In the QMP, system the intelligence is in each cluster of player button boxes. Each button box cluster contains its own microcomputer.

For simplicity only one screen has been shown, however several screens might be used in an actual installation. A projection type screen works very well. A large screen TV set with the appropriate adaptor can also be used to display the game information.

The Question Category Selector Switch is used to select the category or type of questions being asked. It is a separate unit similar to a player button box. It allows players to select question categories without coming in contact with the computer. Some sample categories are General Knowledge, Sports Trivia and American History. If the question category switch is in the first position, all the categories are selected and the QMP software will cycle through the questions in every category. Placing the switch in any of the other positions selects a specific question category.

You decide what categories of questions will be on your trivia quiz system. Once you have decided on a category, you must type in each question with three answers; and provide any pictures you plan to use in your question set. Software is provided to assist you in creating question sets in the correct format. To save disk space any pictures that you plan to use should be in JPG format.

The QMP system can be used by many different organizations…

This system can be used by many different organizations such as libraries, museums, schools and even restaurants. In a restaurant, it could be installed to entertain customers who are waiting for a table.

The number of questions being asked determines the time length of the game. The game time is about 3 minutes for a set of five questions. Questions can be either multiple choice with three answers or True / False with two answers.

Question sets are available from us for $25 per set of 100 questions. Software is included with the system to type in and create your own question sets. Two question sets are included with the purchase of the QMP system

After a tour of a museum, a Test Your Knowledge game could be run where players could be quizzed on things they saw in the museum. You could also use this system with younger children in spelling or math games. All that is needed is to change the category of questions. Our most popular question category is Sports Trivia.

The software provides plenty of audio and visual feedback…

Players can be encouraged to compete by awarding a prize to the winner. Maybe just the thrill of getting the highest point score is enough. The software provides plenty of audio and visual feedback to add to the excitement of the game. A computer equipped with a sound card and speakers is highly recommended.

Player button boxes can be added as needed. The system can handle a number of players: anywhere from three to twenty-four. Player button boxes are added in increments of three called clusters. The QMP system uses the 9-pin serial Com port connection on your computer. For those people wishing to use a USB port, an adaptor is available.

Lockout Mode (Available 9/1/04)

Most quiz buzzer systems work as lockout systems. That is the first player who answers (by pressing his button) locks every other player out. This was the reason why they were invented in the first place.

Quiz Master Pro can also work as a lockout system if you order it with the Lockout option. In this mode the red button works as the Lock-Out button. What is unique about the QMP system is that it knows who was the first, second, third, etc. player(s) to press their buttons. So you can ask the first player first and if he is wrong, then move on to the second player.

How it works…

Each player’s button box has its own microcomputer. There is a master clock signal feeding all the player button boxes. At the start of a question all the player button boxes have a preset time count (20 seconds). Then when a question is asked each player’s button box starts counting time. When a player’s red button is pressed the time count is locked into its memory (overwriting the 20 second preset time with a new smaller time). At the same time the Quiz Master’s computer is signaled. The Quiz Master’s computer goes out and polls each player’s button box for the locked-in time. The players’ times are all collected and ranked. The player with the smallest time is given first chance to answer. His lamp is also switched on to indicate to the rest that he was first to answer. All this activity happens in a fraction of a second. Incidentally players who didn’t press their buttons still have a preset time count of 20 seconds. Remember each player’s button is preset to this value at the start of a question.

You would need to run an entirely different software package. The software is our Quiz Pro 2000 software modified to work with this new system hardware. There also needs to be a Quizmaster (someone to ask the questions and to manage the quiz).

When you order the Lockout Option each of your player button boxes will also come with an amber lamp attached (see photos). The purpose of this lamp is to indicate which player was the first to answer. The player who presses his red button first will have his amber lamp switched on. The Quizmaster will then decide if the answer was correct, award points and then move on.

Pictured below is a player button box with the amber lamp attached.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

IBM PC - Pentium 100 MHz or faster, 32 Megabyte RAM, 10 Meg hard disk space,

Super VGA monitor, sound card and speakers, 9-pin serial comport, Windows 95 (or newer).

Note: Windows 98 (or newer) is required for a USB connection.

COSTS

Item	Description	Price
QMP	Complete system for 6 players – includes software, all cables, power supply, Interface Control Box, Category Selector Switch, two question sets and button boxes for 6 players (2 clusters).	$499
QMP-BUT	Additional cluster of 3-button player boxes (3 boxes for 3 players)	$99
QMP-EXT	10 foot extension cable for player button box	$6
USB-1	Adaptor allows system to be used on computers with a USB port. (Must have Windows 98 or newer.)	$29
Question Set	Please contact us for a list of available question sets.	$25

NOTE: If you want the Lockout option you need to order the regular Quiz Master Pro system plus the following:

Option	Description	Cost
QMP-LO	Lockout software program, amber lamps attached to two button box clusters¹ (6 lamps total)	$100
QMP-LO-PB	Additional lamps installed per cluster of 3 boxes.	$30 per cluster²

¹The base system includes two clusters or six player button boxes.

²A cluster is a group containing three, three-button boxes

Shipping and handling charges are 5% of total order price. We do not collect sales tax for states other than Pennsylvania. If your state requires you to pay sales tax then you must pay it yourself.

We welcome any questions that you may have concerning this product. Contact us

COMPUTER PRODUCTS FOR EDUCATION

PO Box 1694, Kingston, PA 18704 USA

www.cp4e.com

Revised 8-25-04