If you have read our guide on developing as a team, you know that time spent with your team on the buzzer is invaluable for improving recall, buzzer speed, and lateral thinking. There are several options for physical buzzers, websites you can use on your mobile phones, and the remote platforms Zoom and Discord. In this guide, we present the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the options that are available to you so that you can make the best choice for your team.
Physical Buzzer Systems
The traditional way to practice is, of course, to use a physical wired buzzer set consisting of eight to ten buzzers. Practice sessions using physical buzzers have the advantage of minimizing distractions and being most similar to the way in-person tournament games are played.
However, these buzzer sets often cost hundreds of dollars. If your practices have more than ten players, you may have to buy multiple sets. The fact that the sets are wired makes them highly accurate in determining who buzzed in first, but they require time to assemble and disassemble. Here are some buzzer sets that are available; we recommend the Anderson Officiator Table-Top, the Buzzersystems.com 10-player Quiz System (with cord extensions), or the Buzzersystems.com Line-Up. Note also that, due to exceptionally long setup and breakdown times needed, ZeeCraft buzzers are not permitted at any LIQBA tournament.
Prices are as of October 2023.
| Term | Recommended? | Can claim buzzer discounts? | Cost/Number of Buzzers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Officiator™ Table-top | Yes | Yes | $290 for 10 buzzers $305 with case |
| Anderson Officiator™ Hand-held | Neutral | Yes | $320 for 10 buzzers $335 with case |
| Zeecraft Challenger I | No | No | $590 for 8 buzzers $660 for 10 buzzers $725 for 12 buzzers |
| Zeecraft Challenger II | No | No | $655 for 8 buzzers $745 for 10 buzzers $830 for 12 buzzers |
| Zeecraft Challenger III | No | No | $725 for 8 buzzers $820 for 10 buzzers $900 for 12 buzzers |
| Zeecraft Discover | No | No | $500 for 8 buzzers $565 for 10 buzzers $577 for 12 buzzers |
| Zeecraft Challenger Wireless | No | No | $970-1100 for 8 buzzers $1130-1249 for 10 buzzers $1280-1400 for 12 buzzers |
| QuikPro Basic | No | Yes | Appears to be inactive |
| QuikPro Deluxe | No | Yes | Appears to be inactive |
| BuzzerSystems.com 10-Player Quiz System | Yes | Yes | $395 for 10 buzzers |
| Buzzersystems.com Traditional Buzzer System: Box Buzzers | Yes | Yes | $389 for 8 buzzers $439 for 10 buzzers $489 for 12 buzzers |
| Buzzersystems.com Traditional Buzzer System: Handheld Buzzers | Neutral | Yes | $489 for 8 buzzers $579 for 10 buzzers $659 for 12 buzzers |
| Buzzersystems.com High-Visibility Buzzer System | Neutral | Yes | $589 for 8 buzzers $689 for 10 buzzers $819 for 12 buzzers |
| Buzzersystems.com Line-Up System | Yes | Yes | $670 for 8 buzzers $750 for 10 buzzers $825 for 12 buzzers |
| The Judge by Electramatic, Inc. | No | Yes | Discontinued |
Web-based Buzzers, Zoom, and Discord
An alternative to physical systems is to use a website on your mobile phone. Two options that will work on both Android and iOS devices are JustBuzz.in and BuzzIn.live. In both of these sites, the reader/moderator hits “Create” (on BuzzIn.live) or “Create room” (on JustBuzz.in) to receive an access code. The players can join the room using the access code and then use their phones as buzzers. The reader will be able to see who buzzed first. Note that the free tier of BuzzIn.live only allows for eight players to join a game at one time. JustBuzz.in has no restriction on the number of players.
This is a free alternative to physical buzzers for in-person practices where every team member has a mobile phone with an Internet connection. For remote practices, though, it requires the additional setup of a platform in which the players can hear the moderator read the questions over an online voice chat. Many have taken this a step further and use Zoom or Discord to integrate the reading and buzzing functions into one platform. Players can hear the questions over the Zoom call or over a Discord voice channel and they can buzz in the chat channel.
This has the downside of introducing network latency, the speed of each player’s Internet connection, as a factor in determining whose buzz appears first when multiple players know the answer at the same time. For many teams, though, the benefits of having one platform that can be used to run a fully integrated practice session outweigh the disadvantages.