Using Slammers/Ring-in Devices

The Slammers are a separate hardware component that communicates directly with the game software via a USB hub. The Slammers will tell you who rings in first, and will automatically apply scores to the team that rang in.

To use your own ring-in devices, or to use the Slammers, you will want to disable the Enable take turns mode (Round Robin) mode in the settings area of the BRAVO! Game builder.

Visual Indicators: When using the slammers that tie directly into the BRAVO! game player, you will see some visual indicators on the screen:

Ring-In Indicator: Yellow Arrows pointing toward the teams/players indicate the slammers are un-locked and teams can ring in without being penalized.

Question Timers: Under Settings in the BRAVO! game builder, (select a game style to view) you can set a question ring-in timer (How many seconds before allowing ring-in?). Make sure you have timers enabled by checking next to Enable Timers (1 ). To set the amount of time that will lock out the slammers, go to the How many seconds before allowing ring-in? (2). You may need to experiment with this to develop a time that works for you.  Generally, 8-10 seconds is a recommended time frame.  

Read-in Timer in the Player: On the player side, this timer will lock out the slammers or prevent them (players/teams) from ringing in for a pre-determined time. This allows you time to read the questions. When a question first appears, you will note a timer above the question,in the upper left-hand corner (see image below). If you have a read-in timer selected (A) in the game builder, this timer will appear first.  Next to the timer, to the right, is a lock icon (B) that offers a visual indicator that teams may not ring in. When you see a lock icon near the timer that indicates the slammers are locked out When unlocked (D ), you will see an un-locked icon. This, along with the moving yellow arrow, indicates that the slammers are unlocked and teams may ring in.  You can also disable the slammer ring-in timer at anytime by hitting the "L" key, or clicking on the timer directly, if you find you do not need as much time to read a question.

To Test the Slammers When using the slammers that tie directly into the game, you can test the slammers, to make sure they are working, by clicking on the slammers.  Look for a lock icon, that will appear near the team/player on the screen that rang in. At anytime during game play, teams and players can see the lock icon, showing them that their slammers are indeed communicating with the game.