Mobile App Support

Buzztime's Mobile Playmaker App

Visit our Mobile Playmaker information page for iPhone or Android!

This page contains important notes and known behaviors that we plan to address in later versions of the app.

Important Notes:

• Buzztime's Mobile Playmaker app is designed to be used in conjunction with the TVs at your favorite Buzztime location as an alternative to our traditional Playmaker boxes.
• You may use the 3G/4G Network to connect and play with your iPhone or Android device; however, you must have a Wi-Fi connection if you are using your iPod touch, iPad or Android tablet without 3G/4G (Note: The Mobile Playmaker app for Android is not optimized for Android tablets)
• Game play begins at 11 am, local time. You may not be able to log in to your location, or may get an error message stating that no games are available, if you try to connect prior to 11 am.
• If, for any reason, you cannot connect after a few tries, please restart the App. Reconnecting will help ensure a good connection.

Requirements:

Compatible with iPhone,iPod touch and iPad
NOTE: Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or newer

Optimized for Android OS 2.2.
NOTE: Players on Android devices with an older Android OS are not officially supported

Known Behaviors:

1. GPS Functionality
2. Location Look-up and Site Services
3. Error Messages
4. Wi-Fi Connections
5. Wi-Fi versus 3G/4G
6. Battery Life
7. Incoming Text Messages and Phone Calls
8. Supported Games

GPS Functionality: Site locations are determined by the coordinates of Google Maps. We use your GPS location to provide you a list of the nearest Buzztime locations. We also have a GPS lockout feature set to a .5 mile radius of the location. Players logging in from outside this radius will not be able to see the Texas Hold'em community cards. Fix an error on Google Maps.

Location Look-up and Site Services: Currently, upon launch, the app creates a list of five nearby sites that you can connect to. This list is comprised of all local Buzztime locations based on their GPS coordinates. In some cases, the sites presented may be several miles away from where you are… as in the case of rural areas. Our goal is to always give Buzztime users options and, while you may have a favorite location to play in, this site list is intended to introduce players to broader options for Buzztime locations in their area. We also offer "distance" information on the location screens, giving you a better idea of where local sites are in relation to you.

Error Messages:

• Log in failure: This message is presented when the log-in process has failed. Usually, this issue corrects itself within moments. We suggest that you try to log in again, making sure you use accurate credentials.
• Site Not Available: This message is presented when the location's system is either offline or there are intermittent network connectivity issues. These issues can resolve themselves, please try again!

Wi-Fi Connections: A Wi-Fi connection is required for users on the iPod touch. Some users may find that Wi-Fi connections can tend to be less robust than 3G connections. There can be several reasons for this, including the location of some site's access point, which may be placed in the admin offices or the storerooms, preventing strong connections. There also may be obstacles in the location that can interrupt Wi-Fi connections, such as excessive TVs, microwaves, and competing Wi-Fi access points. When developing the App, Wi-Fi connections were tested both inside Buzztime's Test Lab, as well as out in the retail locations. The Wi-Fi connectivity passed our QA process with flying colors and continued to perform beautifully during Apple's certification process.

Wi-Fi versus 3G/4G: The application and the phone or tablet's native operating system handle the switch between Wi-Fi and 3G/4G gracefully when Wi-Fi is enabled in the "Settings" menu.

Battery Life: Battery life is affected by several user settings within the iPhone or Android operating system. Things like screen brightness, screen dimming, push e-mail settings, and volume all have an effect on battery life. In our testing, we reduced battery utilization as much as possible and then measured performance on the App. We also measured performance with all of those adverse settings in place. The data we have compiled indicates that 3 hours of game play in a mixed-settings environment would utilize approximately 25% of the battery on a full charge.

Incoming Text Messages and Phone Calls: In the current iteration of the Mobile Playmaker, you're booted out of the app if you respond to an incoming push notification or text message, or if you accept an incoming phone call. In these situations you'll need to re-launch the app and log back in to the retail location again. In a future release, we're introducing a function called "Call Interrupt". Call Interrupt will return a user to the app and to the current question being asked, provided your time on the call was less than 5 minutes. If you remain on a call for more than 5 minutes, you'll need to re-launch the app and log back in to the location.

Supported Games: The Mobile Playmaker app currently supports all games on our network except for: Buzztime Shorts, The Pulse, Pick 'em Pro Football and sponsored games. We are currently working on an updated version of the app that will support all games.

Back to Top


If your questions are not answered above, or you are experiencing problems with the App, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it