Contests
Contests are interactive activities that producers launch during shows to engage fans and award points. FanFest supports three contest types: quizzes, raffles, and polls.
Contest types at a glance
| Type | How it works | Fan interaction | Winner selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | Multiple-choice questions with correct answers | Fans select answers before time runs out | Points awarded to fans who answer correctly |
| Raffle | Random drawing with a slot machine animation | Fans are automatically entered | One winner drawn at random |
| Poll | Opinion questions with vote counts | Fans vote for their preferred option | No winner — results shown as vote distribution |
Creating contests
From the producer sidebar during a show, open the Contests panel. You will see two buttons:
- + Quiz — Create a new quiz
- + Raffle — Create a new raffle
Clicking either button creates a draft contest that you configure before making it visible to fans.
Contest tabs
The contests panel has two tabs:
- Current — Shows contests in Draft or Ready status (editable and launchable)
- Done — Shows contests that have ended
Quizzes
A quiz presents fans with multiple-choice questions. Fans earn points for correct answers.
Creating a quiz
- Click + Quiz in the contests panel to create a draft quiz
- The quiz editor opens with two tabs: Questions and Settings
Adding questions
In the Questions tab:
- Enter the question text
- Add answer options (2 to 5 answers supported)
- Mark one answer as correct
- Optionally add images to answer options
- Save the question
You can add multiple questions to a single quiz. Questions can be added, edited, reordered, and deleted at any time while the quiz is in Draft or Ready status.
Channel-page quizzes
Quizzes created from the channel admin page support up to 100 answer options per question. On the channel page, questions with more than 5 options open a select-answer dialog instead of listing options inline. Because show layouts render at most 5 options, quizzes containing a question with more than 5 options stay channel-page-only and do not appear in the show contests panel.
Quiz settings
In the Settings tab, configure:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Scheduled start time | When the quiz should begin (optional — can be launched manually) |
| Scheduled end time | When the quiz should end (optional) |
| Prize | A prize description and optional prize image for winners |
| Show in channel page | Whether the quiz appears on the public channel page |
Quiz lifecycle
- Draft — Initial state. Add questions and configure settings.
- Ready — Quiz is saved and can be launched. Questions are locked for editing only (not deletable if active).
- Active — Quiz is live. Questions appear one at a time on the show stage. Fans select their answers.
- Ended — Quiz is complete. Results are tallied and points awarded.
How fans experience quizzes
When a quiz question is active:
- The question and answer options appear on the show stage
- A point reward indicator shows how many points are at stake
- Fans tap or click their chosen answer
- When the producer ends the question, the correct answer and leaderboard are revealed
- Fans who answered correctly receive points
Quiz reveals (the correct answer, leaderboard, and end-of-quiz winner screens) are timed by the server. Every viewer — and every device a viewer reconnects on — sees the same stage moment for its position in the show: a fan who refreshes mid-question still sees the question and can still answer if the question is open; a fan who refreshes during a reveal joins the reveal already in progress and the answer window stays closed. Late joins and reconnects do not replay an already-finished reveal from the start. Answers submitted after the producer ends a question are not counted, even if the result is still on screen.
Raffles
A raffle is a random drawing where one fan wins a prize. The winner is selected at random from all eligible participants.
Creating a raffle
- Click + Raffle in the contests panel
- Fill in the raffle details:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Yes | The raffle name visible to fans |
| Description | No | Additional details about the raffle |
| Scheduled start time | No | When the raffle opens |
| Scheduled end time | No | When the raffle closes |
| Prize description | No | What the winner receives |
| Prize image | No | A photo or graphic of the prize |
- Click Save to move the raffle to Ready status
Raffle lifecycle
- Draft — Raffle is being configured
- Ready — Raffle is saved and can be launched
- Activated — Raffle is on the show stage and open for entries. Fans join from the stage.
- Started — Entries are closed. The slot machine animation plays as suspense while everyone waits for the draw.
- Ended — The producer ends the raffle: the winner is announced and, if a prize was configured, the prize is displayed.
How fans experience raffles
When the producer activates a raffle, it appears on the stage and the entry window is open — fans join right away.
When the producer starts the raffle, entries close and a slot machine animation plays on the stage as suspense, holding until the producer ends the raffle.
When the producer ends the raffle:
- The winner is announced with a celebration animation
- If a prize was configured, it is displayed to everyone
- The winner also earns bonus points
- If nobody entered, the stage simply clears — there is no draw animation
The end-of-raffle reveal (the winner announcement and prize screen) is timed by the server as one sequence. Every viewer — and every device a viewer reconnects on — sees the same stage moment for its position in the show: a fan who refreshes during the reveal joins it already in progress, and a fan who returns after it has finished sees a clean stage, not a stale winner. Late joins and reconnects do not replay an already-finished reveal from the start. Raffle entries submitted after the producer starts the raffle (once entries have closed) are not counted, even if a fan's device still shows an enabled join button.
Polls
Polls let producers ask fans for their opinion on a topic. Unlike quizzes, polls have no correct answer — they display vote distribution in real time.
How polls work
- The producer sets a question with 2 to 5 answer options
- Each option can include an image
- Fans vote for their preferred option
- Vote counts update in real time
- Points are awarded for participation
Managing active contests
While a contest is running, producers can:
- Monitor participation in real time
- Advance to the next question (quizzes)
- End the contest early if needed
- View results in the Done tab after completion
Access control
Contests inherit the access rules of the show they belong to. If a show is gated to specific memberships or communities, contests within that show follow the same restrictions. Individual contests can also have their own authorization rules for additional gating.
Third-party contest links in chat
Some channels may run certified contests or raffles on an approved third-party site. When FanFest support configures an approved contest URL prefix for a channel, links matching that prefix are shown to fans in show chat as Enter Contest instead of displaying the raw URL.
The button uses the show's raffle entry access rules. Fans who meet the raffle access criteria open the third-party contest link. Fans who do not meet the criteria see the existing upgrade or top-up flow, then need to click Enter Contest again after becoming eligible.
Only links sent in chat messages are transformed this way, and only for the configured URL prefix. Once an eligible fan opens the third-party site, FanFest cannot prevent that external URL from being shared outside the platform.
Tips for engaging contests
- Keep quiz questions short — Fans are watching a live show, so questions should be quick to read and answer
- Use images in answers — Visual options increase engagement, especially for product-related quizzes
- Time your raffles — Launch raffles during high-engagement moments to maximize participation
- Prize images drive excitement — A photo of the prize generates more enthusiasm than text alone
- Mix contest types — Alternate between quizzes and raffles to keep the experience fresh
Next steps
- Offers — Set up promotional offers during shows
- Going live — Producer controls overview