Game Host Toolbox

The Game Host Toolbox is a Gig Game console designed to run live, in-room audience events from one place. Instead of one purpose-built game, the toolbox bundles a growing library of "tools" — Team Selection, Scoreboard, Buzzer, Live Voting, and more — that a host can switch between mid-event without losing audience state. Players keep one controller open on their phones; the host flips the active tool, and every controller and HUD reconfigures itself automatically.

⚠️ The Host Toolbox is under active development at the request of our users. Some features are still rough around the edges. If there's something you'd like added, email us or send a message through GigBot in the lower-left of the console.

What it does

  • Drives one or many large displays (the HUD) with synchronised audience visuals.
  • Hands every audience member a controller on their phone, with a UI that adapts to whichever tool is active.
  • Tracks players, optionally groups them into teams, and keeps a running scoreboard.
  • Lets the host theme the event (background image or looping mp4) once and reuse the theme across every tool.
  • Plays sponsor / intermission promos on the HUD with one click.

The host's console is split into two halves:

  • Stage (left/top) — three tabs: Tools, the active tool's own control panel (only when applicable), and Audience.
  • gg-settings (right/bottom) — two tabs: Options (tool-specific configuration + activation) and Visuals (scoring header toggle + theme).
  • Footer — Open HUD and Play Promo buttons, always available.

Features

Tools (audience experiences)

Tool What it does
Wait State Default lobby. Controllers and HUD show "Please Wait for the Host." Use this between tools.
Team Selection Lets the audience form teams (Single / Optional / Required modes, host- or player-created, configurable max size). HUD shows a grid of teams + solo players with member counts.
Scoreboard A scrolling credit-style leaderboard of teams + solo players, sorted highest-to-lowest. Tunable scroll speed. Controllers show a stylised list with the player's own row highlighted.
Buzzer Players' phones turn into a big red buzz button. Configure an optional pre-start countdown, an open-duration timer, and a max-buzz cap; HUD shows a green pie countdown alongside the live buzz-in order.
Live Voting The host writes a question and any number of options. Audience taps to vote, results animate live on both the host's summary and the HUD's progress bars.

Other tools (Polls, Trivia Answer Collector, Spin Wheel) are listed in the console as Coming Soon placeholders.

Audience management

  • See every connected player and what team they're on.
  • Bulk-select players and assign them to a team, randomise teams, or send selections back to single-player.
  • Lock a player so they can't change their own team.
  • Adjust per-player and per-team scores with − / + buttons or a direct numeric input.

Scoring header

A toggle on the Visuals tab. When Show Scoring = Yes, every controller renders a fixed header at the top of the screen showing either:

  • the player's team name + team score (if they're on a team), or
  • their own name + personal score (if they're solo).

The header persists across every tool screen and animates with the controller's slide transitions.

Theme

Also on the Visuals tab. The host can:

  • Theme Generator — type a topic, an AI builds a background image.
  • Select a Video — pick from the prebuilt video library (mp4 background).
  • Upload Image — drop in your own jpg/png.
  • Remove Theme — clears the theme entirely.

The theme image / video paints the HUD background and bleeds through behind every controller screen. A small preview shows on the Visuals tab itself.

HUD On / Controllers On toggles

Two buttons in the gg-settings footer. Either one can be flipped off to park that surface in the wait-state placeholder without changing the active tool — useful for intermissions or for setting up a tool on the HUD before opening the audience.

Play Promo

Footer button. Opens a modal with every loaded media asset; pick one and click Play and the engine renders it full-screen on the HUD (mp4 plays as a background video, mp3 plays the audio with its cover image). The active tool's HUD screen restores automatically when the ad finishes.

Getting Started

  1. Open the console. You'll see a brief disclaimer on first load — click I Acknowledge to continue.
  2. Open the HUD. Click Open HUD in the footer. A new window/tab opens ready to display whatever the toolbox is running. Drag it to your event display.
  3. Share the access code. The QR code and access code at the top of gg-settings let players join from their phones (http://hub.gig.game/play or by scanning).
  4. Set a theme (optional). Visuals tab → Theme Generator / Select a Video / Upload Image.
  5. Configure team mode (optional). Audience tab → Team Settings → pick Single Player, Teams Optional, or Teams Required, set who can create teams and the cap, then Update Controllers.

You're ready to run an event.

Running an Event — Step by Step

Step 1 — Pre-event lobby

  • From the Tools tab, click Wait State. The Options tab shows it selected; click Set Tool Active. Every controller now reads "Please Wait for the Host."
  • If you want teams, switch to Team Selection and Set Tool Active. The HUD shows a live grid of teams forming; the audience taps Create Team / Join Team on their phones.
  • When teams look right, return to Wait State to park everyone before starting your first activity.

Step 2 — Score adjustments

Open the Audience tab.

  • Each player has a − / + / score-input row. Use it freely throughout the event — scores persist regardless of team changes.
  • When teams are enabled, a separate row of team cards appears above the players, each with its own score control. The team score is independent from individual player scores.
  • Show Scoring in Visuals → Yes if you want the audience to see their score on their phones during play.

Step 3 — Run a tool

Scoreboard

  1. Tools → Scoreboard → Options → optionally adjust Scroll Speed → Set Tool Active.
  2. The HUD scrolls every team and solo player by score, highest to lowest.
  3. Controllers show a stylised list; each player's own row is boxed.

Buzzer

  1. Tools → Buzzer. The Buzzer panel appears as a new stage tab.
  2. Options tab → set Countdown Timer Before Start (0 = none), Countdown Timer Duration While Open (0 = no auto-close), and Maximum Player Buzz-In Limit (default 1).
  3. Set Tool Active.
  4. From the Buzzer stage tab: Start to open the buzzer (a pre-countdown pie shows on the HUD if configured), Stop to freeze the round, or Reset to clear the list and re-arm. Buzz-ins arrive in the order they landed with their offset in seconds.

Live Voting

  1. Tools → LiveVoting. The LiveVoting panel appears as a new stage tab.
  2. In the panel: type a Question, click Add Option until you have every option, edit each option's text.
  3. Start Voting. Controllers show the question + buttons. Players tap one — their vote locks in and they see "Vote Locked In!".
  4. Watch results animate on the HUD bars and in the host summary. End Voting to freeze, Reset Voting to wipe votes and start over.
  5. Set Tool Active on the Options tab if you haven't already — voting only renders on controllers + HUD while LiveVoting is the active tool.

Step 4 — Intermission

  • Play Promo in the footer → pick a media asset → Play. The HUD switches to the ad and returns automatically when it finishes.
  • For a longer break, toggle HUD Off and / or Controllers Off in the gg-settings footer to park both surfaces on the wait placeholder. Flip them back on when you're ready to resume.

Step 5 — Switching tools mid-event

  • Select a different tool from the Tools tab. The card highlights as selected but the audience still sees the previous tool.
  • Use the tool's Options panel (or its stage-tab control panel, if it has one) to stage settings — the host can take their time without affecting the audience.
  • When ready, click Set Tool Active. Both controllers and the HUD swap to the new tool in lockstep.

Step 6 — Wrap up

  • End on a Scoreboard so the audience sees the final standings.
  • Return to Wait State when the event is over.

Tips

  • The active theme paints behind every screen — pick something readable, not busy.
  • If a tool's panel is empty when you select it, check the Options tab — most tool configuration lives there.
  • Both consoles open at the same time will stay in lockstep: every host action round-trips through the engine and re-renders on every open console.
  • HUD-only changes (e.g. starting a Buzzer round, scrolling the Scoreboard) don't disturb controllers — the engine keeps them in sync only when their state actually changed.
  • Closing the host console will close the HUD window automatically.

Feedback

If there's a feature you'd like to see in the Host Toolbox, please email us or send a message through GigBot in the lower-left corner of the console. This tool is built in collaboration with our hosts — every request shapes the next release.