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Enabling Spectator mode on your puzzles for contests

Spectator mode is a new feature of PuzzleMe, designed for live crossword events and contests. It allows you to view and broadcast a screen with multiple solvers solving their puzzles simultaneously. To see an example of the spectator mode in action, watch this video of the Boswords Crossword Puzzle Tournament - Fall 2023 finals

Each solver gets their own unique play link and solves the puzzle like they would a regular puzzle. The organizer gets a single Spectate page URL, where they can watch the puzzles being solved in real-time, and share it with an audience via projecting on a large screen or streaming it online.

Compatible Game Types: Currently, spectator mode is available only for crossword puzzles. Both contest and non-contest mode crosswords are supported for spectator mode.

Number of players supported: The maximum number of solvers that can be supported is 12. Only 1 spectator can open the Spectate page at any given time.

How does it work? Spectator mode is available on PuzzleMe’s professional and enterprise plans. It can be accessed from the Publish page of a crossword puzzle.

Spectator mode needs to be specifically enabled for a series in your PuzzleMe account. If the Spectator Mode button is disabled, please get in touch with our product support team at product-support@amuselabs.com. Once our team enables Spectator Mode for a series, the Spectator Mode button will be enabled and clickable on the publish page.

Setting up the Spectate page for a puzzle:

  1. Click on the Spectator Mode on the Publish page, which will redirect you to the Spectator Mode setup page.

    Spectator Mode Setup

  2. Enter the number of players who would be solving the puzzle (maximum 12), then click outside the text box. You will now see a new text box for entering each player’s name. This name will be shown above the player’s grid on the Spectate page. Only alphabets, numbers, and spaces are allowed. These names are case-sensitive. Enter them in the order in which you want them to appear on the Spectate page.

    Player's Info

  3. Once you have entered the players’ names, click on the Create Player Links button. This will generate unique play links for each player under their name.

    Player Links

  4. Copy these player links, and share them with the respective player. Click on the Spectate button. This will open the Spectate page.

    Spectate View

The player links and the spectate view links will look like this:

  • Joy - https://puzzleme.amuselabs.com/pmm/crossword?id=...&set=...&embed=1&playId=...-player-1
  • Kabir - https://puzzleme.amuselabs.com/pmm/crossword?id=...&set=...&embed=1&playId=...-player-2
  • Devi - https://puzzleme.amuselabs.com/pmm/crossword?id=...&set=...&embed=1&playId=...-player-3

The Spectate page URL looks like this: https://puzzleme.amuselabs.com/pmm/spectate?set=...&id=...&playerNames=Joy%2CKabir%2CDevi