From the phone
The auction app, without the app
There is nothing to download. Whoever organises sends a link to each team, everyone opens it in their phone browser and the auction starts. The raise button takes up half the screen, deliberately.
Why there is nothing to install
An auction happens once a year, with ten people, on the evening you are already half an hour late. Asking everybody to download an application, create an account and remember a password is the surest way to start at half past ten instead of nine.
Then there is the one whose phone is full, the one on an old model, the one joining from the office computer. A web page puts them all on the same footing, and nobody is left out over an operating system that is too far behind.
What players see
Their own link, and nothing else
Each team gets a personal address. Opening it means you are in: no sign up, no email to confirm. If the link lands in the wrong group chat it is regenerated from the desk, and the old one dies at once along with any session opened through it.
A big button and your own numbers
On the screen there is the player up for auction, the countdown, what he costs right now and the button to raise. Below that, the credits left and the slots still to fill, which are the two things that actually matter while you decide.
A squad that fills itself
Every award goes into the squad and takes the credits off without anybody writing anything down. By the end of the night the team is already built, and stays there to consult all season.
What the organiser sees
Whoever created the auction gets a different screen, the desk: from there they draw from the urna, look a player up by name when somebody calls for him, open and close the lots and, if need be, undo the last award.
It is the only screen that needs an account, for a practical reason: it is the one in charge. The board, on the other hand, can be opened by anyone with the address, and it is the screen to put on the television if some of you are in the living room.
What you actually need
An up to date browser and a steady connection. Very little data travels, so speed hardly matters, but the raise has to reach the desk: if the mobile signal is shaky, wifi is better.
If the line drops in the middle of a lot nothing is lost: the state of the auction lives on the server and the phone only displays it. You reopen the link and you are back in, with the right credits and the countdown where it got to.
Questions
- Is there an app to download from the store?
- No. You open a link in the phone browser and play from there. Players download nothing and sign up for nothing: the link is already their credential.
- Does it work on iPhone and Android?
- On both, and on computers and tablets too: it is a web page, so an up to date browser is all it takes. The board on a big screen and the raises from phones live together without trouble.
- Can you add it to the home screen?
- Yes. From the browser menu you add the link to the home screen and it opens from there like any other icon, full screen. It is still a web page, so it takes no space and asks for no updates.
- What happens if I close the page mid raise?
- You reopen your link and find the auction where it got to. The state is on the server: the phone shows it, it does not keep it.
- Do you need a fast connection?
- No, you need one that does not drop. Very little data is exchanged, but the raise button has to reach the desk: on a shaky mobile signal, wifi is the better bet.