How BoothBuzz works, step by step, from order to spreadsheet
From order to spreadsheet, you send a logo, two colours, a prize line and your questions, and usually within 24 h you receive a game link, a QR code and a dashboard where every lead from the 60-second game downloads as Excel, CSV or PDF. This page lists each step with what you send and what you receive, so you can forward it to whoever approves the booking.
The steps in one table
Each row is one step. The middle column is what you send. The right column is what you receive.
| Step | What you send | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Order | The game you want, Gem Rush or Flip Match, and the number of exhibition days at AED 300 per day | Your game reserved for your show days. Set-up usually finishes within 24 h of ordering |
| 2. Branding | A logo, two colours (main and accent), the prize line and your custom questions. You can also set a background, a game title and a tagline | Your game page at game.printonline.ae/your-name, with your logo, colours and prize. BoothBuzz and Printonline are not shown to visitors |
| 3. Links and QR | Nothing further | The game page link, a preview link, a QR as SVG for print and PNG for screens, a kiosk link for a stand iPad, a live leaderboard link for a TV, and a dashboard login |
| 4. Staff test | The staff password, typed into the box on the Coming soon page before the start date | The actual game, playable by your team. Pause and resume are available |
| 5. Place the QR and the TV | The QR on your stand print, and the leaderboard link open on a TV facing the aisle | A start screen with your logo, the prize and a Play button on the phone of every visitor who scans |
| 6. Visitors play | Nothing. The visitor types name, email, mobile and company, answers your questions, ticks consent and plays for 60 seconds | A lead with a consent record and a timestamp, and the visitor's rank on the TV, refreshed every 6 seconds |
| 7. Export | Your dashboard login: the game name and a password | Excel (.xlsx), CSV and PDF files of every lead, as often as you want. Retention is 90 days after the event and 365 days after download |
Steps 1 and 2: order and branding
You order from the order page for Gem Rush or for Flip Match. The price is AED 300 per exhibition day, so a three-day show is AED 900. There is no set-up fee, no licence and no per-lead fee. The games section of the BoothBuzz site shows both games.
Gem Rush is a match-3 game. The visitor swaps neighbouring gems to line up three of a kind, chain reactions add combo points, and the top score takes first place. You set the difficulty for each game in the admin: the easy setting uses 4 gem types and the hard setting uses 7. Flip Match is a memory game. The visitor turns cards to find every pair, and the fastest finish takes first place, with the server timing each run to the millisecond. Gem Rush vs Flip Match sets out how to choose.
For branding you send a logo, two colours, the prize line and your questions. Set-up usually finishes within 24 h of ordering. The game page shows your logo, colours, background, game title, tagline and prize text.
Step 3: what you receive
When set-up finishes you receive six items:
- The game page link, at game.printonline.ae/your-name
- A preview link
- A QR as SVG for print and as PNG for screens
- A kiosk link for a stand iPad
- A live leaderboard link for a TV
- A dashboard login: the game name and a password
You print the SVG and put the PNG on screens. You open the kiosk link on the iPad and the leaderboard link on the TV.
Step 4: staff test mode, pause and resume
Until the start date, anyone who opens the public link sees a Coming soon page. A password box on that page lets your staff through to the actual game. Use that window to check the logo, the colours, the prize line, the form, your questions and how a result appears on the TV.
Pause and resume are available once the game is running.
Steps 5 and 6: what visitors do at the stand
Visitors point the phone camera at the QR. The scan takes about 3 seconds, and the game page opens in the phone browser, so there is no app to install. The start screen carries your logo, the prize and a Play button.
Before the game starts, the visitor types a name, email address, mobile number and company, answers the questions you added, and ticks the consent box. The game lasts 60 seconds. When it ends, the visitor's rank shows on the leaderboard. Ten people can play at the same time.
Four languages cover the player screens and the exhibitor dashboard: English, Arabic with a right-to-left layout, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. The player's browser language is detected, and a Change Language control stays on the player screen. Bilingual Arabic and English lead capture covers how to plan the two languages.
The game loads in about a second on 4G and streams nothing. A result is resent after a phone reconnects. A per-network limit exists for shared venue IPs, and you can raise it. The game runs at any venue with mobile coverage, including Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai, ADNEC Abu Dhabi, Expo Centre Sharjah, Dubai Harbour and conference hotels.
How the server checks scores
The server calculates the score and the timer from the moves the phone sends, so a score edited on the phone is rejected. Results that look suspicious are flagged in the dashboard, so your staff can check them before a prize goes out.
How staff use the live leaderboard during the day
Without a game, a stand conversation starts when a staff member stops a stranger. With a game, the order is reversed. A name on the leaderboard belongs to a visitor who has already opted in, giving a real name and email as the price of a turn, so the first sentence staff say can be about that visitor's score. The board refreshes every 6 seconds, marks the top three with medals, and never shows email addresses or phone numbers. Place the TV facing the aisle.
Staff use the board in four places during the day.
When a visitor finishes a first game, a staff member opens with that visitor's rank. Example template: "You are 4th, and the top time is 36 seconds." Use the numbers on your TV.
Through the day, the board gives visitors a rank to defend as a reason to return, and a colleague to beat as a reason to bring someone along. Staff tell a visitor how far they are from the top three and invite a second attempt.
For the prize draw, put the draw time on the start screen. At that time staff announce the winners from the TV to whoever has gathered at your stand, and your team acts as host to that group.
After the show, every lead carries the time the visitor was at your stand and the score they reached. The follow-up message can open with both.
Step 7: exports, consent and retention
The dashboard shows live stats during the show. You log in with the game name and the password and download every lead as Excel (.xlsx), CSV or PDF, as often as you want.
Each lead carries a consent record: the text version shown, a timestamp and the device. A separate marketing opt-in is never pre-ticked, in line with UAE PDPL and GDPR-style practice. The data belongs to you.
Retention is 90 days after the event and 365 days after download. Download your files when the show ends and keep your own copy. Find out where your data is hosted, and write that location into your privacy notice. Treat this page as practical guidance, not legal advice.
For a side-by-side of a bowl of business cards and a game, read business card fishbowl vs QR game.
FAQ
How does QR code lead capture work at a trade show?
A visitor points the phone camera at the QR on your stand, fills in the form with the consent box ticked, and plays for 60 seconds. The lead appears in your dashboard, and you download the list as Excel, CSV or PDF.
How long does it take to set up an exhibition lead capture game in Dubai?
Set-up usually finishes within 24 h of ordering on printonline.ae. You send a logo, two colours, the prize line and your questions.
Can I test the game before the show opens?
Yes. Staff type a password on the Coming soon page that visitors see before the start date, and then play the actual game.
Can visitors fake a high score?
A score edited on the phone is rejected, because the server calculates the score and the timer from the moves the phone sends. Suspicious results are flagged in the dashboard, so your staff can check them before a prize goes out.
If these steps match what your team needs, order Gem Rush or Flip Match for your stand, using the pricing as the starting point.