Bracketmaker Software

H Select two or three-team quizzes. H Create Brackets for 5 through 72 teams. H Choose # of teams, quizzes, rooms, rounds. H Create round robins for any number of teams. H Teams seated 1st, 2nd and 3rd evenly. H Teams quiz even number of times per room. H Print or recall any bracket.

Details and Documentation

Startup

1. Copy the file "b.exe" to a new folder (directory) on your hard drive. BracketMaker will also save the data files it creates in this folder. If you want to keep multiple folders, you can copy the B.exe file into additional folders.

2. To run the program, open your new folder and double click on the "B" icon.

3. If you want to place an icon on your desktop, you can right click on the "B" icon and choose "create shortcut."

Bracket Types

1. Three-team Quizzes: Creates a bracket for three-team quizzing. If neither teams nor quizzes is a multiple of 3, you will be given options for using two-team quizzes to complete the bracket.

2. Two-team Quizzes: Creates a bracket consisting of all two-team quizzes.

3. Three-team Round robin: Each team quizzes every other team once, using as many three-team quizzes as possible for the given bracket.

4. Two-team Round robin: Each team has one quiz against every other team.

5. Efficiency Bracket: Each team quizzes in each round, using the maximum possible number of three-team quizzes.

Bracket Setup

1. Indicate how many teams, quizzes and rounds you will need.

2. If there are open rooms, you will be given an option for placing them automatically or manually.

3. If you have selected a combination of two and three-team quizzes, you will be given an option for placing them automatically or manually.

4. Choose Column or Row Strategy.

Bracket Creation

1. Column Strategy: Bracketmaker will randomly select quizzes one at a time, with no consideration for placement in rooms. When all pairings meet specifications, they are then run through a placement routine to put them in rooms. This strategy is most useful when teams quiz against most every other team.

2. Row strategy: Each Round is selected completely before the next one is started. This strategy is most helpful if you have selected the maximum amount of rooms for a given amount of teams.

3. Difficult Brackets: The toughest brackets involve each team quizzing all or most other teams in the maximum amount of rooms. In this case you may have to experiment with column and row strategy. At any time you may escape out of one strategy and try the other.

Bracket Perfection

After a rough Bracket is created, it is perfected by a three-step process.

1. Sorting Rounds: Rounds are randomly switched to find the combination which yields the lowest number of consecutive rounds per team. (i.e. a team will quiz in consecutive rounds the least possible amount of times).

2. Seating Teams: Team seating within each quiz is randomly switched to place each team 1st, 2nd and 3rd an even number of times. Seating variance is an arbitrary measure of how much the final seating differs from being perfectly even.

3. Arranging rooms: Room placement for the quizzes within each round is randomly switched to ensure that a team will quiz in as many different rooms as possible, and a relatively even number of times per room.

Limitations

1. Choose between 5 and 72 teams

2. You will be informed if your bracket exceeds 550 total quizzes.

3. Select up to 30 quiz rooms.

4. You will be told if your bracket needs more than 35 total rounds.

Notes

1. After creating or recalling a bracket, you will be able to view the bracket, pairings or room and seating information.

2. If you select a number of quizzes such that teams quiz each other more than once, the program will check three-team quizzes so that there are no repeat quizzes (i.e. 3 5 9 and 9 3 5).

Sample Brackets