Rootwaise

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about how Rootwaise works.

What is Rootwaise?

Rootwaise is a live quiz-style game where you create Challenges with multiple rounds of open questions. Unlike traditional quiz apps with fixed answers, Rootwaise lets you ask open-ended questions and uses AI to judge and rank participant answers. Perfect for team warm-ups, meaningful conversations, workshop learning checks, and AI-guided brainstorms.

How does Rootwaise work?

1. Host creates a Challenge: The host sets up a Challenge with 1-20 rounds, each with a custom question and a scoring lens that defines how answers will be judged.

2. Participants join: Everyone joins using a 6-character code (no account needed). Participants enter a display name and wait in the lobby.

3. Round starts: The host starts a round, and participants have a set time (typically 30-60 seconds) to submit their answers. Answers are limited to 50-200 characters to keep responses concise.

4. AI judges answers: When the timer ends, the host clicks "Judge" and AI evaluates each answer against the scoring lens criteria. Each answer receives scores across multiple criteria (e.g., creativity, clarity, originality) and a total score out of 100 points.

5. Results revealed: After judging, everyone sees the round winner, their answer, and an AI-generated explanation of why it won. Participants also see their own personalized feedback with their score and rationale.

6. Challenge continues: The process repeats for each round. Points accumulate across all rounds, and at the end, the overall Challenge winners (gold, silver, bronze) are announced.

What are scoring lenses?

Scoring lenses define how the AI evaluates answers. Each lens has specific criteria with different weights. For example, the "First Principles" lens evaluates answers based on fundamentals (weight: 5), originality (weight: 3), and clarity (weight: 2). You can choose from serious thinking lenses like First Principles, Creative Thinking, and Design Thinking, or fun challenges like "Answer Like Yoda" and "LinkedIn Post". See all available scoring lenses for details.

How does AI judging work?

The AI evaluates each answer independently against the scoring lens criteria. For each criterion, it assigns a score from 0-10 and provides a one-sentence reason. These scores are then weighted and combined to produce a total score (maximum 100 points per round).

Personalized feedback: Every participant who submits an answer receives personalized AI-generated feedback (max 100 words) explaining their scores, highlighting strengths, and suggesting areas for improvement.

Fairness: Identical answers are automatically de-duplicated, and ties are broken fairly. The rubric and version are fixed when judging starts to ensure consistent results.

What is random judging?

Random judging selects winners entirely at random, without using AI or consuming credits. While this might not seem useful for actual gameplay, it's perfect for exploring how Rootwaise works and testing your challenge setup before running it with AI judging. Use it to familiarize yourself with the interface, flow, and features without any cost.

What can hosts do?

  • Create Challenges with 1-20 rounds, each with custom questions and scoring lenses
  • Save challenge configurations for reuse (requires login, max 5 saved)
  • Share join links or 6-character codes with participants
  • Monitor live participant and submission counts
  • Control round timing and choose between AI or Random judging mode
  • View round winners, AI rationale, and accumulative leaderboards
  • See final Challenge results with overall winners (gold, silver, bronze)
  • Customize the appearance with accent colors and theme (light/dark)

What can participants do?

  • Join instantly with just a display name (no account needed)
  • Submit answers during active rounds (character limit enforced)
  • View round winners and their rationale after each round
  • See personalized feedback with their grade and AI rationale (if they submitted)
  • View final Challenge results and overall leaderboard

How much does it cost?

AI judging consumes 1 credit per round. You can purchase credit packs or redeem voucher codes. Random judging mode is free but not recommended for real use. See pricing for details.

Do participants need accounts?

No! Participants can join instantly with just a display name. Only hosts who want to save challenge configurations or use AI judging need to create an account.

How long does a Challenge take?

A typical Challenge takes 10-30 minutes, depending on the number of rounds and timer duration. Each round typically lasts 30-60 seconds for answering, plus a few seconds for AI judging. With 3-5 rounds, you can complete a full Challenge in about 15-20 minutes.

Is there a limit on participants?

The default limit is 20 participants per Challenge. If you have more participants, you'll see a friendly notice suggesting to split the group or upgrade. This helps ensure smooth performance and fair judging.

What happens to my data?

Only display names and short answer texts are stored. Sessions auto-expire after 30 days (or as configured) and can be deleted by the host at any time. We use AI moderation to filter inappropriate content before judging. See our privacy policy for details.

Can I use Rootwaise for different purposes?

Absolutely! Rootwaise is designed to be flexible. Use it for:

How do I get started?

Simply click "Get Started" on the homepage to create your first Challenge. No setup required — you can start hosting immediately. If you want to save challenges or use AI judging, you'll need to create an account.
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