Polls

Polls

Polls let signed-in readers vote on a question without leaving the chapter. Authors configure the question and choices in the chapter editor, then place the poll exactly where it should appear in the prose.

What readers see

At the marker's position, a configured poll shows its question, choices, and Vote control. Depending on Type, signed-in readers select one choice, several choices, or rank the choices. After they vote, CHYOA shows the saved-vote message or the results allowed by the poll's Results setting.

When ranked-choice results are visible and votes have been cast, they identify the Current leader while voting is open or the Winner after the poll closes.

For Instant runoff, a summary names the leader or winner above the first-choice totals. Select View ranked-choice rounds to expand the full round-by-round counts; the number in parentheses tells you how many rounds there are. Select Hide ranked-choice rounds to collapse them again.

For Borda count, results show a leaderboard ordered by total points, with the leader or winner labeled in the option's row. Equal scores share a place. If the highest scores are tied, each leading option is labeled Tied for lead while voting is open or Joint winner after the poll closes.

Create the poll

Open a new or existing content chapter. In the Polls section, select Add Poll, then enter:

• a Poll Key that connects the settings to the poll's position in the chapter;
• the reader-facing Question;
• a voting Type;
• at least two answer options;
• the preferred Results, State, and closing settings.

Use a short Poll Key such as ending, next_route, or best-character. It must begin with a lowercase letter or number, use only lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, contain no more than 40 characters, and be unique within the chapter.

Copyable marker syntax

The editor shows the marker created from the Poll Key. Copy that marker into the chapter content where readers should see the poll:

The group has heard every proposal. Now it is time to choose.

{poll:next_route}

The winning route will influence a later chapter.

In this example, the poll's Poll Key must be next_route. Every configured poll needs exactly one matching marker, and every marker must match a configured poll. A missing, repeated, or misspelled marker prevents the chapter from being saved.

Choose how readers vote

• Single choice records one option from each voter.
• Multiple choice lets a voter select more than one option. Set Max Selections to limit the number, or leave it blank to allow any number of the listed options.
• Ranked choice lets a voter put options in preference order. Choose its Counting method: Instant runoff or Borda count.

Readers must log in to vote. Select Allow voters to change their vote when they should be able to revise a saved choice or ranking. If that setting is off, a saved vote is final.

Choose a ranked counting method

Instant runoff counts each ballot's highest-ranked remaining option through elimination rounds. Readers rank a first choice and optional backups. A backup counts if the reader's earlier choices are eliminated.

Borda count adds points from every ranked choice, making it useful for character-popularity polls where second and third choices should also contribute. With five options, a reader's first choice earns 4 points, second earns 3, third earns 2, fourth earns 1, and fifth earns 0. Unranked options earn 0.

For example, create a poll asking Which characters are your favorites?, add five characters, choose Ranked choice, and set Counting method to Borda count. A reader who ranks Mira first, Rowan second, and Tess third contributes 4 points to Mira, 3 to Rowan, and 2 to Tess. The two unranked characters receive no points from that ballot. Once results are visible, readers see the combined points in descending order.

Readers may rank as many options as they like, but each ranked option needs a different rank. In Borda polls, gaps close automatically: choosing ranks 1 and 3 saves them as first and second, earning 4 and 3 points in a five-option poll. Changing a vote replaces that reader's earlier contribution.

Decide when results appear

The Results setting controls what readers see:

• Always show results displays current totals before and after voting.
• Show after voting hides totals from each reader until that reader votes.
• Show after poll closes reveals totals when voting ends.
• Only show results to chapter author and story staff keeps reader-facing totals private.

The chapter author and story staff can preview current results that are hidden from readers. Choose the setting before publication based on whether early totals could influence later voters.

Set State to Active while readers may vote or Closed to end voting manually. Closes At can close an active poll at a chosen date and time; the editor uses your account time zone. Closing keeps the existing votes and applies the selected result visibility.

Polls and Game State

A poll records community votes independently of Game State. It does not require an active game, change a game variable, or automatically unlock a continuation. If a poll's outcome should influence the story, the author decides how to reflect that outcome in later chapter content or branches.

Limits and later edits

A chapter can contain up to ten polls. A question can contain up to 255 characters. Each poll can have from two through 25 options, and each option can contain up to 1,000 characters. Concise questions and options remain easier to compare when the chapter already explains the choices.

Before the first vote, all poll settings and options can be changed and the poll can be removed. After a poll receives a vote:

• options cannot be edited, added, removed, or reordered;
• Type, Counting method, and Max Selections cannot be changed;
• the Poll Key, question, state, result visibility, vote-update choice, and closing date can still be managed.

When changing a Poll Key after voting has begun, update its {poll:...} marker in the chapter content during the same edit. The saved marker and Poll Key must still match exactly.

Use My polls in the Library to find your active and closed polls and return to their chapters. Active polls in visible stories may also appear under Active Polls.

Remove or replace a poll

You can remove a poll even after readers have voted, without deleting the chapter.

1. Edit the chapter and find the poll in the Polls section.
2. Select Remove Poll. For a saved poll, confirm that saving will permanently delete the poll and all its votes.
3. Remove that poll's matching {poll:key} marker from the chapter text.
4. Save the chapter to apply the removal. Until you save successfully, the poll and votes remain unchanged.

The poll disappears when the chapter is saved. Related notifications may take a little longer to disappear.

To replace it with different choices, use Add Poll and place the new poll's marker before saving. The replacement starts with no votes. You may reuse the removed poll's key; if you do, keep its existing marker for the replacement.

If you want to keep the poll and its votes visible while ending voting, set State to Closed instead.

Before publishing

• Confirm that every Poll Key is short, unique, and typed exactly the same in its marker.
• Check that each configured poll has one marker and that no marker is repeated.
• Preview single, multiple, or ranked selection behavior for the chosen Type.
• Decide when results should appear and whether voters may change their votes.
• Check the closing date in your account time zone, if one is set.
• Test the chapter while signed in so you can see the reader's voting controls.

Existing ranked-choice polls keep Instant runoff. To use Borda after a poll has received votes, create a new poll.