The best football squares app, and what to look for in one
Search the app stores for football squares and you will find a crowded shelf: apps that have not been updated since 2019, apps that charge per board, apps where your friends need an account before they can claim a square. Here is what actually matters when you pick one, and how the main options compare.
The four things that matter
- Joining from a link. If your friends have to download an app and make an account, half of them will not. The host needs the app; players should only need a browser.
- A real random draw, after claims. Numbers must be assigned after the squares are taken, at random, where everyone can see it. Any app that lets you pick your digits is not squares.
- Live scoring. This is the feature that separates an app from a spreadsheet. The app follows the game and marks the winning square at the end of each quarter on every phone, with the payout amount. No napkin math.
- Payment tracking, not payment processing. You want to see who paid and who owes. You do not want an app in the middle of the money.
How the options compare
Paper board
Free, nostalgic, and fine if everyone is in the same room and someone is willing to do last-digit math at every quarter. Falls apart the moment a player is remote. See paper vs app.
Spreadsheet or Google Sheets template
Better than paper for remote groups, and free. The host still enters names by hand, draws numbers with a random function nobody trusts, and updates scores manually. See the spreadsheet template guide.
Pool websites
The big pool sites do squares as a side feature. They often require every player to register, bury the board in ads, and charge the host per pool. Live scoring is hit or miss.
Dedicated squares apps
The right tool if it does the four things above. The tell is reliability: read the recent reviews and look for "froze during the game" or "lost my picks." A squares app gets used during the most-watched sporting event of the year; it has one job.
How Boxpick handles each one
- Players join from a link in any browser. No download, no account.
- Numbers are drawn after the board is full, with an animated reveal the whole room can watch on the TV.
- Live scores light up the winning square at the end of every quarter, with the payout figured for you. TV party mode puts the board on the big screen.
- Hosts mark players paid with a tap and see who still owes. Boxpick never collects, holds, or transfers money.
- Regular season boards are free to host with no limit and no per-board fees. Boxpick Pro ($9.99 a year) adds playoff and Super Bowl boards, custom payout splits, fundraiser mode, and live win probability on every square.
Boxpick is on the App Store and Google Play. Guests join from the web, so a mixed group of iPhone, Android, and desktop players is no problem.
What should a football squares app do?
Four things: let friends claim squares from a link without downloading anything, draw the numbers at random after the board is full, follow the live score and mark the winning square each quarter automatically, and track who has paid without ever handling the money itself.
Is there a free football squares app?
Boxpick is free to join and free to host for every regular season game, with no per-board fees. Playoff and Super Bowl boards, custom payouts, fundraiser mode, and live win probability are part of Boxpick Pro at $9.99 a year.
Do my friends need to download the app to play?
Not with Boxpick. The host uses the app; everyone else claims squares and watches the live board from a link in their web browser. No app, no account.
Does a squares app handle the money?
It should not. Apps that collect entry fees or pay out winnings are running something very different from a party game. Boxpick tracks who has paid and who still owes, and the settling up stays between you and your group.
The squares app that actually works
Free to join, free to host all regular season, no per-board fees. Live winners every quarter.
