Virtual football squares: one board, every city
The old squares board needed everyone in one room with a Sharpie. Your group now has a brother in Denver, a college roommate in Austin, and a cousin who moved to London and watches games at 1 a.m. Virtual squares is the same game with one link doing the work of the poster board.
Setting up a remote-friendly board
- Create the board and set the terms up front. Price per square, payout split, and the deadline for claims. Remote players cannot ask across the room, so put it in the board name or the first message.
- Share one link everywhere. Group chat, family thread, Slack, Discord. Everyone claims squares from their own phone in the browser. No app, no account.
- Set a claim deadline a day before the game. Remote boards fill slower because nobody is being handed a pen. A reminder with the number of open squares works.
- Draw the numbers on a call. Hop on FaceTime or a screen share and run the draw live. Boxpick reveals the digits one at a time, which gives the moment some drama even over video.
- Watch the game together, apart. The board updates on every phone as the score changes, and the winning square lights up for everyone at the end of each quarter. Nobody texts "who won Q2?"
Time zones and late kickoffs
The board shows kickoff time in each player's local time, and the live board does not care where anyone is. A player in London can claim squares on Tuesday, sleep through the first half, and wake up to the winners list.
Trust, when nobody can see the board
The thing that makes remote squares work is that the numbers are drawn after every square is claimed, and everyone can see that order. When a host draws digits on a video call after the board is full, there is no way to favor anyone. The draw guide covers why that matters.
Collecting from people in three states
Pick one payment app and say it in the first message. Boxpick shows the host who has paid and who still owes for their squares, so there is no cross-referencing Venmo history against a spreadsheet. The app never touches the money; see how to collect money for squares.
Mixed groups: some in the room, some remote
The usual case. Put the board on the TV with Boxpick's TV party mode for the people on the couch, and the remote crowd sees the same thing on their phones. For the ones who refuse to touch a phone, the host can add them by name and pick their squares. The play squares online guide walks through the host side step by step.
How do virtual football squares work?
The host creates a board and shares one link. Everyone opens it in their browser, claims squares, and watches the same live board. The host draws the numbers once the board is full, and during the game the winning square is marked on every screen at the end of each quarter.
Do remote players need to download anything?
Not with Boxpick. Players join from the link in any browser, on any phone or computer. Only the host uses the app.
How do remote players see the number draw?
Start a video call or screen share and run the draw while everyone watches. In Boxpick the digits reveal one at a time with an animation, so it plays well on a shared screen. Afterward the drawn numbers are on the board for anyone who missed it.
How does the money work with remote players?
The same as any group: Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, whatever you already use. Boxpick tracks who has paid so the host can see who still owes, and it never collects or transfers money itself.
Your whole group, one link
Host from the app. Everyone else joins from the browser, wherever they are watching.
