Everything a commissioner or a player needs to know, in one page.
What a grid is
A grid is a board of squares built for one game. The classic is 100 squares (10 by 10), but 50 or 25 squares suit a smaller group just as well. One team runs along the top, the other down the side. Everybody in the group claims squares before kickoff; once the board locks and the commissioner draws it, GridAction puts the digits 0 through 9 in a random order along each edge, so every square ends up tied to one pair of numbers: the last digit of each team’s score. On a smaller board a square covers more than one number, so it wins more often.
At the end of each quarter, whoever’s square matches the last digit of both scores holds that period. Every board has four holders — end of Q1, halftime, end of Q3 and final — plus overtime if the game goes there.
100, 50 and 25 squares are the three sizes you’ll see most often, and GridAction offers all three — but a commissioner isn’t limited to just those. Any combination of 10, 5 or 2 squares per side works, down to a 4-square board for a very small group. Those are the only sizes that make sense at all: a score’s last digit is always one of ten values, so an axis can only be split into 10, 5 or 2 even groups of it — there’s no such thing as, say, a 7-square row. Set it to whatever actually fits your group when you create a board.
Nobody — not even the commissioner — can see the numbers before the draw. GridAction publishes a cryptographic commitment the moment a board locks and reveals the seed behind it at draw time, so anyone can independently check the digits weren’t picked to favor anyone. See how to verify a draw for the exact steps.
Watch a game play out
A made-up game, Wolves against Foxes, with made-up players, on the same board and scoreboard you get in the app. You are Alex Kim: your squares have a green ring.
Open the example game in the app.
Where the format comes from
Squares boards have been a fixture of game-day get-togethers for decades — a paper grid taped to a fridge or passed around an office, names penciled into squares, digits written along the edges once everyone’s picked. The appeal has always been the same: you don’t need to know anything about either team to have a square worth cheering for, right up to the final whistle.
GridAction keeps that format exactly as it’s always worked — same board, same random draw, same four (or more) ways to win a period — and just removes the parts that used to take real effort: tracking who owes what, redrawing a smudged grid, texting scores to people who couldn’t make it. GridAction keeps the board, the draw and the history; what people do with it away from the app — money, prizes, bragging rights — is entirely between them.
Ways groups use it
The Sunday crew
A standing group of friends runs one board a week all season. The history tab keeps a running tally of who’s held the most periods, so there’s always something to needle each other about by Thanksgiving.
The office pool
A commissioner opens a board to “everyone in the league” so coworkers can watch it fill up without asking around, and uses initials instead of full names for anyone who’d rather stay a little anonymous.
The watch party
Before a big game, the host shares a read-only link — no account needed to watch — so out-of-town family can watch scores update in real time on their own phone during the party.
The paper-board holdout
A group that still fills out a board by hand photographs it once everyone’s picked; GridAction reads the names and squares off the photo so the group gets the live tracking without giving up their tradition.
Questions
Does GridAction handle money, entry fees or payouts?
No. GridAction never handles game money: it doesn’t accept, hold, transfer or pay out entry fees, prizes or winnings, and there are no odds or payout amounts anywhere in the app. It tracks who holds which square and who held each period — what a group decides to do with that away from the app is up to them. The only money link is an optional thank-you tip to the developer, made on a separate payment page. It isn’t tied to any board and unlocks nothing.
Who picks the numbers, and can it be rigged?
Nobody picks them — they’re drawn by the server from a random seed the moment the commissioner draws, using a process anyone can check. The board publishes a commitment to that seed as soon as it locks, before any numbers exist, so there’s a public record that the draw wasn’t chosen after the fact to favor anyone.
What happens when the game starts?
A board locks for good when its game kicks off. After that nobody can unlock it, change its rules, fix a square or delete it, so everyone can trust the record. The scores, every score change and every square stay on the board. If a name is wrong, fix it before kickoff.
Where do old boards go?
When a game is over, its board moves to Past boards and stays there for good with its winners. A board made by hand with no game moves there after 3 days with nothing happening, and comes back by itself if anyone picks a square or enters a score.
What board sizes are there?
100 squares (10×10, the classic layout), 50 squares (two numbers per row) and 25 squares (two numbers per row and column) — or a custom size for a smaller group.
Can someone without an account see a board?
Only if a commissioner turns that on. Boards are private by default; “anyone with the link” shares a read-only view — squares and names, nothing personal — with an unguessable link that can be reset or switched off at any time.
Can I import a paper board from a photo?
Yes, if you’re the commissioner and the board is still open for picks. Open the board, tap the ⋯ button, then Import from photo. Take or choose a straight-on photo of the whole grid and wait a few seconds while GridAction reads the names. Every square is shown for you to check before anything is saved: ones that were hard to read are highlighted, and you can fix any name or clear any box. Then pick whether to fill only the open squares or replace the whole board, and tap Add to board.
If the numbers are already written on your paper board you can bring those in too, or leave them off and let the app draw them where everyone can verify it. The photo isn’t kept after it’s read. Photo import is free for everyone during the beta (see “What does Premium cost?”).
Where do scores come from?
GridAction polls a live scoreboard feed and updates automatically when one’s connected; a commissioner can also enter or correct a result by hand at any point, and every correction is kept in the board’s history rather than silently overwritten.
What do the colors on a board mean?
Once the numbers are drawn and the game has a score, a board opens on Live scoring. Every square is colored by where it stands, looking back over the whole game:
- Green, won it: the square won a quarter, the half or the game, and stays green.
- Bright yellow, winning now: the square that would win if the game ended this second.
- Dashed outline, in scoring position: a field goal, or a touchdown with its extra point, by either team would put this square in front.
- Red, was winning: it was in front at some point in the game and is not now.
- Amber edge, was close: it never led, but was one score away at some point.
- Dim, never in it: no score came near it.
Switch to Matchup to see who holds each square. Live shows the board as it is right now, Q1, Half, Q3 and Final show it as it stood at the end of that period, and Play replays every score. You can try all of it in the example game.
Two people have the same initials. How do I tell who is who?
Use the two small buttons in the top-right corner of the board. Names puts each person’s name on their squares in place of initials. People who share a first name also get the first letters of their last name, like “Jim F.” and “Jim O.”, and the board remembers your choice on that phone or computer. People opens the list of everyone on the board: their name and color, how many squares they hold, and who is winning now or won a quarter. Tap a name in the list to light up that person’s squares on the board.
Commissioners see Edit in place of People. It is the same list, with the tools to fix a name, add a guest, or remove a guest who holds no squares. To give a person a different square, tap that square on the board.
What does Premium cost?
Nothing while GridAction is in beta. Every new account gets full Premium access free for at least 30 days, with no card, and players who just join a board are always free. We’ll tell you well before anything changes, and nothing is ever deleted: if Premium ends, your leagues and boards stay and simply go back to the Free limits.
Do I have to watch the game to follow my squares?
No. Turn on notifications in Settings and your phone tells you when picks lock, when the numbers are drawn and when each quarter’s result is posted. Alerts are free on every plan. On an iPhone, add GridAction to your Home Screen first. Results are posted when your commissioner enters them, or automatically when a scoreboard feed is connected.
Which digit of the score decides a square?
By default, the last digit of each team’s score — the classic way. When setting up a board, a commissioner can instead use the tens digit (a score of 7 counts as 0) or the sum of each team’s digits (a score of 21 counts as 2 + 1 = 3). Most football scores stay under 50, so the tens digit is nearly always 0 to 4: any square with a 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 on its edge will almost never win. The choice is locked once the numbers are drawn.
Is there a second winner per period, like “reverse squares”?
Only if a commissioner turns it on — it’s off by default. “Reverse winners” adds a second, bonus square for each period: the one you’d get if the two teams’ last digits traded places. At 21–14, the usual winner pairs the first team’s 1 with the second team’s 4; the reverse square pairs the first team’s 4 with the second team’s 1. It’s an extra square for bragging rights, not the real score, and the board marks it with an “R”.
Can I ask for a different game type or rule?
Yes. When you start a new board, use “Request a custom board” under the rules and describe what you have in mind. Your request is passed to the GridAction team.
How do I report a problem or ask for something?
Tap the round Help button at the bottom right of any page, then choose Send feedback. It works even when you’re signed out, except that the home page only shows it once you’re signed in. Tell us what happened or what you’d like. You get a reference number such as GA-0042 on screen, and by email if you’re signed in or leave an address. Quote that number if you write to us again, and we aim to reply within 24 hours.
I still have a question
Write to support@gridaction.app.