Basketball guide
Keep basketball score from the stands. Family and friends watch live.
For the parent with the phone at the game. Tap +2, +3 or +1 FT for the team that scored. Grandparents, parents stuck at work and anyone who couldn't make it follow every basket from one link, with nothing to install.
No account needed. Set up a game in about 30 seconds.
In 30 seconds
Reading this in the stands before tip-off? This is all you need.
- Pick basketball, name the teams Tap Create an event, then Basketball. Type both team names and tap Save & get the link.
- Text the link to family Text the link opens your phone's share sheet with the message ready. Send it to the family group chat.
- Tap each basket Under the team that scored, tap +2, +3 or +1 FT. The first score starts the game.
Step by step
From setup to the final score, in the order you'll meet each screen. Words in bold are exactly what the buttons say.
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Set up the game
Open gamedayscore.live and tap Create an event, then Basketball. Type the away and home team names and pick a color for each.
Under Game length, pick 4 quarters or 2 halves. Under If it's tied at the end, pick Overtime or Can end in a tie. Then tap Save & get the link.
Setting up needs a signal, so do it in the parking lot if the gym is a dead zone. Scoring works without one.
Setup: teams, game length, ties -
Share the link
Text the link opens your phone's share sheet with the message already written. Pick the family group chat and send. Copy puts the link on your clipboard, and the QR code button next to Text the link shows a code that parents sitting near you can scan.
Live score for Away Team at Home Team basketball. Keep this open, it updates on its own: gamedayscore.live/e/7QK4M2XT
Further down is Copy my scorer link. That one is for you only: it's how you carry on from another phone. Then tap Start scoring.
“Anyone with this link can change the score. Send it only to yourself.” Family gets the live page link, never the scorer link.
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Tap each basket
Each team has its own column of buttons: +2 and +3 for baskets, +1 FT for a made foul shot. There's no start button: the first score starts the game. The screen stays on while you score.
Two foul shots in a row? Tap +1 FT twice; every tap counts. The score by quarter and Latest scores sit above the buttons, so you can check the last few baskets at a glance.
+2, +3 and +1 FT for each team -
Fix a mistake
Undo steps back one action at a time: a basket, the end of a quarter, a catch up. Tap it again to keep going back.
Tapped +3 for a two? Undo, then tap +2. Noticed a wrong score a few baskets later? Use Catch up (step 6) to set the right points. The live page follows every fix as soon as it's sent.
Undo The last thing you tapped, one at a timeCatch up Set the right points for any quarter -
End of a quarter and halftime
The app keeps no clock, so you end each period: tap End Q1 at the bottom of the screen. It asks End of Q1?; Start Q2 carries on, and Not yet takes it back.
At the half the button reads Halftime. The halftime panel has Catch up the score to check against the scoreboard, then Start Q3 (or Start the 2nd half when you play halves).
Meanwhile family's page shows “End of Q1” or “Halftime” and the time it started, so a break doesn't look like lost signal.
End of Q1? Confirm or not yet -
Catch up at a timeout
Joined late, or missed a few baskets? Tap Catch up, either team's score, or Catch up / edit score in the menu. Copy the gym scoreboard in: each team's points in each period, then the Period now. Tap Save & keep scoring.
What changed goes into the score list as “Caught up”, and family's page shows a note like Caught up at 8:31 PM. with the points added. If a number went down, it's “Score corrected” instead.
Catch up, period by period -
No signal in the gym
Keep tapping. Every score is saved on your phone first, and the pill at the top counts what's waiting, like Offline · 3 to send. Your taps go out by themselves, in order, as soon as there's a signal.
Meanwhile family's page reads Delayed after 2 minutes without news, then catches up when your taps arrive.
Leave the app open until the count is gone. Anything still waiting when you close it is sent the next time you open the app.
Handing the phone job to another parent? They open your scorer link on their phone and carry on. Let your phone send everything first: points a phone never sent are dropped when the other phone takes over.
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End of the game and overtime
After the last period, tap End of game. The app asks Game over?, shows the winner and asks you to check it matches the gym scoreboard: Finish game makes it final, Fix the score first opens Catch up, and Not yet, undo takes it back.
Tied? With overtime, the button reads Start OT1; a tie after OT1 asks End of OT1? with Start OT2, and so on until there's a winner. If the game can end in a tie, it reads End as a tie.
The final screen shows the score by period and every score in order of play. Text the final score sends the recap, and Copy copies it:
Final: Home Team 58, Away Team 53
New match sets up the next game with the same teams and settings. Back to home goes to your list of games.
The final -
Fix the score after the game
Got a period wrong? On the final screen, tap Edit scores, fix the points in any period and tap Save scores. The game stays final, and the result follows the new totals.
The change goes into the score list as “Score corrected”, and the live page shows the new final with “The scorer fixed the points after the game.”
If the edit makes it a tie, the app asks Save as a tie? before it saves: overtime can't be played after the game.
For Grandma
What your family sees
They tap the link and the live page opens in their phone's browser. No app, no sign-in, no refreshing: the score changes by itself.
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Live
The period, both scores, the score by period and the latest scores. “Updated 5 seconds ago · 9 watching” shows it's really live. In a break the page reads “End of Q1” or “Halftime” instead.
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Caught up
After a catch up, a note says when and what was added, so a jump in the score doesn't look like a glitch. If your phone loses signal for 2 minutes, the page says Delayed, then catches up when you're back.
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Final
The winner, the score by period, every score in order and when the game ended. The link keeps working after the game, so latecomers still see the result.
After a catch up that lowered a score, a note reads Score corrected at 7:31 PM. The scorer fixed the points.
The rules the app follows
Exactly how the app scores a game, and what it doesn't do yet.
How it scores
- 2, 3 or 1. A basket is 2 or 3 points, a made foul shot 1.
- 4 quarters or 2 halves. Halftime after Q2, or after the 1st half.
- The first score starts the game. Joining late? A catch up starts it too.
- Periods end when you say so. Tap the End button at the bottom; Not yet takes it back.
- Tied at the end: overtime (OT1, OT2, …) until there's a winner, or a tie, as you chose at setup.
Not in basketball yet
- A game clock or shot clock. You end each period yourself.
- Fouls, timeouts and the bonus.
- Who scored, and following one player.
- Stats: rebounds, assists, shooting.
Questions parents ask
Does my family need an app or an account?
No. They tap the link and the live page opens in their phone's browser: no app, no sign-in. You don't need an account to keep score either. Your games are saved on your phone.
What if I lose signal in the gym?
Keep tapping. Every score is saved on your phone and sent as soon as there's a signal; the pill shows how many taps are waiting, like Offline · 3 to send. Family sees Delayed after 2 minutes without news, then the score catches up.
I got there in the 3rd quarter. Can I still score?
Yes. Tap Catch up, type each team's points in Q1, Q2 and Q3 from the scoreboard, pick Period now, then tap Save & keep scoring. A timeout is a good moment.
I tapped +3 instead of +2. How do I fix it?
Tap Undo to take the last score back, then tap +2. If you notice it later, Catch up lets you set the right points for the period.
Can I change the score after the game?
Yes. On the final screen, Edit scores lets you fix any period. The game stays final, the result follows the new totals, and family sees “Score corrected” with the new final.
Can someone else take over scoring?
Yes, with your scorer link (Copy my scorer link on the Share screen). They open it on their phone with a signal and carry on, and your phone shows Scoring moved to another phone. Send it only to the person taking over: anyone with it can change the score.
Can people we didn't invite find the live page?
Each game gets its own random link, and live pages are hidden from search engines. Only people you send the link to can watch, and only someone with the scorer link can change the score.
How long does the live page stay up, and can I delete it?
Until 30 days after the last change to the score; a game nobody scored is removed after 48 hours. You can delete it any time you have a signal: Delete event in the game menu, or the trash button on the game in your list on the app's home screen (that's how you delete a finished one). Then the link shows “This event isn't available.”
Score your next game.
Open it on your phone in the stands. No account needed.
Start a basketball game gamedayscore.liveGameDay also scores volleyball, football, soccer, baseball and softball, lacrosse, hockey and golf.
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