Questions, answered

What is ChooseASquare?

The operating system for recreational competition — one place to run the contests your group already loves instead of a patchwork of spreadsheets, group texts, and Venmo notes. Squares pools, season-long Pick’Em / Survivor / Confidence pools, calendar and club fundraisers, Golf pools, and full draft / keeper leagues, all from one shareable link. You run the contest; we handle the busywork, and you keep 100% of what you collect.

What kinds of contests can I run?

Classic single-game Squares, multi-game Series & Playoff Squares, Calendar Cash (a “Choose A Date” fundraiser), a recurring Century / X-Club, Survivor / Eliminator pools, Pick’Em pools, Confidence pools, and Draft Room — a season-long draft & keeper engine (with an optional Death Pool flavor). See the contest types page for each one.

Do participants need an account?

They sign in to claim and keep their spot (so picks and squares are saved and can’t be grabbed out from under them), but it’s quick — email or Google. There’s never a fee to a participant for signing in or playing.

How do people join my contest?

You share one link (or your org page). Supporters open it, sign in, and claim squares / create an entry / join a team. You can also email invites, and — for some contests — let participants invite others.

Does ChooseASquare take a cut of what we raise?

No. Supporters pay you directly through your own Venmo, PayPal, check, or cash. The platform never holds or processes your money, and we take no percentage of your fundraiser.

How do supporters pay?

However you choose — turn on Venmo, PayPal, mail-a-check, and/or cash. Buyers get a one-tap button that opens Venmo or PayPal with the amount already filled in, so there’s no fumbling with the total. Better still, they can forward the receipt and ChooseASquare marks them paid automatically — the worst chore (matching who paid to who’s on the grid) handles itself. You can still mark entries paid by hand, or let supporters “pay later,” whenever you prefer.

Do participants ever pay a fee to ChooseASquare?

No. Plans apply to organizers only; we never charge players a platform fee. The only money a participant pays is the entry price you set, and it goes directly to your organization. Running a for-fun pool? Set the price to nothing.

Is it really free?

Yes — the Free plan runs unlimited contests and you keep 100% of what you collect. The fun is free; we charge only to automate the busywork (auto-reconciled payments, your branding, reminders, reports), never to run one more contest, and never for access to your money.

How are numbers and winners handled?

Numbers are drawn randomly and revealed when the grid locks (you control the timing). Enter scores by period and winning squares highlight automatically — final, quarters, halftime, reverse score, and more.

What if we sell out?

For squares and series pools you can release another grid — manually or automatically at a threshold — to keep selling. Calendar and club fundraisers scale by adding sellers or months.

What’s a Series / Playoff Squares pool?

One purchase covers a whole series or playoff run — buyers get the same square across every game in the set, and winners are tracked game by game.

What’s a Calendar fundraiser?

Supporters “choose a date” on a calendar (often a price tied to the day number). Great for a goal-based drive; you can run multiple months and track progress toward a goal.

What’s the Century / X-Club?

A recurring numbered-club raffle (e.g. a 300 Club) — sell numbered memberships and draw winners. Available on Pro Commissioner.

How does a Pick’Em pool work?

Each week, every entry picks the winner of each game — straight-up, or against a spread you set. Correct picks earn points (one each, or by confidence), accumulating into weekly and season standings.

What’s a Confidence pool?

A Pick’Em where entries also rank how sure they are: with N games you assign confidence points 1…N (each value once). A correct pick earns the points you placed on it; a miss earns zero. It’s included on Pro Commissioner.

How does a Survivor / Eliminator pool work?

Pick one team to win each week without reusing a team. A loss (or a tie, your rule) eliminates the entry; the last one standing wins. Strikes, mulligans, buybacks, and multiple entries are available on higher plans.

Where do the games come from?

From the games library — load an NFL season in one click, or build any league’s weekly schedule (college football, NBA, MLB, and more). Enter final scores and standings update automatically; auto-scoring from synced results is a Pro Commissioner feature.

What is Draft Room?

A full season-long draft engine for any pool of names: build teams, draft rosters, and score all season — with keepers that carry year to year. It’s a licensed module, priced per league as an annual subscription (renews yearly, cancel anytime).

Snake or auction? Live or over days?

Your choice. Run a snake draft or a budget auction, live in one session or as an “extended” draft over several days — with overnight pauses and an email to each owner when they’re on the clock.

How does drafting work?

Open the live room. Each team picks when on the clock (or you pick for them), one-tap from a ranked prospect board or by searching. Optionally turn on 👍/👎 notability voting or commissioner approval per pick; a timer auto-picks the top available prospect if someone’s away.

What’s the Death Pool flavor?

An optional flavor: draft famous people and score when one passes. Rostered names are checked against Wikidata a few times a day, every death is admin-confirmed before points apply, and a tombstone “graveyard” scoreboard shows each team’s hits. Private by default, no cash prizes.

Can I use it for things other than a death pool?

Absolutely — that’s the point. Fantasy-style and keeper leagues, prediction and reality-TV pools, auctions, and more. You define your own scoring categories and award points through the season.

Can multiple people sell for our team?

Yes. Add as many sellers as you like — each gets a personal link and storefront, every sale is credited to them, and you can run seller leaderboards and prizes. Part of the Fundraising Suite — built into Organization, or add it to any plan for $9.99/mo.

Can we use our own branding?

Yes — add your logo, banner, colors, and font so the whole experience looks like your organization. Branding templates are free; full custom branding is included on Pro Commissioner.

Can participants weigh in on the rules?

Yes — the Polls module lets you run polls (single-choice or ranked) so participants vote on rules, entry fees, dates, and more. It’s included on Pro Commissioner.

Is there a group chat / message board?

Yes — the Message Board add-on puts a texting-style chat on every contest (called “Smack Talk” by default — the commissioner can rename it to anything). Participants talk trash and stay engaged all season, with a notification when new messages land. It’s included on Pro Commissioner and Organization, and free with any Draft/league or Death Pool license.

How do plans work?

Plans (Free, Pro Commissioner, Organization) are per organizer and unlock more contest types and tools. Your plan and add-ons follow your account — one subscription covers every organization you run.

What are add-ons?

À-la-carte upgrades you can add to any plan: the Fundraising Suite ($9.99/mo, built into Organization), Polls, Message board & chat, Seller tracking, Custom branding, Advanced reports, extra grids, and more. Add-ons are tied to your account, so they apply across all your organizations.

How is Draft Room billed?

Draft Room is an annual per-league subscription — renews yearly, cancel anytime — separate from the monthly plans. The Death Pool flavor is an optional add-on on top.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes — no contracts, no cancellation fees. Cancel and you revert to the free plan at the end of your term; you always keep 100% of what you’ve already collected.