March Madness squares, one game at a time

Squares or a bracket? Why not both

Brackets are a March tradition, but they take homework, and most of them are in pieces by the end of the first weekend. Squares asks nothing of anyone. There's no seeding to study and no upset to call: claim a few squares, wait for the numbers, and follow the score. The friend who couldn't name a single team in the tournament has the same chance as the one who filled out six brackets.

It works game by game, too. A bracket is one long contest, but a board is a fresh start every game, so the people knocked out of the bracket chat by Friday still have something to cheer for on Sunday. New to squares? The how-to-play guide explains the grid, the draw and every way to win.

Halves for the men's games, quarters for the women's

The men's and women's games are played differently, and the boards follow. Men's college games are two 20-minute halves, so a men's board has a winner at halftime and a winner at the final, or a single winner at the final. Women's college games are four 10-minute quarters, so a women's board can have a winner at the end of every quarter, just like an NBA game.

JaxSquares sets this up for you: pick Men's college or Women's college when you make the board and only the ways to win that fit the game are offered.

Men's games

Two halves. Winners at halftime and at the final, or at the final only.

Women's games

Four quarters. Winners every quarter, at halftime and the final, or at the final only.

Either way

Overtime counts toward the final, reverse winners double the winning squares, and new numbers each period keep a cold start from sinking anyone.

Plan your tournament boards

1. 1

   Find the game

   Make a board, pick Basketball, then Men's college or Women's college. The next seven days of games are listed by day, and you can pick a date to look further ahead.

2. 2

   Choose how squares win

   Halftime and final is the classic for a men's game, and every quarter for a women's game. Add reverse winners for a big group.

3. 3

   Text the link

   Drop it in the group chat, the team channel or the family thread. Friends tap their squares on their own phones, with no download.

4. 4

   Draw before tip-off

   Lock the board and draw the numbers before the game starts. Everyone sees their digits land at the same moment.

5. 5

   Follow it live

   The scores fill in on their own, the winning square glows as the lead changes, and the winner lights up at halftime and at the final buzzer.

Ideas for tournament season

• The opening rounds: two full days of games, back to back. Make a board for the games your group cares about most, or one for each afternoon and evening.
• Your school's game: the alumni chat's favorite way to watch, win or lose.
• Upset watch: pick the game everyone calls a mismatch. Upsets make for wild scores, and the squares don't care who's favored.
• The office: a board in the team channel is easier than a bracket for people who don't follow college basketball, and it's over in two hours.
• The title games: the men's and women's championship games are made for a party board, with the whole room watching every possession.

Close games, buzzer-beaters and overtime

Tournament games are famous for their finishes, and that's when a squares board is at its best. A late three or a pair of free throws moves the last digit, so the winning square can change hands several times in the final minute. The board shows whose square is winning right now and how close yours is, a basket or a three away.

If a game goes to overtime, the final winner is decided by the score at the end, overtime included, and the halftime winner stays as it was. Because basketball points come in ones, twos and threes, every digit from 0 to 9 has a real chance, so there are no hopeless squares on a tournament board. The basketball squares guide has more on how the digits fall, and a free printable board for the break room.

Why JaxSquares for tournament season

Back to football in the fall? The football squares guide covers the NFL and college seasons, and the college football squares page has ideas for rivalry week and bowl season.

Prizes, kept simple

JaxSquares never collects, holds or sends money, and nobody pays anyone through the app. A host can show a square price and prizes on the board as plain information, in dollars or in points, or mark it Just for fun. Prize notes work on any board: “Winner picks the pizza for the next game” or “Loser wears the rival school's shirt.”