A web app, not an App Store download
The online pool is a web application. That means it runs in Safari, Chrome or any modern browser, and every player uses the same version without installing anything. There is no native app to download, no account to create and no app-store review to wait for. The trade-off is honest: the pool needs a browser and a connection, and the host enters scores manually because there is no live score feed. For a party or an office, that is a small price for zero friction.
Add it to your home screen
On iPhone, open the site in Safari, tap the Share button and choose Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu and choose Add to Home screen or Install app. The shortcut opens the same site in the browser; it does not install a separate native application. It gives you a one-tap icon for the next pool and makes the site feel like an app without the download.
Run a pool from your phone
Create the pool, name the teams, choose 10×10 or 5×5 and set the buy-in and payout split. Share the public link in a group chat. Players tap an empty square, type a name and the square is theirs; one device can claim several squares. When the board is ready, the host locks it and the server draws the numbers. After each period, the host enters the two scores and the winning square is highlighted. The admin view works on the same phone.
What players see
Players do not need an account or a password to claim a square. They open the link, see the board and tap. The grid is built for a phone: large tap targets, sticky axis labels and horizontal scrolling on small screens. Before the lock, the numbers show as question marks, so nobody can choose a square based on its digits. After the lock, the numbers appear on both axes and the board becomes read-only.
What the app does not do
The pool does not pull live scores from a provider; the host enters each score manually. It does not process payments or hold money; it records who paid if you unlock a premium pool. It does not send push notifications or run in the background. Those limits are worth knowing before you promise the group a fully automatic experience. The manual score entry is fast and avoids the wrong-game errors that live feeds sometimes produce.
Free pool or premium pool
The free plan covers one online pool at a time with up to 100 squares, plus the printable generator and randomizer. A credit pack is paid once: $5.99 for 1 credit or $14.99 for 3. One credit unlocks payment tracking, CSV export, a pool password, custom colors, reverse-winner payouts and unbranded prints for a single pool, and that pool no longer counts toward the free one-pool limit. Most parties never need it; a weekly office league probably will. Nothing renews.