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Six ways to keep score, side by side
Every group already keeps score somehow. Here is what each way actually keeps, what it costs, and how much work it is to carry on.
We built one of the six, so read the last column with that in mind. We have tried to be fair about the other five, and honest about where ours is the wrong answer.
Checked 29 September 2026
Side by side
What each one does, and does not
The five alternatives are kinds of thing, not products. We cannot check what any one app ships this week, so nothing below claims a feature list for one by name.
| Pen and paperA pad, and whatever pen is nearest. | A photo of the padThe score sheet, photographed at the end of the night. | A spreadsheetGenuinely flexible, as long as somebody keeps it. | A score-counter appOne job: the count in front of you, this game. | A play loggerBuilt around one person's collection and their plays. | BoardGameTallyBuilt around a group, not a collection. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the history survive | Partly.As long as the paper does. | Partly.In the camera roll, and not searchable. | Yes.It is a file, and the file is yours. | Partly.Depends on the app. Check before you rely on it. | Yes.Long and detailed. It is the whole point. | Yes.Kept for you, with a CSV of every game. |
| Keeps group standings | No.You add them up yourself. | No.Nothing is added up. | Partly.Yes, once you have built the formulas. | No.Outside what a counter is for. | Partly.Its subject is one person's plays. | Yes.This month, this season or all time. |
| Has a rating | No.Not without doing the maths. | No.Nothing to work it out from. | Partly.Yes, if you write the maths yourself. | No.Nothing to rate across games. | Partly.Varies by app. Read its own feature list. | Yes.Elo-style, eight ranks, and an admin can switch it off. |
| Several people scoring at once | Yes.One pad, and anyone can write on it. | Partly.Anyone can shoot one. Nothing joins them up. | Yes.A shared sheet takes several editors. | Partly.One phone at the table, passed around. | No.One person keeps the record. | Yes.Any member records, and the live table is shared. |
| What it costs | A notepad. | Nothing. | Free with an account, or a free desktop program. | Free ones are easy to find. | Varies. Some are a paid app, some are free. | Free, every feature. Donations only. |
| Where it runs | Any table. No signal, no battery. | The phone in your pocket. | A browser, or an app on most devices. | A phone app. | Whichever platforms it ships on. | Any browser. Android app in a closed test, no iOS app yet. |
| Work to keep it going | None, until you want a total. | None, which is why nothing adds up. | Someone owns the file and its formulas. | None, and nothing accumulates either. | One person remembers to log the night. | Type the scores. The table keeps itself. |
Pen and paper
A pad, and whatever pen is nearest.
- History
- Partly.As long as the paper does.
- Standings
- No.You add them up yourself.
- Rating
- No.Not without doing the maths.
- Together
- Yes.One pad, and anyone can write on it.
- Cost
- A notepad.
- Runs on
- Any table. No signal, no battery.
- Upkeep
- None, until you want a total.
A photo of the pad
The score sheet, photographed at the end of the night.
- History
- Partly.In the camera roll, and not searchable.
- Standings
- No.Nothing is added up.
- Rating
- No.Nothing to work it out from.
- Together
- Partly.Anyone can shoot one. Nothing joins them up.
- Cost
- Nothing.
- Runs on
- The phone in your pocket.
- Upkeep
- None, which is why nothing adds up.
A spreadsheet
Genuinely flexible, as long as somebody keeps it.
- History
- Yes.It is a file, and the file is yours.
- Standings
- Partly.Yes, once you have built the formulas.
- Rating
- Partly.Yes, if you write the maths yourself.
- Together
- Yes.A shared sheet takes several editors.
- Cost
- Free with an account, or a free desktop program.
- Runs on
- A browser, or an app on most devices.
- Upkeep
- Someone owns the file and its formulas.
A score-counter app
One job: the count in front of you, this game.
- History
- Partly.Depends on the app. Check before you rely on it.
- Standings
- No.Outside what a counter is for.
- Rating
- No.Nothing to rate across games.
- Together
- Partly.One phone at the table, passed around.
- Cost
- Free ones are easy to find.
- Runs on
- A phone app.
- Upkeep
- None, and nothing accumulates either.
A play logger
Built around one person's collection and their plays.
- History
- Yes.Long and detailed. It is the whole point.
- Standings
- Partly.Its subject is one person's plays.
- Rating
- Partly.Varies by app. Read its own feature list.
- Together
- No.One person keeps the record.
- Cost
- Varies. Some are a paid app, some are free.
- Runs on
- Whichever platforms it ships on.
- Upkeep
- One person remembers to log the night.
BoardGameTally
Built around a group, not a collection.
- History
- Yes.Kept for you, with a CSV of every game.
- Standings
- Yes.This month, this season or all time.
- Rating
- Yes.Elo-style, eight ranks, and an admin can switch it off.
- Together
- Yes.Any member records, and the live table is shared.
- Cost
- Free, every feature. Donations only.
- Runs on
- Any browser. Android app in a closed test, no iOS app yet.
- Upkeep
- Type the scores. The table keeps itself.
Horses for courses
When each one is the right answer
Five of these are the better choice in the right week, and one of them for ever.
Paper, for a one-off night
No account, no battery, nothing to set up, and nobody has to agree to anything. If you may never play with these people again, paper has already won.
A photo, for the souvenir
Sometimes you only want proof the night happened, and the pad in the picture is funnier than any table. It is a keepsake rather than a record.
A spreadsheet, for something nobody else scores
It will do anything you can describe, which no app can promise. Worth it when your group scores in a way nobody built for, and one of you actually enjoys the formulas.
A counter, for a fiddly running total
When the job is the number in front of you this game, a counter is the fastest thing there is. Nothing has to survive the evening.
A play logger, when the collection is yours
If you want every play of every game you own, logged by you, a logger is simply the right shape for that. BG Stats is the one most people mean.
BoardGameTally, when the same people keep playing
Once a group has an argument about who is actually best, it needs one record everyone can add to and nobody has to keep. That is the whole of what this is for.
Where we are the wrong choice
Five reasons to pick something else
These are the ones we get asked about, answered the way we would answer a friend.
You are keeping a record for yourself
Everything here hangs off a group: members, a shared table, a season, an invite link. A solo collector logging their own plays is better served by a play logger built for exactly that, and we would rather say so than sell you a league of one.
You want it from the App Store
There is no iOS app. The website works in Safari and you can add it to your Home Screen, which is close, but it is not the same thing and we are not going to pretend it is.
You want it from Google Play today
The Android app is finishing a closed test there, so it is a download or a test invitation rather than a search and install.
The table has no signal
It is a web app, and nothing is stored on your device for offline use, on purpose. In a cellar with no bars, keep score on paper and type it in afterwards.
You have years of plays somewhere else
There is no importer for past games. Your shelf can come in from a BoardGameGeek collection, but the history starts the day you start, unless you type the old nights in yourself.
Try it for one game night
It is free, so the only thing it costs you is an evening. Keep the spreadsheet open beside it if you like.
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