Help & Support

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Pickleball Circle keeps the pickleball night: who’s coming, which court you’re on and who your partner is, the score of every game and the season standings. Your group plays doubles, two partners against two, on as many courts as you have that night. A night is rounds, and a round is one game on every court. The app never keeps a rally score, serves, calls a line or checks a game: your court plays on its own, and the scorekeeper types the two final scores.

Joining a group

How do I join my group?

Tap the invite link your organizer sent you. If the app is already on your phone, open it, tap I have an invite link, and paste the link in.

It says my link is a Bunco Circle invite.

Each Game Night Circle app has its own groups. An invite from another Game Night Circle app, such as Bunco Circle or Canasta Circle, opens in that app, and a Pickleball Circle invite opens here. Ask your organizer for your pickleball group’s link.

How do I start a group of my own?

Open the app and tap Start a group (or, if you’re already in a group, tap your group’s name at the top of the screen, then Start another group). You name it, say when you play, and set Spots each night (at least 4). You can add Where do you play? and How many courts there? now or later. How your group plays is in Organize → Group settings, under Your pickleball night, and its game length and clock are in Organize → Your game and scoring. Then share the invite link from Organize → Roster & invite.

Signing in

How do I sign in?

With your email and password: type them in and tap Sign in. New to Game Night Circle? Tap New here? Make an account. A 6-digit code is emailed to you once, to check the address is yours, and then you make a password.

I forgot my password.

On the sign-in screen, tap Forgot password?. A 6-digit code is emailed to you. Type it in, then make a new password.

Can I sign in with Face ID?

Yes, on your phone. After you sign in with your password, the app asks once: Sign in with Face ID next time? You can turn it on or off any time in Me → Sign-in. It works with Face ID or Touch ID on an iPhone, and with your fingerprint or face unlock on Android. Your phone checks it’s you: your face or fingerprint never leaves the phone. On the web, sign in with your password.

I don’t have a password yet.

Tap Email me a code instead on the sign-in screen, and type in the 6-digit code from the email. To make a password for next time, go to Me → Sign-in.

My sign-in code never came.

Give it a minute, then look in your junk or spam folder. The email is called “Your Game Night Circle sign-in code”. Still nothing? Tap Didn’t get it? Send again. Make sure the email address is spelled right: the code goes only to that address.

I use another Game Night Circle app. Can I use the same email?

Yes. Sign in with the same email address. One email and password work in every Game Night Circle app that has passwords, so a password you made in another one works here too. (Farkle Circle and Pinochle Circle still sign in with an emailed code.) The first time, Pickleball Circle asks your name, unless your Game Night Circle account already has one, and your phone number if you’d like to give it. Your pickleball groups, scores and subscription are kept separately from your other apps.

Keeping score

Who keeps score?

Each court has a scorekeeper: a player on that court who has the app. Only players who have the app can keep score. The organizer sees who it is on Courts and partners (Scorekeeper: Gwen · Change) and can tap Change. The organizer and co-organizers can keep score for any court, which is how a court with nobody on the app gets scored. Everyone else just plays: they don’t need the app at all.

How do I score a game?

Play the game on your court. When it ends, tap Score the game → on the Scorekeeper and type the two final scores, one for each pair of partners, from 0 to 40. The higher score wins. The sheet shows How it adds up as you go: the win, a pickle if there was one, and Won by, with a Tonight: line for each player’s record before and after. Save the game waits until both scores are in and one is higher. Then the court taps Round over →.

Does the app keep the rally score or check the game?

No. The app never keeps a rally score, serves, calls a line or checks a game, and it doesn’t ask who served. Your court plays on its own, and the scorekeeper types the two scores. Numbers outside what a game allows show a short line and wait: Scores are 0 to 40. Scores are points only: no money changes hands in the app.

What is a pickle?

A pickle is a win where the other team scored nothing and the winners scored at least 11, like 11 to 0. The app works it out from the two scores. A game that ends 9 to 0 when time runs out is a win, but not a pickle. Each player on the winning team is counted as having given a pickle, and each on the losing team as pickled. Both partners get the same.

What is the PICKLED flash?

When a saved game was a pickle, PICKLED flashes for about a second, with the winners’ names and the score. Nothing else flashes.

What is the difference?

It is how far ahead a game was won: the winning score minus the losing score. The winners get that number and the losers get the same number below zero, so a night’s difference adds up to zero across the room. In the app it is points scored minus points allowed.

Can a game end in a tie?

No. Two equal scores aren’t saved. The sheet says Someone has to win. Play one more point, then enter the score.

The game ended when time ran out.

Enter the score as it stands. If the winners are under what your game is played to, the sheet says Under 11. Save it anyway if the time ran out. and still saves it. The app never checks win by 2.

Someone went home, or the game won’t be finished.

Tap This game won’t be finished, then Don’t count this game. A game nobody finished isn’t counted: no win, no loss, no points and no difference, and the court sits out the rest of the round. When your group plays winners move up, the sheet also asks who was ahead, so the courts above and below can move.

Do my results stay with me?

Yes. Your wins, losses, points scored, points allowed, difference and pickles add up from every game you played, and the standings follow them. A round sat out is no game, with no win, loss or points. Partners share a game: each gets the win or loss and the same points.

Your game and scoring

How long is a game?

Your organizer picks in Organize → Your game and scoring. Under Games are played to, type a number from 5 to 30. Empty means 11. Most groups play to 11, some to 15 or 21. The app never checks win by 2.

Can the app keep a round clock?

Yes, if your organizer types a Round length from 5 to 60 minutes. Empty means no clock. It ends nothing and counts nothing: see the next section.

Our group plays a little differently.

A House rules note (up to 300 characters) holds anything else, like winners splitting up or who serves first. Everyone can read it on Our scoring sheet, and the app never referees it. The game length and the round length can’t be changed during a pickleball night. The house rules note stays open.

Where can players see how it works?

Tap Our scoring sheet on the Scorekeeper, or Our scoring sheet → on Home during a pickleball night. It lists the night, the game length, how the night is ranked and your house rules. It is for reference: your court does its own playing.

Rounds, the clock and ending the night

When is a round over?

A round is one game on every court. After the game is saved, the scorekeeper taps Round over →, which turns gold, and the court waits: Waiting for Court 2 to finish Round 3. When every court has finished, the app draws again. Until you tap Round over, Undo takes the game back.

How does the round clock work?

When everyone is on a court, the organizer taps Start the clock on the Scorekeeper. It counts down on every scorekeeper screen, on the live scoreboard and on Home. The organizer can Pause it or Stop the clock. At zero, every phone with the app open shows Time and plays one short tone. The clock ends no game and saves no score: scorekeepers enter the score as it stands. It needs the app open to play its tone.

When does the night end?

If your organizer set Rounds per night, the night ends after the last round: each court taps Last round over →, and when every court is done, everyone goes to Tonight’s winners. A round takes 12 to 15 minutes, so seven rounds is about two hours. Otherwise the organizer taps End the night now on the Scorekeeper, then End the night. Tonight counts every game that has been saved. A game that isn’t finished doesn’t count.

Courts, partners and the three nights

How are the courts made?

On Courts and partners, the organizer picks How many courts?, which lists only the counts that work: four players to a court. The app draws who plays where and with whom, using your venue’s own court numbers, so Court 5 is Court 5. Tap two names to swap them (to put a couple together, say, or a newer player with a steady one), or tap Shuffle to draw again. Then tap Start Round 1 → and confirm Start the night?

What if the players don’t come out evenly?

Everyone beyond four a court sits out in turn, and nobody sits out twice before everyone has when that can be helped. The organizer isn’t exempt. A round sat out is no game: no win, no loss, no points. A group needs at least 4 players: You need at least 4 to play.

It says A few choices first.

Your group hasn’t picked its pickleball night yet. Pick Your pickleball night and tap Start the night. It’s saved for your group, and you can change it in Group settings.

What are the three ways to play?

Your organizer chooses in Organize → Group settings, under Your pickleball night:

• New partners each round: after every round, when every court has finished, the app draws new partners and new opponents for everyone. Nobody partners the same person again until everyone present has partnered everyone, when that can be helped.
• Same partners all night: partners are set before Round 1, drawn and then swappable, and stay together. Each round the app draws which partners play which, so every pair meets every other before any repeats. Extra pairs sit out in turn, and someone with no partner waits and is the first to fill a gap.
• Winners move up: courts are ranked, with Court 1 on top. After each round the winners move up a court, and Court 1’s winners stay. The losers move down a court, and the bottom court’s losers stay. Partners split up: nobody partners the person they just partnered. Extra players wait in a line. The bottom court’s losers go to the end of the line, and the first in line come on. With one court, the winners stay and split, the losers go to the line, and the next two come on.

What is Who can partner?

In Group settings, Who can partner is Anyone with anyone or One from A, one from B. The second is for mixed doubles, or a stronger player with a newer one: you set each player’s group on the roster, and every pair of partners is one from Group A and one from Group B. Players with no group fill whichever group is short. If the groups are uneven, the larger group’s extras sit out in turn, and Courts and partners says so before anyone starts. The app keeps no ratings and never says why you chose it.

How do I know where to go?

Where do I go? shows each player their court, their partner (Your partner:) and who they play (Against:), and after every round it shows where you move to. Where’s my court? on the live scoreboard opens it too. If you sit out, it says so, and when you’re back in. On a winners move up night it also says whether you move up a court, move down, stay, or wait in line.

Spots, the waitlist and where you play

What are spots and the waitlist?

A night has a number of spots: Spots each night in Group settings, which the organizer can change for one date. When it’s full, anyone who says “I’m in” goes on the waitlist, in order, and everyone can see their place. When someone changes to Can’t make it, the first on the waitlist moves in. They can pass it on with Can’t make it. For people who aren’t on your list, use Call a sub: the text goes out with a link, and the first to say yes gets a spot.

What does the organizer see about late cancels and no-shows?

A Can’t make it within 12 hours of the start is a late cancel. Someone who said “I’m in” and wasn’t marked Here is a no-show. The organizer sees both counts for each player this season on Player actions. Nobody is blocked, fined or removed. On the sign-in sheet, the organizer can tap Open their spot beside a no-show to give the spot to the waitlist.

Where do we play, and who is the court host?

In Organize → Where we play, the organizer adds the venues you use: a name, an address, the number of its first court and how many courts it has. One is your usual venue, and a single night can use another. Each night can have a court host, picked from the roster, who can leave a note for the group. The address is one tap from your maps app.

Late arrivals and going home

Someone came late.

Before the courts are made, just tick them Here on Pickleball night sign-in. Once play has started, the organizer taps + Someone just arrived (on the Scorekeeper or Courts and partners), and picks their name or taps + Someone new to type it. They play from the next round, when the app draws again with everyone who’s there. If it’s tonight’s last round, they’re marked Here and play next time. A game can’t be joined halfway. On a winners move up night, a late arrival joins the end of the line.

Someone has to go home.

Tap Someone has gone home (on Courts and partners, or at the foot of the scoring sheet) and pick who. They keep the results already saved. A game in progress on their court doesn’t count, their partner and opponents wait out the round, and the next draw is made without them. Where partners stay together, their partner waits for a new partner.

Fixing a game

We typed the wrong number.

Tap Undo. It takes back the last saved game completely: its result, difference and pickle. Undo works until Round over → is tapped. The court’s scorekeeper and the organizer can use it.

We already tapped Round over.

Tap Fix Round 2 (with the round’s number) on the Scorekeeper, then the game: Tap a game to fix it. Change the scores and tap Save changes. A fix re-scores the night: wins, losses, points and the difference follow the saved games, and nobody’s court moves. The organizer can fix any game, and a court’s scorekeeper the last one that closed at their court, until tonight’s winners are saved.

Rankings, ties and prizes

How is the night ranked?

By win rate: a player’s wins divided by the games they played, highest first. A round sat out is a game not played, so this keeps a night fair when some players sat out. Ties go to the difference a game, then points scored a game, then the game those two played against each other that night, if they were opponents in one. A game as partners says nothing about who is ahead. A player has to have played at least half the games the busiest player has played to get a place; anyone else is listed under Played fewer than half, without one. On a winners move up night, the night is ranked by the court each player finishes on, Court 1 first.

Two players still tie.

The organizer sees It’s a tie — tap the winner, with each player’s numbers to help decide, and can suggest playing one more game to settle it.

How is the season ranked?

A season is the calendar year. In Standings, the Record tab ranks total wins, with each player’s share of games won beside their name. The other tabs rank the prizes your group gives. A paid Partners tab shows your record with and against every other player.

Which prizes can we give?

In Organize → Prizes: Best record (and 2nd best record and 3rd best record), Best point difference, Most points scored, Undefeated (won every game they played, at least 4), Most pickles given, Most pickled, Top court (only for a group that plays winners move up) and Organizer picks. New groups start with no prizes. Partners share a game’s result, so partners can win a prize together.

Take a look first

Can I try the app before my group starts?

Yes. Before you’re in a group, tap Take a look first. You get a sample group of your own with eighteen pretend players, a pickleball night already played, and a practice night today. Open Pickleball night sign-in, tap Here for each player who came, then Make the courts, pick how many courts and Start Round 1. The other players are pretend, so you keep score for every court. Everything is unlocked in the sample, and nothing is sent to anyone.

How do I get rid of the sample?

Tap Delete sample on its banner, or Delete the sample group on Me. The pretend players and their pickleball nights go with it. Nothing else changes.

Bigger words

How do I make the words bigger?

Go to Me (or Settings, if you aren’t in a group yet) and choose a Text size: Normal, Large or Extra Large. Large is where the app starts.

Subscriptions

What’s free?

Joining a group, saying “I’m in”, the waitlist, finding your court, keeping score, tonight’s winners with every game’s score, and your brag card are always free, for everyone in your group.

What does the subscription cost, and what does it unlock?

The price is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year in the US, per person: each player who wants it subscribes for themselves. The App Store or Google Play shows the price before you buy, and in Canada it shows your price in Canadian dollars. It is paid through Apple on iPhone, or Google Play on Android. One subscription covers every Pickleball Circle group you play in. It unlocks the live scoreboard with the whole room (Everyone tonight), season standings, your record with and against everyone, the winners log and your stats.

Does my subscription to another Game Night Circle app cover this one?

No. Each app has its own subscription. A subscription to another Game Night Circle app doesn’t unlock Pickleball Circle, and a Pickleball Circle subscription doesn’t unlock the others.

How do I change or cancel my subscription?

In the app, go to Me and tap the Subscription row. Or on your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open the Play Store app, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.

I subscribed, but things are still locked.

Tap any Subscribe button, then Restore purchases. Make sure you are signed in to the same Pickleball Circle account you subscribed with. In a web browser, subscribe in the Pickleball Circle app on your phone; it unlocks in the browser too.

Reporting a problem

Something is wrong in the app.

Go to Me and tap Report a problem. Type what happened, like “The score would not save on Court 2”, and tap Send. The app sends the version of the app, your phone’s model and the group you were in with it, so you don’t have to describe them. I reply by email.

Deleting your account

How do I delete my account?

Go to Me (or Settings, if you aren’t in a group yet) and tap Delete my account. The app tells you what goes and what stays before anything is deleted. If you run a group, pass it on first: Organize → Roster & invite, tap … next to a player who has joined and isn’t a sub, and choose Pass the circle to them. Or delete the group in Organize → Group settings → Delete this circle. Deleting your account doesn’t cancel an Apple or Google Play subscription, so cancel that first.

No longer have the app? Sign in at gamenightcircle.com/pickleball in any web browser and do the same from Me, or email support@gamenightcircle.com from the address you sign in with and I will delete it for you.

If you also use another Game Night Circle app, that account stays, and so does your sign-in for it. Deleting one of those accounts leaves Pickleball Circle alone, too. More in the privacy policy.