Loading...
Loading...
Score, Clock, Shot Clock, Fouls & Sharing — Everything You Need to Run a Basketball Game from Your Phone
Last updated: March 1, 2026
JudgeMate's Free Scoreboard lets you run a full basketball game from your phone — no account, no download, no cost. Select Basketball, tap "Create Scoreboard", set up team names and colors, and go live. The admin panel gives you multi-point scoring (+1/+2/+3), a 10-minute countdown clock (FIBA), a 24-second shot clock with 14-second reset, foul tracking with bonus indicator, quarter-to-overtime progression, and one-tap sharing via QR code or link. Spectators follow the game on any screen in real-time.
The system instantly generates two links:
Important: Bookmark or save your admin link immediately. If you lose it, you cannot regain control of the board. The spectator link can be shared freely — anyone with the link sees the live score.
Before the game starts, you'll see the Setup Screen:
While you're in setup, spectators see a waiting screen: "Game Starting Soon — Waiting for the host to start..."
Once you tap Start, the board goes LIVE and spectators see the score, clock, and quarter number in real-time.
Basketball scoring in JudgeMate uses three buttons per team to match real basketball scoring:
Each team also has a minus (−) button to correct mistakes. The score can never go below 0.
Every tap updates the spectator screen instantly — there is no delay. If you accidentally add the wrong points, tap minus to subtract and then add the correct amount.
Tip: During fast breaks and quick possessions, the +2 button is your most-used control. Keep your thumb near it for speed.
Basketball uses a countdown clock — it starts at 10:00 (FIBA) and counts down to 0:00.
When the clock is paused, two adjustment controls appear:
Use these to sync the scoreboard clock with the official game clock if they drift apart.
When paused, you'll see preset buttons to jump directly to a specific time:
These are especially useful when you take over a game mid-quarter or need to reset after a timing error.
Important: The clock does NOT auto-pause at 0:00 — you should pause it manually when the quarter ends. Then tap "Next Period" to advance to the next quarter.
Basketball games follow a fixed period structure:
| Phase | Clock | Display |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 10:00 → 0:00 | Q1 |
| Q2 | 10:00 → 0:00 | Q2 |
| Q3 | 10:00 → 0:00 | Q3 |
| Q4 | 10:00 → 0:00 | Q4 |
| OT1 | 5:00 → 0:00 | OT1 |
| OT2 | 5:00 → 0:00 | OT2 |
| ... | 5:00 → 0:00 | OT... |
Tap "Next Period" to advance: Q1 → Q2 → Q3 → Q4 → OT1 → OT2...
When you advance to overtime, the clock automatically changes from 10:00 to 5:00 (the FIBA overtime period length).
There is no limit on overtime periods — you can keep advancing as long as needed until the game is decided.
The shot clock is a separate timer that tracks the 24-second possession limit.
The shot clock runs independently from the game clock. It counts down from 24 (or 14 after a partial reset) toward 0.
In a real game, the shot clock should run whenever the game clock runs and pause whenever the game clock pauses. JudgeMate's shot clock syncs automatically with the game clock — when you pause the game clock, the shot clock pauses too.
JudgeMate tracks team fouls for each team with a simple counter.
When a team reaches 5 team fouls in the current quarter, the bonus indicator lights up in red. This signals that every subsequent foul (even non-shooting fouls) will result in free throws for the opponent.
The bonus indicator is visible on both the admin panel and the spectator view — so fans in the audience can see when a team is in the penalty situation.
JudgeMate automatically follows FIBA foul carry-over rules:
This means teams can accumulate fouls across Q1-Q2, get a reset at halftime, accumulate again across Q3-Q4, and get another reset when overtime begins.
Why this matters: Understanding foul reset rules is critical for game management. A team with 4 fouls late in Q2 is one foul from the bonus — a very different situation than 4 fouls late in Q1 (where the fouls will carry into Q2).
Tap the "Share" button in the top bar to open the share modal:
The spectator link looks like: judgemate.com/{language}/scoreboard/live/basketball/{boardId}
As admin, you can control the text size on spectator screens:
Spectators can also tap their screen to reveal a local font slider (70%-160%), but the admin's setting takes priority.
Neither you (the admin) nor the spectators need an account, app download, or login. Everything works in a standard web browser on any device.
Once ended:
After ending, the admin panel shows a match summary:
Completed scoreboards remain accessible for up to one week. After that, the board expires and spectators see a "Session Expired" message. Save your final score screenshot before the week is up if you need a permanent record.