Tool 01 · Squares
Random squares numbers
Numbers already drawn. Redraw until you like them, then lock.
How it works
- 01
Set the game
Name the pool and type in the two teams. Everything else is optional.
- 02
Get the names in
Tap squares one at a time, or paste a list like “Jamie x5” and draw at random.
- 03
Draw the numbers
Do this after the squares are sold. Both axes are drawn with your browser's secure randomness.
- 04
Print or send it
A clean sheet as PNG, PDF or paper. No ads, no menus, no site chrome.
Where the numbers come from
Drawing the digits is the one moment in a squares pool where fairness is actually at stake, so it is worth knowing what is happening when you press the button.
Both axes are shuffled using crypto.getRandomValues, the cryptographically secure random source built into your browser — the same one used for generating keys and session tokens. It is not Math.random, which is fast but predictable enough that it should never decide who gets paid. The shuffle itself is Fisher–Yates, which is the standard way to give every possible ordering an equal chance rather than a merely plausible-looking one.
Practically, that makes this identical to pulling ten numbered slips out of a hat twice — once for the top, once for the side. It happens on your own device, and no result is recorded anywhere or sent to a server.
Draw after every square is sold, not before. This is the only rule in squares worth being strict about. If the digits are visible while people are still choosing boxes, the good boxes go first and a pool that was pure luck stops being pure luck. Blank axes until the button is pressed is the entire reason the tool works this way.
Once the room agrees, hit lock. The sheet then prints with the numbers marked as locked, which settles the question of whether anything moved later.
Need the grid itself first? Start a squares sheet, or read how squares works if someone in the room has never played.
Questions
How are the numbers actually drawn?
Both axes are shuffled with a Fisher–Yates shuffle fed by crypto.getRandomValues, the randomness source browsers use for security work. It is not Math.random, and it is not a spinning animation that decides anything in advance. Every arrangement of the ten digits is equally likely.
Can I redraw if the numbers look bad?
As many times as you like, right up until you lock them. Redrawing before anyone has seen the result changes nothing about fairness — one random draw is as good as the next. What matters is that you stop redrawing once the room has seen the numbers, which is what the lock is for.
Do I need to draw in front of everybody?
It helps, and it costs nothing. Draw on a shared screen, or draw and immediately send the sheet to the group chat. The point is that the numbers are fixed at a moment everyone can agree on, after the squares were sold.