Best board game tracker apps, 2026

If you host game night, two separate jobs need solving: keeping a running record of what you've played and who won over time, and just keeping score at the table tonight. Playtally is the logbook for the first, cataloging your shelf and tracking every play, score, and win-rate entirely on your phone with no account and no BGG sync, plus a "what should we play?" decider that filters your collection by how many players are seated and how long you've got. Tableside handles the live job: pick a game, pull players from your Contacts, and keep score in either a running-stack or round-by-round mode. Both skip the subscriptions and logins that clutter the rest of this category.

How to choose a board game tracker

Most board game apps are built for the collector with 600 titles and a BoardGameGeek account. If you host game night, the questions are smaller and more practical. Four things decide whether a tracker gets used past the first week:

1. Does it work at the table without a signal?

Basements, cabins and pub back rooms are where games get played. If the app needs a connection to log a score or look up player count, it will fail exactly when you need it. Look for an app that stores everything on the phone.
2. Score-keeping or logbook, or both?

Keeping tonight's score (round by round, running stack) and keeping a history of plays and win rates over years are different jobs. Some apps do one well and the other badly. Decide which you need first, and check the other is not a paid add-on.
3. Can it answer "what should we play?"

The most useful feature for a host is a filter over your own shelf: five players, 45 minutes, nothing we played last week. A collection that cannot be filtered by seated players and time is just a list.
4. What does it cost to keep your history?

A play log is only valuable after a couple of years. If the app is a subscription, that history is rented. Prefer free or one-time apps with an export, so the record outlives the app.

FAQ

Are these board game apps free? ▾

Tableside is free on the App Store with no ads, no subscription, and no in-app-purchase gates. Playtally also runs without any account or login and shows no ads.

Do they work offline? ▾

Yes. Playtally runs entirely on your phone with no internet required and no account, so your collection and play history stay on-device. Tableside keeps score locally and pulls players through Apple's Contacts picker without reading your full address book.

Do I need a BoardGameGeek (BGG) account to use them? ▾

No. Playtally is built to work without any BGG login or sync, unlike trackers that depend on a BGG account. You catalog your own games directly in the app.

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Best board game tracker apps, 2026

How to choose a board game tracker

1. Does it work at the table without a signal?

2. Score-keeping or logbook, or both?

3. Can it answer "what should we play?"

4. What does it cost to keep your history?

Playtally: Board Game Log

Tableside

FAQ