Player and Captain Help

Practical guides for league players and team captains. The League Info page remains the source for official rules.

Getting Started as a Player

Create and complete your account

Open Sign Up and create an account.
Open Profile.
Add a profile image, enter your Display Name and optional Bio, then select Save Changes.
Under Notification Preferences, use Email me match reminders to enable or disable the email sent 72 hours before a match involving your team.

Important: A registered user has a login. An unregistered player record lets the league roster and score a player who has no login. A claimed profile is an existing player record that an authorized league manager has linked to a registered account.

There is no player-facing claim button. If a player record already exists for you, register with the same email when possible, then ask a Commissioner or Admin to review and link the pending match. Do not create another account.

Find your league information

Use Teams to find your team and roster.
Use Schedule for upcoming matches and open a match from there.
Use Standings for the current table.
Use Players to find your public player page and results.

You do not need an account to appear as an unregistered player. A login is required for profile settings, and a captain needs a linked account for captain controls.

For website or machine problems, use Report an Issue. For an urgent match ruling, pause play and contact the League Commissioner.

Player Match-Night Guide

Before play

Open Schedule, choose the scheduled match, and check the opponent, HOME/AWAY designation, start time, and location.
Tell your captain promptly if you will be absent. A Commissioner or Admin must record any approved substitute in the app.
In the match Setup tab, review your team's lineup.
Open the current round tab (R1, R2, R3, or R4) and confirm your machine and position before starting.

Understand your assignment

The UI uses P1, P2, P3, and P4. In Doubles, the picking team plays P1 & P3 and the responding team plays P2 & P4. In Singles, the picking team is P1 and the responding team is P2.

Important: Games may not start until both machines and all response players for the round are confirmed. Playing out of order can lead to a round disqualification under league rules.

Captains from either team, plus Commissioners and Admins, can use Enter Scores and Save Scores. Players without captain permissions should verify the displayed values and report any error before submission.

Use good sportsmanship, notify both captains of a gameplay problem, and stop for a ruling when the captains disagree.

Captain Match Setup

Before You Start: Arrive by the rulebook's captain check-in time, discuss machine conditions with the opposing captain, and confirm four eligible players for each side.

Open the match from Schedule.
In Setup, confirm the HOME and AWAY teams.
Review roster and substitute eligibility. Captains coordinate substitutes, but only a Commissioner or Admin can add one to the match in the current app.
Select Edit for your own team, choose four players, and select Save Lineup. A captain cannot edit the opponent's lineup.
Confirm both sides show Ready, then select Start Match. Either team captain, a Commissioner, or an Admin can start it.
Open R1. The AWAY captain uses Pick, selects each Machine, selects P1 and P3, then selects Save Pick.
The HOME captain selects Respond, chooses P2 and P4, then selects Save Response.
Confirm both games before anyone starts play.

HOME picks Rounds 2 and 4. AWAY picks Rounds 1 and 3. Singles use P1 for the picking team and P2 for the responding team.

Commissioner Review: Commissioners and Admins can manage match substitutes, force finalization, unlock a Final match, and review the Audit tab. Captains do not receive those controls.

Player Order and Match Format

The match has four rounds: Doubles, Singles, Singles, Doubles. Each round has two games.

Round	Picking team	Picking positions	Responding positions
R1 Doubles	AWAY	P1 & P3	HOME: P2 & P4
R2 Singles	HOME	P1	AWAY: P2
R3 Singles	AWAY	P1	HOME: P2
R4 Doubles	HOME	P1 & P3	AWAY: P2 & P4

The selected positions appear beside player names in each round. A game remains in setup until its machine and required players are selected; score entry appears after both games in the round are ready.

If an assignment is wrong, do not start the game. The captain responsible for that pick or response can use Edit Pick or Edit Response. If the game has already been played out of order, stop and ask both captains to apply the league rule. A permitted captain may use Apply DQ when a disqualification is required.

Adding and Using Substitutes

Eligibility

A substitute must be on the season substitute list, cannot be rostered to another team in that season, and cannot make the fielded team violate the roster-composition limits. A team may use at most two substitutes in a regular-season match.

An unregistered player record can be marked substitute-eligible by a Commissioner or Admin. Having an account is not, by itself, what makes a player eligible.

Match procedure

The captain contacts an eligible substitute and checks the player's ranking against the team composition rule.
Ask a Commissioner or Admin to add the substitute to the match. There is no captain-side Add Substitute control.
Select the substitute in your four-player lineup; the app marks the player SUB.
Keep the same four players for the entire match.
Review Full Roster Status before submission.

Important: Valid substitutes do not automatically remove the full-roster bonus. A four-player lineup with no more than two valid substitutes remains eligible for Eligible (+5).

The structured denial reasons cover an incomplete roster, forfeit, a player leaving mid-match, too many substitutes, an invalid substitute, a roster-composition violation, or a failed playoff substitute exception.

Playoff substitutes are allowed without a bonus penalty only when the rulebook's rescheduling, equal-or-lower-rank, and legitimate-absence conditions are met. This exception requires Commissioner review.

Commissioner Review: The current app does not automatically verify player rankings or playoff exception evidence. Do not treat the absence of an on-screen warning as approval.

Entering Match Scores

Either team captain, a Commissioner, or an Admin may enter scores. Score entry is available when the complete round is ready to play.

Open the correct round tab and verify the Machine and P1-P4 assignments.
Select Enter Scores for the correct game.
Enter each player's raw machine score. The fields accept non-negative whole numbers.
Compare every value with the machine display.
Select Save Scores.
Review the displayed points and running totals before moving on.

The server calculates official game, round, and match points. Do not calculate or replace official points in the browser. Singles award 3-1, or 4-0 when the winner scores at least twice the loser's score. Doubles compare each player against both opponents and include the team cumulative point. Exact scoring details are in League Info.

If a score is unknown or disputed, do not guess. Leave the game unresolved, preserve the machine display or a photo when possible, and ask both captains to agree before saving.

Correcting a Score

Before submission

Open the affected round.
Select Edit Scores.
Correct the raw value and select Save Scores.
Review the recalculated points and totals.

Saving a score edit clears existing approvals, so both sides must review the updated result.

After one captain submits

The other captain can select Request Changes while the match is Awaiting Approval. This returns the match to In Progress and clears both approvals. Correct the score, review the match, and submit again.

After finalization

Captains cannot edit a Final match. A Commissioner or Admin must select Unlock, enter a Reason, and select Unlock Match. The status returns to In Progress, approvals are cleared, and captains must repeat review and approval after the correction.

Score edits, requests for changes, finalization, and unlock actions are retained in the private Audit view for Commissioners and Admins. The opponent does not approve each individual score, but both captains must approve the completed match before normal finalization.

Disqualifications

The current app applies a DQ to one game within a round. Either team captain, a Commissioner, or an Admin may apply, edit, or remove it before the match is Final.

Open the affected round and game.
Select Apply DQ.
Select Affected Side and, when appropriate, Affected Player (optional).
Select the exact Reason: Extra Ball Played, Death Save, Bang Back, Played Another Player's Ball, Machine Abuse, Coaching / Interference, Harassment, or Other.
Add explanation text when context is needed, especially for Other.
Save the DQ and review the recalculated result.

The affected side receives zero game points and the opponent receives the available points. The review shows the round, game, side, and reason. Applying, editing, or removing a DQ clears approvals.

Use Edit DQ to correct the side or reason and Remove DQ to undo an accidental DQ. A Final match must first be unlocked by a Commissioner or Admin.

Important: The rulebook asks captains to use judgment for accidental or nuanced situations. When captains cannot agree, pause and ask the Commissioner for a ruling before recording the DQ.

Reviewing the Match

Open the Review tab before submission. Check:

each round's Complete status, machine, positions, raw scores, and points;
Subtotal, Full Roster Bonus, and Final Score;
Full Roster Status for both teams;
Players fielded and Subs used;
Eligible (+5) or Not eligible (0) and its Reason;
Substitutes Used and Disqualifications;
the HOME and AWAY captain confirmation states.

Valid substitutes can display Eligible (+5). A zero bonus must have its denial reason reviewed. The app's warning and bonus display do not replace the Commissioner's manual ranking and playoff-exception checks.

For a forfeit, do not invent raw scores. Contact the Commissioner; the rulebook assigns the non-forfeiting team 18 game points plus the 5-point bonus when that team fielded a full eligible roster.

Important: The rulebook requires automatic points for missing-player games in an incomplete-roster match, but the current implementation has no verified automatic award workflow. Keep that result in Commissioner review rather than manually improvising points from this guide.

Submitting and Closing the Match

The application uses these statuses: Scheduled, In Progress, Complete, Awaiting Approval, Final, and Cancelled. It does not use a separate Closed status.

Complete all four rounds and review the match.
One captain selects Submit (Home) or Submit (Away). The match becomes Awaiting Approval, and that side is recorded as approved.
The opposing captain reviews the result and selects Approve (Home) or Approve (Away), or selects Request Changes.
After both sides are approved, either captain, a Commissioner, or an Admin may select Finalize Match.
Finalization computes and stores the official totals. Final results feed public results and standings.

Submission prevents normal scoring until changes are requested. Request Changes returns the match to In Progress and clears approvals. A Commissioner or Admin may use Force Finalize during review or Unlock after finalization.

Do not use submit, approve, and finalize interchangeably: submit begins opponent review; approve records the other side's agreement; finalize creates the Final result.

Match Problems and Issue Reporting

Use the match workflow for an incorrect lineup, machine selection, score, DQ, or other correctable match record. Use Report an Issue for a website bug, data problem, or machine problem that site operators need to investigate.

Report a machine or website issue

Open Report an Issue. Machine links may open this form with the game already selected.
Choose Issue Type. For a machine problem, choose the game under Select Game.
Enter Title and Description.
Optionally choose severity and add a Screenshot. PNG, JPEG, and WebP images up to 2 MB are accepted.
Add a contact email when a reply is useful, then submit the report.

For a machine malfunction affecting active play, notify both captains immediately. They should use the league rules and external IFPA/PAPA rules referenced by League Info; contact the Commissioner when they cannot agree. Reporting the machine does not itself correct the match record.

The public form does not expose private Issue Tracker states or staff notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an account to play?

No. The league can roster an unregistered player record. An account is required for profile settings and captain controls.

How do I claim an existing player profile?

There is no self-service claim button. Register with the matching email when possible and ask a Commissioner or Admin to link the existing record.

What happens if I cannot attend?

Tell your captain as early as possible. The captain coordinates an eligible substitute and a Commissioner or Admin records the sub in the match.

Can we use a substitute?

Yes, subject to season eligibility, roster composition, the two-sub limit, and stricter playoff conditions.

Does using a substitute remove the full-roster bonus?

No. Up to two valid substitutes may be part of an eligible four-player lineup. A defined eligibility failure removes the bonus.

Who chooses the machine?

AWAY chooses in R1 and R3. HOME chooses in R2 and R4.

Why does player order matter?

The picking team occupies P1 and, in Doubles, P3. The responding team occupies P2 and P4. Playing out of order can lead to disqualification.

Who enters scores?

Either team's captain, a Commissioner, or an Admin.

Can a score be corrected?

Yes before Final. While Awaiting Approval, use Request Changes first. A Final match requires a Commissioner or Admin to Unlock it.

Who submits and finalizes the match?

One captain submits, the opposing captain approves, and either captain or a Commissioner/Admin can select Finalize Match after both approvals.

How do I report a broken machine?

Use Report an Issue, select the affected game, and alert both captains immediately if play is underway.

Where are the official rules?

Read League Info.

Last reviewed: August 6, 2026. Feature areas: profile, teams, match setup, rounds, scoring, review, and issue reporting. Audience: players and team captains.