How to play

Open the lobby. Every week has contests for each game, and for groups of games played together:

• Quarter contests. Get a barrage of props for just the second quarter of this game. Rack up the most fantasy dollars to be the champ.
• Half contests. Get a barrage of props for just the first half of this game. Rack up the most fantasy dollars to be the champ.
• Full game contests. Props keep coming from kickoff to the final whistle of this game. Rack up the most fantasy dollars to be the champ.
• Early and late slates are the same contests across every game that kicks off together, like the early or late Sunday window. Game-day contests span the whole day.
• 30 and 60 minute contests. A 30-minute sprint: props come from every game that is live, so make your calls fast. Have the most fantasy dollars when the clock runs out to be the champ.

Use the filters to narrow the list, then press Join. You need a free account to join real contests.

You can join as soon as a contest is listed. Its page counts down to the start, shows your bankroll and the leaderboard, and has a small catch-the-football game to play while you wait. You can also add the contest to your calendar, and we email a reminder just before it starts if you have confirmed your address.

Props start when the game reaches the contest's window. Joining stays open for a couple of minutes after the start, so a late arrival can still get in.

Each prop is a question with a number, the line. Pick Under if you think the result will be lower, or Over if you think it will be higher. Lines end in .5, so there are never ties. Choose a stake with the buttons, or Max Bet for the most you are allowed, and press your side. That is your bet, and it waits under Pending bets until the play settles it.

The small numbers beside Under and Over are the odds. A plus number is what you win on a 100 stake (+105 wins 105). A minus number is what you must stake to win 100 (-110 wins about 91 per 100 staked). You get your stake back when you win.

You do not have to bet on everything. Skip any prop you do not like, and change a bet while its clock is still running.

In a live contest the page follows the real game: the score, the latest plays and where the ball is. A next-play prop, such as the yardage of the next completion, is open for about 20 seconds, so watch the countdown at the top of its card.

Under it, Pick your props holds slower props that stay open longer: counts of runs, passes and penalties in the quarter, and bets about the next drive. Take the ones you like. Some quarter props can even be answered before the quarter starts. These settle when their quarter or drive is over, which can be after your contest's window has closed.

• You start every contest with the same bankroll, usually $50,000 in fantasy dollars.
• A winning bet pays by its odds and returns your stake. A losing bet loses the stake. If a prop cannot be settled, it is voided and your stake comes back.
• The most you can put on one prop is normally a quarter of your bankroll. The limit rises as your bankroll falls, so you can always fight back.
• If you fall below the minimum bet with nothing pending, you can rebuy to your starting bankroll. Contests include one rebuy by default. Rebuys never lift your rank, because rankings count profit against everything you put in.

Players are ranked by profit. To be ranked you must place the contest's minimum number of bets, 5 by default, and until then you are marked unq. When the contest ends, your final place and your result go into your profile stats.

Public contests hold up to 50 players, so every contest feels winnable. When one fills up, new players join a copy of it, shown with a "#2", and compete on that copy's own leaderboard. You can be in several contests at once. Each has its own bankroll, so they never affect each other.

Click your name at the top right to open the account menu. Create contest starts the setup, and My contests is where you manage the ones you host.

Pick the games and the length, set the bankroll and the rules, and make it public or private. A private contest gets an invite link to send to friends, and a code they can type in.

Friends who open the link join straight away. If they have only the code, they enter it on the Join page.