You could run this in a spreadsheet. Here's why not to.
Most prediction leagues between friends start life as a Google Sheet or an Excel file. It works for the first round. By round five, someone's manually re-typing results at 11pm and the points formula has a bug nobody's found yet. Right Hunch does the same job — without anyone having to be the sheet's admin.
What a spreadsheet actually costs you
It's not the spreadsheet itself — it's everything someone has to keep doing by hand around it, every single round, for the whole season.
| Task | A spreadsheet | Right Hunch |
|---|---|---|
| Collecting everyone's predictions | WhatsApp screenshots, a shared Google Form, or messages you have to copy into the sheet by hand | Everyone predicts directly in the app — nothing to collect or transcribe |
| Entering match results | Someone checks the score after every match and types it into the sheet | Fixtures and results sync automatically for major competitions |
| Calculating points | A formula someone wrote once, that quietly breaks the moment a match goes to extra time | Points calculate themselves, with 90-minute regulation time handled correctly by default |
| Keeping the standings up to date | Manual, and usually a round or two behind by the time anyone checks | Always current — check the table any time, no refreshing a formula |
| Reminding people to predict | Nagging in the group chat, which someone always misses anyway | Optional email reminder before matches you haven't predicted yet |
| Keeping predictions private until kickoff | Hard to enforce in a shared sheet — people can see others' picks early | Predictions stay hidden from other players until the match kicks off |
No one has to be the data-entry person
Fixtures and results sync automatically for major competitions — Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, the World Cup, and more. Nobody's job is to update the sheet after every match.
Nobody forgets to predict
An optional reminder email goes out before matches you haven't predicted yet — no more group-chat nagging, no more someone missing a whole round.
The scoring formula can't quietly break
Exact score, goal difference, and result are built-in scoring tiers, judged correctly against 90-minute regulation time by default — not a formula someone half-remembers how to fix.
Predictions actually stay private
In a shared sheet, anyone can peek at anyone else's picks before kickoff. Here, predictions are hidden from other players until the match actually starts.
Free, and it stays that way
Right Hunch is a free hobby project, not a business — no ads, no premium tier, no catch. If a spreadsheet was ever going to cost you anything, it was your time as the person maintaining it.