Your time, your move
A chess clock gives every player a bank of time for the whole game. Only the clock of the player to move runs. When you finish your move you press your clock: it stops, and your opponent's starts. Whoever runs out of time first loses on time.
This one works for chess and for any game with turns. Pick a standard time control such as 3+2 or 10+5, or set your own minutes and increment. List up to eight players in turn order and the clock passes from one to the next.
On a phone placed between two players, the face-to-face layout turns the top clock upside down, so each player taps their own half of the screen and reads their own time.
How to use the chess clock
Set up once, then the clock follows the game.
Choose a time control (1+0, 3+2, 5+0, 10+5, 15+10 or 30+0) or type minutes and an increment.
List the players in turn order. For chess, White starts.
Press Start. After each move, tap your own clock (or press Space) to start the next player's time.
What it does
Everything a club clock does, on the screen you already have.
- Standard blitz, rapid and classical time controls
- Fischer increment added after each move
- Two to eight players in turn order
- Face-to-face layout for a phone between two players
- Move counter for every player
- Pause and resume without losing time
- Tenths of a second in the last ten seconds
- Optional click on each move and alarm when time runs out
Who uses it
Anyone who wants turns to keep moving.
Two friends play a 3+2 blitz game with a phone lying between the boards.
A school chess club runs practice games on a classroom projector.
A board game group gives four players fifteen minutes each for a long strategy game.
A Scrabble pair uses twenty-five minutes each, as in many tournaments.
A debate class gives each speaker a bank of time across several rounds.
A family stops the slowest player from taking ten minutes per turn.
How the time is counted
Each clock stores the time left and, while it runs, the moment the turn started; what you see is recomputed from those, so a slow device or a background tab does not lose time. When you press your clock, the time you used is subtracted and the increment is added.
When the running clock reaches zero the game stops at once and names the player who ran out of time. Pressing does nothing after that; start a new game to play again.
Good to know
It uses Fischer increment. Delay and hourglass modes are not included.
It is not an approved clock for rated tournaments; use the clock your federation requires.
Your clock keeps running while the page is closed only in the sense that the start time is remembered; keep the page open during a game.
Tips
- Lay the phone flat between the players and switch on the face-to-face layout.
- On a laptop, press Space to end the turn so nobody has to reach for the mouse.
- For board games with long turns, try 10+10: a slow turn costs time, a quick one earns some back.
Chess clock questions
What does 3+2 mean?
Three minutes per player for the whole game, plus two seconds added after each of your moves.
Can more than two people play?
Yes. List up to eight players and the clock passes to each in turn order.
What happens when time runs out?
The game stops immediately and shows which player ran out of time.
Can I pause the game?
Yes. Pause stops every clock; resuming continues with the same player.
How do two players use one phone?
Switch on the face-to-face layout: the top half turns upside down, so each player taps and reads their own side.
Can I change the time during a game?
Time settings are locked while a game is running and apply when you start a new game.