While the biggest game in America happens in a fancy stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, you can play another game in your living room: Super Bowl Squares.
Super Bowl Squares is a fun betting game to keep football fans and non-football fans entertained on Super Bowl Sunday. But, you can also play it during any regular-season or playoff football game. The game doesn’t require any football knowledge because it’s totally left up to chance. Everyone pools their money by buying squares. The money is then distributed to one winner at the end of each quarter.
The game starts with a simple 10 by 10 grid on a piece of paper. Before the game begins, everyone needs to buy and claim a few squares. To mark a square as yours, you write your initials in an empty square.
You can print the PDF of this version below or draw your own with the help of a ruler.
Once the full set of 100 squares is filled, numbers 0-9 are randomly plotted next to the columns and rows of the table like so:
To randomly plot your numbers, use a randomizer (here) or have someone not participating shout numbers 0-9 in a random order.
Then, add the team names to either side of the table:
Place the filled-out Super Bowl squares sheet on a table near the TV so everyone can pass it around to easily check the score. Encourage people to take a photo of the squares for easy reference or make photocopies if you still have one of those in your home. (We see you Gen X and Boomers).
At the end of each quarter, a winner is determined by seeing which square is at the intersection of the final score. We only evaluate the second digit in a number. So for example, if the final score of the third quarter is 20-17, you will need to find 0–7 on the square sheet.
Let’s take TPF as an example. If the final score of a quarter was 21-7 with the Chiefs in the lead, TPF would win:
Pricing your squares
You can price the squares at as little as 20 cents or as much as $20. At 20 cents per square, one winner gets $5 at the end of each quarter, but at $20 per square the prize goes up to $500. I recommend playing with $1 a square if you have a group of more than 15 people, making each payout $25.
Can I play with only a few people?
Yes, the fewer people you play with the lower you should set your price so people can buy multiple squares. You also don’t have to play for money, but it makes it way more exciting.
What if I can’t fill all the squares?
Lower the price or buy them yourself for a higher chance of winning.
Collecting the money
In the old days, we used to use cash, but Venmo is an easy way to pool the money and distribute it after each quarter.
Is there a strategy?
No, not really, it’s all left up to chance. Once the numbers are drawn and written, there are scores that are more likely to win like 0s, 3s, and 7s. Regardless, you can’t edit your squares based on where the numbers land. Just buy a couple of squares and leave the rest up to chance. Good luck and have fun!
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