How Do Football Squares Work?
Football squares (the "box pool", the super bowl grid) is a 10×10 board of 100 squares that turns quarter scores into winners — no football knowledge required. Here's the whole game, then a live example board and a printable blank grid.
The rules in five steps
- The grid. One team's numbers run across the top (columns), the other's down the side (rows). That makes 10 rows × 10 columns = 100 squares.
- Claim squares. People put their name in one or more empty squares — first come first served, until the board is full.
- Draw the numbers. Only after every square is claimed, the digits 0–9 are drawn at random for each axis (out of a hat, or with the button below). Every row/column ends up labeled with one digit. Drawing last is the integrity rule: nobody can shop for a "good" number.
- Read the score. At the end of each quarter, take the last digit of each team's score. A score of 14–7 looks up row 4, column 7. The square where they meet wins that quarter.
- Four winners. Most pools pay a winner after each quarter (Q1, halftime, Q3, final) — four winning squares in total. The classic variant re-draws the numbers each quarter; the simple one keeps one draw for the whole game.
A worked example
This is a real, live 10×10 board running the site's squares engine — the digits are an engine-drawn permutation pair and the names are dealt exactly the way the generator deals them. Click any claimed square to release it back, exactly like the full board.
Reading the example board:
- The board above already shows the mechanic: Chiefs numbers run down the side, Eagles across the top, and eight example names are dealt onto squares.
- Sam holds the square at row 8, column 0 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...8 digit and Eagles on a ...0 digit, that square wins.
- Marcus holds the square at row 4, column 7 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...4 digit and Eagles on a ...7 digit, that square wins.
- Priya holds the square at row 5, column 8 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...5 digit and Eagles on a ...8 digit, that square wins.
- Tessa holds the square at row 9, column 2 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...9 digit and Eagles on a ...2 digit, that square wins.
- Noah holds the square at row 2, column 1 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...2 digit and Eagles on a ...1 digit, that square wins.
- Alicia holds the square at row 1, column 3 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...1 digit and Eagles on a ...3 digit, that square wins.
- Jordan holds the square at row 0, column 4 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...0 digit and Eagles on a ...4 digit, that square wins.
- Dev holds the square at row 7, column 5 — if a quarter ever ends with Chiefs on a ...7 digit and Eagles on a ...5 digit, that square wins.
Example scores: a 14–7 quarter looks up row 4, column 7; a 21–17 quarter looks up row 1, column 7. The example names are placeholders — substitute your pool's teams; the lookup mechanic is identical.
Print a blank grid for your own pool
Paper version: every square empty, both number axes blank, digits drawn in the room after the squares are claimed — the way a fair pool has always run. Get the free printable blank grid here (100-, 50- and 25-square layouts, one Letter page each), or run the whole pool online with the squares generator and print the filled board.
Football squares questions
Do you need exactly 10 rows and 10 columns?
The classic board is 10×10, but the same rules work on smaller grids: a 50-square board trims one axis to five digits, and a 25-square board is a 5×5 of the five most common scoring digits — both are built into the generator and the printable blanks.
What if my pool uses the final score only?
Even simpler: skip the quarter payouts and pay one winner on the final square (some pools pay the "reverse" square too — the flipped row/column — as a second prize). The lookup works exactly the same way.
Why are the numbers drawn only after the squares are taken?
Fairness. Digits aren't equal — 0, 7 and 4 hit far more often than 2, 5 or 9. If numbers existed first, people would grab the good ones. Claim first, draw second, and every square is identical when it's chosen.
How do I run one without a spreadsheet?
Print the blank grid, collect names in the squares (initials are fine), draw 0–9 twice from a deck or hat, write the digits on the axes, and read each quarter's score as shown above. The online generator automates the dealing and drawing when you'd rather keep it digital.