Super Bowl Squares Explained (and a No-Money Twist Anyone Can Join)
January 27, 2026
The classic grid game is fun, but it leaves some people out. Here is how to run it and what to do for the rest of the room.
Super Bowl squares explained in one sentence: you fill a 10x10 grid with names, assign random numbers to each row and column, and win when the last digit of each team's score matches your square at the end of a quarter. It is a classic for a reason. But it also has a few quirks that can leave some guests on the sidelines.
How Super Bowl Squares Work
The setup takes about fifteen minutes before the party starts.
- Draw a 10x10 grid, one hundred squares total.
- Write one team's name across the top and the other down the side.
- Let guests write their names in whatever squares they want until all one hundred are claimed.
- Once the grid is full, randomly assign the digits 0 through 9 to each row and each column. Do this after everyone has picked, so no one can game the numbers.
- At the end of each quarter, look at the last digit of each team's score. The person whose square sits at that intersection wins.
The most common winning squares involve scores ending in 0, 3, and 7, because touchdowns and field goals happen more often than safeties. But the random number assignment keeps it fair.
The Part Squares Gets Wrong
Squares works best with exactly one hundred participants, or at least enough people to fill the grid. At a small party, you end up with one person claiming fifteen squares and another grabbing two, which feels uneven. And for guests who genuinely have no interest in tracking scores by quarter, the game can feel like background noise.
It also doesn't include people who show up late, kids in the room, or anyone who just isn't into the gambling-adjacent format, even when no money is involved.
A Prediction Game That Includes Everyone
A good complement to squares, or a full replacement if you prefer, is a short group prediction game that runs alongside the broadcast.
Instead of a grid, you write up ten to fifteen questions covering the game, the halftime show, and the commercials. Everyone locks in picks before kickoff from their phone. No grid to manage, no math to track.
- Who wins the coin toss?
- Which team leads at halftime?
- Will there be a safety?
- What song closes the halftime set?
- Which ad gets the most table reaction?
Answers reveal themselves in real time as the game unfolds, and a live leaderboard updates automatically. Someone wins on points, and a tiebreaker question means there is always a clear winner, no shared prizes needed.
You can run squares for the people who love it and a prediction game for everyone else, or just skip the grid entirely. Either way, Party Props lets you set it up free for your first three events, one link, any phone, no download.