The guide
How to play football squares
Football squares is the easiest pool there is. No picks, no spreads, no football knowledge. You buy a square, the numbers get drawn, and the score does the rest. Here is the whole thing, start to finish.
What football squares actually is
Picture a grid. The standard board is 10 squares across and 10 down, so 100 squares in total. One team is written along the top, the other down the side. People buy squares and write their name in the ones they take, a dollar or five each, however your group runs it.
Once every square is sold, you draw the digits 0 through 9 at random and lay them across the top, then again down the side. Now every square sits at the crossing of one top digit and one side digit. At the end of each quarter, you look at the last digit of each team's score, find the square where those two digits meet, and that square wins. Four quarters, four winners. That is the whole game.
How to play, step by step
- 1
Make the board
Start a 100-square grid, or a smaller 50 or 25-square board if your group is small. Put one team along the top and the other down the side.
- 2
Sell the squares
People claim squares by writing their name in. Sell them for a flat price each. Pasting a list of names and scattering them at random is the fairest way, so nobody ends up with a tidy block.
- 3
Draw the numbers
Only when every square is sold, draw 0 through 9 at random for the top, then again for the side. This is the moment the board comes alive, and it has to happen after the selling, not before.
- 4
Print or share the board
Get the finished grid in front of everyone, on a wall or in a group chat, so every player can find their squares.
- 5
Check the score each quarter
At the end of each quarter, take the last digit of each team's score, find the square where they cross, and pay that player.
How to read the board: a worked example
This is the part that trips people up the first time, and it should not. Say the top team is the Chiefs and the side team is the 49ers. End of the first quarter, the score is Chiefs 17, 49ers 10.
Take the last digit of each score. Chiefs 17, so the top number is 7. 49ers 10, so the side number is 0. Run your finger down the column headed 7 and across the row headed 0. The square where they meet wins the first quarter. Whoever's name is in it gets paid.
That is it. Do the same at halftime, after the third quarter, and on the final score. The digits only ever run 0 to 9, because you only ever care about the last digit. A team on 24 and a team on 4 land on the same square.
Payouts: by quarter, forward and backward
Most pools pay a winner at the end of each quarter. Plenty of groups weight the quarters instead of splitting evenly, because the final score feels like it should be worth more. A common split:
- 20% of the pot after the first quarter
- 20% at halftime
- 20% after the third quarter
- 40% on the final score
You will also hear about paying forward and backward. Normally one square wins a quarter: the exact last-digit match. A forward-and-backward pool pays a second square too, the one with the digits reversed. If 7 and 0 wins, then 0 and 7 also gets a cut. The quarter's money is usually split between the two squares. It spreads the winnings around and gives more people a moment, which is why bigger pools like it.
Whatever you choose, settle it before kickoff and write it on the board. Even split or weighted, one winner or forward-and-backward, what to do with an unsold winning square. Decide once, in advance, and there is nothing left to argue about. The squares generator totals the pot and works out each quarter's payout for you.
The best and worst numbers
People ask which numbers are best, so here is the honest answer: it matters, and you cannot do anything about it. Numbers are drawn at random after the squares are sold. You do not pick them. Still, once the draw happens, some squares are quietly better than others, because football scores are not random.
The good ones
0 and 7
Touchdowns plus the extra point land on 7. A lot of scores settle on 0. These are the squares you want.
The middle
3, 4, 1, 8
A field goal puts a 3 in play, and 4 is not far behind. You can win with these.
The weak ones
2, 5, 9
Scores rarely end here. Draw a 2 and a 5 and you are mostly hoping for a strange game.
So why bring it up at all? Because it is the reason the numbers get drawn after the squares sell. If players could see the digits first, everyone would fight over the 0 and 7 squares and ignore the rest. Draw last, and every square is a coin flip until the moment it is not.
100, 50, or 25 squares?
The 100-square board is the classic, but it is not the only option, and a smaller group should not feel stuck with 80 empty squares.
100 squares (10 by 10)
The standard. Every column and row gets a single digit, 0 through 9. One square wins each quarter, clean and exact. Best when you have the people to fill it.
50 squares (10 by 5)
Half the board. One axis still gets single digits, the other gives each row two. Easier to sell out, and a fine middle ground for a medium-sized group.
25 squares (5 by 5)
The small-group board. Every row and column covers two digits, so a square can win on more score combinations. Quick to fill, easy to run for a family or a small office.
Squares as a fundraiser
Squares make a genuinely good fundraiser, and not by accident. There is no skill barrier, so nobody feels shut out, and the pure-luck part means people are happy to chip in. Set a price per square, sell the board, and the team or cause keeps a share of the pot, or all of it.
A booster club running a 100-square board at 10 dollars a square raises 1,000 dollars from one game. Give half back as winnings and keep half, or hand out smaller prizes and donate the rest. The generator does the pot math the moment you set a price.
Common questions
Can you pick your own numbers in football squares?
No, and that is the point. You buy a square, or several, before any numbers exist. The digits 0 through 9 get drawn at random and assigned to the rows and columns only after every square is sold. Nobody can cherry-pick a good number combo, which is what keeps the game fair.
When do you draw the numbers?
After the last square is sold, never before. If the numbers went up first, the squares with strong digits would sell instantly and the rest would sit empty. Sell every square, then draw.
What happens if the winning square was never sold?
Your group decides, ideally before kickoff. Common options: roll that money into the next quarter, give it to the nearest sold square, or split it back to the pool. Pick a rule early so nobody argues at halftime.
How much should a square cost?
Whatever your group is comfortable with. A dollar a square keeps it light. Five or ten turns the pot into real money. For a 100-square board at 5 dollars each, that is a 500 dollar pot.
Do you need to know football to play?
Not at all. You are not predicting anything. You buy a square, the numbers get drawn, and the last digit of the score decides each quarter. Someone who has never watched a down wins as often as the season-ticket holder.
Build your board
Pick a size, name the teams, scatter the players, and draw the numbers. Print it or share the link.