how does super bowl squares work

February 13, 2026

Super Bowl squares is a simple 10x10 grid game where each square gives you a set of score digits, and you win when those digits match the last digit of each team’s score at the end of a quarter or the final game.

What Super Bowl Squares Is

It’s a party pool game built around a 10×10 grid (100 total squares).

Each square is “owned” by a person and corresponds to one score digit for each team.

Winners are usually determined at the end of each quarter and at the final score.

Think of it like a bingo card where the numbers are the last digits of each team’s score instead of random balls.

Step‑by‑Step: How It Works

1. Set up the grid

Draw or print a 10×10 grid (100 boxes).

Label one side with one team (e.g., NFC) and the other side with the other team (e.g., AFC).

2. Sell the squares

Decide a price per square (often 1–20 dollars; can be higher).

Everyone picks and writes their name/initials in as many empty squares as they want and can afford.

All the money goes into a common prize pool.

3. Assign the numbers 0–9

After all 100 squares are filled, randomly assign digits 0–9 across the columns and 0–9 across the rows.

Each square now corresponds to a pair of digits: one for Team A’s last score digit, one for Team B’s last score digit.

Randomizing at the end keeps it fair so nobody can cherry‑pick “good” numbers in advance.

How You Win (With an Example)

Basic winning rule

At the end of a quarter (or the final game), look at the last digit of each team’s score.

Find the row with Team A’s last digit and the column with Team B’s last digit (or vice versa, depending on how you labeled).

The square where those two digits meet is the winner for that time period.

Example

End of 1st quarter: Team A 10, Team B 3 → last digits are 0 (Team A) and 3 (Team B).

Find 0 on Team A’s axis and 3 on Team B’s axis.

Whoever owns that intersecting square wins the 1st‑quarter payout.

Another example:

Halftime score: Team A 23, Team B 14 → digits are 3 and 4.

Find 3 for one team and 4 for the other; that square’s owner wins the halftime prize.

Typical Payout Structures

The prize pool is the total money from all sold squares (e.g., 100 squares × 10 dollars = 1,000 dollars).

Common ways to split it:

Even quarters:
- 1st quarter: 25% of the pot
- 2nd quarter: 25%
- 3rd quarter: 25%
- Final score: 25%
Heavier on halftime/final (very common):
- 1st quarter: 20%
- Halftime: 30%
- 3rd quarter: 20%
- Final score: 30%

Winner‑take‑all:
- Only the final score wins the entire pot.

Organizers usually announce the payout breakdown on the sheet or board before the game.

Quick HTML Example of a Grid (Structure Only)

Here’s a minimal HTML structure to visualize how a 10×10 squares grid might be laid out (no styling):

html

<table border="1">
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th>
    <th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>0</th>
    <td>Alice</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
    <td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>
  </tr>
  <!-- Repeat rows 1–9 similarly -->
</table>

This is just to show shape: labels on top and side are digits 0–9, and each <td> is a square someone can buy.

Why It’s So Popular Right Now

It’s trending every Super Bowl week because anyone can play, even if they barely follow football.

Modern pools often run through online grid tools that randomize numbers and track winners automatically.

With Super Bowl LX happening this week, many office pools and group chats are spinning up fresh grids.

Tiny Story to Lock It In

Imagine you’re at a Super Bowl party. Everyone chips in 5 dollars a square, the board fills, and the numbers 0–9 get drawn at random along the top and side. At the end of the first quarter your buddy groans because his “2–5” square doesn’t hit, but by the final whistle your “7–0” square matches the last digits of the score exactly, and suddenly you’re walking away with the biggest chunk of the pot, just because those digits happened to line up.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.