A Super Bowl “boxes” game (also called Super Bowl squares) is a simple football pool built around a 10×10 grid where each square corresponds to the last digit of each team’s score at certain points in the game.

Big picture: what’s going on

You and your friends buy squares on a blank 10×10 grid (100 total boxes).

After all squares are taken, digits 0–9 are randomly assigned to each row and column, one NFL team per side.

At the end of each quarter (or just the final score), whoever has the box matching the last digit of each team’s score wins a prize.

Think of it like coordinates on a map: one axis is Team A’s last score digit, the other axis is Team B’s. Your box is the crossing point.

Step‑by‑step: how Super Bowl boxes work

1. Set up the grid and buy in

  1. Someone draws a 10×10 grid: 10 rows × 10 columns = 100 boxes.
  1. The organizer sets a price per box (for example, 5 or 10 dollars) and a payout structure.
  1. Players write their names in as many empty boxes as they want and pay for them.
  1. When all 100 boxes are filled, sales close and the prize pool is fixed.

The total pot is simply: number of boxes × price per box (for example, 100 boxes × 5 dollars = 500 dollars).

2. Assign teams and numbers

  1. The two Super Bowl teams are labeled on the grid, one on the top (columns), one on the side (rows).
  1. After all boxes are chosen, the digits 0–9 are randomly assigned across the top and down the side.
 * This is often done by drawing numbers from a hat so nobody can “aim” for strong football score combinations.
  1. Now every box corresponds to a pair like “Team A 3, Team B 7” — meaning “Team A’s last digit is 3, Team B’s last digit is 7.”

This random numbering is key: if the digits were known ahead of time, people would fight over boxes like 0–7 or 3–0, which historically line up with common football scores.

3. How you win

Most pools use end‑of‑quarter scores to award prizes.

  • At the end of each quarter (1st, 2nd/halftime, 3rd, and final), you:
    • Look at each team’s score.
    • Take only the last digit of each score.
    • Find the box where those two digits intersect.
    • The name in that box wins that quarter’s prize.

Example:
Halftime score: Team A 23, Team B 14.

  • Team A last digit = 3
  • Team B last digit = 4
    Find “3” on Team A’s axis and “4” on Team B’s axis; the name at that intersection wins the halftime payout.

If a team scores more than 9, you still just use the ones place digit (21 → 1, 17 → 7, 30 → 0, etc.).

4. Payout examples

There are many ways to split the pot; here are common setups:

  • Equal quarters:
    • 25% of the pot to the winner of each quarter (1st, 2nd, 3rd, final).
  • Heavier on halftime and final:
    • 20% for 1st quarter, 30% for halftime, 20% for 3rd quarter, 30% for final score.
  • Winner‑take‑all:
    • Only the final score matters; whoever has that box takes the entire pot.

You can also do non‑cash prizes like gift cards, meals, or merch instead of money, especially in more family‑friendly or workplace pools.

5. Variations you might see

  • Per‑quarter grids: A fresh 10×10 grid for each quarter, so scores don’t build from quarter to quarter.
  • Score‑change pools: Some versions pay out whenever the score changes, rewarding lots of scoring instead of just end‑of‑quarter digits.
  • Different prize mixes: Some groups give a big prize only for the final score, smaller “consolation” prizes for quarters, or special bonuses for rare combinations (like 2–2).

Quick HTML summary table

Here’s an HTML table that sums up the core parts of how Super Bowl boxes work:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Element</th>
      <th>How it works</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Grid size</td>
      <td>10×10 grid for 100 total boxes.[web:1][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Buying boxes</td>
      <td>Players pay a set price per box and write their names in chosen squares until all are filled.[web:1][web:4][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Team placement</td>
      <td>One Super Bowl team on the top (columns), the other on the side (rows).[web:1][web:3][web:4]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Number assignment</td>
      <td>Digits 0–9 randomly assigned to each row and column after squares are sold, usually by drawing numbers from a hat.[web:1][web:3][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Winning logic</td>
      <td>At selected times (end of quarters or final), match the last digit of each team’s score to the corresponding row and column; the box at that intersection wins.[web:1][web:3][web:4][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Common payouts</td>
      <td>Often 25% of the pot per quarter, or 20–30% per quarter with bigger shares for halftime and final; sometimes winner‑take‑all for the final score.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Popular variations</td>
      <td>Winner‑take‑all pools, score‑change payouts, or non‑cash prize versions.[web:1][web:3][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR

You pay for a square on a 10×10 grid, random digits 0–9 are assigned to both teams’ axes, and if the last digits of the actual score line up with your box at the end of a quarter or the game, you win part of the pot.

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