Photo by Anthony Behar/PA Images via Getty Images
Here’s everything you need to know to play Super Bowl squares and win some money this weekend.
The Chiefs are taking on the Eagles this Sunday in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz., but that doesn’t have to be the only hot competition taking place this weekend. You can spice up your Super Bowl party and maybe even win a little money with Super Bowl squares.
Here’s everything you need to know to set up the game, draw or assign numbers, and figure out the winners.
The bracket
You need a 10×10 grid with 100 total squares. You can make your own, or you can download this free version from PrintYourBrackets.com.
The players
If you’re running your own squares game, you’re going to need people to play squares with you; otherwise you’re just winning back your own money and there’s not actually any competition. Invite your friends, family, colleagues — playing squares doesn’t require any level of football knowledge or any specific skill. It’s pure luck, and anyone can participate.
If you want to play online, everything can be done remotely. Collect people’s money ($1 per square is kind of the standard, and I’d limit people to 10 squares and have at least 10 people playing to make it more fun) and you can coordinate everything through SuperBowlSquares.org, or you can take responsibility for filling out the bracket with assigned squares and keeping track of everything.
If you’re hosting a party and you want to incorporate squares as part of the fun, you can set your bracket up near the entrance and let your guests buy in and select their squares when they arrive.
To finalize your squares board, you can use the trusty pick-numbers-out-of-a-hat method or use a random number generator online. Assign numbers 1 through 9 (in the order they were pulled or generated) to the top row and the far left column. This will make each square a combination of two numbers and will determine winners and payouts.
If you want to skip all of this setup and rigamarole and you live in a state with legal sports betting, you can play squares through our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook. With this option, instead of being randomly assigned squares, you can select and bet on the squares you think are most likely to hit during the game.
Figure out the winners
Deciding how you want to allocate the pot is up to you, and you have a few options. The most common method is based on the last number of each team’s score at the end of each quarter. Here’s how that works, using last year’s matchup between the Rams and Bengals as an example:
End of the first quarter: Rams 7, Bengals 3. The squares player who owns the square that intersects at 7 and 3 wins the quarter.
End of the second quarter: Rams 13, Bengals 10. The player who owns the square that intersects at 3 and 0 wins the quarter.
End of the third quarter: Rams 16, Bengals 20. The player who owns the square that intersects at 6 and 0 wins the quarter.
Final score: Rams 23, Bengals 20. Whoever had that square that intersects at 3 and 0 made out like a bandit last year.
You can also pay out based on the score after each half, or just do one big payout on the final score — it’s totally up to you.
It’s a fun way for diehards and casual fans alike to get a little skin in the game on Super Bowl Sunday. Have fun, and good luck!
