Football squares, explained
The whole game in two minutes — no experience needed.
Published · Updated
How does a squares board work?
A squares board is a 10×10 grid: 100 squares. One team is across the top, the other down the side. Before the game, everyone claims squares by putting their name in them. On KickoffPools, that means tapping squares on a shared link and typing a name — nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
You'll hear the same game called "Super Bowl squares," box pools, football boards, or just squares — one grid, many names, identical rules.
How are the digits drawn?
When the board locks (usually at kickoff), the numbers 0–9 are shuffled randomly across the columns and again down the rows. Nobody — including the commissioner — knows which digits their squares will get when they pick them. That's what keeps it fair, and why the shuffle only happens once, at lock, with the draw time shown on the board.
How do you win football squares?
At the end of each quarter, take the last digit of each team's score. Find the column with the home team's digit and the row with the away team's digit — the square where they cross wins that quarter.
Example: home team 17, away team 14 at halftime → digits 7 and 4 → the square at column 7, row 4 wins halftime. Four scoring moments per game: 1st quarter, halftime, 3rd quarter, and final (overtime counts toward the final).
Why can any square win?
Because the digits are drawn after squares are claimed, every square has the same chance. Grandma's corner square is exactly as likely to hit as anyone else's — which is why squares is the one game the whole family plays.
What do winners get?
On KickoffPools: the glow, the crown, and the bragging rights. The site never collects, holds, or pays out money and never awards prizes — it's the scorekeeper, not the bank. Keep your group's arrangements, if any, outside the site and inside your local laws.
Start a squares board Or print a blank grid
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