Super Bowl Squares: A Printable Grid and House Rules

Table of Contents

One hundred squares, ten digits pulled from a bowl, and four quarter checkpoints make a Super Bowl squares board every guest can play. The grid and house rules below keep each draw in plain view.

Ninety-nine names fill the board, kickoff is six minutes away, and one square in the bottom row is still blank. One guest wants the numbers drawn right now, and another has already penciled a 7 above the column they were hoping for.

Super Bowl squares runs on trust far more than on football. Draw one digit early, or leave the prize vague until the first quarter ends, and the grid stops feeling like a game and starts feeling like a setup.

The fairest board is the one where nothing about the numbers is decided until the last name is written in, and every guest knows what a win earns before the coin toss.

At a Glance

What are super bowl squares? A ten by ten grid where guests claim squares, then the digits 0 to 9 are drawn at random for each team.
Draw the numbers only after all 100 squares carry a name, and draw them where every guest can watch.
At the end of each quarter, the last digit of each team’s score points to one winning square.
Set claiming limits and the prize before kickoff, sized to the guests in the room.
Keep prizes non-cash, such as snacks, first pick of leftovers, or bragging rights.
The one-page printable PDF holds the full ten by ten grid, team name lines, quarter checkpoint boxes, and a house rules box.

What Are Super Bowl Squares?

Super Bowl squares is a party game played on a ten by ten grid, where each guest writes a name in one or more of the 100 squares before the game starts. Once the board is full, the digits 0 to 9 are drawn at random across the top for one team and down the side for the other, so every square inherits a pair of numbers nobody chose. At the end of each quarter, the last digit of each team’s score locates one square, and that guest takes the quarter’s prize, which at a home watch party means snacks or bragging rights.

That is the whole game in one paragraph; the rest is the grid itself and the house rules that keep it fair.

Printable Grid: One Page, 100 Squares, Blank Number Rows

The printable PDF is a complete super bowl squares template on one letter-size page: a corner cell marked for the draw, an empty header row for the top team’s digits, an empty header column for the side team’s digits, and 100 numbered squares for names, plus team name lines, four quarter checkpoint boxes, and a short house rules box. Each part of the board gets filled in at a set point in the evening.

What Goes Where on a Super Bowl Squares Grid

Part of the board	What goes in it	When to fill it in
Team name lines	One team across the top, the other down the side	Before anyone claims a square
100 numbered squares	One guest name per square	As guests arrive, up to the claim limit
Top digit row	The top team’s digits, 0 to 9, in drawn order	After all 100 squares carry a name
Side digit column	The side team’s digits, 0 to 9, in drawn order	Right after the top row, in front of everyone
Quarter checkpoint boxes	The winning square number for that quarter	When each quarter ends
House rules box	Claim limit, how a winner is named, and the prize	Before the first name goes on the board

The small number in each square lets a winner be called out as square 47 instead of someone pointing across the room. Both digit rows stay blank until every square carries a name.

Printing and Posting the Board

Print on standard letter paper in portrait, with scaling set to fit the page so the last column is not cut off.
Print a second copy as a backup for a spilled drink or a torn corner.
Write one team name across the top line and the other down the side before anyone claims a square.
Tape the sheet at eye level near the snacks, with a dark marker beside it, so guests sign in as they arrive.

Yahoo Sports walks through a printable squares grid that also holds back an extra row and column for the drawn numbers.

One free printable squares template comes as a blank board plus a version with numbers already filled in, and a printable Super Bowl squares grid can be customized on screen before printing. Choose the blank version either way, since the digits belong to the draw.

With the page printed and both team names written in, the only empty space that matters is the number rows, and those stay empty on purpose.

Know Your Headcount Before You Print
A firm guest count tells you how many squares each person can claim, so the board fills before kickoff instead of sitting half empty. The Gourmet Host mobile app gathers RSVPs from every guest in one place, so the claiming limit is settled before the grid goes on the wall.
Download The Gourmet Host mobile app free today on the App Store and Google Play.

How Do Super Bowl Squares Work Once the Board Is Full?

How do super bowl squares work once every square carries a name? The numbers are the one part of the super bowl squares game nobody picks, and the draw decides which pair of digits each name inherits.

Wait until all 100 squares carry a name, then draw in front of the room. The digits 0 to 9 go to the rows and columns only after every square is claimed, which is what stops a late arrival from choosing a pairing that is already showing.

A Draw Anyone Can Watch

Write the digits 0 through 9 on ten slips of paper, fold them, and drop them in a bowl.
Pull one slip at a time and write that digit in the next empty cell across the top row.
Return all ten slips, shuffle them, and repeat the pull for the side column.
Read each digit aloud as it is written, and hand the bowl to a guest with no squares if one is at the party.
A phone’s random number generator works too, as long as the screen faces the room.

A Worked Example

Say the top row comes out 3, 8, 0, 5, 1, 9, 6, 2, 7, 4 from left to right, and the side column lands in its own shuffled order. The guest whose square sits under the 0 and beside the side team’s 7 now holds the pairing 0 and 7, which wins any quarter where the top team’s score ends in 0 and the side team’s score ends in 7.

Nobody chose that pairing, so nobody can say the board was stacked.

A draw settles the digits, but it cannot decide how many squares one guest may take or what a win earns, so those rules come next.

House Rules Before Kickoff, Matched to Who Is in the Room

House rules do the job a referee would, and they hold up best when they are set before the first name goes on the board. Three decisions cover it: how many squares one guest may claim, how a winner is named, and what the prize is.

One explainer of Super Bowl squares rules leaves the choice of what the game is played for to the person running the board, and at a home watch party that person is the host.

Rules by Who Is Watching

Family with kids: Give every child the same number of squares as the adults, and let kids write their own names. Prizes stay edible or practical, like choosing the halftime snack.
Close friends: Cap claims at a set number per person, first come first served, and let late arrivals split what is left. For friends this competitive, Olympics party games for adults who love to win make a good second event.
Neighbors or coworkers: Assign squares evenly so nobody looks greedy, and announce the prize out loud before the draw. Small, shared prizes, like first pick of leftovers, keep the mood easy.
Guests who skip football: Walk through the worked example once, then post the quarter checkpoints beside the grid so nobody needs to follow the plays.

Claiming Limits That Fill the Board

Divide 100 by the number of guests and round down to set an even claim limit. Ten guests get ten squares each, while twelve guests get eight each, with four squares left over to hand out by drawing names.

Guests with a square or two and a long wait between quarters can drift, so a few fun party games for adults give the room something to do during the slow stretches.

With claims and prizes settled, the last skill a guest needs is reading the board when a quarter ends.

Hosting Tip: Photograph the Board Right After the Draw
A clear photo of the filled grid, digits included, settles any smudged name or disputed number later in the evening. Send it to the group before kickoff so every guest can check their own pairing from the couch.

Scoring Each Quarter: Read the Last Digit, Not the Lead

Scoring comes down to one habit: when a quarter ends, ignore who is winning and look only at the last digit of each score. A team ahead 24 to 10 and a team ahead 14 to 10 point at the same square, because only the 4 and the 0 reach the grid.

Reading the Super Bowl Squares Grid in Four Steps

Wait for the quarter to end, since a touchdown in the middle of a quarter does not count.
Take the last digit of the top team’s score and find that digit in the header row.
Take the last digit of the side team’s score and find that digit in the header column.
Follow both to the square where they meet, and write the score and square number in the checkpoint box.

One Quarter, Scored

Say the first quarter ends 17 to 3, top team first. The winning square sits under the column drawn as 7 and beside the row drawn as 3, and the guest whose name is written there takes the first quarter prize.

Plan four checkpoints: the ends of the first, second, and third quarters, plus the final score. If the game goes to overtime, score the end of regulation and the final score as separate rounds, which gives the board a fifth winner.

Halftime runs long enough for a side contest, and minute to win it games with one-minute rounds fit the break without pulling anyone away from the grid.

Four or five winners in one evening means four or five prizes, and the prize decides whether the board stays a friendly game.

Prizes That Keep the Game Friendly and Money Free

A prize only has to be worth a cheer. NBC DFW’s rundown of how to play Super Bowl squares notes the game can be played without cash, purely for bragging rights, and at a living room watch party that is the version worth running.

Prize Ideas by Checkpoint

End of the first quarter: First pick from the snack table, or the first plate of whatever comes out of the oven next.
Halftime: The right to ask the opening round of would you rather questions while the show is on.
End of the third quarter: A pass on cleanup duty for the night.
Final score: First pick of leftovers to take home, plus the printed grid as a trophy.

Name every prize before the draw and write it on the checkpoint boxes. A prize announced after someone wins feels like a decision made for a friend, which is the one thing a fair board has to avoid.

The squares board is one thread of a full watch party at home, running alongside the food spread, team-color sweets, a chili station, and a quarter-by-quarter lineup of other games. Its job in that lineup is to keep every guest glancing at the scoreboard, fan or not.

Prizes settle what a win earns, which leaves only the setup slips that make a fair board look rigged.

Keep Game Day Supplies on One List
Markers, tape, a bowl for the number slips, and the prize snacks are easy to forget until kickoff is minutes away. The Gourmet Host mobile app keeps shared Lists for supplies and groceries, so a guest can check off the markers while you shop for prizes.
Download The Gourmet Host mobile app free today on the App Store and Google Play.

Setup Mistakes That Make a Fair Board Look Rigged

Every mistake below breaks the same principle: nothing about the numbers should be settled before every guest can see it happen. A set of free printable squares boards makes the same point, adding the numbers only after names are written so the board stays fair.

Four Slips to Avoid

Drawing numbers before every square is claimed, which lets a late guest choose a square with the digits already showing.
Printing a grid with numbers already filled in, since those digits were set before anyone signed the board.
Leaving the prize unannounced until someone wins, which turns a cheer into a negotiation.
Writing names in pencil, which smudges by the second quarter and invites a debate over whose square it was.

What to Do With an Unclaimed Square

Fill every open square before the draw, either by offering extras to guests who want another or by drawing names from a bowl for each empty one. If a square is somehow still blank at kickoff and it wins, roll that quarter’s prize forward to the next checkpoint.

Keep the rest of the evening light around the grid, adding only party games that need no prep time, so the board stays the main event.

Print the page, draw the digits in the open, and name the prizes out loud, and a room of fans and non-fans will be checking the same scoreboard at every quarter break.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do Super Bowl squares work?

Super Bowl squares work by drawing a ten by ten grid, letting guests claim a square, then randomly assigning the digits zero through nine to each row and column. The last digit of each team’s score at the end of a quarter decides that quarter’s winning square.

How do you print a Super Bowl squares grid?

A Super Bowl squares grid prints from a single page PDF sized for standard paper, with a ten by ten box laid out for names and numbers. Print one extra copy as a backup for spills or a torn sheet. A fillable version lets a host type guest names in before printing.

When do you assign the numbers for a Super Bowl squares grid?

Numbers for a Super Bowl squares grid are assigned after every square is claimed, using a random draw such as shuffled digits pulled from a bowl or a phone’s random number generator. Drawing before the board fills invites accusations of a stacked grid. Write each number in as it is drawn so every guest sees it.

How many rounds does a Super Bowl squares board score?

A Super Bowl squares board typically names a winning square at the end of each of the four quarters, using the score at that moment. A fifth round for the final score is common when the game goes to overtime. Four checkpoints keep every guest watching the scoreboard all game.

Can Super Bowl squares work for guests who do not follow football?

Super Bowl squares work well for guests who do not follow football because winning depends on a random number, not football knowledge. A guest only needs to check the score at the end of each quarter to know if their square won. This makes the grid one of the easiest game day activities to include non-fans in.

What size group fits a Super Bowl squares board?

A Super Bowl squares board fits groups from ten to one hundred guests, since a single ten by ten grid holds up to one hundred claimed squares. Smaller groups can let each guest claim more than one square to fill the board. Larger groups may need two boards running side by side to fit everyone in.

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