Super Bowl Squares, explained: Rules, best squares, how to play NFL party game

Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORK

Households, bars, and general places of gathering will be abuzz Sunday night as the Chiefs play the 49ers in Las Vegas in the 2024 Super Bowl.

The Chiefs are looking for their second straight Super Bowl win, whereas the 49ers are looking for their first since the 1994, despite making it to three straight NFC championship games and four in five years.

While fans are gathered to watch, a massive number of people will play their own games around the big game: "Super Bowl Squares," a game that is nearly ubiquitous due to its simplicity. Incoming fans need minimal knowledge of the teams involved, or even football as a whole, to play — just a basic understanding of how the scoring works.

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Here's what to know about squares ahead of the biggest game of the NFL season:

Super Bowl squares template

Before you can play, you need a grid. Here's a downloadable template to get you started.

How to play Super Bowl Squares

The way the game is set up is with a 10-by-10, 100-square grid in which one Super Bowl team is assigned rows (horizontal) and the the other columns (vertical).

How money is handled will depend on the host. Players can pay an ante for a square and, once each square has been assigned to a player, each square on the grid will then randomly be assigned a number, 0-9. At that point, players at home will then eye the last number of the score: Whichever square corresponds with the last number of both teams will win.

For example, if the Chiefs have a 14-7 first-quarter lead, the player who occupies the square with a "4" for the Chiefs and a "7" for the 49ers is the winner for that quarter. There will be four winners per game: one for each quarter.

Payouts will also vary depending on house rules. Popular models include payouts that pay more for the final of the game or the score at halftime and in regulation. Others include an even distribution for each quarter.

  • 20%-20%-20%-40%

  • 20%-30%-20%-30%

  • 25%-25%-25%-25%

Ultimately, the payout allocation will be set up however the host sees fit.

Super Bowl Squares reverse score

Some people will opt to have two payouts per quarter rather than one.

A reverse score is when a player has the right score, but the teams are inverted. The idea is derived from pools, which employ a similar mechanic just to add to the fun.

This cuts down on the payout size, but it also keeps more people invested in the outcome of the game. There are all sorts of variations of payouts, but reverse payouts are one of the more common variants.

Best numbers for football squares

For anyone who knows football scoring, there are three clear numbers players want to have in squares: zero, three, and seven.

This is self-explanatory, as those are the numbers that come up again and again in football scoring. However, that's only a general rule. The numbers one and four, for example, are better bets if players are looking for final scores.

Here's a look at the NFL playoffs so far, by quarter, to quantify which numbers are going to the best:

Browns vs. Texans

  • Q1: Texans 10, Browns 7

  • Q2: Texans 24, Browns 14

  • Q3: Texans 38, Browns 14

  • Final: Texans 45, Browns 14

Dolphins vs. Chiefs

  • Q1: Chiefs 7, Dolphins 0

  • Q2: Chiefs 16, Dolphins 7

  • Q3: Chiefs 19, Dolphins 7

  • Final: Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7

Packers vs. Cowboys

  • Q1: Packers 7, Cowboys 0

  • Q2: Packers 27, Cowboys 7

  • Q3: Packers 41, Cowboys 16

  • Final: Packers 48, Cowboys 32

Rams vs. Lions

  • Q1: Lions 14, Rams 3

  • Q2: Lions 21, Rams 17

  • Q3: Lions 24, Rams 20

  • Final: Lions 24, Rams 23

Steelers vs. Bills

  • Q1: Bills 14, Steelers 0

  • Q2: Bills 21, Steelers 7

  • Q3: Bills 24, Steelers 10

  • Final: Bills 31, Steelers 17

Buccaneers vs. Eagles

  • Q1: Buccaneers 10, Eagles 0

  • Q2: Buccaneers 15, Eagles 9

  • Q3: Buccaneers 25, Eagles 9

  • Final: Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9

Wild Card roundup

  • Eight 0s

  • Four 1s

  • Two 2s

  • Two 3s

  • Nine 4s

  • Three 5s

  • Three 6s

  • 11 7s

  • Two 8s

  • Four 9s

Texans vs. Ravens

  • Q1: Ravens 3, Texans 3

  • Q2: Ravens 10, Texans 10

  • Q3: Ravens 17, Texans 10

  • Final: Ravens 34, Texans 10

49ers vs. Packers

  • Q1: Packers 3, 49ers 0

  • Q2: 49ers 7, Packers 6

  • Q3: Packers 21, 49ers 14

  • Final: 49ers 24, Packers 21

Lions vs. Buccaneers

  • Q1: Lions 3, Buccaneers 3

  • Q2: Lions 10, Buccaneers 10

  • Q3: Lions 17, Buccaneers 17

  • Final: Lions 31, Buccaneers 23

Chiefs vs. Bills

  • Q1: Chiefs 3, Bills 3

  • Q2: Bills 17, Chiefs 13

  • Q3: Bills 24, Chiefs 20

  • Final: Chiefs 27, Bills 24

Divisional round roundup

  • Eight 0s

  • Three 1s

  • Nine 3s

  • Five 4s

  • One 6

  • Six 7s

Chiefs vs. Ravens

  • Q1: Chiefs 7, Ravens 7

  • Q2: Chiefs 17, Ravens 7

  • Q3: Chiefs 17, Ravens 7

  • Final: Chiefs 17, Ravens 10

49ers vs. Lions

  • Q1: Lions 14, 49ers 0

  • Q2: Lions 24, 49ers 7

  • Q3: Lions 24, 49ers 24

  • Final: 49ers 34, Lions 31

Conference Championships roundup

  • Two 0s

  • One 1

  • Five 4s

  • Eight 7s

Playoffs roundup

Here's a look at how the full numbers shake out:

  • 18 0s

  • Eight 1s

  • Two 2s

  • 11 3s

  • 19 4s

  • Three 5s

  • Four 6s

  • 25 7s

  • Two 8s

  • Four 9s

With this in mind, the best numbers for this postseason (despite a Wild Card Weekend with some weird scoring) are seven, four, zero, and three. Those are followed by the number one, with two, five, six, eight, and nine being outlier. The math wins out, particularly as the field gets smaller.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What are Super Bowl Squares? Template, best squares, how to play

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