Football squares FAQ

Football squares is a pool for watching a game with friends. A grid of 100 squares is drawn up, everyone claims some squares, and random numbers from 0 to 9 are then assigned to each row and column, one set for each team. After each quarter, the last digit of each team's score picks the winning square. No football knowledge is needed, which is why it works so well for a group.

Create a board by picking the game (or any two teams), share the one link with your group, and let everyone tap the squares they want. When the squares are claimed, tap Randomize Numbers. After each quarter the winner is worked out for you, or automatically if you add live scoring.

No. Players open your link on any phone or computer, tap a square, and type a name. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.

Making a board and running it by hand is free. Automatic live scoring is $1.99 per board, paid once. SquaresBets Pro is $10 a month for unlimited boards with live scoring and your own branded page.

Yes. There is a free printable football squares sheet, in 100-square and 25-square sizes, with boxes for the numbers and a table for the winners and prizes. You can even draw the numbers randomly on the page before you print it.

A standard board has 100 squares (10 by 10). You can also make a smaller 25-square board (5 by 5) for a small group, where each row and column covers a pair of digits, such as 0 and 5.

Any NFL, NBA, WNBA, college football or college basketball (men's or women's) game, picked from the list of real games, or any custom matchup. Automatic live scoring currently works for NFL games; for other games the host enters each quarter's score.

After the host taps Randomize Numbers, which can only be done once. Squares are claimed first and the numbers come afterwards, so nobody can pick squares based on the numbers. Once the numbers are drawn, squares are locked and only the host can add more.

At the end of each quarter, take the last digit of each team's score. The square where the row for one digit meets the column for the other digit wins. For example, if the score is 17 to 13 after the third quarter, the winner is the square where the 7 row meets the 3 column.

The Final slot is the score after overtime. If a game goes to overtime, the last winner is decided by the final score including overtime, so there is no separate overtime prize.

Yes. Tap as many open squares as you like and claim them together. If your pool has its own limit, the host will tell you. Tap any name in the Players list to see all of that person's squares highlighted.

Players can't release a square on their own. Ask the host, who can rename, reassign or clear any square, even after the numbers are drawn.

On a board with live scoring, the square that would win if the game ended at the current score is highlighted and named. It changes with every score, so everyone has someone to cheer for all game long.

In your host panel you can mark each player as paid or unpaid with one tap, and you can see how much has been collected. Only you see who owes, and players see the total collected. SquaresBets only keeps track: it never handles money, so you and your players settle up yourselves.

Most pools pay all four results, either equally (25% each) or with a bigger prize for the final score, such as 20%, 20%, 20% and 40%. Another popular split is 20%, 30%, 20% and 30%, which gives halftime and the final the biggest prizes. The host panel has all three as one-tap presets and fills in the dollar amounts for you.

If you gave an email address when you made the board, your host link and a backup host key were emailed to you once. Open the board, tap 'Are you the host?' at the bottom and paste either one. SquaresBets does not store your email address, so keep that email.

Yes. The host can correct any quarter's score and edit any square at any time, even after the numbers are drawn. On a board with live scoring, anything you enter yourself always takes priority over the automatic result.

A board is deleted automatically after 90 days with no activity, or after 14 days if nobody ever claimed a square.

A board with live scoring follows its real NFL game. The live score updates on the board, each quarter's result and the final are saved as they finish, winners and payouts appear without the host typing anything, and every touchdown and field goal is added to a list of scoring plays.

A list of every touchdown, field goal, extra point and safety in the game, newest first, with who scored and how far, the score afterwards, and which square was winning after each play, such as '23-yard rushing touchdown'. Players open it from the Scoring plays button under the grid.

Make your board from the list of NFL games, then tap Unlock live scoring in your host panel and pay $1.99 through Stripe. It switches on within seconds. Boards made from a SquaresBets Pro page have it on from the start.

The scores come from a sports data feed that runs about a minute behind the game, and SquaresBets ignores readings that look out of date. It can still be wrong or late now and then, so the host can always correct a quarter. Quarters filled in automatically carry an Auto tag.

Yes. The live scoring demo replays a real game on a sample board so you can watch the score, results and scoring plays fill in by themselves.

Pro is $10 a month for a bar, league or team that runs squares all season. You get unlimited boards with automatic live scoring, your own web address such as yourname.squaresbets.com, your name, logo and brand color, a staff code so only your team can make boards, and a board manager that lists every board you have made.

Yes. Upload a PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF image on the Pro signup page or later in your settings, and it is resized for you.

Yes, any time, from the billing link in your welcome email. Cancelling stops future charges. Boards you have already made keep working.

SquaresBets is a tool for friendly, for-fun squares pools. It does not run or host any wagering, never holds or moves anyone's money, and does not endorse gambling. Everyone using it is responsible for following the laws that apply to them, including age and location rules.

No. If you enter an email address when making a board, it is used once to send you your links and is not saved. We also don't sell your information or run ads.

No. Boards can't be browsed or searched. A board's link is long and unguessable, and only people you share it with will ever see it.