Squares pool: one grid, a winner every quarter, no expertise needed
A squares pool is the easiest game to hand someone who doesn't follow the sport: claim a square, wait for the random draw, and watch the score at the end of every quarter. Sportpoolz squares pools open in late January, starting with the Super Bowl — free, and with no money involved.
Free forever — no credit card, no money changing hands.
How a squares pool works
One game, one grid of 100 squares. One team's score runs across the top and the other's down the side. Members claim squares while the grid is blank; once it is full, the digits 0 to 9 are drawn at random for each side, giving every square one digit per team.
When a scoring period ends, the last digit of each team's score points to a single square, and that square wins the period. In football that is each quarter. Skill never enters into it: the draw happens after the squares are claimed, so a newcomer and a lifelong fan have the same chance.
The choices that matter
- Who plays: the group you invite.
- How many squares each person may claim, which decides how evenly the grid is shared.
- Nothing after the draw. Once the digits are drawn the grid is final, which is what keeps a squares pool fair.
Squares is usually played for money elsewhere. On Sportpoolz there is no entry fee and no payout — a winning square wins its quarter and the bragging rights that come with it.
Key dates
- NFL — Super Bowl squares pools open on Sportpoolz: January 2027
- NFL — Super Bowl LXI: February 2027
Squares pools are not open yet; the Super Bowl is the first game they will run on.
Reading a sample grid
- After the draw, your square is the home team's 0 and the visitors' 7.
- A quarter ends 10–7: last digits 0 and 7. Your square wins it.
- The next quarter ends 13–14: digits 3 and 4, someone else's square.
- Common football scores end in 0, 3, 4 and 7, so some squares win far more often than others — and nobody knows which they hold until the draw.
Common questions
Why are the squares' numbers drawn after everyone picks?
So that nobody can claim the good squares. Football scores end in some digits far more often than others, and a draw after the grid fills gives every square the same chance of landing on them.
How many people do you need for a squares pool?
Any group size works. The grid always has a hundred squares, so in a smaller group each person simply claims several, which is how most office and party grids are filled.
Be ready the day it opens
Sportpoolz is free. Create your account now, and starting your pool takes a couple of minutes once it opens.