It is not always easy to keep the excitement alive at a Super Bowl watching party. Some guests have no interest in the game, and half of those who are interested in the game are unhappy about who is winning. Fortunately, there is an easy way to make your game day gathering a thrill for everyone: play the Super Bowl Squares football score challenge!

A football grid game gives everyone the chance to be a big winner, from football experts to guests who don’t know the difference between a touchdown and a penalty. The game might seem a little confusing at first, but if you follow our step-by-step guide, you will be a certified Super Bowl Squares expert in no time!

What You Need to Set Up and Play the Game

Super Bowl Squares adhesive vinyl wall decal
A smooth surface to apply the decal to, like a wall, window, door or mirror
Liquid chalk markers in a variety of Classic and Neon colors

Step 1: Peel It and Stick It

Carefully peel off the backing from the preprinted grid decal and apply the decal to a smooth surface. Don’t worry if it ends up crooked on your first attempt. The adhesive is strong but removes easily for repositioning.

Step 2: Allow Players to “Place Their Bets”

The grid is 10x10, so there is space for up to 100 names. Each person can “buy” a square for whatever price you and your guests agree on. The money paid in becomes the “pot” that will be paid out to the winners.*

If you have fewer than 100 players, you can just assign multiple squares to each player. For example, if 25 people are playing, each person who pays the entry fee gets four squares. Alternatively, you can set a price per square, and once each player has paid for one square, allow players to purchase as many additional squares as they want until all 100 squares are claimed. In this case, some people might have just one square, while others will have three or four squares or more.

Step 3: Enter Players’ First Names in the Grid

Randomly enter your players’ first names into the grid. Use the same color for all the names in each column. For example, all the names in the first column of our grid are in neon yellow, while all the names in the second column are in classic blue, etc. The fun part of this step is that there is no way to know which squares might turn out to be winners!

When choosing colors for your columns, make sure there is a lot of contrast between columns to make the grid easy to read even from across the room. For our game grid, we used a mix of Classic and Neon Chalk Marker colors for maximum contrast.

Step 4: Enter Team Names

Enter the name of one of the two teams in the blank at the top, and the other team name in the blank on the left side of the decal. Our imaginary Super Bowl pits the Werewolves against the Vampires — a classic battle of arch enemies!

Step 5: Create the Top Row of Numbers

Across the top of the grid, enter the digits 0 through 9 in random order. Draw the digits out of a hat or use a fancy phone app to generate digits randomly. Write the numbers above the grid in the order they are drawn, left to right, matching the color of each number to the color of the names in that column.

For example, since all the names in the first column of our grid are written in neon yellow and the first number we drew randomly was 1, we wrote the number 1 in neon yellow above the first column. Since the second number drawn was 0 and all the names in the second column are in classic blue, we wrote the number 0 in classic blue above the second column.

Step 6: Create the Column of Numbers on the Left

Next, randomly draw the digits 0 through 9 again, entering the numbers along the left side of the grid, from top to bottom. Use the same color for each number as you did on top of the grid. For example, the first number we drew for the left-hand column was 2, and 2 appears on top of our grid in classic white. So we wrote the number 2 in classic white to the left of the first row of names.

Our second randomly drawn number for the left side was 3, which appears above the grid in neon red. So we wrote the number 3 in neon red to the left of the second row of names. And so on.

Step 7: Color-Code the Squares!

In this step, you will add each player's last name or initial to their squares, in a specially color-coded way that makes the grid easy for everyone to read.

In our case, we added last initials. Notice that we used the same color all the way across each row. All the last initials across the top row are in classic white, all the last initials in the second row are in neon red, and so on. Once the grid is completely filled in, the numbers and the color code tells you the score combination that goes with each square. Here's how.

How To Read the Color-Coded Grid

In the second column of our grid, there is a square with the name "Issa C," with "Issa" written in classic blue and "C" in neon red. The blue color of Issa's first name matches the 0 above her square. The red color of her last initial matches the 3 to the left of her square. Therefore, Issa C's square matches the score combination 0 for the Vampires (the team on top of the decal) and 3 for the Werewolves (the team on the left side of the decal).

As another example, near the bottom of the column with neon green first names is a square with the name "Carms A," with the "A" in orange. Carms A's square represents a score combination of 5 for the Vampires (green column) and 6 for the Werewolves (orange row).

This color coding system makes our Super Bowl Squares the easiest football score grid to read, and it looks great, too!

How to Play the Football Grid Scores Game

Now that you have the most beautiful Super Bowl score grid ever, let's get to the best part — winning money!

We just figured out that one of Issa C's squares goes with the score combination 0 (Vampires) and 3 (Werewolves). So if the Vampires' score ends in 0 and the Werewolves' score ends in 3, Issa C wins! Any of these scores would make Issa C a winner:

Vampires 0, Werewolves 13
Vampires 30, Werewolves 23
Vampires 40, Werewolves 33

On the other hand, Carms A had the score combination 5 (Vampires) and 6 (Werewolves). So Carms A would win with any of these game scores:

Vampires 5, Werewolves 16
Vampires 15, Werewolves 36
Vampires 35, Werewolves 6

A Winner Every Quarter!

All football games are long, and the Super Bowl is the longest of them all. One of the great things about a Super Bowl score grid game is that you have a winner at the end of each quarter of play!

For example, with our grid, if the score at the end of the first quarter is Vampires 7, Werewolves 10, then Mich A (purple first name + blue last initial, for the score combination 7 - 0) is the first quarter winner. If the halftime score is Vampires 19, Werewolves 13, then Dell Y (pink first name + red last initial, for the score combination 9 - 3) is the second quarter winner.

The pot is paid out to winners as follows:

20% to first quarter winner
20% to second quarter (halftime) winner
20% to third quarter winner
20% to fourth quarter winner
20% to FINAL SCORE winner

Most of the time, the fourth quarter winner and the FINAL SCORE winner will be the same person, since the end of the fourth quarter is usually the end of the game. However, if the game goes into overtime, you will have five different winners!!

Game-Changing: Why This Super Bowl Grid Is the BEST Super Bowl Score Game

With its random setup, a football scores grid is intended to be the fairest type of betting pool for the Big Game. However, not all squares are actually equally likely to win. Football scores ending in 7 or 0 are more common than scores ending in 9. Someone with the digit combination 0 - 7 is in much better shape than someone who has the combination 9 - 9. That can take some of the fun out of the game, but we have a solution: Make a game-changing grid transformation! Here's how to do it.

The Halftime Reset

Since liquid chalk markers erase easily and completely with a damp cloth, it is super easy to reset the grid during the (really, really long) halftime show to give everyone new hope! Simply wipe away all the last names or initials, along with the numbers across the top and down the left side of the grid. Then redo Steps 5, 6 and 7 above. Just like that, you have a whole new game grid, with all new possibilities for the third and fourth quarters!

As promised, you are now a genuine Super Bowl Squares pro, ready to wow your guests with a thrilling game day party. Along the way, you have also learned a little about who we are — all the names in the grid shown in this article are actual members of the team that brings you VersaChalk products!

*IMPORTANT NOTE: In most U.S. states, state law requires that all money collected from people buying squares in this game must be paid out to winners. No money can be kept by the “house.”

Make your Super Bowl gathering the best party in town with the Super Bowl Squares game. Assemble your pool of players today and get ready for the most exciting game day you’ve ever had!!