The aroma of your best friend’s chili fills the air and you know it’s game day. The crew is gathered on Saturday for college football or Sunday, Monday or Thursday for your weekly NFL watch party. Everyone is already excited but sometimes you need to change things up to make the kickoff in week 10 matter a little more. One easy way to pep things up is the popular betting game of football squares. This simple but exciting grid-based game doesn’t require a deep knowledge of the sport. The competition is largely a matter of luck, so everyone has a chance to win. This pool creates excitement with every single touchdown.

Squares is a fantastic icebreaker for any gathering. This contest works perfectly for NFL playoff games and even college pickem games. While the design is simple, you can spend more time grilling so you don’t have to draw the lines yourself. You can quickly find our free template for download in both PNG and PDF formats. Just find the printable file you need, and you’re ready to play. Our gridiron bingo card ensures increased engagement (especially if there’s a pot of money for the winner).

We also have more football templates and other resources right here for your Monday Night Football or Superbowl or CFB bowl championship watch parties.

Payouts After Each Football Squares Quarter

So with squares, the winning depends entirely on the last digit of the score. You check the official score at the end of every Quarter. You’ll need the final score for the horizontal team and the vertical team. A score of 21-10 means the player at the 1/0 square wins the prize. That player gets the first payout of the day. The half-time score often brings the second big prize. You definitely want your name in one of those winning boxes.

Most people divide the total payouts four ways for the game. They usually give smaller prizes for the first three Quarters. The fourth Quarter or final score always receives the largest percentage of the cash. Sometimes, hosts award a bonus prize for a score change during the game. The prize money should be clearly laid out before the game starts. Always track the winners on the printable football squares sheet you download. The contest offers a lot of excitement for a small buy-in.

Adjust the Football Squares to Size of Your Group

The game works well with a standard 10×10 grid, but you don’t have to use all 100 squares. For a small group, you can use a 5×5 grid. This smaller sheet only gives 25 possible outcomes. That means each player has a higher chance of winning. Just use five random numbers instead of ten. Fortunately, we’ve designed a 5×5 football squares version in a printable PDF for you here.

Another quick change involves the prize money payouts. You can award five prizes instead of four. Offer a prize for the halftime score, and then another one for the final score. Hosts can also give small payouts after a major score change. These simple variations make the printable game flexible for any size party. You should adjust the rules to match your group.

Here is another fun variation. Try the “Reverse Score” rule during play. This means the reverse of the winning score gets a smaller prize. For example, if the score is 17-14, the 7/4 square wins the main prize. The 4/7 square then wins a bonus payout. This variation keeps people rooting for both sides until the final Quarter

Download Our Printable Football Squares For NFL and College

You’ve successfully learned all the rules and fun variations. Now you just need the perfect 10×10 grid or a smaller 5×5 grid to host your party. You don’t have to waste time drawing those complex lines yourself. We feature a fantastic printable football squares sheet right here on Printerfriend.ly. This download includes options for both NFL and College games. You can get your free download instantly.

  • Football squares template designed for any matchup, whether it’s a big NFL Sunday game or a College Football bowl:
    PDF – PNG
  • A professional football squares grid suitable for hosting large pools. Works perfectly for both NFL Super Bowl parties and College Football playoffs:
    PDF – PNG
  • Simple, ink-friendly football squares sheet. A free printable option for tracking scores in NFL and College Football games without using too much ink:
    PDF – PNG
  • 5×5 football squares template (25 boxes). A smaller, faster version of the game designed for smaller groups watching NFL or College Football:
    PDF – PNG

As you can see, you can choose from the PDF and PNG file options we provide. The PDF file is best for clean, immediate printing results. The PNG file works well for displaying the grid pool on a large screen or TV. Print the sheet right away to start your wagering pool today. The grid is perfect for labeling the axes and collecting the final score wagers.