# How Super Bowl squares work (and how to run a grid at the office)

A squares pool is a 10 by 10 grid, one team along the top and one down the side. People claim squares; once the grid is full it is locked and the digits 0 to 9 are drawn at random for each axis. At the end of each quarter the last digit of each team's score picks one square, and whoever holds it wins that quarter.

## The rules in four steps

- Claim squares while the grid is open; each entry may hold up to ten.
- Lock the grid (the host does this, usually a day before the game). No square changes after the lock.
- Draw the numbers: the digits 0 to 9 are shuffled once for the rows and once for the columns, after the lock, so nobody can pick a square knowing its digits.
- Score: at the end of Q1, the half, Q3 and the final, take the last digit of each team's score; the row digit meets the column digit in one square, and that square wins the period.

## Which squares are good?

- After the draw, squares on 0, 3 and 7 come up most (field goals and touchdowns land there); 2, 5 and 9 the least. Before the draw every square is equal, which is the point of drawing after the lock.

## Running it at work

- Share the board link; people claim squares from their phones and get their own edit link.
- Decide in advance what each period is worth (a common split is 20 / 20 / 20 / 40 percent of whatever the group agreed) and write it in the pool's notes.
- Bikoosh Pools never collects, holds or pays out money and never sets stakes: it keeps the grid, the picks and the standings for people who already know each other. Whether a pool carries any stake, and whether that is allowed where you are, is the host's responsibility.

## Quick answers

**How are the numbers in a squares pool chosen?**

They are drawn at random after the grid is locked: the digits 0 to 9 are shuffled once for the rows and once for the columns, so no square has a known value when it is claimed.

**Who wins a quarter in Super Bowl squares?**

Take the last digit of each team's score at the end of the quarter; the square where the row digit (one team) meets the column digit (the other team) wins that quarter.

**How many squares are in a pool?**

One hundred: ten rows by ten columns, each row and each column carrying one digit from 0 to 9 after the draw.

**Can I run a squares pool for free?**

Yes: Bikoosh Pools hosts a 100-square grid with the draw, the scoring and the board for free; a pro pool removes the limits and adds the exports, a corporate pool adds the company name and department standings.

Start a pool: https://bikoosh.com/pools/new
Bikoosh Pools is an independent tool, not affiliated with any league, team or broadcaster; team and event names are used to describe the game being followed. Bikoosh Pools never collects, holds or pays out money and never sets stakes: it keeps the grid, the picks and the standings for people who already know each other. Whether a pool carries any stake, and whether that is allowed where you are, is the host's responsibility.