By Ryan Parker · Tips for organizers who want to get it right
Setting up a football squares game takes about a minute. Setting up a great one takes just a little more thought. Here are the things that separate a forgettable grid from one that people ask you to run again next year.
The number one mistake organizers make is creating the game too late. If you are running squares for the Super Bowl, create the game at least a week before. For a regular season NFL or NBA game, two or three days is usually enough.
The earlier you share the link, the more time people have to claim squares at their own pace. Last-minute games end up with half-empty boards, which is less fun for everyone.
When you create your game, there is a field for a custom message that appears at the top of the game page. Use it. A brief, friendly message sets the tone and gives players context. Something like "Annual office Super Bowl squares. Claim up to 3 squares each. Bragging rights to the winners. Good luck!" is perfect.
This is especially helpful for groups where not everyone has played before. The message is the first thing players see, so it is a good place to set expectations.
If you are running squares for a real game, link it to the scheduled matchup during setup. This enables automatic score tracking, which means you do not have to manually enter scores at the end of each period. The system pulls scores automatically, and winners are highlighted on the grid without any effort from you.
Live scoring is available for NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL games. Scores may be delayed by up to 10 minutes, but they update automatically and you can always correct them manually if needed.
If your game is for a specific group (your office, your family, your friend circle), set a player password. This keeps random people from stumbling onto your game and claiming squares. Include the password in the message when you share the link, and your group is all set.
A full board of 100 squares is more fun than a half-empty one. If your group is smaller than 100 people (which it almost certainly is), let each person claim multiple squares. For a group of 20, five squares per person fills the board perfectly. For a group of 10, you might allow up to 10 each.
If you are still short on squares close to game time, use the admin quick-assign feature to fill remaining squares. You can assign them to people who want extras or spread them around evenly.
After watching thousands of games run on this site, the same three organizer mistakes come up again and again. First, assigning numbers too early: the moment digits are visible, empty squares stop selling, because nobody wants the leftover 2-5 square. Wait until the board is as full as it is going to get. Second, forgetting to lock the grid before kickoff, which invites the classic dispute where someone swears their name was on the winning square an hour ago. Lock it and the change log settles every argument. Third, sharing the link without a note about how many squares each person can take, so one enthusiastic cousin claims twenty and everyone else gets three. A one-line custom message fixes that before it starts.
Standard scoring works for most games. The With Overtime format is worth considering for big events where overtime would add extra excitement. For a detailed comparison of the two formats, see our post on how overtime works in football squares.
For more tips on getting the most out of your game, check out our Tips & Strategies page and our FAQ.
Ryan Parker
Ryan builds and runs OnlineFootballSquares.com, and has been organizing squares games for family gatherings and office parties for years — which is exactly why the site exists. He personally answers every support email. Questions or corrections? Get in touch.