sports

How to Play Super Bowl Betting Squares

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Example fun super bowl betting board with squares and names.

Square board betting chart for super bowl party.

Super Bowl Betting Squares is a fun (mostly random) betting game for your Super Bowl party. If you’re hosting friends and family to watch the Super Bowl this year, you’ll want to include this game as part of your fun. Everyone, from kids to grandparents, and even non-football fans can enjoy the game when they participate in a Super Bowl Betting Squares game.

It may take a bit of convincing at first. But the people who toss $5-$20 into this fun Super Bowl betting game will be happy they did. And your hardcore sports betting friends won’t have an advantage. This isn’t an over-under bet. You’re not choosing sides. It’s pure, random fun.

How Super Bowl Betting Squares Work

All the money put in the pot will be distributed by the end of the game. So if you’re doing $1 per square, then all $100 that goes in will end up in participants’ pockets. This means Grandma might win $15, and niece Lily could be the big winner with $35. Big John might walk away with $5, and most people likely will win nothing.

But when you see your friend who doesn’t care about football rooting for a Chiefs field-goal in the 3rd quarter because it means they’ll win $5, you’ll know you’ve just upped your Super Bowl Party level to the next level. Here’s how to create a fun 10×10 square Super Bowl betting squares chart that’s fun for everyone who plays.

Materials

  • Poster board
  • Magic marker (black, permanent)
  • Deck of cards (or random numbers 0-9)
  • Basket, hat, or bowl (for the money)

Set-up

  1. Draw lines dividing the poster board into 11 x 11 squares (draw 10 lines horizontal, and 10 vertical).
    1. Pro-tip: Leave a little space on the top and left edge to write the team names.
  2. Write the team names. On the top edge write one Team Name (49ers), and on the left edge write the other Team Name (Chiefs)
  3. Have people buy squares for $1 each.
    1. The total pot will be $100 if you fill up the board. Participants aren’t betting on any team to win or any specific score. You’re essentially just buying a “ticket” to play (each square = a “ticket”).
    2. Pro-tip: Try really hard to fill-up the board. Buy all the empty squares leftover for yourself if you have to.
    3. Note: If you don’t fill up the board, it’s okay. If an empty square wins, then nobody gets paid. Everyone will be disappointed and maybe they’ll buy more squares next year!
  4. People write their names in any of the inner 10×10 squares (it’s random). Just write your name in any square. $1/square.
    1. Pro-tip: Fill the squares before kick-off. If people will arrive after kick-off, call them beforehand. Have them commit $5 or $10 to squares and you can write their names in for them beforehand. Remember, it’s random anyway, so there’s no disadvantage. They could still end up big winners!
  5. Add the numbers to the top row and left column.
    1. IMPORTANT: the numbers are filled in AFTER all the names are written in the squares. This keeps it random, and allows everyone to have an equal, random chance of winning. Use the deck of cards to draw random numbers for each square in the top row and left column. Fill them in with numbers 0-9 (yes, include 0). Don’t do it in order. Make it random!

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How I Accidently Participated in a 15K Mountain Biking Race

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Well, it was half on accident, half on purpose. Obviously I could’ve taken a different route. But, when you accidentally ride your brand new 24-speed mountain bike to the beginning of a mountain biking race that’s going up the same routes you were planning to ride, why wouldn’t you ride along?

I woke up this morning with the intention to ride up the mountain. The only difference today was that I decided to ride by the nearby soccer field to see if anybody was out playing. I wanted a little outdoor activity and I was willing to jump in a pick-up soccer game, basketball game, or even a game a catch. What I got was a 15 kilometer mountain biking race!

I didn’t jump in the front of course. I waited until the slackers were making their way around the start of the track before I headed off in the same direction. We started along the road in front my University, and took a right up the road that runs along the reservoir. When the cherry blossoms are in bloom, this is one of the most beautiful roads in the world on which I’ve been.

The reservoir road runs up the mountain and gets real steep real quick. Pumping away in my lowest gear, most of us were crawling up the mountain. Yes, many of us hopped off our bikes and pushed them up until the path leveled out a bit. But, man, once we got to the top and it started downhill – I quickly flipped to my highest gear and FLEW down the mountain. I’ve ridden this trail a few times, so I knew when to slow down and when to let it go, and I was able to blow past a few of the race participants.

All-in-all, I rode for about an hour and a half up and down the mountains behind where I live. After the race, I stopped to chat with one of the more serious competitors and he informed me that it was a 15 km race. He was from a city about an hour away and had driven here just for the race.

Check out the video below for a taste of the views. What a beautiful day!