Guide to Squares Contests
Get Your Squares. Wait for the Numbers. Follow the Score.
What Is a Squares Contest?
A Squares contest is a sports contest played on a grid of 100 squares. Each square stands for one pairing of the last digit of each team's score.
You don't pick a winner, a spread or a final score. You get your squares, the numbers are drawn after the game begins, and the score decides which square wins each paying period.
BracketContest Squares contests are offered mainly for football games, such as Monday, Thursday and Sunday night NFL games. Each contest page shows the game, the teams, the square price, the prize pool and the periods that pay.
How Do Squares Contests Work?
Choose a Squares Contest
Pick an open contest and review its game, square price or entry requirement, prize pool, deadline and payout table.
Get Your Squares
Depending on the contest, select available squares on the grid or receive squares assigned at random. A square is yours once the entry is accepted and appears on the grid. You can hold more than one square unless the contest says otherwise.
The Grid Locks
Entries close at the time shown for the contest. After the grid locks, squares can't be changed.
The Numbers Are Drawn
After the game begins, the digits 0 to 9 are randomly assigned to the 10 rows of one team and the 10 columns of the other, at the time shown on the contest page.
Follow the Score
At the end of each paying period, the last digit of each team's cumulative score points to the winning square.
Collect Your Prize
The owner of the winning square receives that period's share of the net prize pool.
How the Grid and the Numbers Work
The grid has 10 rows for one team and 10 columns for the other. Each axis contains the digits 0 through 9 exactly once, so the 100 squares cover every possible pairing of last digits.
Because the digits are drawn after the game begins, nobody knows which pairing a square represents when they enter.
The team labels on the grid and the assigned digits decide which score combination belongs to each square. The completed grid and the draw stay visible in the contest record.
Your squares show your Squares alias, the name you set in your profile.
How Is a Winning Square Determined?
At the end of each paying period, take the last digit of each team's cumulative score at that moment and find the square where those two digits meet.
- A team with 17 points contributes the digit 7.
- A team with 20 points contributes the digit 0.
- The winning numbers use the cumulative game score, not the points scored during that period alone.
- The same square can win more than one period. Each period is settled separately.
The score is Team A 7, Team B 3 after the first quarter, and Team A 17, Team B 10 at halftime.
- First quarter numbers: 7 and 3
- Halftime numbers: 7 and 0
The halftime winner is based on the 17-10 score, not on the second-quarter points of 10-7.
How Are Squares Prizes Paid?
Unless a contest shows a different payout table before entry, the net prize pool is paid like this:
- End of the first quarter: 20%
- Halftime: 20%
- End of the third quarter: 20%
- Final score, including overtime if played: 40%
The net prize pool is the total prize pool after any fee or deduction shown on the contest page before entry. If one square wins several periods, its owner receives the sum of those prizes.
Overtime, Postponed Games and Unclaimed Squares
Overtime doesn't add an extra paying period under the default table. The final prize uses the official final score after any overtime, and quarter prizes use the score at the end of the regulation quarter.
If the game is officially postponed, the Squares contest is canceled and doesn't carry over to the rescheduled game. Entries are returned under the posted payment terms.
Every square must have an owner before the numbers are drawn. When player entries close, the house takes any unclaimed squares, and if a house square matches a winning score, the house receives that period's prize. Squares are never reassigned after the draw.
Squares vs. Pick'em
In Pick'em you predict the winners of a group of games. In Squares you don't make predictions: the random draw assigns the numbers and you follow every score of the game.
If you'd rather make the calls yourself, read the Pick'em guide.
Frequently Asked Questions About Squares Contests
What is a Squares contest?
A Squares contest is played on a 10 by 10 grid. Each square represents one pairing of the last digit of each team's score, and the square that matches the score at the end of a paying period wins that period's prize.
Do I need to pick the winner of the game?
No. You don't predict a winner, a spread or a final score. Your squares and the numbers drawn after the game begins decide whether you win.
Can I choose my squares?
It depends on the contest. Some contests let you choose available squares and others assign squares at random. The contest page shows which method it uses.
When are the numbers drawn?
The digits 0 to 9 are randomly assigned to the rows and columns after the game begins, at the time shown on the contest page.
How many squares can I have?
You can hold more than one square unless the specific contest says otherwise.
Does the halftime score use only second-quarter points?
No. Every paying period uses each team's cumulative score at the end of that period.
What happens in overtime?
Under the default payout table, overtime doesn't create an extra period. The final prize uses the official final score, including overtime.
What happens if the game is postponed?
The Squares contest is canceled and doesn't carry over to the rescheduled game. Entries are returned under the posted payment terms and no prizes are paid from that contest.
Where are the full Squares rules?
The official Squares rules are on the Contest Rules page, and each contest shows its own price, prize pool and payout table before you enter.
Ready for Your Squares?
Pick an open Squares contest, get your squares and follow the score to see if your numbers come up.