25 Square Football Pool
A 25 square football pool is a 5x5 board where every column and every row holds two digits instead of one, so each square covers four different score combinations and there are only a quarter as many squares to fill as on the classic board. Print the sheet below for any NFL or college game, or Create a Board online, pick 25 squares, and let Play Squares draw the numbers and follow the score for you.
How does a 25 square football pool work?
It works like the classic 10x10 board, except the ten digits on each side get split into five pairs, so a square wins whenever the last digits of the score match either digit in its column and either digit in its row. Players claim their squares first, and only once the board is full do the numbers get randomized, which is what keeps every square's chances equal.
25 squares available
On the board above, the home team sits along the top and the away team runs down the side, and each header cell shows the two digits that column or row covers. Scoring runs on the usual four scoring periods, meaning the first quarter, halftime, the third quarter and the last prize at the end of the game, and a quarter where nobody scores still has a winner, which is whoever holds the square covering 0 for both teams.
Which scores does one square cover?
Every square covers the four combinations you get by pairing its two column digits with its two row digits. On the board above, the top-left square sits under the Seahawks' 4 and 2 and next to the Patriots' 0 and 6, so all four of these scores would land on that one square.
| Score at the end of a quarter | Last digits (Seahawks and Patriots) |
|---|---|
| Seahawks 14, Patriots 10 | 4 and 0 |
| Seahawks 24, Patriots 16 | 4 and 6 |
| Seahawks 22, Patriots 20 | 2 and 0 |
| Seahawks 12, Patriots 6 | 2 and 6 |
This is the bit that confuses people who've only played the 100-square version, so it's worth showing the table to your group before the game. Nobody holds a single exact score on this board, so a 7 to 3 quarter doesn't point at one exact square the way it would on a 10x10 board, and instead it pays whoever holds the column containing the 7 and the row containing the 3, a square that also wins on three other pairings.
How are the numbers drawn on a 25 square board?
You randomize the digits 0 to 9 once for the top and once for the side, then pair them off in the order they came out, so the first two digits drawn share the first column, the next two share the second, and so on. That's exactly how the board above was filled, with the Seahawks' draw coming out 4, 2, 8, 1, 5, 0, 6, 3, 9, 7.
On paper, write both digits into each band cell once the last square is claimed, and never before, because a sheet that already shows its numbers lets whoever claims last see exactly which scores their square covers. The football squares number generator runs the draw on a phone in front of everyone, and on a Play Squares board the randomizing happens on the board itself, so there's nothing to copy over and nobody can say it was done out of sight.
Should you run 25 squares or 100?
Run 25 squares when you want a board that fills quickly and gives every square four ways to win, and run 100 when you want the classic game where each square is one exact pair of digits. A smaller group can still fill a 100-square board by claiming several squares each, so the real question is how many squares you want to fill and how your group likes to play.
| 25 squares (5x5) | 100 squares (10x10) | |
|---|---|---|
| Squares to fill | 25 | 100 |
| Digits in each band cell | 2 per column and row | 1 per column and row |
| Score pairings per square | 4 of the 100 | 1 of the 100 |
| Chance of a repeat winner | Higher, since each square covers more | Lower |
The host still decides the price of a square and what each quarter pays before the draw, the same as on any board, and how hosts split the prizes covers the options in detail. For the 10-square and 4-square formats as well, how many squares are in a football pool compares every size side by side.
Can you run a 25 square pool online?
Yes, and on Play Squares you pick 25 squares when you set up the board, share one link, and your players claim their own squares from their phones. Once the board is full the digits are randomized on the board, and for NFL and college football games the score is tracked automatically.
While a quarter is still being played, the board highlights the square that's on track to win if the score holds, which matters more on a 25 square board than anywhere else, since players have to work out which of four pairings they're rooting for. Everyone checks the board for themselves instead of texting you to ask whether their square is still alive. The football squares online page walks through how a board runs on game day, and Super Bowl squares covers the same setup for the biggest game of the year. If you'd rather print a 100-square sheet for a different game, the football squares template prints both sizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you play a 25 square football pool?
Is one square on a 25 square pool the same as four on a 100 square pool?
Can the same square win more than once?
What happens with overtime in a 25 square pool?
How does a 25 square Super Bowl pool work?
Can you do a 50 square football pool?
Want the 25 square board to run itself?
Play Squares randomizes the digits, keeps track of every claimed square and shows the winning square live as the score changes, so your players follow every quarter from their own phones. Set up your 25 square football pool in minutes.