25 square football pool
The small-party version: a 5 × 5 grid, 25 squares. Every row and every column carries two digits, so each square covers four score combinations and has a 1 in 25 chance each quarter.
Payout examples
25 squares sold, a common split| Per square | Pot | 1st quarter (20%) | Halftime (20%) | 3rd quarter (20%) | Final (40%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | $25 | $5 | $5 | $5 | $10 |
| $5 | $125 | $25 | $25 | $25 | $50 |
| $10 | $250 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $100 |
| $20 | $500 | $100 | $100 | $100 | $200 |
Which numbers win
NFL final scores, 1999–2025 seasons, 7,276 games| Last digit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of team scores | 17% | 9.8% | 4.2% | 13.1% | 14% | 4.3% | 8.7% | 16.8% | 6.5% | 5.6% |
Other sizes and formats
Other grids
Questions
How does a 25 square football pool work?
Draw the digits 0–9 in pairs across the five columns for one team, and again in pairs down the five rows for the other. The last digit of each team's score sits in exactly one column and one row; the square where they meet wins.
How many people do you need?
Anything from 5 to 25. With five people, everyone takes five squares; with 12 or 13, two each. Fewer squares also means it fills fast enough to draw numbers before kickoff.
Are some squares better than others?
After the draw, yes. A square whose column and row both include 0, 3, 4 or 7 covers the most common football scores. Before the draw all 25 are equal, which is why numbers are drawn last.