Super Bowl Squares: Setup Guide, Rules and Strategy for Patriots vs. Rams

You have decided to host a Super Bowl party, and perhaps it's the first time you have decided to take on this responsibility.

Yes, everybody wants to have a great time, and you have got all the recreational beverages you need and made arrangements for tremendous food. In addition to the staples of wings, chili, nachos, and pizza, you have decided to treat the crowd to bacon-wrapped scallops—just about the best thing going.

By the time this party is over, you will have friends for life.

But as appealing and as your party is, you want to make sure everyone stays involved in the Super Bowl. You decide to offer a Super Bowl Squares game. It's easy, it's fun and, depending on how much you play for, it can be lucrative.

Basically, you need to have a super-sized Super Bowl party if you are just going to get your guests involved. However, you might want to offer it to co-workers, neighbors and relatives as well because you have 100 squares to sell.

On a piece of paper, draw a large square, perhaps 12 inches by 12 inches. Inside that square, divide it into 10 columns and 10 rows. It will look something like this.

Across the top of the square, write out the numbers 0 through 9 in a random order. Do the same thing along the left edge, going 0 through 9 in any order, top to bottom.

Write down the Patriots over the top row and the Rams outside of the left-hand column of numbers.

Now you are ready to go. Find enough people who are willing to play. That means 100 squares are there to be purchased before the ball is kicked in the air in at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

You can sell each square for whatever price your guests are willing to pay. If people are willing to pay $10 per square, that's $1,000 that will go in the prize pool. If they are willing to pay more, you will have 100 times the amount you are selling each square for, assuming you sell out.

Then comes the process of assigning numbers. You will pull names out of a hat in order to assign participants their spots on the grid.

Let's say co-worker Jim's name goes over the spot that corresponds to the 7 on the Patriots side of the board and the 3 on the Rams side. 

That means that if the score ends up with seven as the second digit for the Patriots and three for the second digit for the Rams, co-worker Jim wins. Some numbers are better than others in this game. Usually, the ones that end in 0, 3 and 7 are most likely to pay off.

However, those numbers don't always have the advantage, especially with the popularity of the two-point conversion. A touchdown and a two-point conversion is an 8-0 lead, not a 7-0 advantage.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

In addition to paying off at the end of the game, small prizes can be offered for the matching scores at the end of each quarter, with the big prize coming at the end of the game.

With a $1,000 pool, you may want to pay off $100 for each of the first three quarters. If the final score is 31-28 Patriots, the player who has the "1" in the New England column and the "8" in the Los Angeles row is the winner. The final score winner may earn $500.

The extra $200 can go for expenses—remember that spread you put out—or you may want to donate it to charity. Or you could simply up the prize.

Find people who are willing to participate, and go have some fun on Super Bowl Sunday.