🏈 Commissioner setup guide

Classic Squares — Commissioner Setup Guide

Every Classic Squares setting explained — claiming squares, linking or entering the game, random numbers at kickoff, quarter/half/final payouts, reverse & row-column bonuses, entry price and the organizer cut, and paying winners per period.

Classic Squares (football squares) pool commissioners · 7 min read

Classic Squares is the format everyone already knows: a single 10×10 grid tied to one game — the Super Bowl, a bowl game, a rivalry matchup. Participants claim squares, you draw the numbers, and whoever lands on the score at the end of each quarter wins a slice of the pot.

It’s the easiest pool to explain to a new player and the fastest to fill a room. This guide covers every setting you control, from claiming squares to when the numbers reveal to how the payouts split.

Creating your pool

Classic Squares is created directly — no multi-step wizard.

Contest name: What players see on the link and the join page, e.g. “2026 Super Bowl Squares.”
Price per square: What you collect for each of the 100 squares. Sellable revenue is simply 100 × this price at a full board.
Limit squares per participant: Off by default (players can claim as many as they want). Turn it on and set a max to spread squares across more people.
Show square numbers (1–100): Numbers each square 1–100 so players can reference their square in a payment note.

The game

Link a real game: Pick from the live game library (by sport, league, and team) on the grid’s Settings tab — home team, away team, kickoff time, and location fill in automatically.
Manual game details: Not linking a library game? Enter the home team, away team, date/time, and location yourself. These are overrides if a library game is linked, or the source of truth if not.
Grid locks at kickoff: The grid closes to new claims automatically at game time. You can also set an earlier lock time to cut off sales sooner.

Numbers: assignment & reveal

Who assigns the numbers: CAS random draw (recommended) generates the 0–9 row and column numbers for you, or enter them manually if you drew them another way.
When numbers apply: “Same all game” uses one set of numbers for every quarter (the classic format), or “per payout” draws separate numbers for each payout period.
Reveal numbers: Numbers stay hidden as “?” until they’re revealed. Default is when the grid locks (i.e., at kickoff) — recommended so no one can shop for a better square. You can also reveal at game time, when all squares are claimed or paid, manually, or immediately.
Reveal at a specific date & timePro: Schedule the reveal for an exact moment rather than tying it to an event.
Keep selling after numbers are drawn: Off by default. Turn on to let players keep claiming unsold squares even after the numbers are visible, right up until the grid locks.
Unsold squares at lock: Assign unsold squares to the club (recommended — every number is covered, and the club keeps any winnings on them) or leave them blank (a winning number on a blank square pays no one).

Payout periods & ways to win

Set on the Rules tab; dollar amounts are set on the Payouts tab.

Payout periods: Add any combination of End of 1st Quarter, Halftime, End of 3rd Quarter, and End of Game. The classic split is all four.
Exact square: The square matching the home and away score’s last digits at that period wins. Available on every plan.
Reverse (mirror) squarePro: Also pays the square with the home/away digits swapped — doubles the winners per period.
Winning row & columnPro: Pays every square across the winning row and down the winning column (18 squares total) instead of just the intersection — a broader, more social payout style.

Entry price, pot & organizer cut

Sellable revenue: Price per square × 100 at a full board — shown automatically on the Payouts tab.
Organizer cut: What you keep before prizes are paid — a percentage of the pool, a flat total, or a flat amount per square ($/sq). The prize pool is always shown net of it. No fundraising add-on required.
Payout basisPro: “Full grid — guaranteed” pays the exact dollar amounts you set based on a full 100-square board. “Scales with sales” grows the pool as squares sell, with a live projected payout for buyers and an optional guaranteed minimum you cover if the board doesn’t sell out.
Per-period payouts: Enter a dollar amount per winning square for each period, use “Even per square” to split evenly, or “Distribute remaining” to fill in whatever’s left of the pool.

Running multiple grids

Add another grid: Once one 100-square grid fills (or any time), add another with its own price, rules, and payouts — useful for overflow demand. Your plan sets how many grids a pool can have; upgrade or add the Extra Grids add-on for more.
Auto-create another grid: Automatically spawn a new grid once a set number of squares sell on this one (e.g. at 90/100), optionally only if that happens by a deadline.
Assign squares manually: Hand-assign open squares to a guest (no account needed) or an existing participant — mark them paid and credit a seller for tracking.

Finalizing & paying winners

Enter or sync scores: Record the score at each payout period on the Scores tab as the game progresses.
Finalize & pay winners: Each period’s winning square (or squares, for reverse and row & column) is computed automatically once scores are in. Winners appear in Payout Assist with one-tap pay links.

FAQ

How do football squares payouts work?

You choose which periods pay out — typically End of 1st Quarter, Halftime, End of 3rd Quarter, and End of Game — and set a dollar amount (or a share of the pool) each winning square receives. The square matching the last digit of each team’s score at that period wins.

When are the numbers revealed?

By default, numbers stay hidden until the grid locks — which happens automatically at kickoff — so nobody can shop for a better square while claiming. You can change this to reveal at game time, once all squares are claimed or paid, on a schedule, or manually.

What’s a “reverse” or mirror square?

It’s an optional second way to win each period: the square with the home and away digits swapped from the exact winner also pays out, doubling the winners per period. It’s a Pro Commissioner feature you turn on per payout period.

Can squares pay out by winning row and column instead of one square?

Yes — “winning row & column” pays all 18 squares across the winning row and down the winning column instead of just the intersection square. It’s a Pro Commissioner way-to-win you add alongside or instead of exact/reverse.

What happens if the grid doesn’t sell out?

With the default “full grid — guaranteed” payout basis, you set fixed dollar prizes regardless of how many squares sell. If you turn on the Pro “scales with sales” option, the pool grows with sales and you can set a guaranteed minimum you’ll cover yourself.

How does the organizer cut work?

On the Settings tab you set a cut as a percentage of the pool, a flat total, or a flat amount per square — the prize pool shown on the Payouts tab is always net of it. It works the same way for every entry-fee contest and doesn’t require the fundraising add-on.

Ready to run yours?

Set it up in a few minutes — every option here is right there in the wizard.

Start a Squares pool →