The Big Game Party Games: Squares, Commercial Bingo and Family Fun

The best Big Game party games let people join in without missing the football. Put a shared squares board near the snack table, give casual viewers commercial bingo, and collect a few predictions before kickoff. Save an optional drawing game for a break when people want to step away from the screen.

The NFL’s official calendar lists the 2027 championship game for Sunday, February 14. That overlaps Valentine’s Day, so a family watch party can easily include heart-shaped decorations or a separate quiet activity table. These games also work for other televised football games throughout the season.

The calendar below uses the current second-Sunday-in-February planning pattern. The 2027 date is confirmed by the linked NFL calendar; later years are planning estimates and should be checked against the league’s announced schedule before invitations go out.

Holiday dates for planning

The Big Game (planning date) date reference

Choose games that fit your guests

Choose two games if you want a low-preparation evening. Squares and bingo can run quietly in the background; predictions take only a few minutes. Nobody has to join every activity, and the television never needs to pause for a game announcement.

1. No-money football squares

Draw a grid with 10 rows and 10 columns, plus a blank header above every column and beside every row. Write one team’s name across the top as Team A and the other down the side as Team B. The interior gives you 100 spaces for names.

Before adding any digits, let guests take turns claiming one empty square at a time. Give everyone the same number of turns. For example, 12 people could take eight squares each, leaving four unclaimed. Mark unused squares HOUSE; those squares have no winner. Keep this version a friendly guessing game with no entry fee or money involved.

Once names are fixed, write 0 through 9 on ten slips, shuffle them, and draw them without replacement. Fill the top headers from left to right in the order drawn. Use a separately shuffled set of 0-9 slips for the left headers, filling from top to bottom. Leave the digits in place all evening.

At the end of the first, second and third quarters, use the last digit of each team’s cumulative score to find a square. Check once more at the final result, including overtime if played. If Team A has 17 and Team B has 10, find the column headed 7 and the row headed 0. Their intersection wins that checkpoint.

Record each checkpoint separately. The same person can win more than once, and a HOUSE square means no guest wins that checkpoint. Explain this before kickoff so nobody expects a new draw or a substitute winner. A small cheer or choosing the next break-time activity is plenty of recognition.

The Big Game Party Game Pack includes a ready-to-print board, two digit-slip sets, score record and full host instructions, alongside the bingo and games below.

2. Commercial bingo for casual viewers

Make a 5-by-5 grid with a free center and fill the other squares with things guests might spot in ads: a dog, a pizza, someone dancing, a robot, a beach or a car driving. Give players different arrangements and selections. The printable pack supplies 12 different cards drawn from 32 prompts, plus a host definition sheet.

Play the first round from kickoff until halftime. Count only paid commercials; exclude game footage, program promos and the halftime performance. Mark squares when their objects or actions actually appear. A spoken mention of a dog does not count as seeing a dog. One commercial may match several squares, such as a talking cartoon dog matching a dog, a cartoon character and a talking animal.

Five marked squares in a row, column or diagonal wins, with the center already free. Wait until the commercial ends to check claims, and recognize everyone who completes a valid line during that same commercial. A hand signal works just as well as calling out.

Ads vary by station, location and streaming service, so no set of cards can promise a bingo. If nobody gets a line by halftime, count marked non-free squares; the highest count wins and ties share the win. Clear the boards for a second-half round ending at the final whistle. Repeat ads can count when they air within the new round.

For younger children, play in reader-and-child pairs. They can spot the pictures on television while a partner finds the matching words. For a mixed group, announce clear matches after each commercial so quieter players can keep up.

3. Before-kickoff predictions

Invite everyone to choose answers to these six questions before play begins:

1. Which team will win: A or B?
2. Which team will lead at halftime: A, B or tied?
3. Which team will score first: A, B or neither?
4. Will the game go to overtime: yes or no?
5. Will the combined final score be 0-39, 40-59 or 60-plus points?
6. Will the final winning margin be 0-7, 8-14 or 15-plus points?

Award one point per correct prediction, for six possible points. Use final scores including overtime. For the margin, subtract the lower score from the higher score. Someone who picked a team because they like its colors has just as much right to celebrate a correct guess.

Ask each player to write an exact combined-final-points guess as a tie-breaker. Among people tied on correct answers, the guess with the smallest absolute difference wins; going over is allowed. If two guesses are equally close, share the win. Keep the sheets together so choices stay fixed after kickoff.

4. Halftime draw and guess

This is an optional break activity for guests who are not watching the halftime show. Divide into two teams and alternate turns. A player draws a prompt while teammates guess, using no letters or numbers. Allow 45 seconds per turn, or agree on more time before starting.

Try prompts such as a football flying over goalposts, popcorn jumping out of a bowl, or a fan holding a giant foam finger. Award one point for a matching idea and zero for a pass. With twelve prompts, give each team six turns, using every prompt once. Teams tied at the end share the win.

Keep the drawing area away from the screen and snack line. A seated version works well, and anyone who would rather guess than draw can stay in that role. The pack’s twelve cut-apart cards save you from writing prompts during the party.

A simple host timeline

About 20 minutes before kickoff, explain squares and let everyone claim spaces. Draw the headers only after names are settled, then collect predictions. Hand out bingo cards and explain what counts before the first round begins.

During the game, check squares at each planned checkpoint. Keep the score record near the board so guests can look without asking you. At halftime, finish the bingo round and offer drawing to anyone who wants it. After the final score, settle the last squares checkpoint and score predictions.

If Valentine’s activities are part of the same gathering, put a separate Valentine’s classroom-style game station at another table. Choose a quiet drawing or kindness activity instead of trying to make everyone follow two sets of rules at once.

Optional football-themed supplies

As an Amazon Associate, Happy Holiday Hotspot earns from qualifying purchases. The following Amazon link is a paid link.

For the snack table, LINHAXM football-shaped paper plates add the football theme without choosing a particular team. Keep food plates separate from bowls used for digit slips or game pieces.

Questions hosts often ask

Can we play without buying a printable?

Yes. Use the instructions above with ordinary paper, pencils and homemade grids. The pack adds prepared pages, twelve bingo cards and organized host references.

What if more than 12 people want bingo?

Play in pairs or small teams, giving each team one different card. Duplicate cards can produce identical winners; avoid treating that as a surprise. More than one different card can also win during the same ad.

Can we use this for another football game?

Yes. Write in the teams, use that game’s scores and play with the commercials you receive. The PDF has no year, roster or team-specific trivia to update.

For a separate game night, the Host-Your-Own Trivia Night Kit gives families four quiz rounds without needing a television.