Preseason Football Squares: Low-Pressure Practice

Nobody remembers who won the third preseason game. That's exactly why it's the best time to run your first preseason football squares board of the year.

The 2026 NFL regular season kicks off Wednesday, September 9, with the Seahawks hosting the Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch. Before that, there's a whole stretch of August football where the starters play a series and a half and the outcome means nothing. Preseason Week 3 runs Thursday, August 27 through Saturday, August 29. That window is a gift if you've got a group that's never played squares, or a group that plays every year but always spends the first real game confused about how the winning numbers work.

Run a board on a game nobody cares about, and the stakes of learning drop to zero.

Why preseason is the right training wheels

Squares is simple, but "simple" and "everyone in your group text actually understands it" are two different things. There's always someone who thinks they picked a number instead of a random square. There's always someone who doesn't get why the score at the end of the first quarter matters as much as the final. And there's always the person who asks, mid-game, whether they can trade squares (they can't, that's the whole point).

You do not want that person figuring it out during a Week 1 game with real bragging rights riding on it. Preseason gives everyone a low-stakes rep. The grid looks the same, the number draw works the same, the winners get marked the same way. The only thing missing is the pressure.

If your group is brand new to the format, send them our beginner's guide to football squares before the game and let the preseason board be the hands-on part. Reading how it works and watching your square hit are different kinds of learning, and the second one sticks.

Set it up exactly like you would in September

The mistake people make with a practice run is treating it as throwaway. Half-setting-up a board teaches half the lesson. If you want your group ready for the real thing, build the preseason board the way you'll build the regular-season one.

Pick a preseason game with some name recognition. A game where the starters are expected to play into the second quarter is better than one that's all backups by the first snap, because you want at least one or two real scoring changes so people see their numbers light up. Create the board, share the link, and let everyone claim squares over a day or two. Don't rush the fill. Watching squares get taken over time is part of how people learn the board isn't first-come-locked-in the way a seating chart is.

Then lock it and draw the numbers before kickoff. When the 0 through 9 digits land across the top and side, walk one or two people through reading their own square. That five-minute conversation in August saves you fifteen text messages in September.

Preseason quirks worth knowing

A couple of things behave differently in the preseason, and they're worth naming so nobody's thrown off.

Scoring can be lopsided and weird. Backup quarterbacks throw picks, third-string running backs fumble, and you get scores that would be strange in a real game. That's fine for squares. The format doesn't care how the points got on the board, only what the last digit of each team's score is at the end of a quarter.

Starters leave early. In a regular-season game, the score usually keeps climbing all four quarters. In preseason, the interesting football often happens in the first half and then both teams empty the bench. If you're using a board with per-quarter payouts, expect the early quarters to feel more alive than the fourth. That's actually a useful thing to demonstrate, because it shows your group that every quarter break is its own little event, not just the final.

There's no bracket pool angle here, so don't promise one. Bracket pools are a March Madness thing (men's and women's NCAA tournaments only). For football, squares is the game. If someone in your group loves brackets, tell them to circle March, and in the meantime the squares board is what August and the fall are built for.

Preseason as a fundraiser dry run

If you're planning to run squares as a fundraiser for a team, booster club, or school this fall, the preseason board is the ideal rehearsal. You get to test the whole flow (creating the board, sharing the link, collecting claims, drawing numbers, marking winners) on a game where a hiccup costs nothing. By the time the games count, you've already ironed out the awkward parts.

A quick note that matters: PickMySquare is free, and we never touch pool money. We don't process entry fees or prizes. Whatever your group runs as a snack pool or a bragging-rights pot is handled among yourselves, offline. The board is the scoreboard and the organizer, nothing more. If you're going the fundraiser route, our sports fundraiser ideas guide has more on structuring it cleanly.

From preseason board to a full season

Here's the part I actually like about starting in August. Once your group has run one board and gotten it, the door's open to keep going every week. The NFL squares every Sunday guide walks through running a board week after week without it becoming a chore. Preseason is where the habit starts.

Some groups spin up a fresh board every game. Others run one for the marquee matchup each week. Either way, the learning curve is behind you, because you spent a meaningless August game climbing it. By the September 9 opener, your group text isn't asking how squares work. It's arguing about who's getting the 7 next week.

Preseason Football Squares FAQ

Do preseason football squares work the same as regular-season ones?
Yes, exactly the same. You get a 10x10 grid, everyone claims squares, numbers are drawn randomly across each axis, and the last digit of each team's score at the end of a quarter determines the winning square. The only difference is that nothing's riding on it, which is the point.

Which preseason game should I use for a practice board?
Pick one where starters are expected to play at least into the second quarter, so you get a couple of real scoring changes. A nationally televised game is easier for a group to follow together. Preseason Week 3 (August 27 to 29 in 2026) usually features the longest starter run of the exhibition slate.

Can I run a bracket pool for football too?
No. Bracket pools on PickMySquare are for NCAA March Madness only (men's and women's tournaments). For all football, preseason through the Super Bowl, squares boards are the game.

How many people do I need for a preseason board?
You don't need all 100 squares filled. A practice board with 10 or 20 people works fine, and it actually makes the number draw easier to explain because folks can each hold a few squares and track them. You can leave squares open or split them however your group wants.

Does preseason scoring mess up the board?
Not at all. Squares only reads the final digit of each team's score at the quarter breaks. Weird backup-quarterback scores and lopsided halves don't break anything. If anything, the unpredictable scoring makes for a more interesting practice run.

What's the best way to teach a new group?
Set the board up for real, share the link a day or two ahead, and once the numbers are drawn, show a couple of people how to find their own square on the grid. Pair it with the strategy guide if anyone wants to understand why certain numbers hit more often. The live game does the rest of the teaching. Once your group's got the hang of it, running a Super Bowl squares board in January is the exact same five minutes with a lot more on the line.