Super Bowl 51 Boxes Graphic
The Patriots and Falcons will clash in Super Bowl LI Sunday, Feb. 5 in Houston. IBTimes

Over the years, Super Bowl boxes have become a hit for casual gamblers. The pool game often enhances the viewing experience at parties and bars, particularly for those who only have mild interest in the outcome.

Either called “Super Bowl Boxes” or “Super Bowl Squares,” the pool may look complicated to the uninitiated, but once the rules are laid out it's fairly easy to understand and keep track of throughout the biggest football game of the year. This year, Super Bowl LI (51), pits the AFC’s New England Patriots against the NFC’s Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Feb. 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston Texas.

Rules

As the picture of our pool shows, the Patriots are on top, or the x-axis, and the Falcons are on the left, or the y-axis, of the pool.

Before picking boxes – some play by picking random boxes but others allow for picking your own, it all depends on your or your party host’s preference – the numbers 0 through 9 are written down on paper, then torn up and placed in a hat.

From there, the numbers are randomly plucked from the hat and then assigned to the top row for New England and then Atlanta’s side row. A player could pick Atlanta first as well -- again it's up to the pool/party host.

Once all the numbers are assigned, picking or assigning the boxes starts. Typically, the pool prize is collected by charging each player for each box. It can be any amount, but some spend $1 to as much as $10 or more.

How To Win

The goal of the game is to have or pick numbers that you think will be the final result of the first, second, third and fourth quarters. For example, if Atlanta is up 10-3 by the end of the first quarter, whichever pool player as Atlanta’s “0” box and New England’s “3” box would win the first payout. The same goes for the other quarters and the biggest payout often goes to the player who has the boxes that make up the final score of the game.

When in a pool that allows player to pick boxes, the most coveted numbers are usually 0s, 1s, 3s, 4s, 6s and 7s.

Download the printable pool here.