Super Bowl party games can fit into the gaps in the broadcast: the commercial breaks and halftime. These games are built so no one has to stop watching to play, and a guest who does not follow football can still take part.
Each game has a setup, how to play, how it ends, a rough time band marked as our estimate and a note on who it suits. Pick two or three for the room you have, and keep the rest for next time.
Super Bowl Party Games That Fit the Broadcast
Good Super Bowl party games run in the gaps of the broadcast, the commercial breaks and halftime, so nobody has to stop watching to play. Start with these five:
- Super Bowl bingo, with a separate card for each guest
- A points-only prediction card, filled out before kickoff
- A snack draft, played in turns at the food table
- Paper football, a flick game for the breaks
- A halftime trivia round played in two teams
We designed all nine games ourselves. Besides the five above, the page covers a commercial rating scorecard, a buzzword jar, tailgate yard games and minute to win it football challenges. The table gives the basics for each one. Time bands are our estimates, not measured lengths.
| Game | When to Play | Rough Time (Our Estimate) | Who It Suits | Supplies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl bingo | Whole broadcast | Runs all game (our estimate) | Mixed fans and non-fans | Printed cards, bingo daubers |
| Commercial rating scorecard | Commercial breaks | A minute per ad (our estimate) | Mixed fans and non-fans | Index cards, pens |
| Points-only prediction card | Before kickoff | 10 minutes to fill in (our estimate) | Fans and friendly rivals | Index cards, pens |
| Snack draft | Before kickoff or halftime | 10 to 15 minutes (our estimate) | Any crowd with a snack table | Dry erase board, snack table |
| Paper football | Commercial breaks | Rounds of 5 minutes (our estimate) | Kids, teens and competitive adults | Kraft paper roll, plastic cups |
| Halftime trivia in two teams | Halftime | 15 to 20 minutes (our estimate) | Groups of 6 or more | Index cards, dry erase board |
| Buzzword jar | Whole broadcast | Runs all game (our estimate) | Talkative rooms | Index cards, a jar |
| Tailgate yard games | Before kickoff, outdoors | 30 to 60 minutes (our estimate) | Groups with a yard | Cornhole set, ring toss game |
| Minute to win it football challenges | Halftime or a break | 10 to 20 minutes (our estimate) | Teams and kids | Mini footballs, plastic cups |
Games for the Commercial Breaks and Quiet Games
A game blocks the screen when guests must watch the TV and the table at the same time. Split the lineup into two kinds of game before you set up.
Quiet games do not block the screen. Bingo, the prediction card (filled in before kickoff and scored at the end) and the buzzword jar run without pulling guests away from the screen. Break games need the table or the yard, so the scorecard, paper football and minute challenges wait for a commercial break or halftime, and the snack draft runs before kickoff or at halftime.
Name one person as the host. The host watches for breaks, starts each break game and keeps the tally, so no other guest has to look away from the TV to track points.
Super Bowl Bingo Cards and Winning Patterns
Bingo is one of the games on this list. You generate the cards, print them and call words from one pool. The free bingo card generator needs no sign-up. It builds a separate shuffled card for each guest, prints one card per page with a call sheet and makes up to 60 cards per batch. Full rules are on the Super Bowl bingo page.
Count your guests and add a few spares. Thirty guests plus 3 spares is 33 cards, which fits in one batch. Seventy guests plus 3 spares is 73 cards, which takes two batches.
Each card uses 24 words plus an optional free center. A pool of exactly 24 would give every card the same words, so put 30 to 40 words in the pool. Pick words the whole room can follow, such as a timeout, a flag on the field, a snack refill (house squares) or someone leaving the room (house squares).
The generator supports five winning patterns:
- Single Line
- Four Corners
- Postage Stamp, a 2x2 block in a corner
- Outer Frame, the 16 border squares
- Blackout, all 25 squares
On a 36-word pool, a single-line round often ends after roughly 12 to 15 calls. A blackout can run as long as all 36 calls. Choose the pattern that fits how long you want bingo to last.
Rating Ads, Predicting Plays and Drafting Snacks
Commercial Rating Scorecard
Give each guest an index card as a ballot. As each commercial airs, the host writes its number on the cards. As each commercial airs, the host announces its number and guests write a 1 to 5 rating beside it.
The ballots use numbers instead of brand names, so no one has to name a company or an ad. At halftime, the host averages the ratings for each ad rated so far and reads the averages aloud. Ratings are the guests’ own opinions.
Points-Only Prediction Card
Before kickoff, each guest fills in an index card with three predictions: the first type of score, the team that makes the longest play and which side wins the coin toss. Each correct prediction earns points.
The card runs on points and bragging rights only. No money changes hands and nothing is staked. The host checks the cards at the final whistle and reads the scores aloud. Non-fans can take part because the coin toss line needs no football knowledge.
Snack Draft
Set out the items from the snack table. Write a point value beside each one on the dry erase board.
Guests take turns picking one item at a time. The order reverses each round, which is a snake draft, so the last guest to pick goes first in the next round. The draft ends when the board is empty. Each guest adds up the points for what they picked, and the highest total wins bragging rights.
Paper Football and Halftime Trivia
Paper Football
Unroll a kraft paper roll on the table and draw a field with an end zone at each end and a midline. Set two plastic cups on each end line as goalposts.
Each player folds a sheet of paper into a small football and flicks it from the midline with one finger. A ball that stops with part of it over the end line scores 6 points, and the game ends when the break ends or someone reaches 21 points.
Halftime Trivia in Two Teams
Write 15 questions on index cards before the party, mixing football questions with general ones. Write the answer on the back of each card so the host can reveal it quickly. Keep each answer to a word or a short phrase.
Split the room into two teams and put one fan and one non-fan on each team. Read each question aloud, give the teams a set time to confer and have each team write its answer on the dry erase board. Each correct answer earns points. The team with more points after 15 questions takes first pick of the snacks.
Buzzword Jar and Yard Games
Buzzword Jar
Before kickoff, each guest writes one word on an index card and drops it in the jar. Guests choose a word they expect the broadcast to say.
Each time the host hears that word during the broadcast, the guest who wrote it earns a point. If two guests write the same word, both score each time it is said. The host rules on word forms, such as plurals, before kickoff, and keeps the tally on the dry erase board until the final whistle.
Tailgate Yard Games Before Kickoff
If the group gathers outdoors, set out a cornhole set and a ring toss game in the yard before kickoff. See the cornhole rules page and the lawn games page for yard games. Move the group inside when kickoff starts, so the TV stays the focus.
Minute to Win It Football Challenges
Run two or three challenges from the minute to win it games page with a football theme. One example is to stack three plastic cups and toss a mini football into the top cup, scoring one point per successful toss in three tries.
A Plan by Phase: Kickoff to Final Whistle
Plan the games by phase, so the host knows what runs when:
- Before kickoff: print the bingo cards, hand out the prediction cards, run the snack draft and play the yard games if the group is outside.
- First half: start bingo toward a Single Line, open the buzzword jar and run the first commercial rating round.
- Halftime: read the ad averages, run the halftime trivia round and play one minute to win it challenge if the room has space.
- Second half: play paper football during the breaks, keep the scorecard and buzzword tally going, and let bingo run until a pattern completes.
- Final whistle: close the buzzword jar, check the prediction cards and announce the winners.
Mixing Fans and Non-Fans
Most of this list works for non-fans. The scorecard rates ads, and the snack draft is played in turns at the food table. The prediction card’s coin toss line needs no football knowledge, so non-fans can score too.
Bingo words can be general, such as a snack refill or someone leaving the room (house squares), so a non-fan can mark squares too. In trivia, pair a fan with a non-fan on each team, and mix general questions into the set so both sides can score.
All-Ages and Adults-Only Rounds
The host picks every word and question, so the content of bingo, the buzzword jar and trivia depends on those choices. For a mixed-age room, pick words and questions that the youngest guest can follow. For an adults-only room, write harder general questions for trivia and use the same games.
Both lineups use the same rules. The host only changes the words and the questions.
Supplies to Buy Before Kickoff
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- Index cards for ballots, prediction cards, trivia questions and buzzword slips
- Dry erase board for snack draft points and trivia scores
- Bingo daubers for marking cards
- Pens in bulk for ballots and scorecards
- Kraft paper roll for the paper football field
- Plastic cups for paper football goalposts and minute challenges
- Mini footballs for the minute challenges
- Cornhole set for the yard
- Ring toss game for the yard
Hosting Problems and How to Fix Them
One Loud Group
If one group dominates the room, give them a job. A task such as keeping the buzzword tally or reading trivia questions aloud keeps them in the game. If the room has a second table, move that group there for bingo.
A Close Game
Settle ties before kickoff. The scorecard breaks a tie with the next commercial’s average. Trivia breaks a tie with one bonus question for each team. The snack draft goes to the guest with the highest point total. In bingo, if two guests call at the same moment, the host checks both cards before naming a winner.
Who These Games Are Not For
Skip the break games if guests want to watch the game closely without interruption. In that case, keep bingo, the prediction card and the buzzword jar, which all run quietly. A room looking for other adult games can check the party games for adults page.
If most guests are fans who want to follow every play, cut the scorecard and the trivia round.
Set Up Your Super Bowl Party Games Before Kickoff
Print your bingo cards with the free bingo card generator, add a few spares, and set out the index cards, daubers and paper before kickoff.