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Welcome to the 2024 Edition of our “Fish Bowl” Super Bowl Party Game! It’s our annual tradition to share this family-friendly game for football and non-football fans alike. Gambling is optional – it’s still pretty fun without wagering.
by Ed
Every year before I update the intro to our Super Bowl game post, I reread the old one from the previous year. It is a form of football fan archeology where I can dig into my feelings and fandom from years gone by and see how much things have changed.
Mostly it is very consistent. For example, I used the exact same introduction last year.
Another trend emerged: Patrick Mahomes and my much-beloved Kansas City showing up on the game ticket sheets again and again. So much, some would say, that they have Swiftly replaced the Patriots as the team everyone else is sick of (See what I did there? Dad Joke Pulitzer, here I come!).
Some lesser, more needy KC fan would now spend time trying to convince you that you should not, in fact, hate on my beloved Big-Red-Juggernaut.
They are young and fun, and much like the Jordan-era Bulls, always can amuse you with a feat of athletic or play-calling magic.
But I am not that lesser, needy fan. I am here for the haters too. More specifically, this Super Bowl Party Game is.
Kansas City has likely gone from beloved-newcomer-to-frowny-face-“Them again?”-team faster than any in recent memory. Or long-term memory. Seriously, people got sick of my team really fast.
San Francisco has a wealthy fan base and a bursting trophy case. Basically, EVERYONE wanted a Buffalo-Detroit Super Bowl, and I confess that I can see the appeal.
To put it bluntly – there has never been a greater need for our Super Bowl Party Game!
This game is the glue that will keep the Big Game interesting for you and your viewing party till the final whistle.
Don’t like either team? Perfect, we’ve got random stuff you can cheer for.
Game is a boring blowout? We’ve got you covered with individual player goals to chase.
Want Taylor Swift or Kelce-themed content? Oh, there’s a ticket for that too!
So what will your Super Bowl party look like this year?
Maybe just your household gathering to watch? Or maybe you are hosting a big get-together?
I am still going to provide versions of our Super Bowl Party Game that work for people who have others over and for those who party apart. The tools we found are so great! – I will keep posting the digital version because it will allow football fans who are spread out geographically to still play our goofy little game!
Or Non-Football fans for that matter.
Hey-not everyone loves, likes or even tolerates football. For them, Super Bowl Sunday is a tedious affair with little excitement other than eating greasy food, looking for a cool commercial or hoping the game will end in time for a good night’s sleep. (i.e. Robin and our kids)
For people like them, I’ve made this game – and it works! The consensus is it’s genuinely fun (even if you find football a bit ~meh~). And football fans will enjoy it, too.
It’s a pretty tall order, but this party game combines the best elements of football (big plays, scoring – team or individual) with other quirky stuff (things announcers say, who wins the coin toss) so that virtually the whole Super Bowl gives you something to cheer for (or gamble on).
What follows is our Annual Super Bowl Party game (and it doesn’t involve a matrix of gambling squares or any real football knowledge at all).
“Fish Bowl”
Super Bowl Party Game
The game itself is loosely credited to my friend, Andy, who shared an updated copy every year for a while. He doesn’t claim ownership – a friend of his apparently concocted it – but I couldn’t find a single reference to a similar game anywhere online. So they get credit till we hear otherwise.
Why is this such a fun Super Bowl Party Game for everyone?
1) Well, first off you don’t have to know anything about football.
You pull tickets blindly and then roll with what you get. The ultimate winner is also chosen randomly.
2) You don’t have to wait until the game or quarter ends for things to cheer for.
If you have a few tickets, there’s a good chance that you’ll be watching for an event to happen on every single play.
3) You can play the game with or without a gambling component.
- The first time we played, party-goers each chipped in $10. The winner took home $60.
- A non-gambling alternative would be to have a prize of some sort for the winner.
- My buddy and aforementioned universally acknowledged game inventor Andy “sells” the individual tickets, allowing people to buy as many or as few as they like until they are all sold. You could still win it all by only buying one. And you don’t get to pick which ones you buy – you again have to draw blindly.
4) Even if the score gets out of hand (as it often does in the Super Bowl), this little game still gives you a reason to watch.
5) Football really is better when you have something to cheer for – this game gives you that.
We played it at a party a couple of years back and Robin and several other football-neutral folks enjoyed the game more than they ever had before.
How to play our Fish bowl Super Bowl Party Game:
1. Print the 4 Super Bowl “Fish Bowl” party game pages. The printable is in a box just below these instructions.
2. Cut out the tickets and fold. Place in a bowl. Come up with a prize of some sort. Money is popular but so boring. Play for “Party Clean-up duty” if no one has any ideas.
3. Figure out how many tickets each person at your party can draw. We’ve created 66 tickets, so if you’ve got a group of 8 people, each person can draw 8 tickets (with 2 extras to discard or “auction off” to party-goers who want more chances).
4. Everyone draws and secretly reads their own tickets.
5. Once the game starts, players watch in hopes that the events on their tickets take place. Whenever one of the events on your ticket happens, you write your name on the back and put it in the bowl. If, for instance, Patrick Mahomes (Yay!) throws a TD pass, then anyone holding that ticket writes their name on the back and places the ticket back into the bowl...and so on.
6. After the game, a ticket is drawn from the bowl to determine a winner, and that person takes home the prize.
(We’ve been sharing this game for a few years now!)
How to Play the Fishbowl Super Bowl Party Game (Digital Version):
- Have the Remote Party Coordinator use this link to generate random lists for all guests. I have it defaulting to 7, but you can scroll to the bottom and adjust the number of ‘Groups’ to however many people want to play. You can also edit the lists if you want everyone to get the same number of chances or add in your own.
- You can then use the share buttons to send out the lists publicly or simply copy and paste each Grouping of digital pull tickets into an email or text and send them out to your virtual guests.
- As events happen, people can text/tweet/email/DM the Party Coordinator their ticket, and that event gets manually added to a list in this Random Drawer (your digital ‘Fishbowl’).
- At the end of the game, the Party host/Coordinator can do the Random Draw and announce the winner or screen-share and draw so everyone can watch the digital excitement live.
Give it a shot – even if it is just you and the family sitting around. Pull some tickets and play for “No Chores” or “Sleep In” or whatever.
No one should find the Super Bowl Super Boring. This game will fix that.
Super Bowl parties need AMAZING food! Try these guaranteed crowd-pleasers…
Jeanette
Friday 2nd of February 2024
We did this last year and it was a huge hit! I am so excited to be able to do it again. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Robin & Ed Hicken
Saturday 3rd of February 2024
We love that, Jeanette! So happy you've made our game part of your Super Bowl tradition! :)
Jackie
Tuesday 30th of January 2024
We have been hosting a Super Bowl party for years and are huge Chief fans. I found this game last year and we played it at our party of 28 and it was a hit! Not only did the Chiefs win but our winner took home over $125 dollars. I was hoping to find the updated game and you didn't disappoint!! Thank you and Let's Go Chiefs! Make it two in a row!!
Robin & Ed Hicken
Wednesday 31st of January 2024
We LOVE that, Jackie!!! The 2024 edition is live now - have so much fun! :)
Kayla
Monday 13th of February 2023
Played this for a crowd of 8 at the 2023 Super Bowl party, I wasn't sure if folks would get into it but we gave out 3 prizes (Cinnamon buns, tub of homemade Chex mix, and a gas gift card as we live out of town and all our friends have to drive out to our place). Everyone had a blast and got right into trying to complete their tickets! Will definitely become a new tradition :)
frugalfamilytimes
Tuesday 14th of February 2023
Oh wow! What an honour to be part of your fun traditions, Kayla. Thanks so very much for coming back and sharing with us! :) See you next year!
Paola
Sunday 12th of February 2023
Will this be updated?
Paola
Sunday 12th of February 2023
@frugalfamilytimes, you’re amazing!!!!!!
frugalfamilytimes
Sunday 12th of February 2023
Yes! The 2023 digital version didn't update correctly - but it's fixed now!
Cristina
Tuesday 7th of February 2023
Can’t wait to play this year! It was by popular on demand for this years superbowl.
frugalfamilytimes
Wednesday 8th of February 2023
AWESOME!!! Thanks for letting us know, Cristina! Have fun!!