The Ball Grid

The Ball Grid is a daily Premier League football trivia game. Each day a new 3×3 grid drops — every player you pick must satisfy both the row and column criteria for that season. Everyone plays the same puzzle, and a fresh grid arrives at midnight.

Search for a player by name to fill each cell. Your answer must match both requirements — for example, a player who scored 5+ goals AND represented Arsenal in that season. Each cell has multiple valid answers; rarer picks earn more points, so be bold.

Classic Grid gives you unlimited time and up to 9 attempts to fill the board, rewarding the rarity of your picks. Rapid Fire flips the pressure on — the clock runs until all nine cells are filled, every wrong answer adds five seconds, and the fastest time wins.

Every board is drawn from one Premier League season, and that season is the whole world of the puzzle. A player only counts if they met the criteria within that season — Harry Kane scoring 20 goals in 2017/18 does nothing for you on a 2022/23 board. That single-season rule is what stops the grids collapsing into "name any famous player".

Columns are usually clubs. Ten sides appear by name — Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham and West Ham — alongside grouped columns like Big Six Club, Non-Big Six Club, Top Half Club, Mid-Table Club and Bottom Half Club. A player qualifies for a club column if they made a Premier League appearance for that club during the season, which means January signings can legitimately fill two different club columns on the same board.

Rows are the statistical and biographical criteria. They fall into a handful of families: output (1+ Goals, 3+ Goals, 5+ Goals, 1+ Assists, 3+ Assists, More Goals Than Assists, More Away Goals Than Home, Took a Penalty), discipline (3+ Yellow Cards, 5+ Yellow Cards, Received a Red Card), goalkeeping and defending (7+ Clean Sheets), workload (3000+ Minutes), position (Forward, Midfielder, Defender), physical (Over 185cm, 190cm or Taller, Under 175cm), age at the start of the season (Under 23, Under 25, Over 30) and nationality (English, Non-English, European).

Classic Grid does not just ask whether you were right — it asks how many other people would have said the same thing. Each correct answer is scored from 20 to 100 on how rare that pick is, so the obvious name in a square is worth a fraction of the one nobody else remembers. Nine safe answers will complete a grid; nine obscure ones will win the day.

Wrong answers cost you nothing in Classic Grid, so there is no reason not to gamble on the deep cut first and fall back to the obvious name if it misses. Rapid Fire inverts that entirely: there is no rarity bonus, every wrong answer adds a five-second penalty, and the only thing being measured is how fast you can clear nine squares. The two modes reward genuinely opposite instincts, which is why your Classic and Rapid Fire streaks rarely look alike.

Every grid that has ever run stays online. Each day has its own page listing the categories that made up both boards, every Premier League player who satisfied each of the nine squares, how often the field actually got each square right, and the top ten scores from that day. It is a useful way to settle an argument about whether a pick was valid, and a good way to learn the shape of a season before the next grid lands.

All recent Ball Grid answers

Player appearances, goals, assists, minutes, cards, clean sheets, heights and dates of birth are compiled per season from public Premier League records, and every category is evaluated against that season's figures alone. Grids are generated in advance and checked to make sure every square has a reasonable number of valid answers before it goes live — if a cell looks impossible, it usually is not, and the answer page for that day will show you exactly who qualified.

Spotted something wrong, or a player you are certain should count? Email hello@theballgrid.com and we will check it against the season data.

Is The Ball Grid a football tic tac toe game?

It uses the same 3×3 board as football tic tac toe and tiki taka toe, and the same rule: a player has to fit both the row and the column. The difference is that those are two-player games where you race for three in a row. The Ball Grid is a solo daily puzzle, a Premier League tic tac toe where you fill all nine squares yourself and every square comes from one season. There is a longer guide to football tic tac toe, including how to play it with a friend.

Is this a football immaculate grid?

Yes, it is the same idea. Immaculate grid games started in baseball, and the football versions are often called immaculate footy or a footy grid. The Ball Grid is a football immaculate grid built only from Premier League seasons, with a rarity score so the unusual pick is worth more than the obvious one.

How is it different from football bingo?

In football bingo you are given a player and have to find a square he fits. The Ball Grid works the other way round: you are given the squares and have to name the player from memory.

Where can I find the Ball Grid answers?

Every past grid has its own answers page listing each player who fitted each square. Today's answers stay hidden until the grid changes at midnight UTC.

Is The Ball Grid free?

Yes. It is free to play in a browser on a phone or computer, with no download, and you can play as a guest without an account.