[1] The special originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 6, 2009, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the television series.

In the special, SpongeBob and his friends are accidentally locked inside the Krusty Krab on the day of its "Eleventy-Seventh" anniversary celebration.

Guest stars include Rosario Dawson, Eddie Deezen, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, LeBron James, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Craig Ferguson, Robin Williams, and P!nk, with Ricky Gervais having an uncredited voice cameo as the narrator.

SpongeBob then leaves to go to the restaurant, but as soon as he exits his house, he bumps into the back of a long line of customers waiting to get inside.

Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob and Squidward that the anniversary celebration will be the perfect opportunity for Plankton to steal the Krabby Patty formula.

To get out of the air vents, SpongeBob molds Squidward, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs into a battering ram and breaks out of the shaft, only to find that all the customers have left after waiting for so long without getting any food.

Meanwhile, Plankton finds the perfect opportunity to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula, but fails, having been caught by Mr. Krabs.

[3][4] Truth or Square stars most of the series' main cast members including Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, and Carolyn Lawrence (Mary Jo Catlett and Lori Alan's characters both appear, but they do not speak).

In addition to the series' cast, it features Rosario Dawson, Eddie Deezen, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Robert Smigel), and Robin Williams as guest actors appearing as themselves in the live-action sequences, while Ricky Gervais provided an uncredited vocal cameo as the narrator.

[5][6][7][8][9] Nickelodeon animation president Brown Johnson said "Over the past decade, SpongeBob has become one of the most beloved characters in television history[...] And we're excited to cap off the year's celebration with this star-studded special anniversary event.

[5][13][14] Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh and Chris Finnegan of Screen Novelties animated its opening titles.

"[18][19][20] Prior to the official announcement of the television special, Entertainment Weekly broke the news by releasing a clip featuring a scene where SpongeBob and Sandy getting married.

[23] In late 2009, Burger King released tie-in toys based on the episode, featuring the characters in block shapes.

[37] The premiere of Truth or Square on Friday, November 6 drew 7.7 million total viewers, ranking as basic cable's number-one entertainment show for the week.

Paul Mavis from DVD Talk said "Truth or Square is a strange mix of some truly memorable animated SpongeBob moments interrupted unfortunately by the largely unfunny Patchy the Pirate segments.

"[41] Jose Strike of the Animation World Network positively reacted to the special and wrote "Truth or Square is a major treat; in fact, I'm so happy I think I'll drop on the deck and flop like a fish..."[42] Ian Jane of DVD Talk said "Truth or Square isn't your typical episode, as it mixes up a lot of live action material in with the more traditional animated sequences to very unusual effect.

[50] The game was first announced by THQ on May 21, 2009, and was originally titled SpongeBob SquarePants: Happiness Squared before being changed early in development.