How to play the game

Lay out the pitch

The pitch measures 660 x 505mm and will fit on most kitchen or dinner tables

Choose your team

The game box comes with these two teams but there are many, many more to choose from in the shop

Pick the referee card

There are 4 in the set. The referee’s Leniency attribute will determine whether or not you receive a yellow or red card when you foul an opponent

Begin the player draft

There are 46 unique player cards in the game box. Shuffle them and turn over 4. You and your opponent then take turns selecting a player. Deal 4 more and continue the pattern.

Build up your squad

Make sure you have a balanced team – too many tacklers and not enough dribblers might mean you’ll struggle to create chances. Do you have enough tall players in your team? Does your opponent have all the fast players? Pay attention and build the best team possible!

Line up your team

Decide where you want your players to play and line them up accordingly. 433, 442, 640…play any formation you want. Just make sure that your slow fullback isn’t covering your mate’s speedy winger!

Kick off!

Start with a pass. Use the distance stick to measure how far passes, shots and headers can travel, and whether an opponent can try for a block or an intercept.

The Movement Phase

This is when you and your opponent move players around the pitch. Follow the 4-5-2 sequence. The attacking team should try to make spaces and stretch the defence. The defensive team are looking to close down space and win the ball.

Refer to the Quick Play Guide

Not sure what you are allowed to do next? Refer to the Quick Play Guide!

Moving in…

If a defender gets within 1 hex of the ball, a tackle can be attempted.

The tackle

Take the attacker’s dribbling attribute and add it to a dice roll. Measure that against the defender’s tackling + dice roll. Highest score wins the duel.

In the event of a tie, the ball will break free.

The attacker has won this one 8 – 7

Careful in the tackle…(1)

Remember the referee’s Leniency attribute? If you roll a 1 when making a tackle, you’ve committed a foul. You then run a leniency check with the referee. Fail it and you’ll receive a yellow card…or even a straight red card if it was a tackle from behind!

Careful in the tackle…(2)

…and attackers can be injured when they are fouled! After a foul, roll the dice. If your roll is equal to or higher than the player’s Resilience then you are injured. An injured player loses 2 Pace for the rest of the game.

Cross incoming

Ajax are in a dangerous position. A cross into the box is incoming…

After a high pass has been made, each team gets to move 1 player up to 3 hexes. Usually those are the players who challenge for the header.

Heading duel

The striker is being challenged by defender number 6. Both players roll the dice and add their roll to each player’s Heading attribute. Highest score wins…and this one is won by the attacker!