Game Rules

Objective

Regular Match: Be the first player to score 3 goals.

Express Match: Play until all Action Cards have been used. When the Action Deck runs out, the player with the most goals wins. If players are tied, resolve the match with a Penalty Shootout.

Game Content

73 Action Cards (Soccer Balls Back)

39 Offensive Cards — build Attack Points
17 Defensive Cards — reduce opponents' Attack Points
11 Game Changer Cards — major match events
6 Referee Cards — interrupt or cancel actions

20 Shot Cards (Football Pitch Back)

10 Goals
3 Saves
3 Misses
3 Corners
1 Own Goal

Setup

Shuffle all Action Cards to form the Action Deck and place it face down in the center of the table
Place the Shot Cards face down in a 4×5 grid next to the Action Deck
Leave space beside the Action Deck for a Discard Pile
Each player draws 6 Action Cards to form their starting hand
All players start with 0 Attack Points and 0 Goals
The youngest player goes first. Play continues clockwise

Turn Structure

On your turn, follow these steps in order:

Draw 1 Action Card from the Action Deck
Play exactly 1 Action Card from your hand:
- For an offensive card, place the card in front of you
- For a defensive card, place the card in front of the player targeted by the defensive action
- For other cards, follow instructions on the card - Place the card in the discard pile once effect is resolved
Your turn ends. Play passes to the next player

Offensive & Defensive Cards

Attack Points represent your attacking progress and are tracked openly in front of each player.

Card Types

Offensive Cards

Green cards add Attack Points to your total

Shot Cards

Draw when you reach 11 attack points - Goal, Save, Miss, Corner, Own Goal

Attack Point Limits

Attack Points are always capped:

They can never go below 0
They can never go above 11
Any effect that would exceed these limits cannot be played

Taking a Shot

When a player reaches exactly 11 Attack Points (or plays the Penalty card after 7 points), they immediately take a shot.

Shot Process:

Draw randomly a shot card from the grid
Resolve its effect:
- Goal → Score 1 goal
- Save → No goal
- Miss → No goal
- Corner → Draw another Shot Card
- Own Goal → All opponents score 1 goal
Keep all Shot Cards face up in front of you so goals are visible
After resolving the shot, your attack points reset to 0 (discard your attack point cards into the discard pile)

Game Changer Cards

Game Changer cards create major match events and are played during a player's turn.

Halftime

All players discard their entire hand, including all attack points (except for red card)
All action cards in the action cards draw pile and discard pile are reshuffled (except for the halftime card which is taken out of the game)
Each player draws new cards
Players keep all their shot cards and red card, if already played - current scores remain intact

Other Game Changers

Penalty — allows a shot at 7 or more attack points
Offside — the player receiving an offside will discard all their attack points, and restart from 0
Substitution — exchange up to 3 cards from your hand
Yellow Card — the player receiving a yellow card will skip their next turn (card is then put in the discard pile)
Red Card — The player receiving a red card will not pick a card on their following turn, and will continue the game with one card less than every other player (5 cards in hand, draw a 6th card starting their turn). The red card is placed on the shot card pile of the player receiving it. Red card remains with the player even after the halftime card is played

Referee Cards

Referee cards can be played at any time, even during another player's turn. The player playing one of these cards draws a card to replace it in their hand.

Foul — cancels an Offensive or Defensive card immediately after they are played (cannot put a foul after the turn of a player concludes)
V.A.R. — cancels a Referee card or a Foul as they are played (cannot put a V.A.R. after the turn of a player concludes)

Referee cards resolve immediately and then go to the discard pile.

Quick Reference

Starting hand: 6 cards
Each turn: Draw 1, Play 1
Shot requirement: Exactly 11 attack points (or 7+ with Penalty)
Attack point range: 0-11 (cannot exceed)
Win condition (Regular): First to 3 goals
Win condition (Express): Most goals when deck runs out

Penalty Shootout

Players that are tied at the end of an express match go to a penalty shootout.

The shot cards for goals and saves are shuffled and placed face down in a 4×4 grid
Each player picks five cards, one after the other
The player with the most goals wins
In case of a tie, the penalty goes to sudden death until one player misses and the other scores