Footy Dice is a head-to-head soccer game that blends dice rolling with tactical decision-making. Choose your formation, then resolve dribbles, passes, shots, and tackles using dice and influence tokens that let you push your luck or play it safe. With gameplay that mirrors the flow and rules of real soccer, Footy Dice appeals to both board gamers and soccer fans — and stands strong as a tight abstract strategy game.
Players begin the game by secretly selecting a formation, then revealing it and setting up their teams on the field.
The field (or “pitch,” if you prefer) is divided into 15 distinct zones: each side’s 18-yard box, defense, midfield, and forwards, with each area split into a central zone and two wing zones.
Players are represented by round tokens numbered 6, 8, 10, or 12, corresponding to 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-sided dice. In Footy Dice, the team in possession can dribble, pass, or shoot – just like in real soccer. Whenever a player is involved in an action, the manager (you) rolls that player’s corresponding die. Each action is resolved by rolling and comparing combinations of dice from different zones, depending on the action being attempted.
Dice are compared from highest to lowest, counting only dice that can be matched against an opponent’s rolls. If both players win an equal number of comparisons, the total sum of all dice rolled is used as a tiebreaker. If the offensive player wins, the action succeeds and they retain possession. If the defensive player wins, the ball transfers to their player with the highest roll, and the game clock advances by ten minutes.
Between each action is a movement phase. First, the team in possession may move a player, followed by one defensive movement, then another offensive movement (if that team passed initially). When a player with the ball is close enough to the goal, they may attempt a shot, with bonuses or penalties depending on their zone on the field. A successful roll results in a goal. After ninety minutes of play and two rounds of stoppage time, the game ends. The player with the most goals wins, or the match ends in a draw.
Footy Dice also offers players some additional tactical options and ways to mitigate their worse dice rolls via three types of action tokens: skill, teamwork, and tactics tokens. Skill tokens may be traded in before rolling to add +1 to any single roll for that action. Teamwork tokens may be played after rolling for an action to re-roll one dice involved – either yours or your opponent’s. Tactics tokens may be traded in for one of three different options: (1) skip a movement phase, (2) move one extra player during this movement phase, or (3) use your defensive move to tackle the player with the ball by rolling one-on-one against that player.
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