Counter Attack: the football board game

Product Information

This is where anything can happen, teams are drawn without restrictions fighting their way to the final. If you feel you will be overpowered by more experienced players you can keep an eye for the next Beginners Cup which is a preparation competition for players with no official league experience. A big thank you to Matthew Kato for stepping up to bring his sports expertise to this week's column. Everything happening on the field feels realistic, and players moves are gorgeous to see if you love a bit of football tactic; if you just want to play a board game, is fantastic too, the strategic part is fundamental. Each player counter occupies the hex they are in, and no other players can move through or share their hex, the player also has a Zone Of Influence on the 6 adjacent hexes around them (ZOI for short), where they can make attempts on the ball but other player counters can move through and stop in.

Now that you've got enough down to play the game lets add all the little gritty bits that cover specific situations or rules that don't come up much. Goalkeepers - The goalkeepers can be moved during a movement phase or any final third actions just like any outfield players. The goalkeeper also gets some free movements, if the ball enters the penalty area from an opposing player's action, such as a high pass which has a destination in the box, or a player dribbling into the area, then you may move 1 space, this move happens as soon as the ball enters the box, so if it is due to an opponent dribbling you move 1 space as soon as they move onto a hex for the penalty area, then they finish their move. If your opponent dribbles in and out from the box several times during one move you get to move one hex every time they do. There is a free move of your PACE any time after your opponent has played a long pass action. There is also a free move of one space if your opponent shoots from outside the penalty area. If a high pass into the box will be within range for your goalkeeper to challenge in the air, and the goalkeeper has not already had the 3-hex move, you may take a free move of 3 hexes for your goalkeeper but he must then challenge for the ball, with a -1 penalty if it is two hexes away as usual. After an aerial challenge your goalkeeper cannot move in the following movement phase, but he can still take any free movements for the ball entering the penalty area of for snapshots. The immediate 6 hexes are their danger zone where rolling a 6 sees them steal the ball. There may only be a 16.5% (yes I know the actual odds are 16.66667% but it’s close enough) chance of this happening but it genuinely feels like it’s 50/50. Any player who suffers a second injury cannot continue and play must be stopped for a set piece so they can be substituted. A second yellow card gives a player a red card and they will then be sent off and the counter removed from the board for the rest of the game.I will be separating the rules into all the normal rules here, and some more specific rules and advanced tactics in the next section. I do not want to go into an explanation of the rules which I am very tempted to do as I still feel I need to refer to the manual when making some moves. The game is simple but complicated, a lot like football and we have made a lot of mistakes. Take your spot in Season 4 by expressing interest in the #0-s4-general channel of our Discord Server. There is no included timer for match length but its pretty simple nowadays to use a phone or connected device to time 90 minutes and once you have something set up you begin by drafting your team. There is a chance you may have to play a player of a different division if you draw against them in the Cup competition.

You can always practice by asking our friendly community for a friendly match, in the #looking-for-a-game channel. It’s such a great feeling, trying to work out what your opponent is planning whilst you are trying to get a defender in position to steal a ball and have to second guess what may happen all while keeping your goal protected. Snapshot only - Declare your snapshot action, the defending team may move any one player 2 hexes, even if they have already moved in the phase. One of my favorite things about the board gaming hobby is the way games explore such a wide array of concepts, themes, and genres. The constraint of abstraction that is necessary to reduce a situation into something that can be clearly articulated on the table breeds a fascinating array of results. For longtime tabletop enthusiasts, much of the joy of a new game is discovering the way the designers and artists have crafted something that "feels" like the concept or activity the game presents, whether that idea is Lovecraftian monsters or bird-watching.Throw-in - Choose a player to take the throw and place them on the edge hex where the ball went out of play. Take a movement phase, then you may take a second movement phase if you want. The throw in has a range of a header, it can either be thrown to a player’s head, where a header must follow, or it can be thrown to feet or an empty hex, treat it as a standard pass with the reduced range for interceptions and follow up actions. We have changed how we play a little since we first received the game. Firstly, we started playing by laying out a 4-4-2 or 4-3-2-1 or any other formation we wanted to try and instead we now keep our formations but keep a flatter line than a traditional football match because we feel we can get players where we need them faster this way. The managerial part is perfect, drafting your own team is fun and challenging, and when you score with a tactic you build for, is amazing! There are also two sand timers, four red card and yellow card tokens, injury tokens for an advanced rule used in tournaments and two card tokens that match each team and two card tokens for the ball. I have no idea what these are for and can only assume they are to replace your tokens if you lose them. This is the most strategic part of the game, can you get a player within shooting distance and then get him away from a defender so that you get a clear shot on goal whilst making your opponent think you are going to strike with another player altogether?