Striker! 2016

Striker! is a set of straightforward rules for playing realistic miniature football (or soccer, depending on your side of the pond) matches on the tabletop. Each match plays just like a wargame using miniatures to represent players. Challenges, passes and shots on goal are resolved by rolling dice. Many strategies and tactics that are employed in a real football match also apply to this game: midfield pressing, tiki taka passing, switches of play, and many more. If you can do it on a football field, Striker! allows you to do it on the tabletop. The game is meant for 2 players, but can also be played in groups or even solo, taking about 90 - 120 minutes to play.

Just like the real game there are red cards, yellow cards, and shots on goal. Each phase of play is broken into stages: the attackers move their players, or pass, or dribble etc, and then the defenders get a phase to counter, and cover the attacking runs. Players move specific distances, just as in a standard wargame. The game lasts 40 phases (20 attacking and 20 defending phases for a half of football) with each phase ending after the defenders finalize their moves, or when a pass goes astray and possession is turned over to the defenders through a tackle or wayward pass.