Variant Rules for the Game
"Fußball-Liga" ("football league", i.e. soccer, for my leftpondian readers) is a boardgame originally published in the 1970s by the editors "Verlag Jörg Kappeser", Dietzenbach, Germany. It has splendid material, but in my opinion the rules fall short of the editor's claim to provide a "realistic simulation of football tactics". So I developed these variant rules that deviate strongly from the original. The rules given here are complete, you do not need the original rules to play the game.
The game is an attempt to simulate football play and tactics at the playing table. Each player is in the position of a football coach, deploying his men and leading them through tactical maneuvers presumably trained before. Consequently, I will refer to the human players of the game as "coaches" from now on, and call the playing pawns "players".
The game is limited by time, not by number of game turns or score, and in the time frame only a fraction of what happens in an actual football match can be played. Thus, what happens in the course of a game represents only those actions that are most "interesting", obviously including all that have consequences for the result. In other words, it is presumed that all action not happening in the game has been "inconsequential" because the players did not follow their coaches advice. To put it differently, what is played are the well thought-out sequences of action that you can expect to find in a football match, leaving out the boring bits.
The original game was designed as a tool to experiment with tactics to better understand them and to transport them, later, to the actual field of play. However, if two players act as opponents and attempt to out-play each other, the simulation becomes a game with the fun aspect getting more important, even though the game should remain, to a certain degree, a mirror of reality. Movement of the ball and the result of shots and passes should be more dependent on good placement of the players than on blind chance. In other words, the rules attempt to reward skilled tactics and to punish risky play.
In principle, all the official Laws of Soccer also rule this game. Some may not be applicable because they refer to details not modelled in the game, or to individual player behaviour outside the scope of the game, but otherwise they govern the game and should be known to the players. Certain laws, however, are mentioned in the rules explicitly with a description of how they work in the context of the game.
Some rules are designated as "optional" to give players a choice of complexity, or "realism", versus playability. Those rules enhance the simulation at the cost of a greater number of rules that must be kept in mind and applied in any given situation, and thus slow down the game. As long as not all players are familiar with the basic rules, you should limit the game to those. The optional rules can be added later, one by one, by consent.
One last remark: Female soccer teams? By all means, but I still used male pronouns throughout the rules, not out of disregard for the more impressive sex but to avoid linguistic awkwardness.
The game is played in game turns. In each turn, the player that controls the ball may pass it to another player or attempt a shot at the goal. Then, players alternate to move, with an attacker going first and determining the maximum movement rate of the defenders. When the movement allowances are spent, a new game turn begins.
The defenders may try to intercept the ball during shots or movement. If they succeed, they become the attackers, and a new game turn begins immediately.
Special situations may cause free-kicks, corner-shots, throw-ins and even penalty shots.
The game ends after a specified time, and the side scoring more goals than the other wins.
This is a list of the original material. Only a part of it is needed for the variant rules:
You also need paper and pen to take notes.
Please note that the thicker square grid lines of the original game board have no special function in the variant rules.
Lay out the playing field and place the score indicator cards at some convenient place. Players choose the team to play and toss a coin (e.g. the red/green token provided with the game). The winner may decide whether to take the first kick-off or the choice of ends (i.e. taking his preferred seat, in the game context. It is probably best if both players sit along the touch-line edges.
The coaches set up their teams, placing no more than one player per square. In the basic game all players are equal, except that player no. 1 is always the goal-keeper. Look up the section on kick-off for details.
The game is played with a time limit. A common duration is to play two half-times of 45 minutes each. In the half-time interval players change sides (if they do not agree to remain seated, since it really does not matter in the game) (access to chips and beer might make a difference).
The winner is the player to have scored more goals than the other at full-time. It is possible to tie, but the usual Laws of Soccer may be applied to resolve ties (extra time, extra time with "Golden Goal", penalty-kicks etc.).
In tournament games, coaches get 3 points for a match won, 1 point each for a draw, and no points for a lost match.
When a player has "loose control" of the ball, the square with the ball and the two adjacent squares are his front, the three squares exactly opposite the front are his back, and the remaining two are right and left. Players with loose ball control or who do not currently control the ball have no back and front and are free to move in any direction.
Distances are always measured in squares, ignoring the fact that a diagonal movement is actually longer than movement along the rows of squares.
Each game turn has a number of phases that must be played in strict order. Phases give specific options to attackers and defenders. This means that game turns do not necessarily alternate between players. Rather, the attackers are the side with the initiative for the turn and always take the first phase.
Now, a new turn is played with the same sequence of phases. If the defender gains possession of the ball at any time during the game turn, the turn ends immediately, the defender becomes the attacker and a new turn begins with phase 1.
Any game turn ends immediately when the playing time ends (at half-time or full-time). However, the current game turn phase must be completed, and any goals achieved in this phase count. Also, direct free-kicks and penalty-kicks must be completed. Indirect free-kicks, corner-kicks, goal-kicks, throw-ins and kick-offs are forfeited.
The rule for the movement of players and ball is "done is done", which means that the ball or player must be moved by at least one square the moment the coach takes them into his hand, and that every square moved by a player costs movement points even if the coach later decides to let the player go back. Aimless movement costs as much energy and time as useful action!
The game begins with a place-kick from the center mark at the start of each half-time, and each time a goal has been scored. The ball is placed on the center mark. Before each kick-off, all players may be positioned freely, subject only to these restrictions:
All players must be set up in their side of the playing field. At least one player of the attacking team must be on one of the two squares touching the ball. No player of the defending team may be on a square inside the center circle, or touched by it.
The player kicking the ball must pass it to anther player. He may only control or shoot the ball again after another player (of any side) controlled or kicked it. The ball may be moved up to 6 squaresby the kick-off, and no "follow-up"shots are possible.
Only an attacker can shoot, and only in the "shots" phase of the game turn. To shoot a ball the player must control the ball.
A shot is always in a straight line from the ball's initial position, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The number of squares moved (including the target square, but not the origin) is the distance. The target square must be announced before the shot; it may be useful to mark the target square with a token, for example using the spare ball. Move the ball space by space to give the defender the chance to call out interception attempts.
From close ball control you may shoot in any direction. From loose control, the target square must be closer to the ball than to the shooting player.
Subject to these restrictions, the target may be any space of the playing field, plus the 6+6 goal squares behind the goal lines). The target space may be empty or occupied by a player of any side. A shot targeted willfully outside the playing field is regarded as misconduct (squandering time) and is, if called for by the opponent, punished by showing the yellow card to the player and a throw-in for the opponent.
A shot may carry a distance of
The attacker's players never hinder the shot.
If the shot passes a square occupied by, or adjacent to, a defender, this player may have a chance to intercept the shot, see "Interception".
An attacker who is in the target square may move the ball along in a follow-up shot (or header). A follow-up may move the ball up to 6 spaces again, so the maximum total distance covered by one shot could be 12+6=18 spaces, and all usual rules for shots must be obeyed. The follow-up may change the direction of movement, but of course the new move must also be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
Multiple follow-ups are not allowed.
To pass the ball to another player you must kick it to his space, or to one of the 8 adjacent spaces. The target player automatically takes the ball into close or wide control, respectively (optional rule "Taking a Pass" for a variant).
If a defender is on or adjacent to the ball's path, he may try to intercept the pass.
You may pass the ball to your own goal-keeper, but in this case he may only play the ball like any other player ("back-pass rule"). In particular, he may not use the goal-kick procedure.
If the ball is passed to a defender (i.e. the defender's square is the targetsquare, presumably by accident), he gains possession of the ball, becomes the attacker and immediately starts a new game turn.
A goal shot is any shot (including follow-ups) that targets one of the 6 squares of the goal, behind the goal line. Interception attempts must be made before the check whether the ball hits the goal.
To see whether the goal was actually hit, the attacker rolls a die. His chances to hit the goal are the better on shorter the distances; in case of follow-ups, only the distance of the follow-up shot counts:
| Distance | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ |
| 1 | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 2 | - | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 3,4 | - | - | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 5-7 | - | - | - | hit | hit | hit |
| 7-9 | - | - | - | - | hit | hit |
| 10-12 | - | - | - | - | - | hit |
| Add player's bonus if optional ruleis used | ||||||
If the goal was not hit (the ball went high), attacker and defender swap roles and play continues with a goal-kick, i.e. a place-kick from any of the 6 squares of the goal-area.
Defender's interceptions follow the usual
rules for interceptions, except that the
goalkeeper
is entitled to a
+1 bonus
on his interception die roll as long as he is in a goal or penalty-area square (because he may use his hands). Note that the interception must be done before the ball enters a goal square to be effective; if the goalkeeper is in a goal square, he must intercept on an adjacent space outside the goal.
Outside the penalty-area the goalkeeper has no special privileges for interception, and if a field-player has replaced the goalie he also does not get the +1 bonus.
An optional rule, "Goalkeeper's Save", adds more detail to goal shots.
The defender gets a
throw-in
if the ball leaves the playing field across the touch-line. The player performing the throw-in is placed into the first square
outside
the playing field that the ball had entered, and the ball is placed on top of him.
A throw-in may carry as far as
6 spaces, a follow-up is possible by the usual procedure. The throwing player may only touch the ball again after another player of any side has played it (this might also be the follow-up, ending adjacent to the throwing player). You cannot score a goal directly from a throw-in, but from the follow-up.
If the ball is played out across the
own
goal-line, or diagonally out across the corner-area, the opposing side gets a corner-kick.
One player is placed on the corner-area, and the ball on top of him. A corner-kick may travel up to
12 spacesand may target, in addition to spaces on the horizontal, vertical or diagonal rows of spaces, any space in the penalty-area or the penalty-circle. The kicking player may only touch the ball again after another player of any side has played it (this might be the follow-up, ending on, or adjacent to, the kicking player).
If the ball is played across the
opponent's
goal-line, or diagonally out across on of his his corner-areas, that side side gets a goal-kick from any of the 6 spaces of the goal-area. The kicking player is placed on that square, and the ball on top of him. A goal-kick may travel up to
12 spaces. The kicking player may only touch the ball again after another player of any side has played it (this might also be the follow-up).
Prior to the goal-kick, all players of the other side must leave the penalty-area.
Before a throw-in, corner-kick or goal-kick, both players may re-position their players as described in the section "Set-Up after Stoppages".
Remark: In the basic game, the ball can only leave the playing field by intent. Some optional rules provide for accidental leaving.
A player is in an off-side position when he is nearer to the opponent's goal-line than the ball is and there are not at least 2 opposing players (including the goalkeeper) nearerto the goal-line than he is, exceptif
Sounds pretty complicated, doesn't it? Well, that's what the Laws say. Usually, it means that you can be where you want to in your own end of the field, or during a goal-kick, throw-in or corner-kick, but otherwise must not be ahead of all opposing field players when running towards the opponent's goal.
It is notrelevant whether the player is actually the target of a pass. In the game, an off-side position is only penalized in the "Shot" phase of the game turn, and only if the ball is passed in the general direction of the opposing goal-line.
If a player is in an off-side position, the opponent is rewarded an indirect free-kick from the space of the offending player.
A player may move to
anyof the 8 adjacent squares, except that he may only move into a space
in front of himwhile he has the ball in loose control. He may change his direction as often as he wishes to, even go back to where he came from, or oscillate between spaces.
Players may never enter occupied spaces or move through the gap between adjacent players, of any side, except if they are only adjacent diagonally. They may not leave the playing field (exception: The goal-keeper may enter the 6 goal spaces of his end); if a player does, the opponent is awarded an indirect free-kick from the offending player's last space in the field, and the offender is shown the yellow card (since this obviously was willful misconduct).
There is one more
restriction: No more than 2 defending players, including the goalie, plus 2 attacking players may ever be in the 6 spaces of a
goal-area.
Movement is paid for by expending "movement points". To move one space costs
The ball's movement is considered part of the movement of the controlling player. Note that there is no limit of movement points spent for ball movement, as long as each controlling player did not exceed his 6-point limit.
In every movement phase, each side gets 18 movement points to spend. No individual player may expend more than 6 points for his move. Otherwise, the coach is free to assign points to all or any of his players. He is not required to spend all, or indeed any, points, but he cannot carry unused points over to the next turn.
No player may be moved more than once in the movement phase, i.e. he cannot be moved anymore in a movement phase once another player did begin to move.
Coaches alternate to move their players (and the ball, in case of the attacker). The attacker gets the first move, and may move any
oneplayer as far as he wants (and the rules permit), calling out the movement points spent. When he stops moving that player, the defender may spend movement points for
one or moreplayers, up to the total of points spent by the attacker so far. Then, the attacker gets his next movement step.
When the attacker does not wish to move any more players, the defender may spend
allmovement points left to him in his last movement step.
When the ball is in close control, it is simply moved together with the player (expending 2 movement points per space moved).
When the ball is in loose control, the player may only move into one of the 3 "front" squares. The ball is always moved parallel to the player, i.e. space by space in the exact movement direction of the player. The player may change his "front" side by moving the ball around the player, expending 1 movement point per space (which is equivalent to a 45 degree rotation of the player).
Players of the own side never hinder ball movement. While in loose control, the ball may even be moved "through" friendly players. When the attacker moves the ball into the space of another of his players, or adjacent to him, ball control may change to that player. It does, implicitly, if the ball is in another player's space at the end of the move.
You may even try to move a ball that is in loose control through an opposing player's square, but chances are that he will succeed with a dribbling interception.
You may consider to turn moved players upside-down temporarily to help you remember which have moved already.
When a stoppage occurs (free-kick, throw-in, corner-kick, goal-kick), and after the ball has been placed at the right position, both coaches may re-position their players before the game continues. Each side may use up to
6 movement
points
per player; in this case, there is no restriction on the total movement points used.
Special rules cover the set-up for penalty-kicks and kick-off (see
Kick-Off,
Penalty-Kick).
The defending coach moves all players first, must keep a minimum distance of
3 squares
to the ball, and in case of a goal-kick must leave the opponent's penalty area.
Then the attacking coach moves all his players. One attacking player
must
move into position for the kick or throw (if no attacker is within the 6-square-distance of the ball position, the one nearest to it may exceed his movement limit to get there).
Note that there is no stoppage when the goalie has intercepted the ball and kicks it back into play, therefore no re-positioning is allowed in this situation.
For the defender, there are three ways to actively gain control of the ball:
Other ways to become the attacker include throw-ins, goal-kicks, free-kicks, and, of course, suffering a goal.
Pass interception means that the defender stops the ball, in the shot phase of the game turn, before it has arrived at the target square. If he succeeds, he gains possession of the ball, becomes the attacker, and the turn ends immediately. If the attempt to stop the ball fails, there are no consequences.
Multiple interception attempts may be made for one shot, but
The goal-keeperis exempt from this rule, he may make a second interception attempt in one space, and he may make an attempt even if he is part of a group of players that already attempted interception.
An interception attempt may be made when the ball passes through the defender's space, or adjacent to it. The defender announces that he will make the attempt, the ball is stopped temporarily in the space designated by the defender, he rolls a die, and looks up the Shot Interception table:
| Path of Ball | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ | Bonus? |
| through | - | - | ok | ok | ok | ok | Effects Below (cumulative), add intercepting player's bonus if optional rule is used |
| adjacent | - | - | - | - | ok | ok | |
| Bonus Effects: | +1 if adjacent to origin or target space of ball | ||||||
| -1 if distance to origin or target space of ball = 2 | |||||||
| -2 if distance to origin or target space of ball > 2 | |||||||
| +1 if defender is goalkeeper in goal or penalty-area | |||||||
| An original die roll of "1" always loses the interception attempt! | |||||||
A result of "ok" means that the attempt succeeded. The ball stays where it was intercepted, the defender becomes the attacker, and a new game turn begins.
If the intercepting player was the
goal-keeper, he is supposed the hold the ball in his hands afterwards. We are, necessarily, in the "shot" phase of a new game turn after the interception, so he my leave the ball where it is and just kick it back into play, or, if the ball is
adjacent
to him, let an adjacent, friendly player kick it.
However, the
goalie's other
and unique
optionis to hold the ball for one turn. If he announces to do this, he takes the ball into close control, skips the shot phase, does not move in the movement phase, but all opposing players must move in a way to be not nearer than 3 spaces to him after the movement phase; they are not allowed to attack him. In the next shot phase, he must drop the ball to an adjacent, free space and then kicks it, following the usual rules for shooting. If he uses this option, neither he nor the ball may leave the penalty-area before the shot.
Note that, if the goalie is in one of the 6 goal squares, he must intercept the ball in a space adjacent to him to prevent a goal- else the ball would already be in the goal!
Dribbling interception is the attempt to gain possession of the ball during the movement phase. It may happen when
Multiple interception attempts may be made in one movement phase, but
Before the defender rolls for the interception attempt, he may declare "fair play" which makes it harder to succeed but avoids being punished for foul play. If more than one defenders are adjacent to ball or attacker, the defender must declare which of them will support the attempt, and which one is the one who actually tries to get control. The latter, obviously, must be adjacent to the ball. Those who commit themselves may not make another attempt in this movement phase.
| Dribbling | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ | Bonus? |
| wide | foul/yellow card? | foul? | ok | ok | ok | ok | Effects given below, cumulative, add principal intercepting player's plus attacker's bonus if optional rule is used |
| Close | foul/yellow card? | foul? | - | - | ok | ok | |
| Bonus Effects: | +1 per additional defender adjacent to attacking player or ball | ||||||
| -1 if no committed defender in square adjacent to attacker | |||||||
| +2 if ball is dribbled through defender's square | |||||||
| +1 if defender is goalkeeper in goal or goal area | |||||||
| -1 if defender declares "fair play" | |||||||
| An original die roll of "1" or "2" is a foul if the defender did not declare "fair play", with a yellow card shown in case of a "1". | |||||||
A foul is punished with a direct free-kick; if the attacker was in the penalty-area at that moment, it is punished with a penalty-kick instead.
A ball not under control of a player can be taken by the first player moving adjacent to it.
If a defender takes control of the ball, his side become the attackers , and the turn ends immediately.
If no other provision is made in the rules, the punishment for foul play is a free-kick for the opponent, from the position of the ball in the moment of the offense. A violation of Soccer Laws or game rules is only punished if demanded explicitly by the rules or if declared by a player acting as referee. A violation of rules ends the current game turn immediately.
Both players may act as referees (and, implicitly, linesmen). A violation of laws must be indicated before the next action begins (e.g. before the next phase begins, or before the next player moves). If a violation continues, it may be indicated after every action. If you feel like it, you may use the whistle to signal a foul.
When the defender signals a foul play of his own, the attacker may decide to keep playing to keep his advantage. If he does, however, he cannot change his decision later.
And, to quote the Laws: "The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it is the duty of referees to penalize only deliberate breaches of the Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces bad feeling and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of spectators."
A direct free-kick may target the goal, an indirect free-kick may not. The kicking player may only touch the ball again after another player of any side has played it (even as the follow-up back to him). The free-kick is taken from the position of the ball at the moment of the offense.
Before the free-kick, the coaches may re-position the players according to the rule "Set-Up after Stoppages". The defender may not put any players nearer to the ball than 3 spaces; however, players in the goal-area are excepted from this restriction.
The player kicking the ball must be on a space adjacent to the ball and inside the playing field.
A penalty-kick is awarded if an offense that would normally be punished by a direct free-kick is committed in the penalty-area.
Before the penalty-kick, both coaches may re-position their players freely, with the restriction that the defender may not put any players in the attacker's end of the field and that no players except the goal-keeper and the attacker who kicks may be inside the penalty-area or in one of the 4 squares touched by the penalty-circle. The kicking player must be placed on one of the two squares behind and adjacent to the penalty-mark.
Now, the defender puts his goalie in one of the goal squares numbered 1 to 4, then the attacker rolls a die. These are the possible results:
For certain violations of the Laws (in the basic game all these are willful violations) the player is cautioned and shown the yellow card. The yellow card is also shown to him for every 3rd foul play in the game. You should take notes about foul play and yellow cards.
A player that gets his 2nd yellow card in the course of a match is sent off the field ("yellow-red card"). The team must then continue to play with a reduced number of players. After a player has been cautioned or sent off, the other side gets an indirect free-kick if they are not awarded a direct free-kick or penalty-kick by other rules.
When the goalie is sent off, a field player must be declared to replace him (this is the one case where the goal-keeper is not player #1). He gets all goal-keepers' privileges except the bonus on interception die rolls. A substitute goalie can then only be brought into play by taking a field player out of play.
In tournament play, yellow cards usually carry over to the next matches of the same round (i.e. qualification or finals). A player that received one yellow card, and another in a later match of that round, he may not be fielded in the game after that.
To make the game faster and to punish any attempt to make a mind-sport out of this game, players should as soon as possible introduce a time limit for the game turn phases. Of course, trying out tactics or introducing new players works better without a limit.
The 30-second egg-timers are used to limit the time:
When time runs out, the current phase ends immediately, and the player may not shoot or move anymore. The attempt to keep on playing is punished by a yellow card for the player(s) and an indirect free-kick from the position of the ball when time ran out.
Remark: A chess timer works a lot better than egg-timers, especially if you can set the time limit.
The following optional rules should only be used by experienced players because they tend to slow down the game and make it more complicated.
This rule make the goal-keeper's interception a bit less predictable. The goalie rolls one more die after a successful interception in the penalty-area:
So far, we had players that always take a pass perfectly. This changes now. Roll two diceand compare the total result with the distance of the shot:
If the path of the ball does not include the target player's space, the rebound is measured from the first space adjacent to the player, regardless of whether that space is empty or not.
If the space the ball rebounds to is occupied by a player that player gets close control of the ball immediately. If it rebounds to a space adjacent to a player, that player gets control, with a preference for the attacker if more than one players are adjacent. Otherwise a rebound cannot be intercepted because it is not a shot.
Note that the ball might leave the playing field due to a missed pass, namely in case 2 of the above (if the first empty space is outside of the field) or in case 3. If this happens, the defender is awarded a throw-in or goal-kick, depending on the situation.
When a goal shot passes exactly over a goal-post edge of the goal, there is a chance to hit the goal-post instead of the goal. The attacker rolls a die.
If the space the ball rebounds to is occupied by a player that player gets close control of the ball immediately. If it rebounds to a space adjacent to a player, that player gets control, with a preference for the attacker if more than one players are adjacent. Otherwise a rebound cannot be intercepted because it is not a shot.
Players regarded as "aces" get a bonus on certain die rolls as noted in the result tables. Their counterparts are the "wash-outs" who get the same bonuses, but the time and manner (plus or minus) are determined by the opposing player!
Bonus points come in two forms:
How does a player get a characteristic? You may assign players by consent, or couple the career to success in previous games. Make up your own rules, this is only a sketch of what is possible!
Player characteristics make it interesting to play with named primary and substitute players, since now tactics could demand to promote some players and let others have some rest.
For those who know the original rules, here are a few remarks about them, and about the changes I applied.
The original game, in my opinion, shows that the editors have little or no experience with publishing games, and as far as I know they never published any other game, before or after. The game mechanics that seemed particularly weird to me and that seemed to go worst with the intent of providing a simulation of football tactics were:
By re-writing many of the rules I try to remedy this and to achieve a better simulation (and, hopefully, a better game).
The original game is probably hard to find by now- after all, it never was very popular as far as I could find out. With the description of the material and the pictures in these rules it will probably not be too hard to build a self-made copy. The parts hardest to make will be the player pawns which are, in the original, sturdy plastic cylinders, with a concave top that accommodates the massive plastic ball. If you can get tubes in two colours they would fit the purpose well; just cut them into thick rings and apply player numbers on the outside.
Please keep in mind that the game is still copyrighted by the original publisher.
Some things that can occur in reality have been left out of this game. The reason is that they are not elements that are used intentionally, or that they would feel "artificial" in the scale of the game.
| Distance | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ |
| 1 | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 2 | - | hit | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 3,4 | - | - | hit | hit | hit | hit |
| 5-7 | - | - | - | hit | hit | hit |
| 7-9 | - | - | - | - | hit | hit |
| 10-12 | - | - | - | - | - | hit |
| Add player's bonus if optional rule is used | ||||||
| Path of Ball | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ | Bonus? |
| through | - | - | ok | ok | ok | ok | Effects Below (cumulative), add intercepting player's bonus if optional rule is used |
| adjacent | - | - | - | - | ok | ok | |
| Bonus Effects: | +1 if adjacent to origin or target space of ball | ||||||
| -1 if distance to origin or target space of ball = 2 | |||||||
| -2 if distance to origin or target space of ball > 2 | |||||||
| +1 if defender is goalkeeper in goal or penalty-area | |||||||
| An original die roll of "1" always loses the interception attempt! | |||||||
| Dribbling | d1- | d2 | d3 | d4 | d5 | d6+ | Bonus? |
| wide | foul/yellow card? | foul? | ok | ok | ok | ok | Effects given below, cumulative, add principal intercepting player's plus attacker's bonus if optional rule is used |
| Close | foul/yellow card? | foul? | - | - | ok | ok | |
| Bonus Effects: | +1 per additional defender adjacent to attacking player or ball | ||||||
| -1 if no committed defender in square adjacent to attacker | |||||||
| +2 if ball is dribbled through defender's square | |||||||
| +1 if defender is goalkeeper in goal or goal area | |||||||
| -1 if defender declares "fair play" | |||||||
| An original die roll of "1" or "2" is a foul if any defender and the attacker are on adjacent squares and the defender did not declare "fair play". | |||||||