NFL Showdown

NFL Showdown Rulebook

Table of Contents

How to Play

Choose Your Level of Play

Rookie Mode – for newer NFL players.
Pro Mode – for experienced players (or fans).

Both teams must play at the same level in a game.

Pre-Game Setup

Each player chooses their NFL team and grabs the two Big Play cards for that team. Keep Big Play cards secret until they are used in the game.
Separate the 3 sets of Playbook cards (Rookie, Power Run, Shotgun) and sort them into Offense & Defense.
- Rookie Mode – use ONLY the Rookie Offense and Defense Playbook cards for the game. Both players will share these cards.
- Pro Mode – use ALL Playbook cards for the game. Both players will share these cards.
Place the game board between players. Each team picks its end zone to defend.
Assemble the field goal post by connecting the base and uprights.
Clip each player's NFL team football to the score board at the 0 mark. Place a Scoreboard clip along the bottom of the Quarter clock on the 1 to indicate it is the 1st Quarter.
Now, flip a coin to determine who will kick off & who will receive the football first (and play Offense) to start the game. Winner of the coin toss chooses!

Kicking Off

In Rookie Mode – the receiving team always starts their possession on the 25-yard line closest to their end zone.
In Pro Mode – use all 3 Distance Dice to kick off (yellow, red, & green). Roll the dice to determine the distance of the kick. Add up the sum of the dice and measure those yards from the kicking team's 35-yard line (denoted with an X).
- *If a 0 is rolled, re-roll that die until a zero does not appear.
Offense starts with the football. Place it on the Line of Scrimmage marker at that yard line to begin.
Place the First Down Marker on the sideline 10 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage toward the end zone they are attempting to score in.
The Offense begins their possession.
Each possession begins with a First Down, so place the round Down Tracker chip on 1st Down – on the side of the game board.

Now, it's time to pick a play…

Picking a Play

The Offense has 4 downs to either advance the ball 10 yards or more for a new first down, score a touchdown, kick a field goal, or punt the ball to their opponent. Otherwise, the football is turned over to the other team after the 4th down and the possession is over.

Both Offense and Defense will choose a play card from their set of Playbooks. SEE PLAYBOOKS.

Offense selects a play from the blue cards and Defense selects from the red cards.

Rookie Mode – use ONLY ROOKIE cards.
Pro Mode – use ROOKIE cards and the following 2 playbook sets:
- Power Run cards – This playbook is run heavy and features only 1 pass play.
- Shotgun cards – This playbook is pass heavy. This playbook also has an extra defensive play for a Corner Blitz to sack the QB.

Playbooks

There are 3 sets of Playbook cards.

Rookie cards – There is a run, short pass, or long pass up the sideline.
Power Run cards – This playbook is run heavy and features only 1 pass play.
Shotgun cards – This playbook is pass heavy. This playbook also has an extra defensive play for a Corner Blitz to sack the QB.

Now it's time to run a play…

Running a Play

Play arrows or Big Play cards may indicate that dice may need to be rolled for the result of a play.

Play arrows on the play cards indicate:

GREEN play arrows indicate a short run play up to 10 yards.
RED play arrows indicate a short pass play up to 15 yards.
YELLOW play arrows indicate a long pass play up to 30 yards.

If the Defense correctly predicts what play the offense is running it will result in a good outcome for the Defense. However, if the Defense chooses poorly, the Offense could pull off a big gain! SEE RUNNING A PLAY.

Each team chooses a play from their Playbook Cards. The Defense is trying to predict what the Offense will run to stop them.
- In Pro Mode the Offense MUST announce which set of Playbook Cards they are using on EVERY play (Rookie, Power Run, or Shotgun). The Defense MUST then use the same set of Playbook Cards for their play.
When ready, both players place their cards face down at the Line of Scrimmage – arrows pointing at each other.
Flip the cards over at the same time to reveal the outcome of the play.
Find the circled player on the offensive card and follow the play arrow down to the defensive card to see the result of the play.
- For example, this play resulted in a 15-yard gain!
Move the Line of Scrimmage marker the same number of yards as the result of the play for the new location of the line of scrimmage. Also, move the First Down marker if needed to establish the placement for a new first down. (See Getting a First Down)
Move the Down Tracker chip after each play to indicate the new down.

Distance Dice + Passing Die

Play arrows or Big Play Cards may indicate that dice may need to be rolled for the result of a play.

There are 3 Distance Dice: GREEN, RED, YELLOW.

Roll the indicated colored dice to show the yards gained or lost on a play. If a 0 is rolled, then there are no yards gained for the play.

The WHITE Passing Die is used when the Defense is playing tight coverage on a pass. This die will determine if a pass is completed, incomplete, or intercepted. It is rolled at the SAME TIME as the distance as indicated on a playbook play card.

If CATCH is rolled – the pass is complete, and the line of scrimmage moves the number of yards indicated in the result of the play.
If TURN OVER is rolled – then the Defense intercepts the pass and gains possession of the ball at the spot of the catch. Move the line of scrimmage accordingly to that yard line. The other team's possession is over.
If X is rolled – the pass is incomplete, and no catch was made. The ball remains at the current yard line and it becomes the next down.

Big Play Cards

Each team has 2 Big Play cards that showcase that team's strengths. Use these cards to make a big play during the game!

Big Plays may add or remove yards from the end of a play, or determine the outcome of a pass.

Blue Cards are used on Offense, Red Cards are used on Defense.
Each card indicates what type of play the card can be played on: pass play, run play, etc.
Cards may indicate which die needs to be rolled.
These cards are played after the Playbook Cards are flipped over.
Only ONE Big Play card can be played per down – the first player to place a Big Play card on the game board gets to play the card.
Once a card is played it is discarded for the remainder of the half (end of 2nd Quarter). Teams start with both Big Play cards at the start of the new half (3rd Quarter).

Getting a First Down

When the Offense moves the ball to the First Down Marker, or beyond it, then they earn a new set of downs.

Reset the Down Tracker chip back to the 1 on the game board for the new first down.
Move the First Down Marker on the sideline ahead 10 yards from the new location of the ball.
If the goal line of the end zone is less than 10 yards down field, the situation becomes "1st and Goal" and no more sets of downs are available.

Scoring a Touchdown

If the Offense completes a play that goes into the end zone (goal line or beyond), it is a touchdown.

Rookie Mode – that team scores 7 points immediately. The Extra Point is automatically included in the score.
Pro Mode – that team scores 6 points immediately. That team now has one try to either kick an Extra Point or attempt a 2-Point Conversion (see 2-Point Conversion).
- EXTRA POINT: the scoring team must kick the ball with the NFL Flicker Kicker™ from any spot behind the 15-yard line. If the kick is successful, the team scores 1 additional point.
- 2-POINT CONVERSION: The scoring team can attempt a 2-point conversion instead of an Extra Point. The ball is placed on the 2-yard line and the team must run one play to advance the ball past the goal line in the same manner as scoring a touchdown. If successful, the team scores 2 additional points.

After all points have been tallied on the scoreboard, the scoring team now kicks off to their opponent. (See Kicking Off)

Kicking Field Goals

Use the Flicker Kicker™ to kick the ball off the Line of Scrimmage marker on any down. Players may kick from the Line of Scrimmage or any spot behind it. Place the field goal posts behind the end zone, lined up between the lines marked on the game board.

Line up the kick with NFL Flicker Kicker™.
Pull back on either tab on kicker foot.
Release to flick the football through the uprights.

IF THE KICK IS GOOD – and passes through the field goal post uprights and above the crossbar – then that team scores 3 points.
- That team now kicks off to the other team (See Kicking Off).
IF THE KICK MISSES – and does not pass through the field goal posts, then the other team immediately starts their next possession on Offense from the same yard line.

Punting

A team may punt the ball to their opponent, which forces them to begin their drive from further down the field.

A player may punt the ball to the other team on any down, but often does so when a team reaches a fourth down and are out of field goal range.

Use the Distance Dice to punt.
The player may roll 1, 2, or all 3 distance dice depending on how far they would like to punt the ball.
Add up the sum numbers for the roll to determine the length of the kick from the current line of scrimmage. (If a 0 is rolled, it is NOT rolled again.)
- Move the Line of Scrimmage marker to that new yard line and the other team begins their next possession.
- If the punt goes to the goal line, or past the goal line, it is a touchback, and the other team automatically starts on the 25-yard line.

Safety

If an offensive player is tackled in their own end zone, a safety occurs.

The defending player scores 2 points!
The offensive player now punts the ball from their 20-yard line by rolling all 3 Distance Dice.
The sum of the dice is added up to determine the length of the punt. (If a 0 is rolled, it is NOT rolled again.)
The other team begins their next possession at the new location of the ball.

Length of Game

The game is played in 4 quarters. Use the clip on the Quarter clock on the scoreboard to keep track.
Quarters are determined by Offensive possessions of the football. Each team gets to play on Offense 1 time per quarter – including turnovers. Whenever the other team goes on Offense a possession is over.
After the second Offensive possession in each quarter, the quarter is over, even if the quarter ends in a turnover.
The 1st Quarter & 3rd Quarter always begins with a Kickoff (See Kicking Off).
The team that received the ball in the opening kickoff must kick off to the other team to start the 3rd Quarter.

Winning the Game

The player with the most points after 4 quarters of play is the winner!

Overtime

If there is tie score at the end of the game, then both teams are going into Overtime! Flip a coin to determine who will kick and who will receive the ball. The winner of the toss chooses.

If a team scores a touchdown on the first possession, they win the game!
If a team kicks a field goal, turns the ball over, or punts on the first possession then the other team gets a chance to score.
If the other team scores more points on their first possession, then they win!
If the game is tied after both teams have had an Offensive possession, the next team to score wins!

Alternate Ways to Play

Pro Bowl Mode

Time to play with the All-Stars! In this version, both teams play in Pro Mode.

Shuffle up the Big Play Cards and each team randomly draws 3 for the game.
Each team has 2 offensive possessions per quarter in this mode.

Playoff Mode

Create your own league and play with your friends! Each player picks a team and teams square off in their own player-designed brackets leading up to the Super Bowl!

Object of the Game

The Offense attempts to advance the football down the field to score a touchdown in the end zone.

The Defense attempts to stop the Offense from scoring and get the ball so they can get the ball back on offense.

Each team gets 1 Offensive possession with the football per Quarter. There are 4 quarters in a game. After the last possession the game is over.

The team with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Quick Start (Rookie Mode)

Flip a coin to see which team starts on Offense.
Offense starts with the football. Place it on the Line of Scrimmage Marker at the 25-yard line to begin.
Now, both teams pick a play from the Rookie Playbook cards. Offense selects a play from the blue cards and Defense selects from the red cards.
Teams place their selected card face down with the arrows lined up.
When both teams are ready, flip the cards over at the same time. Follow the play arrow from Offense card to Defense card to see the result of the play.
Move the Line of Scrimmage Marker forward or backward on the field according to the result of the play. Update the down tracker for the next play.
The Offense may also score by kicking field goals with the NFL Flicker Kicker™ from any spot behind the line of scrimmage.

Watch a quick video on how to play at buffalogames.com/nfl-showdown.

64 Big Play Cards
32 NFL Team Footballs for Scoring
19 Playbook Cards in 3 sets: Rookie (3 Offense / 3 Defense cards), Power Run (3 Offense / 3 Defense cards), Shotgun (3 Offense / 4 Defense cards)
3 Distance Dice (Yellow, Red, Green)
1 Passing Die (white)
1 Field Goal Post
1 NFL Flicker Kicker™
1 NFL Football
1 NFL Showdown Game Board
1 Line of Scrimmage Marker
1 First Down Marker
1 Down Tracker Chip
1 Scoreboard
3 Scoreboard Clips
Game Instructions