Worldwide Football

Worldwide Football Rulebook

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 - Object of the Game

The winner is the player whose team has scored the most goals at the end of the 2 halves.

2 - Number of Players

Worldwide Football is a game for 2 players, and the rules are explained for that configuration. For team play, a variant (4-player game, below) lets you play with 4 players.

3 - Components

92 Action cards
35 Player cards
2 Player Aid cards
5 Team cards
18 Star ability cards
1 Ball token
1 twenty-sided die (d20)
2 six-sided dice (d6)
12 Star tokens
6 Substitution tokens
4 PA tokens

Amateur Mode

Amateur mode lets you discover Worldwide Football through simplified rules.

4 - Setup in Amateur Mode

a) Remove from the game the Action cards marked PRO and INT. Also remove the Team cards and the Star ability cards, except the Counter-attack, Offensive Play and Tactical Scheme cards.

b) Divide the remaining Action cards into two decks, separating the blue-backed cards from the red-backed cards.

c) Each player chooses a team and takes in front of them:

an Action card deck, face down.
the Player card deck of the team they selected, face down.
their 3 Star ability cards (Counter-attack, Offensive Play and Tactical Scheme) spread face up in front of them.
4 Star tokens, face up.

d) Flip a coin to determine the player who has the ball and leads an attack for the first action.

e) The player who kicks off draws 8 Action cards and 2 Player cards; the other player draws 7 Action cards and 2 Player cards.

The match can now begin!

5 - Maximum Hand Size

At any time in the game, you may not hold in hand:

more than 10 Action cards
more than 3 Player cards

If drawing cards takes you over this limit, you must immediately discard the card(s) of your choice until your hand is within the limit again.

6 - Building an Attack

When you have the ball, you play attack cards from your hand to accumulate attack points (PA). Attack cards are recognizable by their green background and the orange square in their upper left corner. Elements of an attack card:

Name of the offensive Action: this action is recalled by its initial on the left.
Prerequisite: the 5/6 written on the left means the card can only be played if you have 5 or 6 attack points. The Cross (Centre) and Through Ball (Passe en profondeur) attack cards have this type of prerequisite.
Defense: these indications designate the cards your opponent may use to defend against your offensive action (here, the Interception card). The number on a red background indicates the bonus your opponent can get on their defensive roll (see section 9).
Card effect: each attack card has a particular effect. This effect applies immediately if the defending player does not defend against this card or if they fail their defense (see section 9).
PA: this card makes you gain 1 attack point.

To get into shooting position, you must accumulate between 6 and 8 PA by playing your attack cards one by one. Warning: you may never play a card whose effect would bring you to 9 PA or more.

Example: an attack at 7 PA gives you a fine goal-scoring chance. You are in good position to play a Shot card!

Attack cards named in the examples: Dribble (D), Long Pass (PL), Pass (P), Cross (Centre), Through Ball (PP).

Giving the ball back. At any time during your attack, you may decide to abandon it and give the ball back to your opponent. In that case, you must draw 3 Action cards, then discard 1 Action card. However, if your draw deck is exhausted or has fewer than 3 cards when you give the ball back, you are not required to discard after drawing.

7 - Shots

Shot cards are used to try to score a goal. A shot can only be played if you have 6, 7 or 8 PA. The more PA you have, the more likely your strike is to end up in the back of the net!

A Shot card shows:

Prerequisite: the 6/7/8 on the left means the card can only be played if you have 6, 7 or 8 attack points.
Defense: as for attack cards, these indications designate the cards that can be used to defend against your shot (here the Pressing and Tackle cards).
Shot bonus (see below).

If the shot is not defended against, or if the defense your opponent attempts fails, roll 1 d6 to assess the quality of your shot, then apply to the die result the bonus indicated on the card according to your PA (6 PA: 0, 7 PA: +1 and 8 PA: +2). The resulting number is the quality of your shot.

Your opponent then rolls the d6 in turn to find out whether their goalkeeper stops the shot.

If they roll a result lower than the quality of your shot: GOAL! Your shot fooled the goalkeeper and the ball ends up in the back of the net.
If they roll a result equal to or higher than the quality of your shot: the ball is stopped and your opponent gets the ball.

8 - End of the Attack

The attack ends (and the ball changes sides) in the following cases:

the attacking player decides to give the ball back to their opponent.
a goal is scored.
the defending player succeeds in a defensive action (see section 9).
a shot is off target (Pro mode option, see section 19).

When an attack ends, all current PA are lost. In addition, all cards used, in attack as in defense, go to the players' respective discard piles. Discard piles are placed face up.

9 - Playing Defense

When you do not have the ball, you try to use the defense cards in your hand to end your opponent's attack. Defense cards are recognizable by their blue background and the green hexagon in their upper left corner. Elements of a defense card:

Name of the defensive Action.
D20: the number in the green hexagon is the minimum result to obtain on the d20 to succeed in the defensive action. It may seem rather high, but there are several ways to reduce it!
Fouls: some defensive actions involve the risk of committing a foul, or even receiving a yellow or red card. Fouls are only used in Professional mode, so you can ignore them in Amateur mode.

On each attack card played by the attacking player, you as defender can either:

choose not to intervene and draw 2 Action cards. Warning: if the effect of any card prevents you from defending against an action, you cannot draw.
or attempt a defensive action by playing a defense card. Reminder: a defense card can only be used to intervene on an attack card that mentions it.

To succeed in your defensive action, you must obtain with the d20 a result at least equal to the number required by your card, from which you subtract:

the number of validated PA your attacking opponent has accumulated (not counting the card you are defending against).
the possible bonus given by the attack card you are defending against.

If your defensive action succeeds, you immediately get the ball and thus move to attack. If your defensive action fails, your opponent may continue their attack.

Example: your opponent on attack has 5 PA and plays a Through Ball card. You decide to defend with an Interception, which requires at least a 19 on the d20. You can however bring this number down to 13 given your opponent's 5 PA and the bonus 1 given by the Through Ball card (19 - 5 - 1 = 13). You roll the die and get 15: your defense succeeds (15 > 13) and you immediately get the ball!

10 - Stars

You have 4 Star tokens for your match. Using these tokens lets you activate the Star abilities detailed on the corresponding cards. In Amateur mode, you play with 3 Star abilities:

Offensive Play: can be activated if you have the ball and have between 0 and 5 PA. Gain 1 PA.
Tactical Scheme: can be activated if you have the ball. Draw 1 Action card of your choice.
Counter-attack: can be activated if you win the ball while your opponent has 2 PA or fewer. Immediately gain 4 PA.

Important clarification: if you use Tactical Scheme (or Creativity in Pro mode) to draw a Shot card and there is no Shot card left in your draw deck, you may take that card from your discard pile.

You lose one Star each time you use one of its abilities.

At half-time, your team regains 2 Stars to reflect your players' recovery. However, you can never hold more than your 4 starting Stars.

11 - Player Cards

There are 4 types of Player cards, indicated in the upper right corner of each card:

G cards (Goalkeeper)
D cards (Defender)
M cards (Midfielder)
A cards (Attacker)

Player cards let you trigger special effects in specific situations. They always state the cases in which they can be played and the benefits you can get from them in the game. Some cards notably let you gain additional PA (shown at the bottom left of the card); remember to count them!

It is not possible to defend against or to draw on a Player card, except by using a D card that specifically provides for this use.

12 - Half-time / End of the Match

A match is played in 2 halves.

A half ends when at least one of the two draw decks is exhausted and both players have consecutively given the ball back to each other (see section 6, "Giving the ball back"). To start the second half, set up again as described in section 4.

Note: the player who did not kick off in the first half kicks off at the start of the second half.

13 - Example of a Turn

Att: your opponent kicks off with Pass, which can give them 2 PA and let them draw a Player card.
Def: you decide not to defend against this action and draw 2 Action cards. The effect of your opponent's Pass triggers: they draw 1 Player card.
Att: your opponent follows with Long Pass, which can let them gain 3 more PA... but also gives the defender a bonus 3 on their die roll if they defend with Interception.
Def: a good opportunity to end the attack! You decide to try to win the ball with an Interception card. Taking into account your opponent's 2 PA and the bonus 3 from the Long Pass card, you need at least 14 (19-2-3) to win the ball. You roll the d20 and get 17!
Att: you are now in attack position. You start with Long Pass.
Def: your opponent decides not to defend against this action and draws 2 cards. The effect of your card applies: you must discard 1 Action card.
Att: you follow with Dribble, which can let you gain 1 PA and draw 1 Action card.
Def: your opponent tries to defend with Pressing but only gets an 8 on the d20. With the 3 PA on the table, they needed a 15 to succeed. The defense having failed, the effect of your Dribble card triggers: you draw 1 Action card.
Att: you follow with Through Ball, which can give you 2 PA and prevent your opponent from intervening on your next action.
Def: your opponent decides not to defend and draws 2 cards. You now have 6 PA.

Professional Mode

Professional mode introduces new rules that make the game more realistic and give your matches greater tactical depth. These additional rules were tested to make your play experience the best possible, but you are free to adopt some and leave others aside. The rules are modular and can work independently of each other.

14 - Setup in Professional Mode

a) Remove from the game the Action cards marked INT.

b) Divide the Action cards into two decks, separating the blue-backed cards from the red-backed cards.

c) Each player chooses a team and takes in front of them:

an Action card deck, face down.
the Player card deck of the selected team, face down.
their Team card.
the 3 Star ability cards indicated on their Team card, spread face up.
2 additional Star ability cards of their choice, spread face up.
a number of Star tokens equal to the number of Stars shown on their Team card.

d) Flip a coin to determine the player who has the ball and leads an attack for the first action.

e) The player who kicks off draws 8 Action cards and 2 Player cards; the other player draws 7 Action cards and 2 Player cards.

15 - Fouls, Free Kicks and Penalties

Fouls. A foul is committed on an unlucky die roll after playing a defense card. Fouls are symbolized on defense cards by an icon.

Example: on the Tackle card (presented in section 9), you commit a foul if your d20 result is between 1 and 6.

When a foul is committed, all the effects of the attack card that was just played trigger. In addition, depending on your opponent's number of PA, a foul may result in an indirect free kick, a direct free kick or a penalty.

Indirect free kicks. You get an indirect free kick when the defending player commits a foul while your PA count is between 0 and 5, counting the PA of the card on which the foul was committed. In that case, resume your attack with the PA you have. You may only restart on a free kick with Pass, Long Pass, Through Ball and Cross, always taking into account the prerequisites for the latter two cards. The defender cannot defend against the first action following a free kick.

Direct free kicks. You get a direct free kick when the defending player commits a foul while your PA count is 6, counting the PA of the card on which the foul was committed. In that case, you must attempt a shot with 1d6 with 1 point of bonus (1d6 + 1) without using a Shot card, following the procedure explained in section 7. Your opponent cannot defend against this shot.

Some Player cards show a ball in the upper right. This means that player is a free kick specialist! If you discard this card when taking the free kick, you get 2 points of bonus instead of 1 on your shot (1d6 + 2).

Penalties. You get a penalty when the opposing player commits a foul while your PA count is 7 or 8, counting the PA of the action on which the foul was committed. In that case, each player secretly chooses a number on a d6, which they hide behind their Team card. The numbers chosen by each player are then revealed:

if the numbers are different, it is a GOAL!
if the numbers are identical, the shot is stopped and the ball changes sides.

16 - Cards (Yellow and Red)

You receive a card on an unlucky die roll on a Tackle or a Pressing.

Example: on the Tackle card (presented in section 9), you receive a red card if your d20 result is 1 and a yellow card if the result is 2 or 3. In that case, apply the following effects:

Yellow card: discard 1 card of your choice (Action card or Player card).
Red card: discard 3 cards of your choice (Action or Player cards).

In addition, with a red card, you may not hold more than 7 Action cards and 2 Player cards in hand until the end of the game. Otherwise, you must immediately discard the card(s) of your choice until your hand is within the limit again.

If it is your second red card, you may not hold more than 5 Action cards and 1 Player card in hand.

17 - Corners

You get a corner when, after you play a Shot card, your opponent obtains with the d6 a result equal to the quality of the shot they are trying to stop.

When you get a corner, your attack resumes at 5 PA. You may only restart on a corner with Pass, Long Pass or Cross.

18 - Stars: Additional Rules

You have for your match a number of Star tokens equal to the number of Stars on your Team card. As in Amateur mode, Stars let you activate your Star abilities. There are 9 different Star abilities in Professional mode.

Each ability used makes you lose 1 Star. Unless otherwise indicated, Star abilities are cumulative. For example, if you announce "Defensive Block" twice at the start of a defense phase (sacrificing 2 Stars for this), all your defensive rolls benefit from a +6 bonus.

At half-time, your team regains 2 Stars to reflect your players' recovery. However, you can never hold more Stars than there are on your Team card.

You may also change your Star ability cards at half-time, but you must always keep the 3 Star abilities indicated on your Team card.

19 - Off-Target Shots

When you have possession of the ball and obtain a 1 on the d6, before application of any bonus, when playing a Shot card (see section 7), the shot is deemed off target and your opponent gets the ball.

20 - Substitutions

At the start of the game, you have 3 Substitution tokens.

A Substitution can be used when the ball changes sides or on a stoppage of play (foul or corner). Using a Substitution token lets you gain 1 Star. In exchange, you must discard a Player card of your choice and remove that card from the game until the end of the match. A player thus substituted cannot be brought back into play in any way.

21 - Stadium

At the start of the game, you may agree that the match will be played in the stadium of one of the two teams. In that case, from the start of the game, the effect next to the Stadium icon on that team's Team card applies throughout the game.

International Mode

International mode uses all the Action cards and gives you the possibility of building your deck. Only the greatest coaches will triumph here! We also offer an additional rule applicable to penalties.

22 - Setup in International Mode

At the start of the game, each player chooses 32 Action cards from the cards available to them to make up their deck. Each deck must contain between 7 and 12 Defense cards. Setup is then identical to that described in section 14.

At half-time, each player may change their Action card deck as they wish, provided they always respect a number of Defense cards between 7 and 12.

23 - Using Goalkeeper Cards on a Penalty

When a player gets a penalty, their opponent may choose to discard a G Player card. In that case, the penalty is stopped in the cases listed in the following table:

Face chosen by the goalkeeper	1	2	3	4	5	6
Face chosen by the shooter	1 and 2	2 and 3	3 and 4	4 and 5	5 and 6	6 and 1

4-Player Game

Worldwide Football can also be played by 4, forming 2 teams of 2 players. The rules are then adapted as follows.

23 - Setup for 4 Players

Setup has the following changes compared to the 2-player game.

Each team designates a player who will serve as captain for the first half. Players on the same team may agree to swap roles for the second half.
Each player is dealt 5 Action cards.

24 - Course of Play with 4 Players

The game is played the same way as with 2 players, with the following adaptations:

On attack, the captain decides which of them or their partner has the ball and can begin the action. The player so designated can then build the offensive as they see fit, until they themselves decide to pass the ball to their partner, who can then contribute to the attack. Warning: if the partner to whom the ball is left is unable to continue the action, the ball is directly returned to the opponent without compensation (no draw for giving the ball back). Cards whose effect is to make you draw one or more cards benefit only the player who just played them.
On defense, the captain decides on each action whether they defend themselves, let their partner defend, or prefer not to defend and draw. If this last option is chosen, each of the defending players draws 1 card. Warning: if the captain decides to let their partner defend and that partner is unable to do so, the defending team cannot draw on this action!
Stars and Substitutions can only be used on the captain's initiative. However, Star abilities that affect a player's hand (Tactical Scheme, Creativity and Endurance) can be used by all players.

FAQ

What happens if a card lets me draw while the draw deck is exhausted? The card's effect is simply ignored.

What is the difference between Player cards that can be played with an Action card and those that can be played after an Action card? For some Player cards, note the distinction between:

cards that can be played after a given Action card: these cards must be played once the action is validated (an action on which your opponent did not intervene or failed in their defense)
cards that can be played with a given Action card: these cards must be played simultaneously with the Action card, before any announcement by your opponent concerning their defensive stance.

What does this Player card text mean? "[this Player card] can be played after a defensive roll. Gain a +4 bonus on your defensive roll." If you have just rolled the d20 (to try to win the ball with a defense card) and the die result does not let you succeed in your defense, you can play this card to improve your die result. Example: you need a 14 to succeed in your Interception but only rolled an 11. Playing this card lets you add 4 to your die result to succeed in the Interception.

What does this Player card text mean? "[this Player card] can intervene on an M or A Player card." This card can be used as soon as your opponent plays a Midfielder or Attacker card, to counter their Player card.

What does this Player card text mean? "[this Player card] can be played if you win the ball on Tac / Pre / Int." This card can be used immediately after you have succeeded in a Tackle / a Pressing / an Interception.

Must a G Player card be played before or after the attacker has rolled their d6? You can use a G Player card after the attacker has rolled their d6, including if the quality of their shot is 7 or more.

What does this Player card text mean? "Recover an Action card." This card lets you take back into your hand a card of your choice from your discard pile.

Can a D Player card be used to counter an A Player card that makes defense against a shot impossible? Yes. The fact that defense against the Shot is impossible forbids playing a defense card, but not a Player card.

Can applying a bonus to a defensive roll (D Player card or "Defensive Block" ability) let me avoid committing a foul or receiving a card? No. Whether a foul is committed or a team receives a card is assessed from the result of the defensive roll before application of any bonus.

Can the "Offensive Play" Star ability be used on a free kick or a corner? No, this ability can only be used during a regular phase of play.

Can one defend against an action on which the "Offside Trap" Star ability is used? No. Using "Offside Trap" on an attack card prevents you from using a defense card or drawing.

When must the "Defensive Block" Star ability be announced? Defensive Block must be announced at the start of a defensive phase, that is, when, as defender, the opponent has played their first attack card.

Does the "Defensive Block" bonus apply to the d20 roll resulting from playing a D Player card? No, the Defensive Block bonus only applies to defensive rolls, that is, those resulting from playing a defense card.

For activating and applying the "Simulation" Star ability, must the PA of the last attack card played, on which Simulation is triggered, be counted? No, only the PA actually validated at the moment Simulation is triggered are counted. Example: the attacking player has 6 PA and plays a Dribble (+1 PA). Their opponent defends with a Pressing but the attacking player activates Simulation. The Dribble is therefore not validated. The attacking player gets 12 on the d20, so the Simulation succeeds and results in a free kick (there were 6 PA, not 7 PA, when Simulation was triggered).

What happens if the match is drawn at the end of regulation time? You can simply stay on that result! You can also decide to play extra time in two periods of play. In that case, at the start of each period, each player selects 10 Action cards that they will use to play that period. The rest of the setup and the rules of the game are identical. If you still have not managed to separate the teams after that, you can proceed to a penalty shootout using the penalty rule of section 15.