Turn-by-Turn Football

Still in an athletic mood, this concept is based on a sort of board game/table football combo i've spent many a good moment on during childhood, even though i never was a big football fan.

Football (or soccer, for you US readers) is always very popular. What we want is a leisurely game that can be enjoyed without lags and is more strategic and less reflexes based.

Before a match begins, each player chooses his team's formation from a list. Some are more aggresive, some more defensive, others balanced.

Each side's players, small football puppets, are placed on the pitch in accordance with the chosen formation. The players are static and will not move during a game. The only possible change in their positions can happen during half-time, where a player may re-deploy his players for the second half using a different formation.

The keeper is the only player to move. Both keepers move automatically from one end of the goal post to the other, reversing direction when they hit the edge.

As the opening whistle sounds, the ball is thrown high up into the air and falls down approximately at the center of the pitch. When it comes to a rest, it is drawn as if by magnet to the closest player, and that side starts the game.

When the ball is at one of your player's feet, you use mouse hold-and-drag to determine the direction and power of the kick, and release to shoot. The ball bounces from players and the sides of the pitch. It is also affected by pull - each player, friendly or rival, exerts a weak pulling force on the ball. When it finally comes to rest a player's feet the game proceeds. The only other option is that it bypasses the goalie and scores a point.

That's the simple billiards-meets-foosball core. The developer may also add bonuses that appear randomly on screen, and can be collected by the ball passing through them (the last player to kick the ball is the one gaining the bonus advantage). Example bonuses: more powerful kicks, rival keeper freezes in his tracks, friendly keeper moves faster, enchanced players' pulling force, red card temporarily removes a random rival player.

Another option is to make the controls more nuanced to allow more complex kicks. This can be achieved by adding aftertouch: moving the mouse right or left immediately after releasing the kick gives the appropriate spin to the ball.