Counter Attack: the football board game

Product Information

It’s a two player board game that somehow manages to combine the tactical, analytical side of the sport with the chaos factor of a bouncing ball or a deflected shot. If the shooting check fails then any defenders may attempt to block the shot before it reaches the goal, a roll of 1 means the shot is off target, but the defending players still roll for blocks first. The game is also customizable with many different team counters that can be purchased, enabling you to get away from the included Ajax v Juventus counters and match up Liverpool v Manchester City for example. This is a duel between your DRIBBLING and the defender's TACKLING, but the defender gets a +1 bonus for their roll. If an attacker is dribbling in any of your goalkeeper's saving hexes you may also attempt to dive at their feet.

Once the action limit is up the half immediately finished, the only exception is if the last action led to a penalty, in which case the penalty kick will be the final action. Up to 2 outfield players from each team may challenge for the ball, along with the defending goalkeeper if he is within range and inside the penalty box.If I have one complaint, and this is likely only applicable to newbies, is that attacking moves can take a while to set-up while you flick back and forth in the rule book. Once the ball has reached its destination square the defending goalkeeper is allowed a free move up to their PACE. Opening up we’re presented with a rulebook, a large gameboard folded into eight, a punch sheet with a few tokens to pop out, the player counters and some football counters too, and then some sand-timers, Counter Attack involves some elements of real time play. This could mean that slower players may eat up the clock, whether by accident or on purpose, but as said earlier the box contains some sand-timers to counter this, and the rules do state that they can be used for slow managers and a turn will end with the timer if they take too long.

We found the rule book to be excellent but there are also an awful lot of youtube videos from Colin explaining how you should interpret the rules. Both managers now line up their players by the corresponding numbers on their side of the board, keeping 5 players back as substitutes, then set up their 11 counters on the field as they wish in their own half. This is important as you will be relying on the numbers printed on each counter to link to your drafted team.

Each manager also gets a distance stick and a player aid card, and the sand timer goes next to the board. I have never been someone who purchases two player games, or football themed games (soccer anyway, American football is a whole different kettle of fish) but yet this game has had me hooked and I am already looking at when I can sign up for another tournament, and arranging a few Counter Attack friendlies so I can test new strategies and tactics to see how well they will fare. A snapshot can be taken after any other action when your player has obtained possession of the ball within range of the goal, be it a pass, a successful tackle or even a rebounded shot landing at your feet.

For example, when a defender comes within one hex of the ball-carrier, he can try to tackle to win the ball. If he rolls equal or higher then he just deflected it so perform a loose ball check, a result of behind or to the side of the goalkeeper means it has gone out for a corner kick, otherwise it deflects off him as he saves so follow the loose ball rules.Because every player has a unique set of skills, you’ll need to position them carefully as you build your attacks and mount your defence.

The first-time pass is a small quick touch rather than holding onto the ball, it works just like a standard pass but has a shorter range. You will need a printer, laminator and a corner clipper but if you get those things you will be able to play YOUR team, you could choose players from all over the world because board gamers are something special. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The rules for Counter Attack are a living ruleset, the online community works with the designer and each season they propose and implement changes to streamline and improve aspects of the game. Duels between players on the pitch - whether tackles, shots or headers - are determined by a combination of the unique player skills plus a dice roll.Due to the real time aspect, most games of Counter Attack can be predicted to be the same sort of similar length, around the 2 hour mark.