TableTop Soccer

No server available anymore to connect and play, this game is officially DEAD.

TableTop Soccer, developed and published by Dancing Developers, takes the universally familiar sport of football and reimagines it as a turn-based tactical experience rather than a real-time simulation. Instead of fast reflexes, analog dribbling, and cinematic stadium presentation, the game centers on calculated positioning, prediction, and strategic foresight. The result is something closer to a board game interpretation of soccer, where each movement carries weight and every decision can influence several turns ahead. It is an unconventional approach to the genre, but one that gives the sport a thoughtful, almost chess-like structure that distinguishes it from mainstream football titles. At its core, TableTop Soccer operates on a simultaneous turn-based system. Both players plan their moves within a limited timeframe, selecting how their athletes will move, pass, shoot, or defend before the turn resolves. This design creates a layer of mind games absent from real-time sports simulations. Rather than reacting instantly to an opponent’s move, you must anticipate what they are likely to do and position your team accordingly. Predicting a pass lane, setting up a slide tackle, or orc…

TableTop Soccer is a surprisingly fun little strategy game that punches well above its price point — mixing turn-based tactics with soccer in a way that's simple to pick up but rewarding to master. The lo-fi graphics and basic sound design won't win any awards, but once you get into the rhythm of predicting your opponent's moves and positioning your players, there's a genuine satisfaction to every goal you score. The async multiplayer is a clever touch, letting you run multiple matches simultaneously against friends across different schedules, though the small playerbase makes finding strangers to compete against a real challenge. For under two dollars, it's an easy recommendation for anyone curious about the concept.

Nice take on Soccer.

Now, before I write this know I am not a footballer. In fact, I am a football noob. So this is written with that as the background. I enjoy this game. You can pick it up fairly quickly, but as you go there are plenty of little nuances you can introduce to develop your team. I like that my team is basically entirely open to customisation and I am playing with family and friends. I get to call my brother in law names when he misses an open goal. The graphics are basic but do the job fully, and it is enjoyable to sit back and watch each turn play out. The game doesn't cost the earth and fills a childhood niche for those of us who remember playing these games in pubs and arcades. Go on. Buy it. You might just love it.

Conceptually this seemed like fun, but practically it's a massive chore to play. Every time you take your turn, the game plays out for literally 2 seconds before you take another turn. You don't get much time at all to plan your shots, so it just feels like endlessly dragging players around, only to see 2s of action - like a tedious stop motion video. The whole point of a strategy game is to have enough time to coordinate and plan a higher overall picture, whereas this is just like playing fifa but dragging things around in freeze frame. The constant powerups (like lightning strikes raining down on you and your opponents) don't add anything to the experience.