There is no interaction between participants beyond taking turns drafting players and trainers from a public market. Each player needs space for three large square boards with some extra space for cards to the side or underneath. Yes, it boasts a poor rulebook, another common characteristic attributed to the publisher, but it manages to come through on the self-professed identity in a way that I haven’t seen since Robinson Crusoe. The theme is so well applied to the game, and the engine-building is very clear and simple in practice. Sport is affected by all kinds of things outside of people’s control, and it feels great on a thematic level to have the same chaos sewn into the game’s finery.

You will hire staff, develop your stadium, sign up sponsors, transfer players, and play matches against other clubs. Eleven takes a similar approach to the Football Manager games, but with the key difference that there’s no choice to let the computer do all the boring stuff for you, like hire staff, find sponsors, and upgrade the stadium. Then you compare positions (left flank, right flank, midfielders, attackers versus defenders, and vice versa. The cards representing the opponents you play against didn’t match the color of the shields, so it was unnecessarily confusing when you were trying to find the correct shield to move up the table. I enjoyed deciding if I wanted to bring a diaper company on as my sponsor, and whether I should put their logo on my jerseys for a bigger payout or just give them a billboard instead.You lose the smell of the fresh-cut grass since you won’t be on the sidelines; instead, you will be the suit-and-tie decision-maker whose actions during the week directly influence what happens on match day. Each player is given three large player boards: a stadium board to house your fans, upgrades and ads; a club board to keep track of your board directors, staff, maintenance costs, and production trackers; and a match board used to place your players, plot out each week’s game strategy, and house the players currently on your bench. You compare sections and see if any attackers have more power than defenders (and the keeper); if that’s the case, they score. You may have to manage the club in a crisis, and at other times you will have to rejuvenate a football team of players that are not so young anymore.

All the upgraded cards have to be placed in the section of the field that is their specialty (forward, midfielder, defense). As per the Euro standard, each of these has a level of income per round, and each can be boosted with the correct staff. It forms the perfect motif for an economic system, integrating a thrilling and multi-faceted narrative alongside the more cognitively challenging aspects of play. Your fan base is how many loyal supporters you have accrued, which can inhibit your stands during a match and provide additional revenues.The idea of a sport in board game form has never really appealed to me, especially something as prone to chaos, and not stat-driven as football (or soccer, if you’re across the Atlantic). There are clues on the back of the opponent’s card, letting you know where they are strong and weak, so it’s not like going into a fight with a blindfold on. Prepare – look at the top card of your opponent deck to read the scouting report on the team you are about to play. The gameplay takes place over six weeks, and each day will be filled with a lot of duties – board meetings, transfers, stadium modernization and last but not least – matches.