Kickoff League

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Score each goal of the day's fictional match with chess-like moves.

on kickoffleague.com

Kickoff League is a daily soccer puzzle. Every day brings a new match between fictional clubs, and for each goal you move the player on the ball and kick it to teammates who move like chess pieces until you score. Results go into a monthly league table.

About Kickoff League

Kickoff League is a browser puzzle from Milkbag Games, the studio of Matt Rix and Owen Goss, who also made the mobile game Disco Zoo. It mixes soccer with chess. Each day there is one match between two of eight made-up clubs, such as Tuesday FC, Sakura City and Big Top Athletic, and every goal scored in that match is a small puzzle for you to rebuild. A day usually has two or three goals to solve.

The board is a pitch laid out as a grid. Each player moves and kicks like a chess piece: attackers like bishops, midfielders like knights, defenders like rooks and the goalkeeper like a king. On your turn you either move the player holding the ball to one of the green squares or kick the ball to a teammate in range, or into the net. You can move and kick as often as you like, but never move twice in a row, and you can undo freely. Your lifetime stats count goals played, goals solved and perfect goals.

What sets it apart is the league around the puzzles. The day's scoreline is played into a standings table, each season runs for exactly one calendar month, and a Past Champs page lists every season's winner. It is free in the browser and suits chess puzzle fans and soccer fans who like a short, logical daily.

How to play Kickoff League

Open kickoffleague.com and press Play Now for today's match; the tutorial explains the pieces.
Look at the player with the ball: attackers move like bishops, midfielders like knights, defenders like rooks and the goalkeeper like a king.
Move the ball carrier to a green circle, or kick the ball to a highlighted teammate.
Alternate moves and kicks (you cannot move twice in a row) until you kick the ball into the net, undoing as often as you need.
Solve each goal of the match, then check the updated league table.

Tips

Work backwards from the net: find which teammate can kick straight into the goal, then how to get the ball to him.
Remember a kick follows the same pattern as that player's movement, so a midfielder passes in a knight's L shape.
Watch the kick counter at the bottom of the board; each goal allows only a set number of kicks.
Use undo to test lines rather than solving in your head; it costs nothing.