45 FOOTBALL

A football tactics game you can finish in five minutes

Most football tactics games ask for a season. This one asks for a half.

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What you actually do

You arrive at half-time of a match that is going badly. A short report tells you what has gone wrong — a winger beating your full-back, a midfield that keeps getting bypassed, a lead you are being pushed back into. You change one thing or ten: the shape, how high you press, the tempo, who comes on, which passes and runs you want. Then you press Sim.

Why it is not just a slider

The second half is simulated from your plan and the two squads’ attributes, minute by minute. The opponent is simulated too, and it reads what you did: if you push both full-backs high, it will look for the space they left. Every move you make comes back graded, with the reason attached — who beat whom, and by how much.

Depth without the homework

Simple mode asks five questions, each written as a consequence rather than a piece of jargon: "press them high — win it near their goal, but leave space in behind". The full tactics board is one tap away for anyone who wants to draw passing lanes and runs by hand. Both drive the same simulation.

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