5-a-side

**A football roguelike in 128×128 pixels. One season is one run.**

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Found a club, draft five players, and play a 14-round league where every

decision sticks. Or pick a nation and go for the World Cup. Local

multiplayer too, up to 8 pads.

## Local multiplayer

Co-op: up to 4 players control your club's outfielders through a normal

league season or cup run. Everyone picks their player on the pre-match

screen. Results and player development work the same as single player.

Party mode: exhibition matches up to 4v4. Pads join the lobby with one

button press, pick sides and nations, rematch as long as you like.

The keyboard covers two players, controllers do the rest. On the web build,

press a button on each pad once so the browser detects it. Touch controls

are single player only.

## League mode

- Name your club, pick kit colours, draft a starting five from try-outs, or

  take a random squad.

- 14 rounds against 7 generated rivals, each with an identity that affects

  how they play and who they sign.

- Mid-season draft days: five candidates, you sign one, rivals take the

  rest.

- Players have hidden growth and a potential ceiling. XP from matches

  levels them up.

- Chemistry: two players from the same country both get +1 to their best

  stat. 36 nations in the pool, so links take some planning.

- Four formations, six tactics, editable team sheet. Anyone can go in goal.

## Legendary players

Each of the 36 nations has a legendary archetype based on its real football

history. Norway produces a power 6 striker, Italy a defence 6 wall, Spain a

control 6 playmaker, and so on. The actual player is generated fresh each

run with a normal name and face from that country, a star instead of an

initial, and a rating of 18. They arrive fully developed, so a high

potential rookie can eventually overtake one.

In the league, three legends show up per season. They can land in your

draft, or a rival can sign theirs and you find out on draft day. In the

World Cup your nation's legend is guaranteed and revealed before you pick

the rest of the squad. Party mode squads each contain one.

## World Cup mode

- 36 nations enter, 32 make the draw. 8 groups of 4, then a 16-team

  knockout.

- Your legend plus four call-ups from your nation's pool. One nation means

  full chemistry.

- Group games can be drawn. From the round of 16 it's golden goal, played

  out live.

- Seven matches to win it.

## The football

Kick-ins, corners, headers, charged kicks, keeper distribution, and the

box-exclusion rule while the keeper has it. The AI holds formation, looks

for space, marks runners, and will make you pay for a missed tackle. Every

fixture can be played or watched as a sim.

## Controls

- Arrows: move / aim

- Z / 🅾️: pass, switch player, keeper roll

- X / ❎: shoot, tackle, keeper lob (hold to charge)

- On desktop browsers, click [keys] top-left to rebind.

- Works on mobile, touch gamepad appears automatically.

Made with PICO-8. Saves live in your browser, so you can close the tab

mid-season and carry on later.