MetaCheckers Soccer

Same concept, but a whole new ball game

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The following game instuctions do not display the pieces as they will appear when officially published.
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BACKGROUND: In the basic game of MetaCheckers, players roll 2 six-sided dice to move checkers as chess pieces. One die has symbols for the 6 chess pieces. The other die (d6) has number pips. The Numbers Die limits the move when the player rolls Queen, Bishop or Rook. (The d6 pips show how many squares a piece MUST go until encountering the edge of the board, being blocked by a fellow checker or capturing an enemy checker.) When the roll is King, Knight or Bishop, the Numbers Die does not affect the move. Players capture the opponent’s king checker to win the game. An expansion die called the Kangaroo gave players six extra moves (Kangaroo, Joker, Turncoat, Double Knight, Cowboy and Princess).

Altering that mechanic creates a soccer board game:

• The king checker is now the goalie
• The objective is to get the checker with possession of the ball into the goal. (Each checker has a soccer ball, indicating possesion, on its reverse side.)

• Players can move as many checkers as they want on each roll of the dice. But be strategic. No checker can be moved more than once per turn.
• The game uses three kinds of dice: Chess, Numbers and the RISK DIE. Normally, you would roll Chess and a Numbers Die, but whenever a player is on offense, they may opt to roll the Risk and a Numbers Dice. (You don’t roll all three at once.) The Risk Die has 4 good outcomes and 2 bad outcomes. Use it when progress is stymied, but it comes with the risks.
• The Risk Die only moves checker with possession.
• Defense does not roll the Risk Die.
• There is an extra Numbers Die so that players can resolve challenges for possession by rolling Numbers Dice against each other.
• If your checker encounters an opposing checker in a way that would be a capture in chess or MetaCheckers, the checker captures the SQUARE instead of the piece. The opposing piece is then PUSHED back one square unless that square is occupied by another checker. Then, the attacking checker would simply be blocked by the opponent. The PUSH would be in the direction of the chess move. When the chess move is a knight, the player would have an option of where the opponent is pushed.
• Pushes can occur against any checker only ONCE per play. However, a checker can be pushed and later be stolen from at the end of the turn. (see STEALING)

• On offense, a KING roll is a dribble. Move the checker WITH POSSESSION in a zig-zag for the number of squares indicated on the die.
If they encounter an opposing checker on a dribble, they could PUSH and continue.
• If a checker encounters a teammate on a dribble, it may PASS the possession to the teammate who would complete the dribble.
• On a standard move with the chess die, the checker stops before going out of bounds.

TO START A GAME

TO START A GAME The players roll their Numbers Dice and highest number takes offense. The TIMER is placed on one corner out of bounds and is advanced to a new square around the border to count a predetermined number of plays to the end of the game. (Or simply play until the first goal is scored.) As the coach for your team, set up your checkers according to your strategy, but typically you will need players in Center, Wings, Midfield, Defense.

GAMEPLAY

The checker on offense at center is flipped over to show the soccer ball.
That checker has possession. Player on offense rolls Chess and Numbers dice to begin the game.

PASSING

A checker with possession may pass to another on its team if that checker is in within reach of the dice roll. So, for example, if the roll is BISHOP FIVE, and the other checker is diagonally THREE spaces from the checker with the ball, then they can pass. But if the roll is BISHOP THREE and the other checker is diagonally FIVE spaces from the checker with the ball, then a pass could not happen. Or if the dice roll is a ROOK and the other checker is diagonal, the pass could not happen. HOWEVER — since you can move multiple pieces with a dice roll, you may be able to move your checkers ACCORDING TO THE DICE ROLL to get them into position to accept a pass. NOTE: On a KNIGHT, the ball would have to be able to land exactly on the the other checker.

OFFSIDES

A checker cannot receive a pass when it is beyond the last defender before the goalie.

PASSING ON THE FLY

If the roll is Queen, Bishop or Rook and the teammate piece can get within range of the ball with the possession, the ball may be PASSED ON THE FLY. This means the ball would switch to the other player as it moves within range of the pass, and then would continue with the ball to the end of its run.

STEALING

If the defense gets a dice roll that allows a defensive checker to reach the checker with possession, they may attempt a steal. So, for example, with a KNIGHT roll if a defensive checker can land on the offensive piece with possession, it can attempt a steal. Both players will then roll their NUMBERS DICE to see whether the steal is successful. If the OFFENSE rolls higher or ties the DEFENSE, the steal fails. If DEFENSE rolls higher, the steal succeeds. Then both checkers are flipped over and the piece previously on offense is moved by its player/coach to an adjacent square. The attacking piece now shows the soccer ball and has possession. The new player on offense rolls the chess and d6 dice to make a move. Steal attempts happen ONLY as the last action of a turn. HOWEVER If the Defense loses the dice roll by 5, [ 1 vs 6 ] the team on offense is awarded a PENALTY KICK. If Offense loses the dice roll by 5, [ 6 vs 1 ] not only does defense take possession, but can also immediately roll 1 or 2 NUMBERS DICE to BOOT the ball downfield OVER THE HEADS of other players in a straight line.

BOOT
(kicking ball over heads of other players)
Allowed on a steal when the defense wins the die roll by 5, but also happens when a BOOT is rolled with the Risk Die. You MAY BOOT the distance on the Numbers Die or roll BOTH Numbers Dice for a longer BOOT. But if a Boot roll is too long, the ball might be kicked OUT OF BOUNDS by the player on offense, who would lose possession. (Defense takes over on offense at point where ball went out of bounds.)

GOALIE KICK

If the Goalie [KING CHECKER] lands on the opposing attacking piece, both players roll to determine if the capture is successful. If it is successful, the Goalie flips over to become checker with possession and selects a square within the Penalty Box from which to kick the ball. Players will reset their checkers before the kick. (Opposing checkers get outside the box.) Either Chess and Numbers dice or two Numbers Dice are rolled to send ball either at a targeted player or straight downfield. The goalie checker is sent downfield the number of squares on the dice, and possession is taken at that square by whichever checker is closest to where it lands. If 2 opposing pieces are equally close to where the ball lands, opponents roll D6s to determine possession at that square. The Goalie checker returns to goal and play resumes.

OUT OF BOUNDS, THROW-IN and CORNER KICK

Defense may be able to opt to PUSH the checker with possession out of bounds. Both players will then roll their NUMBERS DICE to determine which side gets possession. THE ROLL-OFF WILL HAPPEN WITHOUT A CHANCE OF PENALTY. In a TIE, re-roll until the tie is broken. The winning side will perform a THROW-IN from the point where the ball went out of bounds by rolling the CHESS and NUMBERS DIE. (Players reset checkers.) Again, the player may move other checkers on the field to get in line with the Throw-In, as they would with a pass. If the throw-in cannot reach a teammate, possession goes to the checker closer to where the ball would land and would begin from that spot. If the ball is pushed out of bounds or goes out behind the goal, players will roll NUMBERS DICE to determine if it is a CORNER KICK (Checker with possession kicked from corner after a reset of pieces) or a GOALIE KICK. If a player BOOTS and the numbers roll carries their checker out of bounds, the opposing side takes possession with a THROW-IN at that spot. Checkers that go out of bounds need to be returned to an adjacent in-bounds square on the next turn.

PENALTY KICK

If during an attempt to steal, the Defense loses the dice roll by 5, [ 1 vs 6 ] the team on offense is awarded a PENALTY KICK.
If Penalty 5 is rolled by offense, opposing team awarded a PENALTY KICK.

HOW TO MAKE A PENALTY KICK

The player awarded the Penalty Kick selects 1 of 9 squares adjacent to the Penalty Mark and places a checker with possession there. The opponent places the King checker on the square in front of the goal they wish to defend. The kicker then chooses to use the Chess and Numbers Die OR the Risk and Numbers Die.

PENALTY KICK OUTCOMES

On the Chess Die, the Queen, Rook, Bishop and Knight would have a chance to score if the Number Die rolls high enough (and path not blocked by goalie). However, Queen or Rook may be caught by the goalie. King (a dribble) or Pawn would miss. On the Risk Die, Double Knight, Boot (boot goes over goalie) or Joker could score. However, PASS would fail (passes to teammate) and with PENALTY or LOSE THE BALL the ball would be caught by goalie and be followed by goalie kick.

AFTER THE PENALTY KICK

If the kick misses or falls short of the goal, play continues on the square where the ball landed. The kicking team retains possession of the ball, but the defending team will take its turn and attempt to steal. If the kick has been caught by the goalie, the goalie has possession and can perform a GOALIE KICK. If the kick results in a score, depending on the previously made choices of the players, the game is either over or will continue until time runs out. If the time remains, players will reset the board for change of possession and a new kickoff.

END OF GAME

When TIMER reaches predetermined square.