Eleven: Football Manager Board Game
Eleven: Football Manager Board Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
88 Resource markers
- 28 budget markers
- 20 fan base markers
- 20 operation markers
- 20 fitness markers
- 1 twelve-sided die
1 League table board
- 20 strength tokens (double-sided)
- 12 weakness tokens (double-sided)
- 10 injury tokens
- 10 suspension tokens
- 24 victory point tokens (double-sided)
62 Player cards
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36 regular players
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18 youngsters
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8 veterans
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12 tactic cards
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12 objective cards
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16 director cards
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36 staff cards
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36 sponsor cards
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36 board meeting cards
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64 opponent cards
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3 opponent dice
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16 opponent team markers
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8 reminder tokens
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8 multiplier tokens
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1 stage marker
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28 stadium infrastructure tokens (with bonuses printed for Stadium Lighting, Merchandise Store, Directors Office, Training Ground, Stands #3, Stands #4, and Adboard #3)
For Each Player (4 sets)
- 4 stadium boards (1 for each player)
- 4 club boards (1 for each player)
- 4 match boards (1 for each player)
- 16 stat markers (4 for each player)
- 52 jersey markers (13 for each player)
Scenario sheets are also included for the solo game (e.g., "Youth Academy," "Survive the 3rd Division," and others).
Setup: Transfer Area
The Transfer Area is a central area, common to all the players, where all the available Players, Staff Members, and Sponsors are displayed. Prepare the Transfer Area as follows:
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Divide the Player cards into 3 separate decks: the Veteran deck, the Youngster deck, and the Player deck. Shuffle the Player deck and place it near the Transfer Area with its Untrained side faceup (see the note below). Draw 5 Player cards and place them Untrained side faceup to create the upper row of the Transfer Area.
NOTE: Player cards are double-sided. You always draw and gain cards with the Untrained side faceup. When a Player is Trained, flip their card to the Trained side.
This symbol indicates the Trained side of the card.
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Shuffle the Youngster deck and place it with its Untrained side faceup near the Transfer Area. Place the Veteran cards aside for now.
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Take the Staff deck, and then find and deal randomly 1 First Trainer card to each player. Shuffle the remainder of the Staff cards marked with a number corresponding to the number of players in the game, and return the remaining cards back to the box. Place the Staff deck below the Player deck. Draw 5 Staff cards and place them faceup to create the middle row of the Transfer Area.
Cards marked with this symbol are used only in games for 3 to 4 players.
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Shuffle the Sponsor deck and place it facedown below the Staff deck. Draw 5 Sponsor cards and place them faceup to create the bottom row of the Transfer Area.
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Shuffle and place the Board Meeting deck near the Transfer Area.
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Shuffle and place the Tactic deck near the Transfer Area.
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Shuffle and place the Objective deck near the Transfer Area.
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Divide the Opponent cards into 4 decks according to their Division. Place them facedown near the Transfer Area.
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Place all the Resources, Victory Point tokens, Injury tokens, Suspension tokens, Strength tokens, Weakness tokens, Reminder tokens, Stadium Infrastructure tokens, and the twelve-sided die in the Supply, near the Transfer Area.
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The player who has most recently scored a goal becomes the First player and receives the Stage marker.
Now you have a display of 15 cards and 4 decks: Youngsters, Players, Staff, and Sponsors. Leave enough space for a discard pile of each card type.
Setup: Player Boards
You have 3 boards that represent your club and the actions you may perform to develop it. Each player places their Stadium, Club, and Match boards in front of them, from left to right, and prepares them as follows:
1. Stadium board
a. The spaces for the Stadium Infrastructure tokens remain empty (except for those that contain printed tokens). During the game, these spaces are where you build Improvements, Stands, etc.
b. The Adboard and Sponsor Kit spaces remain empty as well. During the game, you place cards of Contracted Sponsors on these spaces.
c. Place the Office marker below the Office track.
2. Club board
a. The First player places the Stage marker on the Monday space. Other players skip this step.
b. Place the Stat markers on the second space of each track.
c. Shuffle the Director deck and deal 4 Director cards to each player. Players draft the cards by choosing 1 Director card and then passing the remaining 3 to the player on their left. They then choose another from the 3 they were passed and pass 2 cards to their left. Finally, each player chooses a 3rd Director and discards the remaining card. All players then reveal their Director cards and apply bonus effects (if any). Move the Stat markers according to the icons shown on the Director cards. Return all remaining Director cards back to the box.
Director card anatomy:
- Card name.
- Description: Flavor text to describe the character's personality. This text has no bearing on gameplay.
- Die results: The priorities of the Director. Yellow dice represent Cash, Stadium development, and Contracting Sponsors. Blue dice represent caring for Players, Youngsters, Tactics, and the fitness of the team. Red dice represent the Fanbase, Staff, and Operations.
- Changes in Stat levels: The effects applied after drafting and revealing Director cards.
- Ability of the Director card: the special ability of the Director—possible abilities include immediate bonuses, additional actions to perform during the game, or features.
Your Directors have a great impact on the game, so choose them with care.
NOTE: Whenever you must move a Stat marker above 5, gain the indicated Resource marker and don't move the Stat marker. Whenever you must move it below 1, discard the indicated Resource marker (if you don't have the indicated Resource marker to discard, nothing happens).
d. Place your First Trainer card below your Club board with either side faceup (the only difference between the sides is the Trainer's representation).
3. Match board
a. Place the Club Emblem token in the upper left-hand corner of the board.
b. Place both Score markers on spaces 0 on the Match Result track.
c. Players together decide in which Division they want to play. They then draw 3 random Opponent cards with different Emblems shown in the upper left-hand corner from decks corresponding to the chosen Division. Place 3 advanced Opponents on the Match board and then place 3 easier Opponents on top of them (for example: in the 3rd Division there will be 3 advanced Opponents marked "Division 3/2" below 3 easier Opponents marked "Division 3"). Opponent decks are described in detail on page 28.
d. Draw 1 Veteran card and 1 Youngster card and place them on the right side of the Match board according to the icon on their cards.
e. Place 10 Jersey markers on the Pitch with the offensive side faceup. Flip if necessary Jersey markers according to the icons (offensive/defensive) on your starting Player cards. Then flip the remaining lowest numbered Jersey markers to the defensive side, so you will have exactly 5 offensive and 5 defensive. Place the 3 unused Jersey markers on any side you like on a Bench Area. The Goalkeeper is not represented by a Jersey marker, because they will guard the goal for the entire game and cannot be moved around the Pitch.
NOTE: Each player has a set of 13 Jersey markers. Ten of them have printed numbers and the other 3 do not. Use the unnumbered Jersey markers when you have Player cards with numbers above 11 or Youngster cards (that don't have the Jersey number on their cards). If you hire a Player whose Jersey marker was on a bench, swap it (and flip if necessary) with a Jersey marker without a corresponding Player card.
The Pitch consists of 9 Zones among 5 Sections: Central Defenders, Central Midfielders, Central Forwards, Left Wing, and Right Wing. During the match, you may have 1-3 Players in the Central Zones and up to 1 Player in each of the Wing Zones.
EXAMPLE: Your starting Player cards contain a Veteran Midfielder (#6 Jersey, offensive) and a Youngster Forward (unnumbered, offensive). You must place the Jersey marker #6 with an offensive side faceup and an unnumbered Jersey marker with an offensive side on the Pitch.
4. Other components
a. Each player draws 2 Objective cards, looks at them, and then keeps 1 and discards the other. You may look at it at any time, but it remains secret from all other players (for more details, see page 27).
b. Each player draws 1 basic Tactic card from the Tactic deck. Shuffle the remaining Tactic cards (for more details, see page 28).
c. Each player places their six-sided die below their boards in a personal Supply.
d. Each player places their Maintenance markers on the Maintenance tracks. Depending on the chosen Director cards, their positions may differ between players (see the example below).
EXAMPLE: At the beginning of the game you have 2 Players, 4 Stadium Infrastructure (2 Stands and 2 Adboards), and a First Trainer. One of your Directors provides an additional Player card. Therefore your positions on the Maintenance tracks will be 3, 4, and 1 as shown on the image.
Setup: League Table
The League table is where you move the Club and Opponent markers to indicate wins and losses of all teams. You score Victory Points based on your position on the League table at the end of the game. Prepare the League table as follows:
a. Place the League table next to the Transfer Area.
b. Place the Club markers of each player color on space 0.
c. Place 8 Opponent markers corresponding to the chosen Division on space 0 with their colored side faceup.
d. Place 3 Opponent dice next to the League table.
You are ready to begin the game!
Overview
A game of Eleven is played over a series of 6 Weeks, each of which contains 5 Days. The first Day of each Week is Monday, when Production and the Board Meeting take place, which is when the Directors decide how to deal with events that occurred around the Club. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday consist of various possible actions that you may resolve: Transfer Players, Hire Staff, Invest in Stadium Infrastructure, etc. Friday is Matchday, the day you've been preparing for—during Matchday, you decide how to use Tactic cards and special abilities to win the Match. Once the Match is over, you resolve the consequences and move on to the next Week.
Goal of the Game
At the end of the 6th Week, you calculate your Victory Points by counting your gained Victory Point tokens, checking the Victory Points provided by Hired Staff and Stadium Infrastructure, as well as the Victory Points gained from your position on the League table and Office track. Whoever has the most Victory Points wins!
Gameplay
Each Week consists of several stages. Monday and Matchday are resolved by all the players simultaneously. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are resolved by each player, one at a time, beginning with the First player and continuing clockwise. After resolving the Friday (Matchday) and the end of the Week effects, the First player passes the Stage marker to the player on their left, who then places it on the Monday space of their Club board and starts a new Week as the First player.
Monday
Monday consists of 2 steps: Production and the Board Meeting.
Production
- Gain resources according to the positions of your Stat markers on the tracks.
- If you have any Stadium Infrastructure tokens with a Production effect, you may apply their effect now.
NOTE: Do not mistake the resource symbols and the Stat marker symbols. Cash, Fan Base, and Fitness symbols represent appropriate resources, whereas the corresponding stat symbols refer to the position of Stat markers (For example: a resource icon indicates that you gain 1 marker from the Supply and a stat icon indicates that you must move your marker one space to the right on the Resource track).
Resources
Cash: You use Cash in many different ways. You spend it to Hire Players or Staff, and Invest in Infrastructure. Cash is not discarded at the end of the Week.
Fan Base: When rolling a die, you may spend 1 Fan Base to reroll it (except for the Opponent dice, which cannot be rerolled). You may reroll a die multiple times, as long as you have enough Fan Base to pay the cost. Additionally, you may assign the Fan Base to the Stands in order to earn Fan Base while playing Matches.
Operation: During each day, you may only perform 1 action, but may also spend 2 Operation to perform 1 additional Paid action from any of your cards (for more details, see page 14).
Fitness: You must pay 1 Fitness for each Player card that you assign to the Match. Additionally, some effects and actions on Player and Staff cards may require you to spend additional resources.
The Board Meeting
During the Board Meeting, you face various events that occurred during the previous Week. This step is resolved simultaneously by all players.
- Each player draws a card from the top of the Board Meeting deck and places it in front of them publicly, faceup.
Board Meeting card anatomy:
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Card name.
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Description: Flavor text to describe the current situation the Board is dealing with. This text has no bearing on gameplay.
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Decisions of Directors: Different effects that impact Players, Staff, Directors, Sponsors, and your resources. If you cannot fully resolve the effect, resolve as much of it as possible. If an effect causes you to lose a Sponsor and pay back its effects, you must pay back its Bonus effect regardless of the type (Adboard/Sponsor Kit) of Sponsor.
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Each player rolls a six-sided die and checks the result as indicated on their Director cards. Directors vote for different decisions according to the result of the die. If you dislike the result, you may spend 1 Fan Base to reroll the die as many times as you would like, as long as you have enough Fan Base to spend each time.
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Resolve the effect of the decision with the most votes. In the case of a tie, reroll the die for free. The effect of the Board Meeting card always takes precedence over any conflicting game effect.
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The First player moves the Stage marker to the Tuesday space.
EXAMPLE: You rolled a 4. Two of your Directors vote for the yellow decision and one votes for the blue decision. The yellow decision has received the most votes and is resolved. Gain the indicated 2 Cash and lose 2 Fitness.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
During each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, players perform actions, beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise. Each Day, each player in turn may perform exactly 1 Basic action, and may pay in order to perform 1 additional Paid action. If a player cannot or does not want to perform any action, they may pass.
NOTE: Most Player cards provide additional effects, but they are always resolved during the Match and are not considered actions.
You have 6 available Basic actions to perform:
- Hire a Player or Youngster
- Sell a Player or Youngster
- Hire Staff
- Contract a Sponsor
- Build Stadium Infrastructure or Office
- Use a Card action
Card actions may only be performed once per Week. When you use a Card action, rotate the used card by 90° to indicate that it is exhausted and cannot be used again during the current Week. Each of the other five actions may be performed multiple times per Week, but you are still limited to 1 Basic action per Day.
Additional Paid actions: During each Day, before or after performing a Basic action, you may pay 2 Operation to perform one Card action. If this action has an additional cost, you must pay it as well. You cannot resolve any other Basic action (Hire a Player, Contract a Sponsor etc.) as an additional Paid action.
EXAMPLE: As your 1 available Basic action, you Hired a Scout. As an additional Paid action, you may spend 2 Operation, plus the required cost, to perform their action and Hire any Player from the display.
Hire a Player or Youngster
This action allows you to Hire a Player. The cost of Hiring is shown in the upper left-hand corner of the Player card and varies from 1 to 4 Cash. You may choose to Hire 1 card from the 3 rightmost Player cards from the Transfer Area. Once you pay the appropriate cost, take the Player card and place it to the right of your Match board according to the card's icon.
After you Hire a Player, shift the remaining Player cards in the Transfer Area to the right, draw a new Player card, and place it on the leftmost space. There are always 5 available Player cards visible. The 2 leftmost Player cards in the Transfer Area may only be purchased using special card effects.
Hiring a Youngster is resolved in the same way as above, but instead of choosing a card from the Transfer Area, you must draw the top card from the Youngster deck.
When Hiring a Player, you must flip (if necessary) the corresponding Jersey marker, so it shows the same Task icon (offensive/defensive) as your new card. If you have two or more Players with the same number, only one of them can play in a Match - flip the Jersey marker accordingly after assigning Players to the current Match.
Remember: You may not flip Jersey markers to their opposite side unless an effect allows it.
PLAYER CARD
Players have 3 designations: Youngster, Veteran, and regular. If a Player is not a Youngster or a Veteran it is referred to as a regular Player.
Player cards are double-sided and placed in the Transfer Area with the Untrained side faceup. You cannot look at the other side of these cards while they remain in the Transfer Area. Usually, the Trained side of a Player card has greater Strength and cheaper or stronger abilities. However, Veterans usually have greater Strength on the Untrained side.
You may Train Players (flip the Player card to its Trained side), by using the special abilities of Staff (i.e., Trainer) and other effects.
If an effect does not specifically state which Player type it affects (i.e.: Veterans, Trained Players, Youngsters, Forwards, etc.), you may freely choose the target of the effect.
Player card anatomy:
- Cost to Hire.
- Player Tasks (offensive/defensive): Players with an offensive icon are offensive and try to score. Players with a defensive icon are defensive and try to prevent the opponent from scoring.
- Zones: This icon indicates the Zones where Players are assigned. You cannot place a card in any other Zone other than those shown by the icon.
- Strength: This icon indicates the Strength of the Player. It ranges from 0 to 4 but some effects may increase or decrease it (never below 0). The Strength of a Jersey marker without a corresponding Player card is 1 and cannot be decreased, but may be increased by various Board Meeting cards.
- Jersey Number: This number indicates the corresponding Jersey marker. You may have multiple Players with the same number, but may never have two Players with the same Jersey marker in the same Match.
- Name and Tag: These have no direct influence on the gameplay; however, effects of the cards are thematically connected with the Tags.
- Effect Cost: This indicates the cost you must pay for the effect. It usually consists of 1 or more resources.
- Effect: Description of the effect. Some effects have additional conditions indicated on the card (i.e., WHEN THE RESULT IS A DRAW).
NOTE: Goalkeepers cards are unique and are explained in the Matchday section on page 22.
NOTE: Player card effects must be resolved even if they have negative effects (unless otherwise stated). If you have multiple cards to resolve at the same time (i.e.: after the match), you may choose which of them to resolve first. If a Player does not participate in the Match, you don't resolve any of their effects.
TRAINED SIDE
- Trained Symbol: This symbol indicates that this player has been Trained.
Players usually have greater Strength and cheaper or stronger effects on their Trained side, so you may predict their Trained side by reading the Untrained side of the card. When flipping cards, all tokens that were placed on a card remain there.
YOUNGSTER, TRAINED SIDE
NOTE: All Youngsters have the same Strength, but their Trained side is unique. You may not look at their Trained side until you Hire them. Youngsters are always a surprise...
- Trained Symbol: This symbol indicates that this player has been Trained.
- Jersey Number: On the Trained side of Youngster cards, they have a specific number, so when you train a Youngster, you must flip the corresponding Jersey marker (if necessary).
- Experience Spaces: Most of the Youngster cards have Experience spaces. If the Youngster has an empty "played" space and plays a Match, place a marker on it. If they have an empty "scored" space and scored, place a marker on it. Some Youngsters have more spaces of a specific type, but only 1 token may be placed on each of these spaces.
Sell a Player or Youngster
This action allows you to Sell Players.
- Discard a chosen Player card.
- Gain 2 Cash + Cash equal to their current Strength (modified by Strength and Weakness tokens) and all Victory Point tokens on the Player card.
NOTE: If you are Selling an Injured or Suspended Player, you gain half the Cash (rounded down).
EXAMPLE: You want to sell a Sonn card. It is a Trained Youngster who has played in one match. You gain 4 Cash and the 1 Victory Point token previously placed on the Sonn Player card.
Hire Staff
This action allows you to Hire Staff. The cost of Hiring is shown in the upper left-hand corner of the Staff card. You may choose 1 card from the 3 rightmost Staff cards in the Transfer Area. Once you pay the appropriate cost, take the Staff card and add it below your Club board. The 2 leftmost Staff cards in the Transfer Area may only be purchased using special card effects.
After you Hire Staff, shift the remaining Staff cards in the Transfer Area to the right, draw a new Staff card, and place it on the leftmost space. Some Staff cards have immediate bonuses, features, etc.
STAFF CARD
- Cost to Hire.
- Player Count: Indicates the player counts in which this card should be added to the Staff deck.
- Profession: This indicates the Staff's profession as a Doctor, Steward, etc. The color indicates which set that card belongs to.
- Bonus: An Immediate bonus that you gain when you Hire the Staff card.
- Action Cost: The cost usually consists of 1 or more resources.
- Action Effect: Some effects have additional requirements indicated on the card.
- Victory Points for Sets: Each card belongs to one of the five sets. At the end of the game you gain Victory Points according to the number of Staff cards of each set that you have.
Sets of Staff cards: The bottom of every Staff card indicates how many Victory Points you gain for cards of this set. The first number is the number of Victory Points you gain for having 1 card, the second number for having 2 cards, etc. The last number indicates the maximum Victory Points you may gain. Even if you have more Staff cards of a set, you do not gain any additional Victory Points.
EXAMPLE: You have 4 cards of this set. Even if you hire another Staff card of this set, you only gain 6 Victory Points at the end of the game.
Contract a Sponsor
To Contract a Sponsor, choose 1 of the 3 rightmost Sponsor cards and choose what type of Contract you want to sign.
During the game, you may have an unlimited number of Adboard Sponsors, 3 Sponsor Kit Sponsors, and 1 immediate-effect Sponsor.
After Contracting a Sponsor, shift the remaining Sponsor cards in the Transfer Area to the right, draw a new card, and place it on the leftmost space.
Once you've chosen a Sponsor and type of Contract, apply the effects from the chosen type and place the card in the appropriate space:
- Sponsor Kit: Sponsor cards must be placed facedown on the left side of your Stadium board (the pictures on the cards and board match).
- Adboard: Sponsor cards must be slid faceup beneath the Stadium board (the pictures on the cards and board match). You may have 2 Adboard Sponsors to begin with and may gain one more once you build a third Adboard.
- Immediate: Sponsor cards are discarded after applying their effects.
If you Contract the maximum number of Sponsors of a specific type, you may not Contract another Sponsor of that type. You may always Contract an Immediate Sponsor.
SPONSOR CARD
Sponsor cards are double-sided. The reverse side depicts your Sponsor Kit with the Sponsor logo.
- Contract Effects: Each Sponsor card provides different effects, depending on the type of Contract (Sponsor Kit / Adboard / Immediate). You must always resolve every effect, even if they are negative.
- Additional Bonus: If you Contract an Adboard Sponsor, you gain the indicated additional bonus and apply the effects. If you Contract a Sponsor Kit Sponsor, you must decide whether you want to gain its bonus or apply the effects from the Adboard space.
- Description: The Sponsor description helps you decide which Sponsor you should choose.
- Sponsor's Logo: When you slide the card beneath the Stadium board, it becomes an Adboard.
EXAMPLE: If you choose the Immediate contract, discard this card and gain 5 Cash. If you choose the Adboard, slide this card beneath the Stadium board and either gain 3 Cash and Fan Base, or discard up to 3 Weakness tokens from your Player cards. If you choose the Sponsor Kit, place this card facedown on the Stadium board and gain 1 Cash, 1 Fan Base, and then discard up to 3 Weakness tokens from your Player cards.
Build Stadium Infrastructure or Office
BUILD STADIUM INFRASTRUCTURE
This action allows you to expand your Stadium by Investing in additional Infrastructure. Choose one of the available Stadium Infrastructure tokens from the supply, pay 3 Cash and place it in a Stadium space on the Stadium board. You may build any Infrastructure token on the Stadium spaces, except for the spaces specifically marked for Stands #3, Stands #4, and Adboard #3.
You may build up to 7 different Stadium Infrastructure tokens, which are:
- Stadium Lighting (bonus: +1)
- Merchandise Store (bonus: +1)
- Directors Office (bonus: +1)
- Training Ground (bonus: +1)
- Stand #3
- Stand #4
- Adboard #3
Once placed, Stadium Infrastructure tokens cannot be removed. You may have multiple copies of each Stadium Infrastructure token (except for Adboard and Stands). At the end of the game, each built Infrastructure token is worth its indicated Victory Points. Stadium Infrastructure tokens provide immediate bonuses, permanent features, or effects applied during Production.
BUILD AN OFFICE
To Build an Office, pay the cost indicated in the space above your Office marker and move it up the Office track by 1 space. Building an Office does not affect the Maintenance tracks.
At the end of the game you gain the Victory Points indicated on your current space of the Office track.
EXAMPLE: Your Office marker is on the second space of the Office track. To move further, you must spend 5 Cash. If you end the game at this space, you will get 5 Victory Points.
Perform a Card Action
Most of the Staff and Director cards have their own actions. You may perform these actions during your turn. If you do, exhaust the card by rotating it by 90° to indicate that you have used this card for the current Week. You may not perform the action of an exhausted card. Cards will be unexhausted during the Weekend.
When all players have resolved their actions, the First player moves their Stage marker to the next Day and begins to resolve their action for that Day (Wednesday or Thursday), or proceeds to Matchday.
Matchday
For your first few Weeks we recommend doing it step-by-step and waiting for other players. Once you are familiar with the game, you may resolve Matchdays simultaneously.
During Matchday, you must follow 3 separate procedures: Prepare for the Match, Resolve the Match, and Check the Results of the Match. Each of these 3 procedures contains multiple steps that must be resolved in order, as follows:
Prepare for the Match
- Read the Scout Report description on your Opponent card.
- Play any Tactic card from your hand and place all Jersey markers among the 9 Zones according to the indicated Formation. You cannot move the Jersey markers during subsequent steps, so plan your strategy carefully.
NOTE: Formation 4-3-3 means that your Opponent plays 4 Defenders, 3 Midfielders, and 3 Forwards, but you don't know which Sections they will play in exactly. The Opponent card image is shown upside down, so during the Match your Defenders face Opponents Forwards, etc. Goalkeepers are not depicted in the Scout Report since Opponents always only have 1 Goalkeeper.
Basic Tactic cards have 2 different Formations to choose from; other Tactic cards have 1 Formation and 1 Effect at the right side of the card. These effects are applied during the Resolve the Match step.
NOTE: You may have 1-3 Jersey markers in each of the central Zones and up to 1 Jersey marker in each of the Wing Zones (total up to 3 Jersey markers in each Wing Section).
- Choose the Player cards you want to use for the Match and assign 1 Fitness on each Player card you wish to use. You cannot assign Players with Injury or Suspension tokens on their Player cards to the Match.
You cannot use two Player cards with the same Jersey number during a single Match. Make sure that all Jersey markers of the assigned Player cards are on the Pitch—if you want to assign a Player whose Jersey marker is on a Bench area, you may swap it with any other Jersey marker that has no corresponding Player card. Remember, you cannot flip the Jersey markers.
Some Player cards have additional effects that you may use before/during/after the Match. To activate a Player's card effect, you must assign additional resources (not counting the Fitness already assigned on the card) and then spend them when indicated. If you have not assigned resources before a Match, you cannot resolve these effects.
Other Player cards have additional mandatory effects that you must resolve when indicated (i.e., before the match) if you assign the card with its effect to the Match.
You cannot resolve the effects of Player cards that are not assigned to the current Match.
- If you have any Injured or Suspended Staff or Players, discard 1 Injury/Suspension token from each of these cards.
- Resolve all the effects that must be activated before the Match.
EXAMPLE: Resolve the effect of González. Roll a 6-sided die. If you roll 6 or more, move the Opponent Score marker on the Match Result track by 1.
- You may place up to 1 Fan Base on each of the Stands (printed on the board and on Stadium Infrastructure tokens). After the Match, you gain an equal number of Fan Base markers. If you assign 4 or more Fan Base, you play with a Sold Out Stadium. Some card effects depend on the number of assigned Fan Base.
Resolve the Match
- Reveal the Opponent card.
Opponent card anatomy:
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Club emblem.
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Club name.
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Division.
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Goalkeeper.
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Defense.
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Midfield.
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Forward.
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You may play a Tactic card (a different card other than the one you played during the Prepare for the Match step) and resolve its effect. Then take both played Tactic cards back to your Supply (you may use each of these cards during following Weeks).
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Choose a Player card with assigned resources and resolve that card's effect. Remember to exhaust the Player card to indicate it has been used and may not be used again during the Match. You may resolve as many Player cards as you want, as long as you have the required resources assigned to them.
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Compare the Zones for each of the Teams as described below. Whenever a Team scores, move the corresponding Score marker by 1 space on the Match Result track.
The Pitch consists of 9 Zones among 5 Sections—each Wing Section contains 3 Zones. To resolve the Match you must compare 5 pairs of Sections (your Section against the Opponent's Section). First, compare your left Wing to the Opponent's right Wing, then your right Wing to their left Wing, then your Central Forwards to their Central Defenders, and so on.
For each of the Sections, combine pairs of Players. If the Strength of an offensive Player is greater than the Opponent's defensive Player, that Player scores, otherwise they are blocked. If there are more offensive Players than defensive Players, the remaining are not blocked, so they score goals. If there are many combinations of offensive and defensive Players, resolve them in a way that both teams score as few goals as possible. After completely resolving a Section, proceed to the next until you resolve all 5 pairs of Sections.
Remember that all Players without corresponding assigned Player cards have a base Strength of 1.
EXAMPLE: Your Forwards have Strength 3 and 2, the Opponent's Defenders have Strength 2. Your attack: One of your Forwards' Strength is 3 and the Opponent's Strength is 3 (Opponent has 2 Defenders, combined effectively), so your Forward is blocked, but your other Forward's Strength is 2 and the Opponent has no more Defenders, so your Forward scores. Opponent's attack: the Opponent's Defender Strength is 2 and you don't have any Defenders assigned, so their Player scores.
EXAMPLE: Your Midfielders have Strength 2 and the Opponent's Midfielders have Strength 1. Your attack: Your Midfielder Strength is 2 and the Opponent's is 1, so your Midfielder scores. Opponent's attack: The Opponent's Midfielder Strength is 1, so they are blocked by your Midfielder with Strength 1.
You can find a complete example of resolving a Match on the next page.
GOALKEEPERS
During the Match, Goalkeepers block Opponent attacks that your Players could not defend. Your Goalkeepers are represented by Player cards, but they don't have corresponding Jersey markers. Goalkeepers have a unique statistic on their Player card that indicates how many shots they can block.
If any of the Opponent's attacks are not blocked during the Match and your Goalkeeper's Strength is equal to or higher than their Strength, you may use your Goalkeeper to block it, as long as your Goalkeeper has a block available. You may resolve this effect multiple times, up to the number of block icons.
If you don't have a Goalkeeper card, you may still resolve the Goalkeeper effect as if you had a Goalkeeper with Strength 1 and 1 block.
EXAMPLE: This Goalkeeper has 2 blocks, so he may block up to 2 shots, each with a Strength of 1.
Opponents also have Goalkeepers on their cards that block your shots in the same way.
EXAMPLE: This Goalkeeper has 2 blocks, so he may block up to 2 of your shots, each with a Strength of 3 or less.
EXAMPLE OF A MATCH BETWEEN BRICKTON FC AND GREYTOWN BULLS:
Brickton has 2 Forwards with Strength 2 and 1, and Greytown's Defender has Strength 2. Greytown doesn't score. Brickton has no Defenders, so Greytown's Forward with Strength 1 is not blocking anyone.
Greytown has no Defenders, so Brickton's Forward with Strength 1 is not blocking anyone. Brickton has 2 Midfielders with Strength 1 and 3, and Greytown's Midfielders have Strength 1, 1, and 2. The Brickton Midfielder with Strength 1 is blocked, but the other, Strength 3 Midfielder is unblocked. Greytown's Goalkeeper cannot block it either since its Strength is lower than Brickton's Midfielder (but they still have a block to use later in the Match). Brickton scores once.
Brickton has 2 Forwards each with Strength 2, and Greytown's Defender has Strength 4. Greytown is not blocked. Brickton's Goalkeeper has Strength 2, so Greytown scores once.
Brickton has a Midfielder with Strength 1, and Greytown has no Midfielder, so Brickton attempts to score, but the shot is blocked by the Greytown Goalkeeper's block with Strength 2.
Greytown has a Midfielder with Strength 1 and Brickton has no Midfielder, so Greytown's Midfielder attempts to score, but it is blocked by the Brickton Goalkeeper with Strength 2. The Goalkeepers of both teams are now exhausted and can no longer block.
Brickton has a Midfielder with Strength 2 and Greytown has no Midfielder, so Brickton's Midfielder attempts to score and it cannot be blocked by Greytown's Goalkeeper because they have already blocked their maximal number of shots. Brickton scores.
Greytown has a Forward with Strength 3 and Brickton has no Defender, so Greytown scores.
Brickton has a Forward with Strength 1, and Greytown has 2 Defenders with Strength 2 and 1, so Brickton's Forward is blocked.
Brickton Football Club vs Greytown Bulls 2:2
Check the Results of the Match
- Resolve all AFTER THE MATCH effects of your Player cards.
- The Team that scored the most goals is the Winner of the Match and the other is the Loser; in the case of tie, it is a draw—nobody wins or loses.
- Move the Team markers of both Teams on the League table: 3 spaces for the Winner, 1 space for a draw, and 0 spaces for the Loser. If 2 or more players play against the same Opponent during the Week, first move the markers as described above and then flip the Opponent Team marker to its inactive (black) side.
- Discard the Fan Base markers from the Stands and gain 1 Fan Base for each discarded marker. Then discard all Resource markers, and Fitness tokens from all your Player cards assigned to the Match. Any Strength/Weakness tokens and Victory Point tokens, as well as tokens and markers from unassigned Player cards, remain on cards.
- After the Match, you must make a Match consequence roll. Roll a six-sided die and resolve the result depending on the Match result. If you don't like the die roll, you may spend 1 Fan Base to reroll the die (you may reroll multiple times, as long as you have Fan Base to spend).
Fan Base Increase: Move the Fan Base Stat marker 1 space to the right.
Training: Train a Player who was assigned to the Match.
Temporary Strength: Place the indicated number of Strength tokens on any Player card that was assigned to the Match.
Temporary Weakness: Place the indicated number of Weakness tokens on any Player card that was assigned to the Match.
Injury: Roll a twelve-sided die. The die result indicates which Player is Injured. Place an Injury token on the corresponding Player card if they were assigned to the Match (for more details, see page 27). If you roll a number that does not correspond to any of your Players assigned to the match, nothing happens.
Serious Injury: Resolve the Injury effect described above and place 2 Injury tokens on the Player card.
Double Injury: Resolve two separate Injury effects. Note that they might affect the same Player (equivalent to a Serious Injury).
Double Serious Injury: Resolve two separate Serious Injury effects. Note that they might affect the same Player.
NOTE: There are some card effects that affect this step (i.e. cards that prevent Injuries).
- Roll the six-sided Opponent die corresponding to the color of each Opponent Team that nobody has played against and move their Team markers on the League table according to the result. If their Team marker is on its inactive side, flip it over instead of moving it.
EXAMPLE: This Week, you have drawn a Match against Steelchester FC. You must move both Team markers by 1 step on the League table. During this Week, another player won a Match against Steelchester FC, so they move their Team marker by 3 steps and flip the Steelchester's Team marker to its inactive side. The next time no one plays against Steelchester FC, you will not roll the red die, but instead flip its Team marker.
End of the Week
At the end of the Week you must resolve the following steps in order:
- Unexhaust every exhausted card.
- Move the Score markers back to the 0 spaces on the Match Result track. Discard the Opponent cards you played against. If there are no more Opponent cards on your board, proceed to the End of the Game.
- Each player checks their position on the Maintenance tracks and pays Cash according to them. You must place 2 Suspension tokens on a Staff card for each Cash you don't have. Firstly place them on Staff cards that don't already have Suspension tokens.
- Discard the rightmost Player, Staff, and Sponsor cards from the Transfer Area. Move all cards to the right and refill the display. Discard the top card from the Youngster deck.
- Keep a maximum of 1 Fan Base, 1 Operation, and 1 Fitness marker and then discard the rest. You may keep as many Cash markers as you want. Discard all reminder tokens placed on your boards as reminders (according to their effects described on Board Meeting cards).
- Pass the Stage marker to the next player in clockwise order. They become the First player and place the Stage marker on the Monday space of their Club board.
End of the Game
After resolving all 6 Weeks proceed to Final Scoring. Gain Victory Points for:
- Your position on the League table according to the table below. If 2 or more Teams are in the same position, they both score the indicated Victory Points.
| Position | VPS |
|---|---|
| 1 | 15 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 0 |
| 8 | -2 |
| 9+ | -4 |
- Victory Point tokens from your Youngster cards and your Supply.
- Sets of Staff cards according to the values indicated on their bottom.
- Built Stadium Infrastructure tokens according to the values indicated on their top right corner.
- Your position on the Office track.
- Lose 1 Victory Point for each token on your cards.
The player who has the most Victory Points is the winner. In case of a tie, the player ranked higher on the League Table is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.
SCORING EXAMPLE: Your Team finished in 3rd place, so you gain 8 Victory Points. During the game, you gained 9 Victory Point tokens. You have 2 Stewards (3 Victory Points for the set), 2 Doctors, and 1 Fitness Trainer (5 Victory Points for a set), and a First Trainer (0 Victory Points for a set), for a total of 8 Victory Points. You have built 2 Stands, so you gain 2 Victory Points. You are on the third space of the Office track, so you gain 9 Victory Points. You have 1 token on a Player card, so you lose 1 Victory Point. Total = 35
Additional Rules
Injury
Some cards or Match consequences result with the Injury of certain Players. If the effect doesn't state which Player should be injured, roll a twelve-sided die. The result is the Jersey number of the Player that is Injured. The icon means that any Player with a Jersey number above 11 is Injured (you must choose one of any of the eligible Players). Place the indicated number of Injury tokens on that Player's card (if possible). Injured Players cannot play during subsequent Weeks. Before a Match, you may exhaust the Injured Player's card for free in order to remove an Injury token. You may remove only 1 from each Player card in this manner, even if there were multiple Injury tokens.
You cannot use the effects of Injured Player's cards. However, you may Sell them for half of their basic price.
Some Staff card effects prevent Injuries or affect the Injured Players.
Maintenance
Each time you Hire or Sell a Player, Hire Staff, or build Stadium Infrastructure, you must move your Maintenance marker on the corresponding track. During the end of the Week, you must pay Cash according to the positions of markers on that track. Make sure to update their positions before.
EXAMPLE: This Maintenance track shows that at the end of the Week, you must pay 6 Cash for Maintenance.
MATCH effects: before and after
Some cards have effects that you may resolve BEFORE or AFTER THE MATCH.
BEFORE THE MATCH effects must be resolved before revealing the Opponent card.
AFTER THE MATCH effects must be resolved after comparing each pair of Sections, but before calculating the final score.
EXAMPLE: With the Lopez Player card, after the Match, you may take 2 Fan Base to cancel an Opponent's goal. Move the Opponent's Score marker 1 step backward on the Match Result track.
Objective cards
At the beginning of the game, each player receives 2 Objective cards, keeping 1 and discarding the other. Fulfilling this Objective card's requirements provides additional Victory Points.
Objective card anatomy:
- Card name.
- Description: This text is thematic and has no bearing on gameplay.
- Levels of fulfilling: Each card has an Objective to fulfill and an additional condition to fulfill it perfectly.
- Granted Victory Points: 2 Victory Points for fulfilling the Objective, and an additional 2 Victory Points for fulfilling it perfectly.
Once you fulfill the Objective, reveal the card so other players may verify it and then gain the indicated tokens. Some Objectives are fulfilled at the End of Game. Reveal them after the last Match and gain Victory Points.
Opponent deck
The game consists of 64 Opponent cards for 16 different Opponents (4 cards for each). Before the game, all players should decide together which Division they want to play in. Each of them draws 3 different Opponent cards from the decks corresponding to the chosen Division, so each of them will have 6 different Opponents cards. Advanced Opponent cards should be placed below easier Opponents cards on the Match board.
| Division | Opponent decks | Difficulty level |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Division 3 and Division 3/2 | Easy |
| 2 | Division 3/2 and Division 2/1 | Medium |
| 1 | Division 2/1 and Division 1 | Hard |
During Setup, the unused cards should be returned to the box along with unused Team markers.
Suspension
Players
Some card effects result in the Suspension of specific Players. If the effect doesn't state which Player should be Suspended, roll a twelve-sided die. The result is the Jersey number of the Player that is Suspended. The icon means that any Player with a Jersey number above 11 is Suspended (you must choose one of any of the eligible Players). Place the indicated number of Suspension tokens on that Player's card (if possible). Suspended Players cannot play during subsequent Weeks. During the Match, you may exhaust the Suspended Player's card for free in order to remove 1 Suspension token.
You cannot use the effects of Suspended Players, however, you may Sell them for half of their basic price.
Other cards
Some card effects place Suspension tokens on other cards. If a card has a Suspension token, you cannot use its actions or features. During the Match, you may exhaust a card to remove 1 Suspension token from it for free.
At the end of the game, you must lose 1 Victory Point for each Suspension token on your cards. Cards with Suspension tokens are ignored for all other effects and don't provide Victory Points when building sets.
Temporary and Permanent Strength and Weakness tokens
Different effects and actions make you place Strength and Weakness tokens on your Player cards. During the Match each of the Strength tokens adds +1 to the Strength of the Player it is placed on, and each of the Weakness tokens subtracts -1 from their Strength.
Temporary Strength and Temporary Weakness tokens are discarded from assigned Players after the Match.
Permanent Strength and Permanent Weakness tokens stay on the Player cards until the End of the Game.
Tactic cards
At the beginning of the game, each player receives 1 Tactic card. During the game, many effects allow you to draw additional Tactic cards (if the Tactic deck is empty, you cannot gain more).
During each Matchday, you must play exactly 1 Tactic card as your Formation and you may play another one for its effect.
EXAMPLE: You have 2 Tactic cards. You may play 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 and use the effect of the "Nothing to lose card," or play it as a Formation to play 4-3-3 and do not play the second Tactic card.
Victory Point tokens
During the game, you gain Victory Point tokens in various ways. Each time you gain a Victory Point token, take it to your Supply.
The Victory Points placed on the Experience space of Youngsters remain there until the end of the game or until you sell them, at which point you place them in your Supply.
Solo Game
Most of the rules for Eleven remain unchanged when playing solo. The major differences are introduced on the individual Scenario sheets, and they always take precedence over the general rules. However, there are a few small changes explained below that must be followed when playing solo.
Setup
During the Setup, reveal 4 Director cards, choose one, and discard the others. Then reveal the next 3 Director cards, choose one, and discard the others. Finally reveal 2 Director cards, choose one, and discard the other. The 3 cards you choose will be your Directors for the game.
Before you begin, decide in which Division you wish to play. Some of the Scenarios must be played in a specific Division.
Many Scenarios have special Setup rules you must follow. Read those rules before preparing the game as usual.
End of the Week
At the end of each Week, you must discard the rightmost Player, Staff, and Sponsor card, as well as the topmost Youngster card as usual. Additionally, once per Week, you may discard all cards of any one type from the Transfer Area and replace them with new cards.
End of the Game
At the end of the Game, you should sum up your Victory Points as usual. Note that each Scenario has its own additional scoring rules. If you fulfill the Scenario goals mentioned on the Scenario sheet, you win the Scenario. Check the table below to see how well you rank as a Manager!
| Rank | Division 3 | Division 3/2 | Division 2/1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amateur Manager | <40 | <40 | <35 |
| Assistant of a Manager | 40 | 40 | 35 |
| Promising Manager | 50 | 45 | 40 |
| Reputable Manager | 55 | 50 | 45 |
| World class Manager | 65+ | 55+ | 50+ |
Player Aid
Monday
Production: Gain Resources according to the positions of your Stat markers on the tracks.
Board Meeting: Draw a Board Meeting card. Roll a six-sided die. Check the votes of your Directors. Resolve the decision with the most votes.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Each Day, you may perform exactly 1 Basic action, and may pay in order to perform 1 additional Paid action.
Hire a Player or a Youngster: Pick a top card from the Youngster deck or 1 from the 3 rightmost Player cards. Pay the cost of Hiring shown in the upper left-hand corner of the card. Take the card and flip (if necessary) the corresponding Jersey marker. Adjust the position of your marker on the Maintenance track.
Sell a Player or a Youngster: Discard a chosen Player card. Gain 2 Cash + Cash equal to their current Strength (modified by Strength and Weakness tokens) and all Victory Point tokens on the Player card. Adjust the position of your marker on the Maintenance track.
Hire Staff: Pick 1 from the 3 rightmost Staff cards. Pay the cost of Hiring shown in the upper left-hand corner of the card. Take the card and place it below your Club board. Adjust position of your marker on the Maintenance track.
Contract a Sponsor: Pick 1 from the 3 rightmost Sponsor cards. Choose what type of Contract you want to sign.
- Immediate: discard the Sponsor card to gain the Contract Effect.
- Adboard: slide the card faceup beneath the Stadium board and gain the Contract Effect or the Bonus.
- Sponsor Kit: place the card facedown on the left side of the Stadium board and gain the Contract Effect and the Bonus.
Build Stadium Infrastructure: Choose one of available Stadium Infrastructure tokens from the Supply, pay 3 Cash and place it in a Stadium space on the Stadium board. Apply its bonus (if necessary) and adjust the position of your marker on the Maintenance track.
Card Action: Exhaust a Director or a Staff card. Pay indicated cost and resolve its action.
Additional Paid Action: Pay 2 Operation and choose any of your cards. Resolve its action by paying its regular cost (if any) and exhausting it.
Build Office: Pay the cost indicated in the space above your Office marker and move it up on the Office track by 1 space.
Matchday
Prepare for the Match: Read Scout Report on the Opponent card. Play a Tactic card as a Formation. Assign Players and deploy Jersey markers on the pitch. Assign Fan Base to the Stands. Discard 1 Injury/Suspension token from your cards. Resolve Before the Match effects.
Resolve the Match: Reveal the Opponent card. You may play another Tactic card for its effect. Resolve effects of Player cards. Compare pairs of Sections.
Check the Results of the Match: Resolve After the Match effects. Move Team markers on the League table. Discard Fan Base from the Stands to gain Fan Base. Discard Resources and Fitness tokens. Roll for Match Consequences. Roll the Opponent dice and move their Team markers on the League table.
End of the Week: Unexhaust all cards. Pay for the Maintenance. Discard rightmost cards from the Transfer area. Keep all Cash and up to 1 Fan Base, Operation, Fitness. Discard the rest. Pass the Stage marker.
Credits
PORTAL GAMES
GAME DESIGN: Thomas Jansen
GAME DEVELOPMENT: Ignacy Trzewiczek, Jan Maurycy
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Mateusz Kopacz, Rafał Szyma
COVER ARTWORK: Mateusz Kopacz
ARTWORK: Hanna Kuik, Maciej Simiński
RULEBOOK: Jan Maurycy
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Grzegorz Polewka, Damian Mazur
PROJECT MANAGER: Marek Dąbrowski
ENGLISH EDITOR: Tyler Brown
The authors thank the testers and editors for their help in developing the game.
Special thanks to: Joanna Kijanka, Kuba Jarosz, Vincent Salzillo, Joanna Wareluk, Chevee, Michael Eckenfels, Kajtek Witrambowski, Alicja Święcicka, Laga Warszawa's team (Szymon & Jędrzej Święciccy, Carlos, Dorsz, GDM, Janik), Marek Spychalski, Filip Makówka, Wojtek Kondracki, Sławek Winszczyk, Karol Han, and all others who helped with playtesting this product.
Dear Customer, our games are assembled with the greatest care. However, if your copy lacks anything, we apologize. Please, let us know through the Customer Service form on our website: portalgames.pl/en/customer-service
Published by: Portal Games Sp. z o.o. ul. H. Sienkiewicza 13, 44-190 Knurów, Poland. © 2022 PORTAL GAMES Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.