Jukem Football

Jukem Football Rulebook

Table of Contents

Object of the Game

Outscore your opponent with touchdowns (7 points) or field goals (3 points). To score a touchdown, a drive must total exactly 100 yards. The game is over after you have played through the entire deck twice.

Components

Deck of 56 cards.

About the Cards

The deck includes three types of cards:

Black offensive cards advance your drive down the field toward a touchdown or field goal.
Yellow defensive cards slow your opponent's drive by removing his/her last play.
Red defensive cards end your opponent's turn by removing his/her entire current drive.

Practice Game

For a faster, easier game the first time you play, remove one yellow card and one red card. Once you've got the rules under your belt, return them to the deck and get ready to go full-on football!

Setup

Choose a player to be the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck, then deals four cards face down to each player.
The dealer places the remaining deck face down in the center of the play area to form the draw pile, then turns the top card face up beside the draw pile to start the discard pile.
The other player takes the first turn. Players then alternate turns.

On Your Turn

Replenish your hand to five cards. You can replenish from the draw pile and/or the discard pile, but you can draw only one card (the top card) from the discard pile per turn.
Make one offensive play (if you can) each turn to build your scoring drive. An offensive play is either a RUN card or a PASS/CATCH card combination.

Can't make a play? If no cards in your hand are playable, discard one card of your choice face up on the discard pile. This ends your turn.

Offensive Plays

Build your drive by placing offensive cards face up in front of you in a line, from left to right. The most common offensive plays are RUN plays, and PASS and CATCH card combinations. There are also some special offensive plays that will add yardage to your drive.

Run

You may play any RUN card face up in front of you on any turn to gain the number of yards shown on that card.

Pass and Catch

Each PASS card shows a range of yards. To make a PASS and CATCH play, first play a PASS card, then play a CATCH card showing any number of yards within that range.

You must play both cards on your same turn to complete the play and gain the number of yards shown on the CATCH card. See PASS and CATCH right and wrong examples below.

Always play your CATCH card on top of your PASS card, so it will be easy to keep track of the yards in your drive.

Example 1 (Right): You can play this CATCH card on this PASS card because 35 yards are within its range.

Example 2 (Wrong): You can't play this CATCH card on this PASS card because 30 yards are beyond its 5-20 yard range.

Kick Return

There's only one of these cards in the deck. If you're lucky enough to have it, you may play it to gain a whopping 50 yards! But here's the catch: you may play it only as the first play of your drive.

Jukem

You may play the JUKEM card immediately after playing a RUN play or a PASS and CATCH combination, to double the yardage of that play. Shout "JUKEM!" before playing the card to rub in the fact that your opponent cannot play a defensive card against it!

The JUKEM card can also be played immediately after a KICK RETURN play. The result is a one-play automatic touchdown (see "Scoring a Touchdown" below)!

Pancake Block!

If you're lucky enough to have this special card, you may play it along with any RUN card on a turn to add 10 yards to that run. Place the PANCAKE BLOCK card next to the RUN card that you just played.

Example: Adding the PANCAKE BLOCK! card to a 15-yard RUN card boosts your yardage to 25 yards!

You may also boost this combination with a JUKEM card to double the sum of the RUN and PANCAKE BLOCK! cards.

Field Goal (It's Good!)

You may play this card only if you're within 30 yards of scoring the 100 yards needed for a touchdown (see "Scoring a Touchdown" below). A FIELD GOAL immediately ends your drive and scores three points. As soon as you score a FIELD GOAL, stack all of your drive cards in a pile and set it aside to record your score. This ends your turn. On your next turn you can begin a new drive.

Example: With 30 yards or less to go for a touchdown, you could play a FIELD GOAL card to end your drive and score three points.

Strategy Tips

While RUN cards offer a quick way to gain yardage, PASS and CATCH combinations can gain even more yardage. They also use up two cards, so you can replenish more cards at the start of your next turn.
It may seem like bad strategy to score a FIELD GOAL for only three points instead of seven, but a FIELD GOAL may be your best option if you think your opponent is one play away from playing a drive-ending defensive card on you, or if you possess a great deal of yardage in your hand that would allow you to move quickly down field on your next possession.

Scoring a Touchdown

To score a touchdown, you must have exactly 100 yards on your drive, no more, no less. Each touchdown immediately ends your drive and scores seven points. See an example of a touchdown drive below.

As soon as you score a touchdown, stack all of your drive cards in a pile and set it aside to record your score. This ends your turn. On your next turn you can begin a new drive.

Example: The yards in your drive add up to exactly 100. Touchdown!

Defensive Plays

On your opponent's turn, after your opponent has made an offensive play, you may play a defensive card to slow down or even stop his/her drive. Important: You can play a defensive card against any play except a FIELD GOAL, touchdown, or JUKEM play.

Holding! and Sack!

You may play either one of these yellow cards to remove your opponent's play from his/her drive. Place the last play and the defensive card aside, out of play for the half. Do not place these cards on the discard pile! This ends your opponent's turn.

Fumble! and Picked Off!

You may play either one of these red cards to completely destroy your opponent's entire drive! Place the drive cards and the defensive card aside, out of play for the half. Do not place these cards on the discard pile! This ends your opponent's turn.

Halftime

If you draw the last card from the draw pile, you may make as many plays as you can from your hand on that turn. After you've run out of plays, have been stopped by a defensive card, or have scored a field goal or touchdown, the half is over. Shuffle all the cards and play the second half the same way you played the first half. The player who did not deal in the first half deals in the second half.

How to Win

When the second half ends, the game is over. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie (sudden death overtime!) play again until a player scores either a field goal or a touchdown. That player wins the game!