Eleven: Football Manager Board Game

The players go onto the pitch. Your players. You transferred them all to your club and you let them play for you. It remains to be seen whether your transfers were a good decision …

The kick-off is coming! Are you ready for it? Eleven is a strategic game by Thomas Jansen (Club Stories, Tavern, Streetpainball) set in the world of football. You will be faced with the task of managing and developing your own football club to dominate the league and defeat your opponents at the end of the season. The gameplay takes place over six weeks, and each day will be filled with a lot of duties – board meetings, transfers, stadium modernization and last but not least – matches. All this to be at the top of the league table at the end of the season. Eleven was a huge success during the crowdfunding campaign, gaining nearly 4,000 backers on Gamefound.

The gameplay of Eleven takes place over 6 Weeks, and each day marks a different phase of the game. On Monday, you acquire Resources for your Club and draw a Board Meeting card, facing the tasks assigned to it. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are filled with many responsibilities: transfers of players, hiring staff, expansion of the stadium, etc. Friday is the decisive day – the day of the Match. This is when you’ll manage your Tactics cards and Player abilities to win the game. The phases of Monday and Friday are resolved simultaneously, but  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you will play in turns with other players. 

During setup, shuffle the deck of Director cards and deal each player 4 of them. Then, using the open draft, each player keeps 3 Director cards and returns one to the box. Each Director has a different approach to football and different priorities. Which Directors you choose will determine your development strategy. Each Director values ​​the three main areas of development represented by dice: the yellow dice represent Cash, Stadium Development, and Contracting Sponsors. Blue dice symbolize taking care of players, Youngsters, Tactics and the fitness of the team. The red dice mean Fanbase, Staff and Operations.

The center of the table will be the Transfer Area, the main zone of a game common to all players. Firstly, there are two decks of players – Youngsters and Regular players – with their Untrained side up. Secondly, there are Staff and Sponsor decks next to the players. Next to the Transfer Area, there are facedown decks of Board Meeting cards, Tactics, Objectives, and 4 decks of Opponents (divided into Leagues) that you will face every Friday during the Match. 

Each player will have 3 of their own boards at their disposal. The Stadium Board is where you shine – there you will place the Stadium Infrastructure tokens and the Contracted Sponsors cards that you will get during the game. The Club Board is a place for your Staff cards and 4 Statistics tracks – Cash, Fan Base, Operation and Fitness. But on the Match Board 10 Jersey markers will represent the Players you have transferred and the strategy that you choose during the Match.

Whenever the match day arrives, first read the Scout Report on your Opponent card. It will tell you what formation your opponents will play. Then play one Tactic Card of your choice from your hand and place the Jersey markers in the 9 Play Zones on the Match board according to it. At this point, you can assign the Players you have transferred  to specific Jersey markers, which will allow you to use their special effects.

After all 6 Weeks the game is over and points are scored. You score not only for your position on the League Table, but also for: Trained Youngsters, your Staff composition, Stadium