American Football

American Football is a quick arcade football game where your Dinos take on the CPU Comets on a top-down field. You call the plays, carry the ball yourself, time your throws to open receivers and make tackles on defense, all in two short halves. You can play this American football game free in your browser with no download, on a keyboard, a mouse or a phone’s touch screen.

How to play

The Dinos receive first and start on their own 25-yard line. Your team always moves up the screen. The blue line is the line of scrimmage and the yellow line is the first-down marker.

• Call a play: on offense, choose Run, Short pass, Long pass or QB scramble from the menu, or press 1 to 4. Punt is always on the menu, and once you are inside the Comets’ 35-yard line you also get a field goal with its distance shown.
• Carry the ball: move with the arrow keys or WASD, or the virtual stick on a touch screen. Hold Shift or SPRINT for a burst of speed while the yellow stamina bar lasts. Press Space or the green button to juke, a quick sidestep that can leave nearby tacklers stumbling.
• Throw a pass: on pass plays you control the quarterback. Click or tap a receiver, or press 1, 2 or 3, to throw to him. Space or the green button throws to the receiver who is most open, marked in yellow. A cone shows how accurate the throw will be. It narrows and widens in a steady rhythm and gets wider when a pass rusher is close, so wait for a narrow cone and an open man.
• Play defense: when the Comets have the ball, pick man, zone or blitz coverage. You control one defender, marked YOU. Steer him into the ball carrier to tackle, and press Space or the green button to dive. Press E, or tap another defender, to switch players.

Downs, scoring and the clock

The rules are simplified but follow the standard rules of American football where they are used. The offense has four downs to gain ten yards. Reach the yellow line and you get a new first down. Fall short on fourth down and the other team takes over at that spot, which is a turnover on downs.

• Touchdown: 6 points for carrying or catching the ball in the end zone.
• Conversion: after a touchdown, kick the extra point for 1 point (a 33-yard kick) or go for 2 with one play from the 2-yard line.
• Field goal: 3 points. A missed kick gives the other team the ball at the spot of the kick, or at its 20 if that is better for them.
• Safety: 2 points for the defense when the ball carrier is tackled in his own end zone or runs out the back of it. The team that scored the safety then gets the ball at its own 35.

Kicks use a timing meter. A needle slides across a bar, and you press the kick button while it is inside the green zone. The zone shrinks as the kick gets longer. After a score the game kicks off automatically, and the receiving team starts at its 25.

Each half has 2:00 of game clock. The clock runs during every play, and a few seconds come off between plays when the ball carrier is tackled in bounds. It stops after incomplete passes, out-of-bounds plays, scores, punts and changes of possession. A play that starts before 0:00 is always finished, and a conversion try after a last-second touchdown still happens. The Comets receive the second-half kickoff. At the end you get a score summary by half, and your win-loss-tie record is saved in your browser.

Tips

• Save the juke. It has a short cooldown, so use it when a tackler is right in front of you, not ten yards away.
• Throw on the narrow cone. A throw into a wide cone can sail past your receiver or land in a defender’s hands.
• Watch the sideline late in a half. Getting out of bounds stops the clock and saves time for one more play.

Want more sports? Try Baseball for a home run derby, or Penalty Shootout for soccer spot kicks.

FAQ

Is American Football free?

Yes. It runs in your browser for free, with no download or sign-up.

Does it work on phones?

Yes. On a touch screen you get a virtual stick, a SPRINT button and an action button, and you can tap receivers to throw. Touching the game does not scroll the page.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or tap the field to resume. The game also pauses if you switch to another tab.

How long is a game?

Two halves of 2:00 of game clock. The clock only runs during plays and the short runoff after in-bounds tackles.