Playing guide
Choose your tournament
The site began with one oversized knockout and grew into several ways to play. Use this guide to pick the mode that suits a quick simulation, a long campaign, a historical replay or a night with friends.
256-team knockout
This is the signature mode. All 256 teams enter a straight knockout bracket and the champion needs eight wins. It is the best choice if you want the broadest field, the longest underdog journey and the freedom to watch neutrally or centre the experience on one country.
Before starting, choose how strongly ratings should influence results and whether matches should trend tight, normal or high-scoring. You can play ties individually, reveal them spoiler-free or simulate a round when you want to move faster. Read the complete format guide for the bracket structure.
Custom tournament
Custom mode is for creating a smaller competition from the available team pool. Build the field, adjust team strength where needed and control individual fixtures. It works well for regional cups, creator challenges, fantasy matchups or a quick knockout that does not require all eight rounds.
Presets can be saved and imported, making it possible to return to a favourite setup or share the structure with somebody else. A preset controls the tournament configuration; it does not turn a simulated result into a factual prediction.
Online party mode
Online mode creates a shared knockout room. Players join with a room code or use public matchmaking, draft countries and follow matches together in real time. The host controls the room flow while participants can see the same tournament state.
- Choose a display name and either find a match, create a private room or enter a friend’s code.
- Wait for the lobby, then complete the country draft.
- Follow the knockout, choose tactics when available and continue with another remaining country if the format allows it.
- Review final standings, player results and the completed bracket.
Room names are public to participants, so do not use private information. Temporary rooms close when the host ends them or after their expiry period.
World Cup Legacy Draft
Legacy Draft changes the question from “Which country wins?” to “Which collection of World Cup players works best together?” You draft an XI from classic squads and enter it into a 16-team knockout.
The smaller bracket makes this mode quicker than the full 256-team tournament, while the draft adds decisions before the first ball is kicked. Player roles matter when assembling a balanced side: collecting famous attackers without enough midfield, defence or goalkeeping can leave obvious weaknesses.
Retro World Cups and Euro 2016
Retro modes rebuild selected historical tournaments with their original-sized fields, group structures and competition-specific squads. Available World Cup editions include 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, alongside UEFA Euro 2016.
You can replay the tournament as a spectator or manage a participating country, adjust lineups and see an alternative history emerge. The squads and presentation are inspired by the selected competition, but simulated results are fictional. Historical badges, names and marks remain the property of their respective owners.
Settings that apply across modes
Where supported, the Settings panel controls match sounds, injuries, real-player-name preferences and keyboard shortcuts. Playback controls let you pause, change speed or skip to full time. Tactics alter the approach of a managed team but do not guarantee a result.
If you are unsure where to begin, use Standard simulation style, Normal goal level and Neutral spectator mode. That combination shows the complete product without asking you to manage a specific country.