Paper Soccer Variants and Board Sizes

Guide · 6 min read · Updated October 25, 2026

There is no official paper soccer rulebook, so the size of the pitch and a few rules differ from one classroom to the next. One of the most common pitches is 8×10 squares with 2×1 goals. Our app offers 6×10, 8×10 and 8×12 pitches, all with 2×1 goals, and always plays one ruleset: one line per move, a bounce on every used dot and on the border, and a loss for the player who gets stuck. Here is each size, the rules that vary, and where our version stands.

Board sizes in the Paper Soccer app

You choose the pitch in the app's main menu; online matches are fixed to 8×12. The rules are the same on every size, only the room changes.

A narrower pitch brings the side borders, and the bounces they give, closer to the middle; a longer one puts more ground between the kick-off dot and each goal. Online matches against other players always use 8×12, so that players on older and newer versions of the app can meet in the same game.

Traditional sizes on paper

On paper you draw whatever fits the page. English Wikipedia says the grid can be any size, though both sides should be an even number of squares so there is a centre point for the kick-off, and that goals are typically 2×1. Polish Wikipedia calls 8×10 one of the most common sizes and says the size is mainly chosen by how long you want the game to last.

Some traditional variants use much bigger fields. Polish Wikipedia describes a version on a larger area, for example 16×20 squares, in which every move is a line of three segments. English Wikipedia describes a Russian variant on a larger field in which each turn extends the line through three points, the line may not touch existing lines (so there are no bounces), and a trapped player's opponent gets a "penalty kick". These are traditional variants, not modes of our app.

Rules that change from table to table

Beyond the size, a handful of rules are settled differently in different places. Each item says what tradition allows and what the app does.

• Getting stuck and corners. Traditional rules: a ball that can't move, for example in a corner, is a draw or a loss for the player who can't move, depending on who you play with (Wikipedia EN, PL). In the app: the stuck player loses, and a corner dot, with one line in and none out, is always a dead end.
• Own goals. Traditional rules: an own goal wins the game for the opponent; English Wikipedia adds that some versions forbid own goals, and moves that leave no way out, altogether. In the app: an own goal is allowed and ends the game in your opponent's favour.
• Running along the border. Both Wikipedia articles say the ball may not travel along the edge of the pitch. The app plays it the same way: the border counts as already drawn, so landing on it gives a bounce.
• Crossing a diagonal. In the house variant English Wikipedia calls Texas Soccer, no "X" may be drawn, so the ball can't cross an existing diagonal. In the app crossing is allowed; only drawing over an existing line is not.
• One goal or a match. Polish Wikipedia describes a version in which a goal earns a point, the opponent kicks off again from the centre, and the higher score wins. In the app the first goal ends the game.

Paper hockey and other names

English Wikipedia introduces the game as "paper soccer (or paper hockey)", played on a grid that stands for a soccer or hockey field, and Polish Wikipedia lists hokej among its slang names. So if you learned it as paper hockey, the rules above still apply; just agree on the pitch size and the stuck-ball rule before you start.

The ruleset this site and the app use

• Pitch: 6×10, 8×10 and 8×12 in the app (8×10 in the browser game), with 2×1 goals in the middle of the short sides.
• The ball starts on the centre dot, and each move is one line to a neighbouring dot, straight or diagonal.
• A line can never be drawn twice, and the ball never runs along the border.
• Ending a move on a dot that already had a line, on the border or on a goal post gives a bounce: the same player moves again.
• The ball enters a goal only from the goal line: from a post or a dot between the posts.
• Score in your opponent's goal to win. An own goal, or getting stuck with no legal move, loses.

The full rules page walks through every case with diagrams, and the printable game sheets give you a ready-drawn pitch.

Agreeing on house rules

When you play on paper with someone who learned a different version, settle three things before the first move: the pitch size, what happens when the ball gets stuck, and whether one goal ends the game. Writing them in the corner of the sheet saves an argument later.

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FAQ

Sources

• Wikipedia (EN) — Paper soccer: board size, the bounce, stuck balls, own goals, Texas Soccer and the Russian variant.
• Wikipedia (PL) — Piłkarzyki na kartce: common sizes, the 16×20 three-segment version, the points variant and slang names.