Paper Soccer Rules: How to Play

Rules · 4 min read · Updated June 11, 2026

Everything you need to play paper soccer: how to draw the pitch, how moves work, what the bounce does, and the two ways to win. Rules first — then a diagram, FAQ and links to go deeper.

How to play Paper Soccer

Paper Soccer (also known as piłkarzyki na kartce) is a classic two-player pen-and-paper game played on squared paper. You walk a “ball” across the pitch and into your opponent’s goal — using nothing but straight lines between dots.

The pitch

Draw a rectangle on grid paper (the classic size is 8×10 squares), with a small 2×1 goal in the middle of each short edge. The ball starts on the centre dot.

Making a move

On your turn, draw one line from the ball’s dot to a neighbouring dot — straight or diagonal, one square long. The end of that line is the ball’s new spot, and it’s your opponent’s turn.

Two rules that make it a game

• No reusing lines. You can never draw over an existing segment, and you can’t run along the border. Box yourself in and you’re stuck.
• The bounce (odbicie). If your line ends on a dot that already has a line through it — or on the edge of the pitch — you bounce: you immediately get another move. Chain bounces together and you can dash across the whole pitch in one turn.

How to win

• Score by getting the ball into your opponent’s goal.
• An own goal counts for your opponent — be careful near your own net.
• If it’s your turn and you have no legal move, you lose.

FAQ

Go deeper

• How to win at paper soccer — strategy & tactics
• The history of paper soccer
• Print a pitch and play on paper — free A4 game sheets