The board has three clubs or countries across the top and three down the side. Each of the nine cells is where a row meets a column, and you fill it with a player who belongs to both: a club he played for, or a country he played for. Type any part of a name in the box under the board and pick the player from the list; his birth year is shown, so you always know which one you are choosing.
If your player fits one open cell, he goes straight in. If he fits several, those cells light up and you tap the one you want. If he fits none, you are told so and the clock keeps running. Each player can be used only once on a board.
What counts. “Played for” means at least one senior appearance, and loans count. Youth spells and spells without an appearance don't. For a country, the player needs a senior cap; a cap for a former state such as Yugoslavia does not count for the countries that followed it.
The score. Every correct cell is worth 80 points. A rare pick adds up to 20 more: the less known the player, and the more famous answers the cell had, the bigger the bonus. Fill the board fast and you earn a time bonus of up to 100, which stays full for two and a half minutes and fades to nothing at seven and a half. The best possible score is 1,000. You can finish early at any time; empty cells simply score nothing.
When you are done, send the link. Your friend plays exactly the same board on the same clock, and the higher score wins. The full rules, tips and the difference between Easy, Medium and Hard are on How to play Tic-Tac-Toe, and common questions are answered in the FAQ.
A bracket is sixteen footballers and one question: who has more? The number is the same for the whole bracket, international caps, international goals, or league goals in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A or the Bundesliga, and the date under the question says when the numbers were taken. In each match two players meet, and you tap the one with the higher number. A tick or a cross shows whether you were right, and the next match follows on its own; the clock stops while it shows. The numbers stay hidden until the end, on the answers.
The bracket runs like a knockout cup: eight matches in the round of 16, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final, fifteen picks in all. The player with the higher number always goes through, even when you picked the other one, so a wrong pick never ends your run; it only costs you that match's points.
The score. A right pick is worth up to 50 points in the round of 16, 70 in a quarter-final, 100 in a semi-final and 120 in the final, and the faster you pick, the more it scores. Pick within 3 seconds of the match appearing for the full points; after that they shrink steadily to half at 10 seconds, and never go below half. A wrong pick scores nothing. The best possible score is 1,000.
The levels. Easy pairs the best-known players with clear gaps between them. Medium brings in more players and closer numbers. Hard has the tightest margins, where a handful of caps or goals separates the two.
When you are done, send the link. Your friend plays exactly the same bracket on the same clock, and the higher score wins. Common questions are answered in the FAQ.
Build Your XI gives you a formation, eleven shirts on a pitch and one rule for the whole squad: every player must have played for one club, or have one nationality and have played for one club, or have played for a club after a given year. A few players are already in the team when you start, with a lock on their shirt. Your job is to fill every other position with a different player who fits the rule.
Type any part of a name in the box and pick the player from the list. Goaler checks two things on its server: that he fits the rule, and that he can play the position. A goalkeeper only goes in goal, a centre-back in the middle of the defence, a winger on his own wing. An attacking midfielder or a holding midfielder can also fill a central midfield shirt, and a right winger can play right midfield, and the same on the left. If he fits one open shirt, he goes straight in. If he fits several, those shirts light up and you tap the one you want. Each player can be used once.
What counts. “Played for” means at least one senior appearance, and loans count. “After 2000” means at least one season with that club that started in 2000 or later. A nationality needs a senior cap for that country.
The score. The open shirts share 720 points equally, so each is worth 90 at Easy, 80 at Medium and 72 at Hard. Rarer players add up to 180 more, shared the same way. A quick squad earns a time bonus of up to 100, full for the first two minutes and gone at six. The best possible score is 1,000. You can finish early at any time; empty shirts simply score nothing.
The levels. Easy uses the biggest clubs, gives you three players and has plenty of famous answers for every position. Medium gives two and widens the pool. Hard gives one and asks for the deep cuts. Common questions are answered in the FAQ.