Goal: score more goals than the other team before time runs out. Run into the ball to knock it along; hold Kick while you touch it for a proper strike in the direction you’re facing. Kicking a ball that’s already rolling your way hits it hardest.

Keyboard: WASD or arrow keys to move, Space to kick. In Local 2P, player 2 uses the arrows and Right Shift. P or Esc opens the match menu; offline matches pause.

Touch: drag anywhere in your half of the screen to move, and hold the KICK button to strike. Hold your phone upright and the pitch turns upright with it, your goal at the bottom; turn it sideways for the classic view. You can keep the pitch sideways in Settings.

Gamepad: left stick or D-pad to move, A (or any face button) to kick, Start for the menu. A second pad controls player 2.

Play on the main menu starts a match with your last setup straight away.

Modes:

• Single Player: you control one player and the CPU fills both teams. Pick Easy, Normal or Hard.
• Local 2P: two players on one device, one keyboard or two gamepads. Play against each other, or pick Same team and take on the CPU together.
• Host or Join Online: real-time matches in a room with a four-character code, 1v1 up to 5v5. CPU players fill empty places.
• Power Up: matches with power-up bubbles, against the CPU or with a friend on the same device (versus or on the same team). Pick how many: Some, Lots or Chaos.
• League: a season against five CPU clubs, each with its own kit and style; everyone plays everyone once. Your result counts as soon as the final whistle blows, and the other matches of the matchday are played after yours. Three points for a win, one for a draw; the top club wins the title. Your season is saved, so you can come back to it.
• Cup: up to eight teams in one room are drawn into a knockout cup. Empty slots become CPU teams, so you can also play a whole cup alone. Once your team is out you can watch any match still running.

Kick-off: the team that conceded kicks off. Until the ball is played the other team has to stay outside the glowing centre circle (for three seconds at most). Each half starts with the other team.

Replays: after a goal in Single Player and Local 2P you see it again in slow motion (tap, Space or Kick to skip; turn it off in Settings). At full time you get the match stats, the player of the match, and every goal again with Watch the goals.

Power Up: bubbles float onto the pitch during play. Run into one to take it, or pop it with the ball and it goes to whoever touched the ball last. Bubbles turn up more often near the team that's behind. A goal or half-time clears them all.

Matchday weather: every match is played on a clear day, under floodlights or in the snow (with an orange ball). You can fix the weather in Settings.

A pixel-sprite arcade football game in one self-contained HTML page: every player, ball and pitch is drawn in your browser, and the sound and theme music are synthesized live. No downloads, no server of its own.

Inside Claude, online rooms run on Claude’s live rooms, so players need this Kickabout page open and signed-in access to it. Elsewhere, players connect directly over WebRTC.

Your settings, outfit, achievements and stats are saved only in this browser.

This game was made by AI, but the idea came from humans.

Developed by TrySomeGames, an indie game studio from Sweden.

• Anthropic’s Claude (Sonnet 5): built the original game.
• Anthropic’s Claude (Opus 5.5): built the 1.0.0.1 edition, with its original pixel art, live online rooms, achievements, settings, touch and gamepad controls, matchday weather and the synthesized theme “Terrace Anthem”.
• Lovable AI: built the TrySomeGames website.
• Suno AI: theme music in the website edition.
• Dennis: the friend whose idea started this game.
• Everyone who plays Kickabout every single day.
• Everyone who reported bugs and helped make this game better.

© 2026 TrySomeGames. All rights reserved.

Version 1.0.0.8 October 13, 2026

• On TrySomeGames.com the game is ready to show your account’s username: when the website says you’re signed in, your name appears in the menu ("Signed in as @username") and is used in matches, the League and online rooms. Signing out gives you your own guest name back.
• While the game checks who is signed in, the menu says so instead of calling you a guest. Outside the website nothing changes: you type your name as before.

Version 1.0.0.7 October 12, 2026

• Players are drawn 50% larger, so the footballers and their shirt numbers are easier to see, especially on phones. Names, rings, pointers and Power Up badges move up with them. How the game plays is unchanged.

Version 1.0.0.6 October 12, 2026

• Your teammates now wear the kit you pick: jersey, shorts and socks. They used to get a different-coloured kit of their own.
• A small pointer above your head (yellow for player 1, blue for player 2) shows which one is you when you have teammates.
• Opponents whose kit would look like yours switch to the colour furthest from your jersey.
• The Locker Room says that your whole team plays in your kit.

Version 1.0.0.5 October 3, 2026

• New mode: Power Up. Bubbles with power-ups float onto the pitch during play: run into one to take it, or pop it with the ball and it goes to whoever touched the ball last.
• Six power-ups: Turbo (run faster), Rocket (much harder kicks, the ball catches fire), Magnet (the ball sticks to your feet), Freeze (the other team slows to a crawl), Wall (shuts your own goal) and Ghost (run through players), plus a rare Mystery bubble.
• Bubbles turn up more often near the team that’s behind, never right on top of anyone, and the CPU goes for them too.
• Play Power Up against the CPU, two players against each other, or two players on the same team, with Some, Lots or Chaos.
• Three new achievements: Powered up, Trick shot and Ice cold.

Version 1.0.0.4 October 2, 2026

• League: a season against five rival CPU clubs, each with its own kit, crest and character: Puddleford Rovers, Kettle Bay Athletic, Ironbridge Sparks, Crowhollow City and Northwind United. Everyone plays everyone once, and the top club wins the title.
• Name your club and pick the level, team size and match length. The score bar shows the clubs’ short names, and CPU players wear their club’s name.
• Your League result counts at the final whistle, the other matches of the matchday are played after yours, and your season is saved so you can come back to it.
• The League table, the results of the last matchday, and each opponent’s form before you play them.
• Two new achievements: Champions and Invincible.
• Fixed: a quick tap of Space didn’t always skip a replay.

Version 1.0.0.3 October 1, 2026

• Smarter CPU players: they get behind the ball, go round it when they’re on the wrong side, only shoot when they’re lined up, and keep a teammate covering their own goal. Easy, Normal and Hard now also differ in how fast they react.
• Kick-off rule: the team that conceded kicks off, and the other team waits outside the glowing centre circle until the ball is played (three seconds at most). Each half starts with the other team.
• Instant replays: every goal in Single Player and Local 2P is shown again in slow motion with a TV camera. Tap, Space or Kick to skip, or turn replays off in Settings.
• Watch the goals: every goal of the match again from the full-time screen.
• Match stats at full time: possession, shots and shots on target, plus the player of the match.
• A line of commentary on the goal banner.
• Local 2P co-op: both players on the same team against the CPU.
• Four new achievements: Shoulder to shoulder, Total control, Sharpshooter and Player of the match.
• Achievements unlocked at full time are listed on the full-time card instead of popping up over it.
• Fixed: CPU-only matches always ended the same way (1v1 46-0 to the home team, bigger matches 0-0), which also decided CPU-vs-CPU cup matches.
• Fixed: when two players reached the ball at exactly the same moment, the home team always won it.
• Fixed: the crowd didn’t get louder during the wave.

Version 1.0.0.2 October 1, 2026

• On phones held upright, the pitch turns upright to fill the screen, with your goal at the bottom.
• Bigger touch targets, no accidental zooming, the screen stays on during matches, and vibration on kicks and goals.
• A new main menu: big mode tiles, a Play button that starts your last setup, your stats at a glance, and a Locker Room for your kit.
• Players run with a bouncier four-step stride, swing a leg into every kick, and the scoring team celebrates with arms up.
• Dust kicks up behind sprinting players, and every kick leaves a swoosh.
• The crowd does the wave now and then.
• Full screen (where the browser allows it) and a sound switch in the match menu.
• New settings: keep the pitch sideways on tall screens, and vibration on or off.
• Fixed: on phones held sideways, the full-time and pause screens could be cut off.
• Fixed: tapping the name field made iPhones zoom in.
• Fixed: online games outside Claude ended after a brief connection hiccup.
• Fixed: names cut short in the middle of an emoji.

Version 1.0.0.1 October 1, 2026

• Kickabout now runs as one self-contained page, including inside Claude.
• New original pixel art: ten footballers with shirt numbers, a rolling ball, and grass and turf drawn in the browser.
• Online rooms work inside Claude, and the Join screen lists open rooms.
• Solo Cup: a whole tournament against CPU teams, even offline.
• 30 achievements and lifetime stats.
• Settings for volume, weather, player names, motion and touch controls.
• CPU skill levels, touch controls, gamepad support, and a match menu that works online.
• Matchday weather: clear days, floodlit nights and snow with an orange ball.
• Scorer names on the goal banner, kick flashes, post hits, a livelier crowd and the new theme “Terrace Anthem”.
• Hosts can take everyone back to the lobby after full-time.
• Opponents switch to a contrasting kit on your screen when theirs would look like yours.
• Tournament rounds are named Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final.

Version 1.0.0.0

• Release on the TrySomeGames website: Single Player, Local 2P, online rooms, tournaments and the outfit editor.