Christmas get togethers are great but there are only so many games of Heads Up one can play before they start to lose their mind over the amount of Mariah Carey songs they have to hum. With that in mind, we've put together some football trivia games you and your mates can play either at home or in the pub.
Giant Sporcle Quizzes
Requirements:
- Laptop
- Internet
- Teamwork
Do you want drama? Do you want excitement? Do you want your heart rate to spike to the point that your body thinks you're running the 5,000m at the Olympics? Then a giant football Sporcle is for you.
Regular readers of Balls.ie will be familiar with Sporcle type quizzes, where you are asked to complete a list of players etc. based around a certain topic. If you're on your own then a simple 'Name the top 10 Irish scoring defenders in Premier League history' quiz will get the juices flowing but if you and your mates are together then hop on a laptop and try out one of the mammoth list challenges.
For example, we've recently put together a list of the "Top 100 Premier League goalscorers of the last decade" (as of December 2oth). You've got 20 minutes to name as a many as you can. Play it here.
There are lots more football related quizzes on Sporcle here.
Two clubs player link
Requirements:
- 2+ people
- Independent adjudicator
This simple but brilliant. One person is tasked with naming two clubs at random. The group then take it in turns to try name a player who played for both clubs. You can keep score if you want but frankly no one gives a shit about someone who can name five players who played for Man United and Sunderland. The real hero is the guy who can point out that Gary Breen links West Ham and Birmingham City.
An independent adjudicator is handy for Googling players but the game also works fine if you agree upon a system where people can issue 'Bullshit!' challenges to questionable answers.
When you and your mates can no longer name any players then simply move on to two other clubs.
Former players top trumps
Requirements:
- 2+ Players
- One hell of a memory
This one has next to no structure really. Someone chooses a club and then everyone tries to name players who have featured for that team in the past. The aim of the game isn't to name the most players nor is it to name the most obscure; it's to name players that people actually know but have completely forgotten played for that club.
For instance, in terms of Bolton Wanderers, Kevin Davies is much too obvious while Kevin Poole is too obscure. Jonny Walters or Rodd Wallace are the sweet spot you're looking for.
Be warned that there is no real finish to this game. Once you start down that wormhole it will be impossible to turn back, with some who have participated even known to wake up in the middle of the night thanks to a sudden jolt of inspiration.
Names the XIs
Requirements:
- 3+ Players
- Independent Adjudicator
This is another simple game but requires someone to act as quizmaster.
They have to pick out a well known match from history e.g. any Champions League final, Merseyside/Manchester derbies, Ireland World Cup matches etc. They then assign one of the teams from that match to a quiz player/team and they get 11 guesses to name the starting XI. The other quiz player/team then have 11 guesses to name as many of the starting XI of the other team as they can.
If the scores are tied then the football teams flip and quiz participants get a set amount of guesses to name players from the starting XI that the other particpants did not get. For instance if Player B got 8/11 then Player A has three attempts to name the three players their opponent missed.
Guess the player from their club history
Requirements:
- 2+ Players
This can be played with a quizmaster or just by two people taking turns to challenge each other.
Decide on the number of rounds you want to play, a time period to choose you footballers from and if there should be any other criteria, such as "Must have played for at least one Premier League team" or "Must have over 50 international caps" etc.
Participants then take it in turns to choose a footballer. They then list out loud the clubs they played for and the other quiz player must name that footballer.
Whoever names the most players wins!
If you have any other great football trivia games you and your mates like to play then be sure to tell us in the Facebook comments.
