Wonder Craft: Table-top soccer game

Most kids these days’ love soccer — regardless of gender. There’s fun and thrill in the game. But if you don’t have a field or ground, and you really want to play the game, create it. Yes, it’s very simple, but amazing to play with your family or friends.

Things you need:

Shoebox cover (ideally any rectangular cardboard box)
One green A4-sized paper, or choose colour of your choice, for the soccer field
White A4-sized paper
Piece of hardboard to draw and cut out the balls.
Pencil
Ruler
Black marker
A bottle cap or any circular mould (to trace the ball)
Glue stick
Two large-sized rubber bands
Two toothpicks

Directions:

Draw a line across the centre of the coloured paper to divide the two teams. Then, draw a small circle at the centre of the field — this is the centre circle, where the game begins, picture 2.
Next, draw the goal areas at both ends of the field. Start by drawing a large rectangle (the goal box), then draw a smaller rectangle inside it (the goalkeeper box); picture 3.
Draw a semi-circle outside each goal box; this is the penalty arc. Repeat this on both sides to show each team’s goal area; pictures 4 and 5.
Apply glue inside the cover and paste the soccer field on it.
Cut out a divider from cardboard according to the height and width of the box cover. Then cover it with white or any coloured paper; picture 6.
At the centre of this divider, cut out a rectangular opening measuring 1 cm in height and 2 inches in width — this will serve as the goal. Once done, paste the divider in the centre of the box, aligning it exactly where the field is divided between the two teams; pictures 7 and 8.
From the outside of the box, measure and mark 2 inches from the edge of the cover. At that point, make small holes on both sides, picture 9.
Cut a toothpick in half, and also cut a rubber band in half. Tie one end of the rubber band to a piece of the toothpick, picture 10.
Insert the other end of the rubber band through one of the holes, pull it across the field, and bring it out through the hole on the opposite side, picture 11.
Tie this end to the second piece of toothpick to secure it tightly. Make sure it’s firm so the goal doesn’t become loose; picture 12.
Repeat the same process on the opposite side of the field for the second player.
Using a compass or any circular mould, draw and cut out 7 soccer balls from cardboard. You can leave them plain, but adding colours or patterns gives them a fun and lively look, picture 13.

And there you have it, this fun and creative one-hand soccer game. Gather your friends or family and let the mini matches begin!

Rules: • Each team gets three balls. Place the balls on their respective sides before the game begins.
• Teams take turns flicking or pushing one ball at a time through the centre goal divider.
• The team that scores the most goals after using all three balls wins.
• If there’s a tie, use the 7th ball as a tiebreaker (bonus round).

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