Method of Play of Bottlecap Soccer Game

Abstract

A method of play of a scaled tabletop soccer game, utilizing bottlecaps as players manipulated with the fingers of the participants.

1 . A method of play of the tabletop soccer game comprising
 a soccer pitch made of cloth or a similar material marked with lines denoting sidelines, end lines, a midfield line, center circle, penalty areas and goal areas, penalty marks and arcs, corner arcs and defensive player allowable-distance marks, and goal placement marks; 22 bottlecaps, each marked with a different number, each constituting a player, comprising two teams of 11 players, with each team painted a different color;   two goals; and   a ball,   such game played by a first person and a second person, comprising the steps of:
 1. each person arranges his 11 players on his side of the pitch; 
 2. the first person kicking off from the midfield line by passing the ball from one player to another, wherein each such move constitutes either a scoop or a tap and each moving player may move only within such player's reach, wherein a reach constitutes a maximum distance of six inches; 
 3. the first person continuing to make moves, each such move from the taken group consisting of: repositioning a player, dribbling, passing, shooting, heading, or throwing-in, until possession of the ball changes; 
 4. the second person making simultaneous moves to counter the first person's moves, such moves taken from the group consisting of: repositioning a player, sliding a player to contest possession, attempting to block or blocking a pass or shot, heading, or diving, until possession of the ball changes; 
 5. determining possession after each move by measuring a sphere of control constituting either a circle with a six-inch diameter around the player with the ball, wherein (i) a player controls the ball when the ball is solely within the player's sphere of control and (ii) the player closest to the ball controls the ball when the ball is within more than one players'sphere of control; 
 6. if one player is dribbling and maintaining control, repeating up to five tap moves within such player's sphere of control before the other player may contest possession; 
 7. the second person contesting possession by sliding a player at the ball from up to 6 inches after the first player dribbles five times, or the dribbling player moves the ball outside his sphere of control; 
 8. awarding possession to the second person in the event the ball comes to rest solely in the second person's player's sphere of control, or if the second person's player is nearest to the ball; 
 9. each person continuing to make simultaneous moves and counter moves until a goal is scored, a foul has been committed, or the half or full game have ended; 
 10. awarding one point to a team each time a person's player scores a goal by having the ball go into the other person's goal; and 
 11. naming a winner of the game to the person with the highest score, or calling a draw if no person has a highest score, once the game time has expired. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a player in control of the ball may pivot up to three inches to obtain an improved position to interact with the ball. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a player in control of the ball must move the ball within five seconds and a player taking a set play must put the ball in play within five seconds. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, when an offensive player moves beyond a defender and the defender is behind both the ball and the dribbler, the defender may not interact with the ongoing play unless the defender slides up, one reach at a time, until he is ahead of the dribbler. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a shot on goal may be taken at any time during a run of play, when a shooting player is in control of the ball and in shooting range, such range extending from a target goal to a top of the center circle on a target goal side of the field and extending in straight lines to the touchlines on either side of the center circle  6 . The method of claim  5 , further comprising a marker on each touchline on each half of the field, wherein the shooting range line extends from the center circle to each such marker. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a foul occurs when (1) a player from one team upends an opposition player, the flipped player has been fouled, (2) one player lands partially or fully on top of another, the player below has been fouled, or (3) a defensive player, attempting a block, crashes into an offensive player. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein contact between players occurring within a penalty area shall not constitute a foul unless an offensive player is flipped. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a player commits a handball foul when it lands, crown-side down, on top of the ball and completely or partially covers the ball, and any such handball foul occurring intentionally is a technical foul. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a foul occurring outside of shooting range results in a free kick to be taken from the spot of the foul, and such free kick may not be a shot on goal. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a foul occurring inside of shooting range results in a free kick to be taken from the spot of the foul, and if a free kick is to be a shot on goal, the defensive team is entitled five seconds to declare an intention to build a wall. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the person on defense is allotted time to build the wall no less than 3-bottlecap-lengths from the ball by placing players vertically, back-to-back against one another or next to one another. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein obstruction occurs when the ball strikes a person's body during an action, whereupon the previous action is repeated, and a purposeful touching of the ball by a person constitutes a foul. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , occurring during a tournament, wherein an unsportsmanlike activity foul results in forfeiture of the game and ejection from the tournament. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, when the ball lands in the crown of a player due to the run of play, shooting or passing the ball may be accomplished with a header, wherein the person holds the player between a thumb and finger, keeps such person's hand in contact with the field, and flips the ball forward with a snapping motion of the thumb and finger.