Paper football
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2009) |
Paper football (also called Finger football, Chinese football, Biren football or Flick football) refers to a table-top game, loosely based on American football, in which a sheet of paper folded into a small triangle is slid back and forth across a table top by two opponents. This game is widely practiced, generally by boys of primary and middle school age in the United States, as an informal recreation.
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[edit] Paper football field
The game is normally played on table tops. The optimal table top is roughly rectangular to resemble an American football field, and has an evenly polished surface to facilitate sliding of the "ball". Players of the game frequently adapt school desks or fast food tables for impromptu games. Generally, a playing area can be made out of any flat surface where the two players are able to face one another, and where the players are roughly a normal conversational distance apart. When a surface is larger than the desirable field of play, drink containers and other artifacts can be used to mark out-of-bounds.
[edit] Standard goal posts
The defending player must provide the Goal Posts, as most games incorporate kicking of the ball (for field goals, kickoffs, etc) by flicking the ball through the air. Standard goal posts are made by holding the thumb and forefinger of each had at a 90 degree angle, and touching the thumbs or forefingers together to resemble a goal post. The method used should be agreed upon before play begins. Since hand sizes vary, players generally agree to hold their fingers closer or further apart so as not to unfairly disadvantage any player. Some competitors even choose to fashion goal posts from other materials to standardize the process. The body is used as a net to prevent the ball from flying too far from the play area.
[edit] Paper football construction
Due to the audience and impromptu nature of the game, a paper football is often made out of a single sheet of notebook paper, though any material from origami paper to leather has been used. The paper is either cut or folded to form a long strip, and this is in turn folded up in a diagonal fashion until the end of the strip is tucked into the last fold, securing the final paper football in its iconic triangular shape. [1] In the absence of paper, sugar packets and matchbooks have also been used to substitute for a ball.
[edit] Game play
Many variations of the game exist, but in general paper football is played to resemble American football. The two opposing teams (usually two opposing players) sit facing each other over the play area. A coin (or, a specially-marked football) is flipped to see who kicks off to start the game. After the kickoff the teams advance the Ball by flicking it across the field. Each flick represents a drive in American football, with the goal being to score a touchdown. Games may be as simple as flicking the ball back and forth in a fashion similar to field goals, or as involved as including simulations of events from touchbacks to penalties to first downs.
[edit] Kick off
A kick off may start the game. The player holds the football under a fingertip of one hand on his end of the table and flicks (kicks) it with a finger from the other hand towards the opposing player's end of the table.[2] The receiving team gets possession where the ball stops. If any part of the ball is overhanging the end of the table a safety has occurred. The kicking team is awarded 2 points and the receiving team kicks off to the other team from its own end of the table.
There are a couple of other ways to perform the kick off; one is by placing the ball on the edge of the table with one corner overhanging, and flicking it towards the opposing side of the table. Other players use a one-handed type of kick off: the ball is held resting in the palm, then it is tossed onto the table by hitting the fingers on the underside of the table. The method used should be agreed upon before playing.
[edit] Advancing the ball
The primary activity of the game is to slide the paper football across the football field by flicking it. The legal flick or shot or throw is any method which advances the ball through flicking or hitting, but pushing the ball is disallowed.[3] The ball is generally flicked either with the thumb and forefinger in a manner similar to shooting marbles, or another manner comfortable to the player. Striking with objects such as pencils is more rare.
[edit] Change of possession
Shots which fail to reach the end of the table may result in a change of Possession allowing the opponent to receive possession, that is, to take his own shot from that point. Players generally alternate shots until one scores a touchdown or the paper football is knocked completely off the table. Alternatively, players may use a number of downs where players get a set number of attempts to flick the ball so that it overhangs the opponent's side, and change of possession only happens after all downs are used. The ball may travel off the edges of the table in two ways:
- Off either side, not facing a player, resulting in out of bounds and change of possession. In some games, this is considered a first down, and the player retains possession.
- Off the end facing the opposing player, resulting in a touchback, where the opposing player gains possession and may place the ball partway up the table, often setting up a field goal. This may instead also be an out of bounds, depending on house rules.
Note that oftentimes, a play area may have its bounds defined in terms of objects or marks instead of using the actual edge of a surface- all edge rules apply as though the defined space were the physical surface and the area outside that space may be considered off the table.
[edit] Scoring
A team scores points by the following plays:
[edit] Touchdown
A touchdown (TD) is generally worth 6 points, as in American football. It is scored when a player advances the the ball such that it comes to rest with part of the ball extending over the edge the opponent's end of the table.
In some cases, it is unclear whether or not a touchdown has been scored, since only a small portion of the ball seems to be over the edge of the table. In this case, some players will bring out the chains, by sliding an object vertically along the edge of the table. If the object disturbs the ball, the touchdown is considered successful.
[edit] Extra points
Following a touchdown, the scoring player usually kicks a field goal for 1 point (an extra point or point-after touchdown), or has the option to try for 2 points (a two-point conversion).
- Point After Touchdown: The opponent holds his fingers in the goalpost position, and the scoring player flicks the ball through the air. The attempt is successful so long as the center of the ball travels through the imaginary area over the bottom fingers and between the uprights, even of the ball bounces off the uprights (but continues through the scoring area) in the process.
- Two Point Conversion: The scoring player gets one attempt to flick the ball over the edge of the table in a manner similar to scoring a touchdown. In some games, the player starts from the middle of the table for this attempt.
Play resumes with either a fresh kickoff by the scoring player, or a change of possession, based on house rules.
[edit] Field goals
A field goal is any attempt by a player to hold the ball in one hand (which in turn generally rests on the table), and to flick the ball using the other hand such that it travels through a goalpost formed by the fingers of the opposing player. Field goals generally score 3 points. Implementation of field goals varies widely, and in some variations the game consists entirely players kicking field goals back and forth with no other plays in between. When used in this manner, field goals tend to be one point each, rather like a simple mockup of basketball with players trading free throws.
Some variations:
- If a team gains possession in the other teams territory (such as after an illegal attempt to push the ball or the ball going out of bounds), the player can attempt a field goal instead of trying for a touchdown. The defender can place the goal posts anywhere on their goal line and the kick must take place from the exact position where the football lies, or from the spot the football left the table.
- The defending player has the option to try for a field goal after a touchback. A field goal, which employs precisely the same method as described above for a Point After Touchdown, except that it scores three points rather than one. In some variations, the field goal option is only awarded after three (or another predetermined number of) touchbacks.
[edit] Safety
A safety is worth two points. This occurs when a player fumbles by accidentally knocking the ball into a scoring position off his own end of the table (scoring in favor of the opposing player), or the ball coming to rest in the scoring position during a kickoff.
[edit] Penalties
Pushing the ball, kicking the ball wildly so that it goes far from the table, or disturbing the ball during an opponent's play may all result in penalties depending on game variation. Most often, a penalty moves the ball toward the offender's side of the table, to the opponent's advantage. If players are using downs, the offending player generally loses a down (or the opponent's play is considered not to have used a down), in addition to letting the opposing player move the ball to a more advantageous position.
[edit] Game length
Games may last a set amount of time, and this has historically been dictated by the end of the class period during which the game was started, or when one participant scores a predetermined number of points. Games are generally played quite quickly.
Various methods in turn or in combination can be used to break ties[4]:
[edit] Overtime
If a time length game is tied after the allotted time, the teams may play an additional period called overtime, which usually lasts 5 minutes. The overtime should be started with a coin flip to determine who kicks off.
[edit] Sudden Death
If the game is still tied after overtime it can go into an additional time period called sudden death. In sudden death the next score of any kind wins.
[edit] Variations
- Known to be played with matchbooks as footballs in the 1950s in the American midwest.
- Played in Connecticut in the 1950s using an American quarter. Due to increased noise from the metallic quarter scraping the table, this method is often avoided in classrooms and study halls.
- One classroom variation incorporates a study guide or test into the game. Each player in turn answers the next question on the quiz, and may only take possession of the ball with a correct answer, playing the ball from its current position on the table.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008) |
