Soccer Kids

Youth soccer the way young kids play it: small goals, no goalies, throw-ins, corners and goal kicks. Turn on Learn mode and a coach walks your kid through the restarts and where to be.

Play it free Put your kid in Soccer Kids

How we made it

At a glance

Format: 4 v 4, small goals, no goalkeepers, one defender a side
Players: One player against the computer
Levels: Easy, Medium and Hard, plus Learn mode with 13 lessons
Plays on: iPads, Chromebooks, phones and laptops, right in the browser
Match: Two halves with a water break, golden goal if it's tied

What it teaches

Throw-ins, corners and goal kicks, and who takes each one
Waiting behind the build-out line while the other team takes a goal kick
Passing to a teammate instead of everybody chasing the ball
Positions: one defender stays home, two play wide, one plays up the middle
Covering somebody when the other team has the ball

How Learn mode teaches throw-ins, goal kicks and corners

What this game means

Soccer Kids is the game we would hand a six-year-old the week before their first season. It plays like the small-sided games young kids play in a lot of rec leagues, four a side with little goals and no goalies, and it runs on the family tablet.

The coach in Learn mode explains the parts of soccer that confuse new players, and plenty of new parents: who takes the throw-in, where to stand when the other team has a goal kick, and why everybody should not chase the ball. Ziggy plays for Blue. Pam watches from the sideline.

Learn mode

Thirteen lessons run every kid at 80% speed while a coach talks your kid through each one, from restarts to getting open. The other team waits until your kid reaches the marked spot, so nobody gets rushed.

Eight kids, four kinds of player

Maya and Priya are the fastest, Kai and Mateo pass best, Amara and Noor defend, and Ziggy and Leo kick hardest. The computer teams feel different from one kid to the next.

One button if you want it

Simple controls put everything on one Kick button: tap to pass or shoot near the goal, hold for a long kick. Pass plus Shoot is one tap away on the title card.

A real sideline

Families in folding chairs under team tents, signs for their kids, an announcer who calls the restarts, and Pam the pug watching from the sideline on her leash.

Screens from the game

Soccer Kids, side camera: Ziggy winds up a shot at the edge of Red's box as Noor, Priya and Leo close in and Kai runs in support

Soccer Kids Learn mode, the get-open lesson: a coach card, a guide arrow and a ring show Ziggy where to run while Kai carries the ball

Soccer Kids from the overhead camera: Ziggy dribbles up the right side with his kick meter showing

Soccer Kids on a phone held sideways: a scrum at midfield, with the thumb stick and Kick button on screen

On the field

Every kid is drawn by the same code as the game, in their team uniform. With a Player Edition, your kid joins them.

Ziggy

Big kick
Maya

Fastest
Kai

Best passer
Amara

Tough defender
Leo

Big kick
Priya

Fastest
Mateo

Best passer
Noor

Tough defender

Put your kid in Soccer Kids

How to play

On a tablet or phone: Drag on the left side of the screen to run. Tap Kick to pass or shoot, hold it for a harder kick.
On a keyboard: Run with WASD or the arrows. Space kicks: tap it to pass to the kid you aim at, or to shoot when you're close to the goal, and hold it for a harder kick. J always passes. C switches the camera.