HOW TO PLAY: Buffalo Nickel Tabletop Football
1. Pre-game preparation: Find a score sheet and pencil. Then, grab a sibling, parent, or friend and commandeer the kitchen table!
2. Decide how many points you want to play to (35 is a good goal, or play by predetermined timed quarters like a real football game), then flip a coin. The winner of the toss can choose to "flick off" or to receive.
3. Next, the flicker sets the Buffalo Nickel flat in front of him and flicks it with his finger toward his opponent. The receiving player then has four flicks -- or downs -- to slide the Buffalo Nickel so that part of it, even a fraction, overhangs the table edge. Touchdown! You move the Buffalo Nickel by flicking it in some manner, so that it continues to slide along the table. Rules are flexible regarding the technique used, however you're not allowed to push the Nickel at all - all the movement has to come from a single impact not a continued pushing.
4. If the Buffalo Nickel falls off the table, the defending player takes possession. If it stops short of the end zone (hanging over the edge) on the 4th flick, the defense takes over where the Nickel came to rest. For close calls it is a good idea to establish some form of testing to determine if the Buffalo Nickel is indeed hanging over the edge....... a playing card raised from the side of the table will raise-up a Nickel if it is actually hanging over the edge of the table.
5. After a touchdown (worth six points), the scoring player gets to try for the extra point by "kicking" the Buffalo Nickel from his end zone through his opponent's goalposts (parted hands** or mounted goal post fixed to the table). For field goal flicks the play is allowed to hold the Buffalo Nickel on edge with one hand and flick with the other hand in order to get the required lift.
6. If a player flicks the Buffalo Nickel off the table three times in a row, then that player is now in field goal defensive mode where the other player can attempt a 3-point field goal the same way as and extra point, by "kick-flicking" the Nickel through the goalposts on any down - the closer to the table's edge, the harder it is to get proper lift for a field goal. Thereafter, in order to get out field goal defensive mode a player must score a touchdown.
7. You will find that rules for Tabletop Football may vary in local areas and some even use other types of coins, buttons or paper footballs. But, for Buffalo Nickel Tabletop Football – these are the official rules.
** Opponent can create the goalposts with their hands. They need to make two 'L' shapes, with their thumbs and first fingers. Have them to place their thumbs together, so that they've formed a sort of 'U' shape, a little way above the table, and near their edge.
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