Soccer Random: the football game where the rules change after every goal
Soccer Random strips football down to one decision: when to press the button. Each side has two ragdoll footballers with no run key and no aim key. Press and both of them leap; while they are in the air their legs swing, and if the ball happens to be there it flies off in whatever direction the physics decides. That sounds like chaos, and it is, but it turns out to be readable chaos. After a few rounds you learn how high a tap sends them, how much higher a held press goes, and that a jump right under a dropping ball usually puts it over your own crossbar.
The 'random' half of the name is the part that keeps the game alive. Every goal resets the round with a different mix: grass, snow or beach sand underfoot, a normal football, a beach ball, a tiny ball or an American football, players with different heads and leg lengths, and a sky that runs from midday to sunset to night. The same button press that scored last round can whiff completely on snow with a beach ball. Matches run to five goals, and the two-player mode puts both players on one keyboard, which is where the game is at its best. The single-player computer opponent is fair rather than clever, so it is a good way to learn the timing before a friend sits down.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Jump and kick (player 1, right pair) | Up arrow | Both of your players jump; hold for a higher jump, tap for a short hop. Your key in 1P mode too |
| Jump and kick (player 2, left pair) | W | Same for the left-hand pair in 2P mode |
| Touch | Tap your half of the screen | Phone and tablet play, one thumb per side in 2P |
| Pause | Pause button, top right | Stops the round; click again to carry on |
Getting more goals out of Soccer Random
- Wait for the ball to drop: Jumping while the ball is above head height sends it straight up or behind you. Let it fall to about waist level before you press; the leg swing catches it flat and it travels forward instead of into the sky.
- Short taps near your own goal: A full-height jump next to your keeper leaves an open net for five seconds. Tap instead of hold when the ball is at your end, and save the big jump for the middle of the pitch.
- Re-learn the round, not the game: Check the surface and the ball at kick-off. Snow and sand slow everything down, a beach ball floats and hangs in the air, an American football bounces off at odd angles, and long-legged players clear the crossbar with a tap. Adjust before the first touch, not after the first goal.
- Let the computer beat itself: The single-player opponent jumps at everything. Stand still, let it flap the ball around its own box, and jump once when the ball comes loose in front of you.
Key features
- One key per side: No movement, no aiming: press to jump, hold to jump higher, and the physics does the rest.
- Random rounds: Pitch surface, ball, weather and player shapes are reshuffled after every goal, first to five wins.
- Two players on one keyboard: Up arrow against W, or tap left and right on a touch screen. A computer opponent for solo play.
- Small and quick: A three-megabyte Construct 3 build served from this site; it loads in seconds on a school Chromebook.
Game info
- Title: Soccer Random
- Developer: RHM Interactive
- Category: Ragdoll and Physics
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Players: 1 vs the computer, or 2 on one keyboard
Pro tip: The ball often bounces off the top of a goal frame and drops back into the box. If it does that at your end, do nothing: any jump there knocks it into your own net. If it happens at the other end, one short tap the moment it lands is nearly always a goal, because the other pair will be mid-jump and out of position.
Frequently asked questions
What is Soccer Random?
A two-on-two ragdoll football game by RHM Interactive, the studio behind Basket Random and Volley Random. Each side controls a pair of floppy players with a single key, and every goal changes the pitch, ball and weather at random.
What are the controls?
Player one (the right-hand pair) presses the up arrow, player two (the left-hand pair) presses W. Press to jump and kick, hold to jump higher. Solo players are player one on the up arrow. On a phone or tablet, tap your side of the screen.
Can two people play on one computer?
Yes. Pick 2P on the title screen and both players share the keyboard, one on the up arrow and one on W. It is the way the game was designed to be played.
How long is a match?
The first side to score five goals wins. Rounds are short, so a full match takes two or three minutes, and the random changes mean the last round rarely looks like the first: grass, snow or a beach, a football, a beach ball or an American football, day, dusk or night.
Is it free and does it need a download?
It is free and runs in the browser. The game is served from soccerrandom.co itself, so nothing installs and there is no account. Sound starts once you click the page.