How to play Dream Draft XI

Dream Draft XI is a free football drafting game. You build a starting eleven one position at a time, add a coach, and then watch a 2D match simulation decide the winner. A full game takes about five minutes, and no two drafts are the same because the players you are offered change every round.

1. Choose your mode

• Solo vs AI — draft against a computer manager. Pick Easy, Medium or Hard: on Easy the AI takes random players, on Medium it leans towards stronger cards, and on Hard it takes one of the three best options every time.
• Two players on one device — take turns picking on the same screen. Good for a sofa match.
• Play online — create a room, send the link to a friend, and draft at the same time from different devices. You each see a live counter of how many players the other manager has picked.
• Tournament — a league of six matches or a three-round knockout against AI opponents.

2. Name your team

Before the draft you name your club, or tap the dice for a random name. Names are checked automatically so nothing offensive makes it onto the pitch or the public leaderboard.

3. Lock in a formation

You choose one of five formations: 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1 or 5-3-2. The formation decides which eleven slots you have to fill — for example 5-3-2 asks for five defenders, so you will spend most of your early picks at the back. Once the first player is drafted the formation is locked, so think about it before you start. In online games each manager picks their own shape.

4. Draft your eleven

Each turn you are shown a small set of face-down cards for the position that is up next. They flip one by one, and here is the important part: ratings and card colours stay hidden during the draft. You judge players on who they are, not on a number. You pick in one of two ways:

• Safe pick — the pool is limited to solid, reliable players. Fewer surprises, fewer disasters.
• Risky pick — the whole database is open. You might land a superstar or a legend, but you can also get a troll pick: a joke local character with a very low rating who is hard-locked into that slot.

Rare things can happen mid-draft. Roughly one pick in a hundred turns golden (a +5 bonus to that player) or chaotic (your options get shuffled). Streaks of good picks can put your team "on fire", and there is a captain bonus and a legend bonus — but each boost only lands once per team per game, so you cannot stack them.

5. Pick a coach

Your twelfth pick is a real-world manager. The coach is not decoration: their rating carries significant weight in the final team score, so a weak eleven with a great coach can still beat a stronger squad. Pick the coach last, once you know how good your team feels.

6. Watch the match

When both teams are complete the simulation kicks off on a 2D pitch. Chances build up through several phases — a build-up, a key pass, a shot — with live commentary that names the scorer or the keeper who made the save. Goalkeepers do not score (except for one dramatic exception in about 5% of matches, which is exactly as fun as it sounds).

7. Collect your rewards

After the whistle you get a result screen with the score, the man of the match, and Match Coins. Coins are spent in the shop on perks, stadium themes and national kits. You can also save a shareable team card as a PNG, publish it to the public gallery, or send the replay link so a friend can watch the same match unfold.

Quick tips for your first game

1. Start with 4-3-3 — it is the most balanced shape and the easiest to fill.
2. Use safe picks for the goalkeeper and centre-backs; a troll pick in defence is punishing.
3. Take your risks in attack, where a legend swings the score the most.
4. Sign in before you play so your coins, collection and career stats are saved to the cloud.