Paper Football - Variations

Variations

• The game was known to be played with matchbooks as footballs in the 1950s in the American midwest.
• Paper football was played in Connecticut in the 1950s using an American quarter. Each player had 4 downs to advance the quarter up the field, and hang it over the edge of the table for a touchdown. If the quarter fell off the edge or the player failed to hang it within 4 downs, the opponent was given possession. The shooting player could try a field goal at any time by hanging the quarter over his own edge of the table, and "kicking" it with his index finger toward the opponents field goal "posts." The player with the highest score won the opponent's quarter. Due to increased noise from the metallic quarter scraping the table and clanking off tile or wooden floors, this method was often avoided in classrooms and study halls. Also depending on the length of the paper football, and the length of the playing table, the chance of hanging the football off the edge varied.
• 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.