Cards

The shield emblem of Empires League Football.

Empires League Football™ — Card Types

The base edition of ELF™ (the tabletop game) features 275 game cards. Of which, there are 10 main types of cards ...

Team Card

Placed at the right side of the gameboard to represent either the home team or visiting team. Each card shows the team name and logo, team colors, and division.

Coach Card

Placed at the lower left side of the gameboard, each coach card shows the team, division, coach name, coaching ability, and magic power. Coaching abilities typically affect certain kinds of plays, while magic power governs how much magic a coach can wield before becoming fatigued and losing their ability.

Offense — Player Card

Placed at the lower middle of the gameboard (for active players) or to the side of the board (for bench players), each player card shows the team, division, player name, position, run score, pass score, and the player card type (offense or defense). In the ELF™, players typically play both offense and defense for their teams, with one side of the card showing the player's offensive effectiveness, and the other showing their defensive effectiveness.

Offense — Offense Card

Used a various times during an offensive play, offense cards can have a big impact on a specific play or on players during a play. Offense cards show the card type, when its used, and includes the description of the effect of playing the card. These cards include audibles, bluffs, injuries, and penalties.

Offense — Play Card

Used in each round of play, offensive play cards establish the base power level of a play. The higher the number, the more effective the offensive play is. The play card shows the type of card, the kind of play (run or pass), the type of play (deep pass, outside run, etc.), the positions and roles of players, and the value — or power — of the play.

Defense — Player Card

Placed at the lower middle of the gameboard (for active players) or to the side of the board (for bench players), each player card shows the team, division, player name, position, run score, pass score, and the player card type (offense or defense). In the ELF™, players typically play both offense and defense for their teams, with one side of the card showing the player's offensive effectiveness, and the other showing their defensive effectiveness.

Defense — Defense Card

Used a various times during a defensive play, defense cards can have a big impact on a specific play or on players during a play. Defense cards show the card type, when its used, and includes the description of the effect of playing the card. These cards include audibles, bluffs, injuries, penalties, and turnovers. In ELF (the tabletop game), turnovers are both a strategic element and random events.

Defense — Play Card

Used in each round of play, defensive play cards establish the base power level of a play. The higher the number, the more effective the defensive play is. The play card shows the type of card, the kind of play (run or pass), the type of play (deep pass, outside run, etc.), the positions and roles of players, and the value — or power — of the play.

Magic Card

Used at various times during a play or during a game, magic cards are a critical strategic element of the game with the power to immediately affect a team's fortunes. Each card shows the type of magic (spell or magic item), the minimum power level required to use it, when it's used, the name, the description of its effect(s), and any additional details relevant to its use.

Timeout Card

Used at any moment in a game before or after a play, timeouts are another important element of the game. Timeouts allow teams to discard existing cards to draw replacements and, when on defense, shorten the amount of time the offense can take run a play.