Paper Football

Of course you know how to play Paper Football. It's one of those things that gets handed down from kid generation to kid generation (a kid generation spanning about three years).

Paper Football is a true kids' folk game. Like halfball and stickball, it belongs to a very unofficial time in life when games get made up, out of almost anything, with just about anyone who wants to play.

It's not so easy to find a good description of the game. I found a sweet and simple explanation here, and a well-illustrated set, if somewhat childish set of instructions in a PDF booklet that manages to present a playful homage to the game.

It is, fortunately, easier to find virtual versions of Paper Football. It does beg the question a bit, the whole idea of virtual paper football. And yet, the talented few managed to produce a significantly evocative experience with their humorous and eponymous Official Paper Football League Field Goal Challenge.

(revised 3/28/05