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Space Cowboy | Doctor Diagnoso

Space Cowboy

This game brings the Breakthrough Part to life. It's very challenging for advanced players, yet even new players can have a go. That's a rare combination!

The playing area, shown below, is like a large Run the Gauntlet course. There are two defensive zones, and each holds two or three defenders. Those defenders create offside lines for the attackers to break through. The breakthroughs can occur in any direction as the coach makes offsides calls. The team with the most breakthroughs wins.

Rules for Space Cowboy

Course Setup. The course is approximately seventy-five paces long and thirty paces wide. It contains three attacking zones, separated by two narrow defensive zones.
Teams and Starting Positions. Eight to twelve players may play, divided into two teams. One team begins on defense, with two or three of its players in each defensive zone. The other team begins on offense. Its players may go anywhere on the course. The offensive team has one ball.
Object of the Game. While on offense, a team tries to score points by passing through the defensive zones. The team scores as many points as possible in three minutes, and then becomes the defending team. The team with the most points wins.
How the Game Proceeds. As the coach keeps time, the offensive team begins scoring points. To earn one point, the ball must be passed through a defensive zone. The receiving player may not be in an offside position, as explained below, and must get two touches on the ball before it goes out of bounds.
The defending team tries to prevent points, by kicking the ball of the course, stealing it, and earning offside calls. The ball must be returned immediately to an attacker after a steal or offside call. The clock keeps running, and the attacking team continues scoring points.
The ball may be moved in any direction to score points. Attackers may dribble or pass as often as they like. Every pass does not have to be a scoring attempt.
Offside Calls. As the ball approaches a defensive zone, the deepest defender in that zone represents the offside line. The attacker receiving a pass may not be behind that line at the moment the ball is passed. In other words, that player must run through the offside line as the ball is passed, and gather in the ball on the other side.
Two-Point Attempts. A pass that travels over both defensive zones earns two points (see diagram below). For these longer passes, the offside line is in the distant defensive zone.

Note that the offside line depends entirely on which direction the ball is travelling. The attacking team may move the ball back and forth through the same defensive zone, or fake toward one zone and attack the other. The ball may even be passed intentionally to an offside player, setting up a pass in the opposite direction.

What makes Space Cowboy worthwhile? It provides many tries at breaking through an offside line. It requires no sophisticated coaching. It takes only a few minutes. And it's fun! Faced with an offside line during a match, youre players will easily break through.