The Complete Guide to Adrenalyn XL

Adrenalyn XL is a fun way to collect football cards and learn about players and teams worldwide. This guide tells you how to play the game.

Adrenalyn XL is a popular Panini card game. It features hundreds of different cards, each representing a real-life football player. Players can collect cards, build decks, and compete against each other in tournaments, online as well as offline. Each year, new cards are released, which gives players the chance to explore new strategies. The cards are also a great way to learn about different football teams.

Many Panini card collectors don’t play the game and simply collect cards for their collection, but the game can be a lot of fun. If you put your cards into card protectors, you can ensure they don’t get damaged during playtime, which is one of the main concerns for collectors. There is also an Adrenalyn XL board game and an online version of Adrenalyn XL, but this article is about the physical trading card game only.

Also Read: The 10 Best Panini Card Collections of 2023

How to Play Adrenalyn XL

What You Need to Play Adrenalyn XL

Each player needs an Adrenalyn XL board to place their cards on and at least 14 Adrenalyn XL cards which need to include one goalkeeper. Theoretically, the game can also be played without a board for every player as long as everyone is familiar with the layout.

Also Read: How to Take Care of Your Panini Card Collection?

How an Adrenalyn XL Match Works

1. Build Your Lineup

Each player needs to choose a team and a team formation. The team needs to consist of 14 players. 11 of them are starters, and 3 are substitutes. Each player needs 1 goalkeeper and a maximum of 5 players in each area of the pitch. The cards are placed face-down on the board in a formation chosen by the player (e.g. 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-5-2).

2. Start the Game

Use a coin toss, dice, or another fair method to decide who will start the first round. The first player chooses a card and decides which value to use for the round: Attack, defence, or game control. In most cases, it’s best to select the value with the highest number.

3. Other Players Choose Their Cards and Values

Other players only see the back of their opponents’ chosen cards. There’s no way for them to know how high the number on that card is. They’ll only know whether the card is strongest in attack, defence, or game control. If the player has a strong attack card, the other players must find a card with a high defence number because the attack competes against the defence and vice versa. Game control competes against game control.

4. Cards Compete

Once all players have chosen their cards, the cards are flipped, and the values compete. The player with the highest value wins the round and starts the next. In case of a draw, all values on the card are added together, and the player with the higher total wins. In the unlikely case, it’s still a draw, there’s no winner for that round, and the player who began that round also begins the next.

5. Next Round Begins

The player who starts the next round has to begin with the same value he won the last with. It means: If he won with a high defence, he’d need to choose another card with a high defence number. Once the card has been selected, all other players select their cards, and then the cards compete against one another.

6. Repeat Until All Cards Are Played, or There’s a Clear Winner

This process of choosing and competing cards repeats until all cards are played. The player who wins the most rounds wins the game. Sometimes, a player is so lucky that they score so many points that nobody can catch up with them. In that case, it’s fine to finish the game early. If it’s just a friendly competition, that’s where it ends. The winner can choose a card from the loser’s deck if it’s a competitive game for cards.

Additional Gameplay Rules

Bonus Cards

Bonus cards can increase the value of a player’s card and can give them an advantage. The use of bonus cards is limited to once per game. Of course, you can only use a bonus card if you have one!

Substitutions

At the beginning of each round, players can substitute one of their cards for one of the three substitution cards they chose as part of their lineup.

Penalties

If it’s a defending player’s turn and the card hasn’t been revealed yet, they can use their goalkeeper to commit a foul. It is limited to once per game. When a foul is called, players must compare the penalty grid on their cards against each other (The penalty grid is highlighted with a yellow square in the image above). If the ball is in the same spot in both, the goalkeeper catches the ball and prevents the other player from scoring.

Playing Adrenalyn XL Tournaments

While most players go for the basic rules, you can also make the game more challenging by choosing the rules for the league or master level. While you can use all cards for a simple game against friends, there are more rules for the other levels.

For a league-level Adrenalyn XL game, your team must consist of 6 base cards, 3 from the Hero series and 2 from any other special series.

For a master-level Adrenalyn XL game, your team must consist of 8 base cards, 2 from the Hero series and only 1 from any other special series.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Players Do You Need to Play Adrenalyn XL?

You need a minimum of two players. There’s no maximum number of players, so you can play this game with a big group as long as everyone has enough cards to participate.

Can You Mix Adrenalyn XL Cards From Different Years?

It would be unusual, but unless anybody who plays with you has a problem with it, there’s no reason why you couldn’t mix cards from different years.

Do You Need a New Play Adrenalyn XL Board Each Year?

No. There are new sets of cards each year, but the board stays the same as it’s based on the formations a football team can take on a field. And that’s not changing yearly.