How to Play Penny Football

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Penny Football is a tabletop coin game for two players, traditionally played on a pub or kitchen table using nothing more than a single penny. One player defends a goal made from their own hands while the other attempts to flick the coin off the table edge and between the defender's thumbs. It is fast, loud, and genuinely competitive.

Its appeal lies in the near-zero equipment requirement and the immediate back-and-forth tension. A game can be set up in seconds, played in minutes, and best-of-five series are common. It remains a staple of British pub culture and is equally popular as a rainy-day game for children at home.

A little history

Penny Football's origins are unclear. Tabletop coin-flicking games have been documented in British pubs since at least the early twentieth century, and various regional names and rule sets exist across the UK and Ireland. The core mechanic of flicking a coin off a table edge to score between a hand-formed goal appears consistently across all documented versions, but no single authoritative origin or inventor has been established.

Setting up

1. Sit opposite each other at a table with a clear, flat surface.
2. Decide who attacks first, by coin toss or mutual agreement.
3. The defending player sits at one end of the table and forms the goal by placing both hands flat on the table edge, thumbs raised and touching to create an upright post on each side, with a gap between them.
4. The attacking player places the penny flat on the table at their end.
5. Agree on the winning score before play begins; five goals is the standard.

How to play

1. The attacking player places the penny near their edge of the table and flicks it with one finger toward the defender's end.
2. The penny must travel the full length of the table and drop off the defender's edge of the table to count as a valid shot.
3. A goal is scored if the penny falls off the table between the defender's two upright thumbs. The thumbs mark the goalposts; the gap between them is the target.
4. The defender may not move their hands once the coin has been flicked. They must hold the goal position until the penny either scores, misses, or stops on the table.
5. If the penny stops on the table before reaching the edge, the attacker may flick it again from where it has stopped.
6. If the penny falls off the side of the table or misses outside the posts, possession changes and the other player becomes the attacker.
7. After a goal is scored, possession also changes: the player who conceded the goal now attacks.
8. Play continues, alternating possession on misses and after each goal, until one player reaches the agreed winning score.

Winning and scoring

The first player to score the agreed number of goals wins the game. Five goals is the standard target in most settings. If playing a series of games, the overall winner is the first to win the agreed number of games. There is no sudden death or golden goal convention unless the players agree one before starting.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether the penny genuinely fell between the posts or clipped a thumb. The standard ruling is that if the coin touches either thumb on the way through, it is not a goal; the thumb counts as the post, and striking the post means no score. Defenders must keep their thumbs in contact throughout the shot; spreading or moving them after the coin is struck is not permitted.

A second frequent argument involves a penny that teeters on the edge without falling cleanly. The standard ruling is that if any part of the coin is overhanging the edge and it then falls, the direction of the fall determines the outcome. If it falls between the posts, it is a goal; if it falls outside, it is a miss. A coin that remains balanced on the edge without falling is replayed from that position.

How to win more often

• Aim for a firm, flat flick rather than a hard strike. The penny needs to travel smoothly and drop cleanly; too much force sends it bouncing unpredictably.
• When defending, position your thumbs close together. A narrower gap is legal and significantly harder to score through from distance.
• Study your opponent's preferred flicking angle and bias your goal position slightly toward that side.
• When the penny stops mid-table, take a moment to line up rather than rushing the follow-up flick. Accuracy matters more from close range than power.
• Apply slight spin by angling your finger at the point of contact. Experienced players use this to curve a stopped penny toward the centre of the goal from an off-centre position.

Variations

Three Shots Per Turn

Rather than changing possession on every miss, each player receives three flick attempts per turn before handing over to their opponent. Goals scored within those three shots all count. This variant suits younger players as it reduces the frustration of a single stray flick ending an attack immediately.

Longer Table

Some players use a full dining table rather than a pub table, increasing the required range considerably. All other rules remain the same. This rewards smoother technique and reduces the advantage of brute force.

Moving Goal

In this variant the defender is permitted to slide their hands along the table edge laterally after the coin is struck, but may not lift them. This makes defending more active and rewards defenders who can track the coin's path quickly. The thumbs must remain upright throughout any movement.

Tournament Format

For a group of players taking turns, pairs play head-to-head games to three goals, with the winner staying on and the loser rotating out. A tally is kept of total goals scored across all games, and the overall winner after a set number of rounds is the player with the highest goal tally. This keeps everyone involved without long waits between games.

Penny Football: frequently asked questions