The room you would build — turn it, or read the flat plan.
scale hint (never measured): “paced out, not measured — about thirty paces long by fifteen wide for eight players, twice as long as it is wide, and adjusted after five minutes of actually running it”
Far goal — four paces, no crossbar, below shoulder height
Markers about four paces apart, no crossbar. Whole ball between them below shoulder height on the shortest player who'd stand there, fixed once before kickoff. No keeper and no box — nobody's hands, including on the goal line.
drawn from 3 rules
The pitch and the goals
setupPace out a rectangle roughly twice as long as it is wide — for eight players, about thirty paces by fifteen is a good start, and you'll adjust after five minutes of actually running it. Set two markers about four paces apart at each end; that gap is the goal, and there is no crossbar, which is the one thing this game has to solve for itself. Agree on the touchlines by pointing at whatever's there: a curb, a tree line, the edge of the grass. Split into two even teams. If one side is clearly stronger, move somebody now rather than at 4–0.
Goals, and the height rule
scoringA goal counts when the whole ball passes between the two markers below shoulder height — shoulder height on the shortest player standing in the goal, decided once, before kickoff, by that player standing there while everybody looks. Anything above that is not a goal and is not worth arguing about: without a crossbar, height is unknowable, so the rule is deliberately low enough that the answer is obvious. Balls that clip a marker and go through count; balls that hit a marker and stay out don't. If the room is split on a goal, it doesn't count and play restarts with the defending team — the tie goes to the defense, so nobody has to be the judge.
Nobody's hands, nobody's keeper
playThere is no goalkeeper in this baseline and no player may use their hands or arms at any time, including on the goal line. If you want to defend your goal, stand in front of it and use your body like everybody else. This is the simplest honest version of small-sided soccer: a dedicated keeper on a four-pace goal ends the game, and a rotating keeper means somebody is always bored. Groups with bigger goals and a willing volunteer commonly add a keeper who may use hands inside a marked box — a good change, and a real one, because it pulls a player out of the run of play.
click anything else — every element cites the rule it's drawn from.