Jumpers for Goalposts 2

Like its predecessor, Jumpers for Goalposts 2 is all about taking an aspiring footballer from the grass root level to world class in ten years. The player starts out in his own backyard and gets to train up his skills in six aspects (three more than the first game). These are:

• Volleys
• Penalties
• Snap shots
• Passing
• Heading
• Turn & Shoot

They are all played as mini games where the player views his character from behind. The player moves around with the mouse and when the ball rolls into the field he has to time his kick to attempt a shot on goal. Once he has been able to score in the first three games he will get contract offers from a few low league clubs. To make it to the first team he has to also score in the latter three games. The player follows his schedule throughout the week with training every day until Saturday comes when it's match time. The matches works similar to the text based commentary from early Championship Manager games where the player is presented with text how the match unfolds. At times throughout the match the team will create a chance for the player who then gets the chance to score. This works in the same way as the mini games mentioned above.

The game is not all about what's going on at the training pitch and the stadium. Each day the player can also choose to socialize in different ways. This includes for example going to the pub or the cinema. Socializing will however impact the performance in training so it's important to keep a balance between social life and football life. The player gets rated in two ways: manager rating and media rating, both 1 to 100. Manager rating increases when doing well in training and scoring goals while it will be lowered by being late to training after a night of partying. The media rating is important for attracting bigger clubs and getting higher wages. To increase it the player can get a girlfriend to socialize with, although breaking up with said girlfriend will decrease it. Socializing is key for a higher media rating.

The game has 14 new girls that the player can attract by socializing, each with its own ratings. The player needs to keep an eye on what his girlfriend wants to do or he might get dumped. The player can also buy a car and a house which might help with attracting the girls. There is ten of each although the player can only own one at a time.

New in this version of the game is card playing. In the bus home after each match the player now gets to compete against his team mates in a higher or lower card game. The player sees a card and has to guess if the next one has a higher or lower value. If he succeeds with seven cards in a row he wins.

In addition to solo play the Mousebreaker.com website also offers the option to compete against friends. This functionality requires a Facebook account and lets the player compare his score with others.