Retro Bowl

Press Play above to start Retro Bowl, the pixel-art American football game by New Star Games, in your browser. This is an unofficial web version: it is free, needs no account and installs nothing.

We wrote this guide for anyone who wants to play Retro Bowl on a computer without installing it, including people who are new to American football. We checked everything below on the version on this page. The app editions may have modes and settings we have not tested, so we left them out.

Retro Bowl at a glance
Developer	New Star Games
First released	2020
Genre	American football with team management
Official editions	App Store, Apple Arcade, Google Play, Nintendo Switch
On this page	Unofficial HTML5 version 1.5.8.9, about 13 MB, free with no account
What you control	Your offense on game day; the other team's drives are simulated
Saving	Automatic, in this browser

What is Retro Bowl?

Retro Bowl is an American football game by New Star Games, released in 2020 according to the studio's Retro Bowl page. You are the head coach of a pro team. On game day you play the offense; between games you look after the roster, the coaching staff and the club's facilities. New Star Games pitches it at "the armchair quarterback" and lists press duties and "the handling of fragile egos" among the off-field jobs.

Teams are named after American cities such as Dallas and Arizona, and the regular season runs to week 18 before the playoffs. When the other team has the ball, the game plays their drive for you and reports it as text.

New Star Games publishes the official game on the App Store, Apple Arcade, Google Play and Nintendo Switch. The version on this page is an unofficial HTML5 build; its options screen shows version 1.5.8.9.

How to play Retro Bowl

To play Retro Bowl here, press Play, start a new career and either follow the short tutorial or skip it.

Press Play above. Your browser loads the game files, about 13 MB, only then; there is nothing to install.
On the welcome screen, start a new career and pick a name, a face and a favorite team. Tick "Start with favorite team?" if you want to coach that team. We left it unticked and the game gave us a different one.
You take over with one week of the regular season left.
A tutorial walks you through the Front Office, the roster and three practice drills: passing, running and kicking. The Skip Tutorial button takes you straight to the game.

Kickoffs and punts play out on their own. The game clock stops before the snap, so you can study the routes, but it keeps running while you aim. In our match against Dallas it ticked from 0:51 to 0:50 during a single throw.

Retro Bowl controls on PC (mouse and keyboard)

Action	Control
Throw a pass	Click and hold, drag away from the direction your receiver is running, then release
Bullet pass	While you aim, click the right mouse button. A yellow star appears over the quarterback and the aiming line flattens; the game's text calls this a bullet throw, a low pass
Hand off	Click the blue circle around the running back
Side-step while running	W or S, as the running practice tells you
Run with the quarterback	Drag as if to throw the ball backwards
Slow down or dive	A or D while running. In our practice run, A made the quarterback dive and D slowed him down
Kick a field goal	Click once to stop the power bar, then again to set the direction
Fourth down	When the game asks, pick 4th Down or Punt, or 4th Down or Field Goal once you are close enough to kick

Offense lined up before the snap, with route lines drawn from the receivers and a blue circle around the running back — Before the snap, lines show where each receiver will run and the blue circle marks the running back for a handoff.

Dotted white arc from the quarterback toward a running receiver, with a Release to throw prompt — Passing practice: drag away from the receiver's run and the dotted arc shows the throw.

Running back with the ball behind the line of scrimmage as defenders close in, on 2nd and 10 — A handoff in a match. The play is live, so the clock in the top bar keeps running.

Kicker lined up under a red and green power bar, with a Tap to set power prompt — Kicking practice: the first click stops the power bar, the second sets the direction.

Play 4th down or punt? box with 4th Down and Punt buttons, on 4th and 9 in the first quarter — On fourth down the game stops and asks whether to go for it or punt.

Empty field during the opponent's drive, with a text line reading [DL] Shell was too slow — The other team's drive plays out as text updates, with nothing for you to control.

Football terms you will see in Retro Bowl

Retro Bowl follows the basic rules of American football in a shorter match. If the sport is new to you, these are the terms the game puts on screen. The meanings follow the NFL's own football terms glossary.

Term	What it means	In Retro Bowl
Snap	The action that starts a play: the center passes the ball back to the quarterback.	The clock waits for you before the snap.
Down and distance	The offense gets four downs to gain 10 yards. Gaining them earns a first down and four new tries.	The top bar shows it, for example 2nd & 10.
Line of scrimmage	The line through the ball where both teams line up. Neither side crosses it before the snap.	Your running back takes the handoff behind it.
Handoff	The quarterback hands the ball to a teammate, usually the running back.	Click the blue circle around the running back.
Punt	A kick to the other team, almost always on fourth down, when a score or a first down looks unlikely.	The game asks "Play 4th down or punt?" and then kicks for you.
Field goal	A kick over the crossbar and between the uprights, worth 3 points.	Dallas went up 3-0 on us with a 17-yard field goal.
Touchdown	Carrying the ball into, or catching it in, the other team's end zone. Worth 6 points.	We did not score one in our tests, so we have not seen what the game asks after a touchdown.
Fumble	The ball carrier drops the ball, and either team can recover it.	The game's tips say tired players fumble more often.

Match length is the biggest change from the real sport. An NFL game is 60 minutes, four quarters of 15 minutes each, under the 2026 NFL rulebook. A Retro Bowl quarter is 1, 2 or 3 minutes of game clock, so a match on the default 2-minute setting has 8 minutes of game clock. With 1-minute quarters, the clock in our match ran at about one game second per real second while the ball was live.

Our Retro Bowl test matches

We played this version on November 13 and 14, 2026, in Chrome on a desktop computer. We used simple plays, short passes and handoffs, and punted on every fourth down, because we were checking controls, menus and saves.

Date	Match (our team first)	Result	What we checked
Nov 13	Indianapolis vs Tennessee	Lost 0-17	A full four-quarter match
Nov 13	New England vs Miami	Lost 0-7	Record went from 4-12 to 4-13 and stayed after a reload
Nov 13	Sim Game	Detroit 34, Chicago 20	The game plays the whole match for you
Nov 14	New York vs Dallas	Lost 0-6	1-minute quarters, Dynamic difficulty, press interview, save after a reload

In the Dallas match we were badly outrated. We took over a 2-14 team rated 1 star; Dallas came in at 14-2 with a 5-star defense. Our first pass fell incomplete, our runs gained a yard or lost three, and Dallas scored all six points from field goals that we only saw as text. Afterwards a press interview asked what we would put the loss down to and offered two answers: criticize the team or criticize the coaching. Back on the home screen the record read 2-15 and fan support was 27%.

Next time we would pick a receiver before starting the drag, since the clock runs while you aim, and we would visit the Front Office before the first match, since the coordinators set the team's base ratings.

Last checked November 14, 2026.

Running your team

The roster shows only your key players. It holds 10 by default, and the game's info text says you can raise that to 12 by choosing a $200M salary cap in the options. When we took over our first test team, 5 of the 10 slots were filled, $38M of the $150M salary cap was in use and team morale was 70%.

Roster screen with five key-player cards: QB, RB, WR, DL and K, above a salary cap bar reading 38M of 150M — The roster at the start of our test career: 5 of 10 key players and $38M of the $150M cap.

Coordinators and staff

Your staff is a head coach plus an offensive and a defensive coordinator, shown as HC, OF and DF in the Front Office. According to the game's info text, the coordinators set the base rating of your offense and defense before your key players are counted, and the rest of the squad, which stays hidden, plays to the coordinators' level. Since you never play defense yourself, a better defensive coordinator and stronger defensive key players are how you improve it.

Coach credits

Coach credits pay for Front Office spending: stadium, training and rehab upgrades, and hiring or extending staff. The game's info text adds that free agents cost credits as well as cap space. One of the in-game tips explains what the credits stand for: "Coaching Credit isn't cash, it's kudos - it represents how much respect you have from the owner, team and fans." We did not track how many credits each result earns.

Front Office screen with salary cap, stadium, training and rehab facility bars, three staff cards and draft picks 1-1-1 — Facilities and staff in the Front Office are paid for with coach credits.

Draft, free agents and trades

Better players come from the draft, free agents and trades. You start with one pick in each of the three draft rounds, and trades close after week 8.

Game options in this version

Option	Choices
Quarters	1, 2 or 3 minutes of game clock (2 by default)
Difficulty	Dynamic (default), Easy, Medium, Hard, Extreme
Drive direction	Both by default; in our match the offense switched sides after the first quarter
Cam zoom	Off by default
Roster	10 Man by default
Weather	On by default
Kickoff returns	On by default

Dynamic gets harder after a win and easier after a loss. Extreme gives every opponent a 5-star rating. The options screen also has an Exhibition Game button for a one-off game.

Which settings to pick

If you are new to the game, keep Dynamic difficulty so the game adjusts to your results.
If you win too easily, switch to Hard or Extreme.
If you only have a few minutes, set Quarters to 1 minute. Our Dallas match then had 4 minutes of game clock.
If you want to skip a match, press Sim Game on the pre-match screen and the game plays it for you.

Retro Bowl tips

These come from the tips written into the game:

Tired players fumble more often.
Diving to the ground or running out of bounds protects against fumbles.
Running the ball out of bounds stops the clock.
Throw the ball out of bounds rather than take a sack.
If your quarterback keeps getting rushed, you need stronger offensive linemen.

One more from our own matches: decide on your target while the clock is stopped before the snap, then drag and release quickly.

Saving your career

This version saves your career in your browser's storage for this site. In our tests the career, including the result of the last match, was still there after we reloaded the page. Because the save lives in this browser, another browser or device won't have it, and clearing this site's data deletes it.

Retro Bowl FAQ

Is Retro Bowl free to play here?

Yes. Press Play and the game starts in your browser. It did not ask us for a payment or an account in any of our test matches.

Can you play defense in Retro Bowl?

No. You only play offense, both in this version and, according to Wikipedia's Retro Bowl article, in New Star Games' own editions. When the other team has the ball, the game shows their drive as text updates and gives you nothing to control. How well your defense does depends on your defensive coordinator and your defensive key players.

How do you hand off in Retro Bowl?

Click the blue circle around the running back before you throw. He takes the ball and runs; the game's prompt says W or S side-steps.

How do you throw a pass in Retro Bowl?

Click and hold, drag away from the direction your receiver is running, then let go. The dotted arc shows where the ball will travel.

How do you kick a field goal in Retro Bowl?

Two clicks: the first stops the power bar and the second sets the direction. In a match, the game offers it on fourth down once you are close enough. The box reads "Play 4th down or go for field goal?", with a Field Goal button. Further out, the choice is 4th Down or Punt.

Is Retro Bowl too easy?

That depends on the difficulty setting. If Dynamic feels easy, switch to Hard or Extreme in the options; Extreme gives every opponent a 5-star rating.

How long is a game of Retro Bowl?

Each quarter lasts 1, 2 or 3 minutes of game clock, 2 by default, so a match on the default setting has 8 minutes of game clock. The clock stops between plays, so a match takes longer than that in real time.

What are coach credits for in Retro Bowl?

Coach credits pay for stadium, training and rehab upgrades and for hiring or extending coaching staff. The game's info text says free agents cost credits as well as salary cap space.

Can you play Retro Bowl online with friends?

No. This version has no online mode and does not connect you to other players.

Does Retro Bowl have an exhibition game?

Yes. The options screen has an Exhibition Game button.

How do I save my progress in Retro Bowl?

You do not need to. The game saves to your browser's storage for this site, so keep using the same browser on the same device.

Can you play Retro Bowl offline?

Only after it has loaded. We cut the connection in the middle of a match and the game kept going. You still need a connection to open the page and press Play, and reloading the page while offline gives an error.

Can I play Retro Bowl on PC?

Yes. It runs in a desktop browser with a mouse and keyboard. We tested it in Chrome.

Can I play Retro Bowl on a phone?

Yes. We played it with touch controls on an iPhone 17 Pro. On a phone, pressing Play opens the game full screen; turn the phone sideways for the biggest picture. The ✕ in the corner takes you back to the page.

Who made Retro Bowl?

New Star Games made Retro Bowl and released it in 2020.

Is this the official Retro Bowl?

No. This is an unofficial web version. The official game comes from New Star Games on the App Store, Apple Arcade, Google Play and Nintendo Switch.

Back to the game, press Play and start your career.