Retro Bowl
- In a sentence
- Retro Bowl is an American football game in a retro style with two halves: on the field you control the offense play by play, and off it you manage a team, from the roster and salary cap to morale and facilities, season after season.
“Short passes win matches, and the team screen wins seasons. Both halves are worth learning.”
Game facts
- Genre
- Sports
- Developer
- New Star Games
- Devices
- Computer, phone, tablet
- Controls
- Mouse drag and release, W / S / A / D
- Session
- A match; a career over many seasons
- Players
- 1; 2-player exhibition in settings
- Poki sign-up
- Not needed
- Suits
- All ages; some menus take reading
Poki listing: released May 2020, last updated March 2025.
How a round goes
On the field you run the offense. To throw, you drag to aim at a receiver and release. When a player has the ball you dodge defenders up and down, dive forward for extra yards or slow down to let a gap open. Kicks use a power bar and then a direction arrow, each set with a click.
Weather changes things. Rain and wind make long passes harder, so short, safe throws become more valuable, and you can change the play or call a timeout when the defense surprises you.
Off the field you run the club. You draft, trade and release players within a $150 million salary cap, train their skills, and keep an eye on morale, because unhappy players drop the ball and misthrow. Wins earn Coaching Credits, and fan satisfaction decides how many you get per win. Credits pay for upgrades, and 100 of them raise the cap to $175 million.
There are five difficulty settings: easy, medium and hard, an Extreme mode where every opponent plays at five stars, and a Dynamic mode that adjusts after wins and losses. An Exhibition Game lets you try things without touching your career, and it includes a two-player mode reached from the settings.
Which keys do what
Hold the left mouse button, drag to aim, release; on touch, hold and drag
W / S, or swipe up / down
A, or swipe forward
D, or swipe back
Click (tap) when the power bar is full, then again for direction
Things we learned early
Throw before the receiver finishes the route. Early passes leave more space and are intercepted less.
Most successful drives are built on passes under ten yards. Keep the long throw for when a receiver is clearly free.
Near the goal line, a dive forward is a reliable way to gain the last couple of yards.
Spend early upgrades on the quarterback and wide receivers; they shape every passing play.
Watch morale on the team screen. One unhappy player can drag the whole squad down.
Who will enjoy it
Sports fans and anyone who enjoys a mix of quick action and long-term planning, one season at a time.
The catches
Management screens take reading; younger players may want help with them.
The real depth only shows over several seasons.
Poki shows ads around its games.
If you like this one
Heading to Poki
Retro Bowl runs on Poki.com, a separate site with its own ads and cookies. The link opens it in a new tab; nothing on this page starts the game.