Ah, recess. Picture this: I’m wandering the playground, a thick stack of duplicate soccer stickers clutched in my hand, secured by a trusty elastic band. This was the real currency of our childhood kingdom. A circle of eager collectors would gather, shouting “Got! Got! Need! Got! NEED!” as they spotted the treasures I held – perhaps two gleaming Jordi Cruyff stickers. In those moments, I was king. Now, a game called Nutmeg has magically whisked me back to that golden era, and it might just do the same for you.
It’s certainly been a while since those days (longer than I care to admit!), but a part of me still yearns for the excitement of the sticker hunt. So, you can imagine my sheer delight when I stumbled upon a new deckbuilder that perfectly captures the unique charm of the 80s and 90s soccer sticker scene I adored.
Nutmeg is a management game rooted in the soccer culture of those decades, infused with a clever deckbuilding mechanic. The teams and players are lovingly designed to resemble classic soccer stickers, and your virtual command center is an authentic 90s-era PC. Best of all, there’s a demo available right now, which I naturally dove into immediately.
The demo offers various scenarios to explore, starting with a match between Oxford and KPR. While some official team names are creatively tweaked, for anyone who spent countless hours playing as “Merseyside Blue” in Pro Evolution Soccer, this only enhances the delightful retro vibe. The players themselves feel spot-on, and I can easily tweak my team’s formation and tactics before kickoff by shuffling virtual stickers in my album. The whole experience is utterly charming, and I was hooked instantly.
Once the match kicks off, the true deckbuilding depth emerges as each team vies for control of the pitch, aiming to score. I deployed various tactics cards, like boosting a shot’s success chance, to strategically influence the game. Despite boiling down the beautiful game to screen-based text and cards, Nutmeg remarkably conveys the ebb and flow of a real soccer match, the suspense of a last-minute goal, and the nerve-wracking intensity of a penalty shootout. I devoured every scenario in the demo.
I have a strong feeling that Nutmeg’s career mode will be its true highlight. I can’t wait to meticulously fill my sticker albums with legends from Everton – or rather, “Mersey Blue” – and other iconic teams. The demo for Nutmeg is available now over on its Steam page. While the full release date remains to be announced, this is definitely a title I’ll be keeping a close eye on.
If you’re looking for other ways to enjoy soccer or management games while you await Nutmeg’s release, explore some of the best soccer games available on PC, or dive into top-tier management games for a different kind of strategic challenge.
What were your favorite players from the 90s soccer scene? Share your thoughts and let’s debate it over on the PCGamesN community Discord!