Steam Community :: NUTMEG! A Retro Football Management Game

Kick-off - NUTMEG! Is Out Now!

Mar 26

The referee checks his watch... and we’re off!

Are you ready to jump back in time and start your nostalgic managerial career, Gaffer? If so, get your notebook ready, as NUTMEG! is now available right here on Steam!

In case you missed the fax, NUTMEG! is a nostalgic football manager game with a deckbuilding twist, set in the '80s and '90s. Relive the days when the tackles were as hard as the mullets were long and football was about football.

Start as a relegation-threatened Division 4 side and work your way through the footballing pyramid one season at a time – signing footballing legends along the way. Build your stadium, hire each staff member to your specific requirements and organise training regimes ahead of matchday.

Use powerful Boost Cards in our card-based match engine to flip the script and prove that statistics and odds are simply numbers of the imagination. What legacy will you build in your two decades in the dugout? How many trophies can you look back on as the Millenium rolls in?

Need some pointers before your first team meeting? The board have provided some helpful dossiers on how to build your team, generating cash flow via merchandise and sponsorships, the two main gamemodes of NUTMEG!, how the card-based matchday engine works, the power of Boost Cards, and the perks and challenges managers face during their tenure.

As a reminder, 5p from every sale will go directly to our charity partners - The Joey Beauchamp Foundation and the Dalian Atkinson Legacy Trust.

We’re also running a giveaway over on Gleam! Click this link[gleam.io] to see how you can win an exclusive kitbag of goodies – including a NUTMEG! shirt and ball.

Want even more nostalgic goodness? We’ve partnered up with several games to bring you bundles that’ll save you enough money to buy a whole army of Freddo’s!*

Enjoy more football fun with the Bang Average Football Bundle, as well as the Football, Tactics, and Glory bundle!

Want some nostalgia instead? Then get your hard hats on and take on the construction trade in the 80’s themed Landlord’s Super or convert an old laundromat into a radical arcade machine heaven in Arcade Paradise!

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other chocolate brands are available.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3590560/NUTMEG_A_Retro_Football_Management_Game/

NUTMEG! is out now! Want to be In The Know? Join our Discord[discord.gg], and follow us over on X and TikTok[www.tiktok.com] to stay up to date with all the latest news.

NUTMEG! A Retro Football Management Game

26

6

Huge Disappointment

The Demo was amazing. But the full game is such a let down. Game crashes, RNG out of control, goals that cant be reasonably completed (look at the cost of a medical center - but you need to upgrade your stadium or tear down an existing facility to do so). This was one of the few games l've picked up as soon as it was released and the buyers remorse is huge. The lack of imagination when selecting the scenarios from 20 years of football is really disappointing. and only allowing new seasons with a small (4-...

8

Chungus

Just now

General Discussions

Pre Match Briefing – NUTMEG! FAQ’s

Mar 23

Ahead of kick-off on Thursday, we wanted to release a dossier of all the pre-match briefing notes you may need to make your journey in NUTMEG! has every chance of success..

Q) What is NUTMEG!?

A) NUTMEG! is a nostalgic football manager game with a deckbuilding twist, set in the 1980s and '90s. Relive the days when the tackles were as hard as the mullets were long and football was about football.

Take on a team in Division 4 and rise through the English football pyramid, either with the same team or others, over the course of your two-decade reign. You’ll manage more than just the players, though, with every element of the club under your control – including building up your stadium, balancing the books, and attracting new sponsors.

Q) When is NUTMEG! Being released and will NUTMEG! Be released on other platforms?

A) NUTMEG! Will launch on Thursday, 26th March at 10AM GMT. At this current moment in time, NUTMEG! is releasing exclusively on Steam. We will provide updates if this changes.

Q) How much will NUTMEG! cost?

A) NUTMEG! Will cost £19.99/$24.99/€24.99. However, for the first week, there will be a 40% discount.

Q) Can NUTMEG! Be played on Steam Deck?

A) NUTMEG! Is fully playable on Steam Deck – however, some buttons or options may be disabled for performance reasons.

Q) Is Steam Workshop supported?

A) Yes!

Plenty of the games data, such as team and player names, can be edited and created into workshop mods using a workshop tool. You can find both the tool and the game data at: C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Project Rush

Using the tool is simple. Open the NutmegWorkshopTool exe and select “New Workshop Mod” and find the folder where your modded data is housed (we recommend separating your modded data and the games original data for compatibility.) Once selected, you will be asked to give your mod a title, description, and tags (which are split by commas.) You can also add a preview image in a 512x512 PNG format.

Additionally, you can select whether the mod should be private, only available to your friends, or viewable by the public. Click submit, and your mod will be accessible on the workshop!

The tool can also update your mods by clicking the update button, selecting the mod you wish to update/modify, finding your new files, and editing any of the details as needed.

Additionally, there is a utility option that will check to see if your JSON files parse correctly, alongside a PNG list creator.

If you want to test your mods before going onto the workshop, you can use the “-modpath \[location]” launch command to open a mod (for example “-modpath C:\\NutmegModding\\MyCoolMod.”)

To download a mod, go to the workshop, find what you like, and click subscribe. Your game will automatically update to include the mod.

Please Note: Modding can cause game instability. Uninstalling and reinstalling with all mods unsubscribed will fix any issues but could cause lost save data.

Q) How do you scout and headhunt?

A) Scouting and headhunting is a key part of the recruitment process in NUTMEG! Firstly, you will need to hire a scout – which can be found as part of the Support Staff.

Once a scout has been hired, there are three methods of scouting. The first is passive – the scout will find players they feel benefit your team and will gather information on them.

Secondly, you can choose to have a scout gather information on a player already listed in the Transfer List to help sweeten a deal and get the player to sign the dotted line. This information is typically a gift they may want alongside their salary.

Finally, on the pre-match screen in a Broadcast game, you can click on an opposition player and ask a scout to headhunt them. This will not only add that player to your Transfer List, but also provide the details needed to create the best package possible.

Q) What do the lightning bolts mean during a match and how is it triggered?

A) The lightning bolts indicate that a player has performed a ’Critical Touch’, which is where a player has been trained on a certain skill and performs it expertly – bypassing the percentage roll. In the match, the chance of getting a Critical Touch is random – but it will be increased by the level of proficiency that the player has in that skill.

Not all players can be trained with certain skills, so identify who can and get them hitting the repetitions until it becomes second nature for them.

Q) I’ve found a bug / want to give feedback, where can I do that?

A) Please send any bugs you find to us via the provide feedback button on our website[wearesecretmode.com]. Feedback can also be sent there, or posted here on the Steam Forums, or in our Discord[discord.gg].

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3590560/NUTMEG_A_Retro_Football_Management_Game/

Want to be In The Know? Wishlist NUTMEG!, join our Discord[discord.gg], and follow us over on X and TikTok[www.tiktok.com] to stay up to date with all the latest news.

NUTMEG! A Retro Football Management Game

15

2

NUTMEG! In Real Life?! – Featuring Jim Rosenthal

Mar 19

Ever wondered what NUTMEG! would look like in real life? Well, we wanted to find out – so join us at this muddy field theatre of dreams to see the most electrifying, high stakes football match played in front of your eyes. The crowd are bored beyond excited; the atmosphere is palpable and joining us is a very special guest in legendary sports broadcaster, Jim Rosenthal!

Over to you, Jim...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3590560/NUTMEG_A_Retro_Football_Management_Game/

Want to be In The Know? Wishlist NUTMEG!, join our Discord[discord.gg], and follow us over on X and TikTok[www.tiktok.com] to stay up to date with all the latest news.

NUTMEG! A Retro Football Management Game

6

0

42 people found this review helpful

Recommended

0.1 hrs on record

Posted: March 26

Full disclosure: I was a play tester (unpaid/voluntary) for this game in 2025 and earlier this year. I did not, however, receive a free key - I bought it like everyone else, and I have no biases/loyalty towards the game or the developers.

And I bought it on release day for a reason - this game is a gem. It's a totally unique deck-builder that's a love letter to retro football, but it doesn't require you to have any knowledge of football to enjoy.

The first thing you notice is the aesthetic, which oozes 80s football. It's been done absolutely perfectly, hitting the right notes to make you feel like a 'gaffer', whilst adding little flourishes of comedy throughout. The UI is at first daunting because it has an LMA Manager-type system where you click things to get to things, rather than a Football Manager 'menus in menus' approach, but it doesn't take long to really get into a flow and you'll be flying the mouse cursor around your desk, ordering merch, building stadium upgrades and checking the available transfers in no time.

The Broadcast mode is the default setting where you can fly through a season, cherry picking matches to play and simulating the rest. This mode has a few negatives - the simulated games can feel like a dice role because, as in real life, upset results happen.

The meat of the game is in the Hardcore mode for me though, where you manage every game, can take the team up the leagues and so on. The game has a very clever ratings mechanic which forces you to constantly improve your team and decision-making in regards to what card combos to focus on, what areas of the pitch you need to address to stop leaking goals etc.

I wouldn't say it's a difficult game as such - it's not easy either though; ironically the first playthrough is one of the hardest you'll have, because the teams available are the worst on offer. You gain 'Kit' after each season based on performance that is used as currency to unlock other teams - if you want to play as your favourite Premier Lea- I mean, Division One club, you have to earn them first.

Is it the perfect deck-builder? No. It has quirks, the learning curve is a bit sloppy, some cards feel more redundant than others and the longer you play the more you see how certain things can be easily manipulated. But all I can say is that it's a game I've been impatiently waiting for to release, because you can throw hours into this thing and love every minute. Just like a football management game, you celebrate those last minute equalisers, you hold yoru head at conceding penalties... and you combine that with the joy of a really good card game where you are developing that perfect hand of cards to pull off the combos at just the right moment.

It's just a very good, very solid game, one that's very original in its' concept and excellent in its' execution. It won't be for everyone, but if it does get its' hooks into you it's likely to end up as one of your favourite "I've got an hour to spare, I'll throw that game on" titles.

A developer has responded to this review

Tubey

0

34 people found this review helpful

Not Recommended

0.9 hrs on record

Posted: March 26

I really hoped this game would be good, it combines card games, which I love, and football, particularly football management games, which I grew up with, and the whole thing very much lives up to it's nostalgic tag. From the flavour of the Ceefax style TV, to a lot of familiar player names, it largely succeeds in that regard. The interface is a little confusing sometimes, in the name of keeping that feel, but that can be forgiven.

Unfortunately, when you get in to the meat of the game, the team management and deckbuilding, there just doesn't feel like a lot of game there. The choice to let you only play one in five matches yourself to start off is... interesting. I understand it for the sake of ensuring one season doesn't take too long, but it leaves a lot of the success or failure in a season largely out of your control, down to a few clicks, and some percentages which don't really say or feel like much.

I think that would be more of an issue if the deckbuilding side of the game was more substantial, but I feel like even calling it a deckbuilder is an exaggeration. The card options are very basic, once you spend a card, it doesn't come back to your deck, so there's no develop the deck as you develop your side or anything like that. Most of the time you open a basic pack, with some amount of three or four card varients, maybe combine them in to one with slightly bigger numbers, and that's kind of it. You do get the occasional card from challenges, but again, as they don't stick around once used, it really doesn't do much for you. I assume that variety increases as you play longer, but even if it does, the actual match dynamics are boring too, you don't feel like you can influence all that much in a match, or that there's any real strategy involved. Either play a card or don't, and watch the same few percentage battles play out. It kind of reminds me of a couple of those free mobile football management games, which is unfortunately maybe about as damning as you can get in describing a paid PC game.

There are team development mechanics, but they aren't really explained all that well, and given the problems with the deckbuilding side of the game, I wasn't really enthused to explore in to them any more.

And that's where I kind of am at with this, the vibe of the game is good, but the gameplay isn't, particularly if what you are looking for is a deckbuilding game. I feel like there could be more to it, but if there is, it's introduced and explained poorly, and there's nothing about the game, beyond the 'nostalgic' vibe, that makes me want to invest the time in to it.

A developer has responded to this review

ttv/HailIlpala

0

17 people found this review helpful

Recommended

4.9 hrs on record

Posted: March 26

Having played a full season of the demo, I've quickly blitzed several hours of Nutmeg today and I'm pleased to see it's still great fun.

For me this fills a great semi-casual niche - not deckbuilder-y enough to detract from being a football management game, but still unique. As such this is NOT the FM replacer some might have hoped. though why should it be? This is a nostalgic vision of football long since passed, and for some spotting Neville Southall while Teletext mentions the new show 'Only Fools & Horses' is worth the money alone.

A developer has responded to this review

red157

0

Transfer offer RNG

Could someone elaborate on how the transfer algorithm works? I think the different offers you can do to manipulate the acceptance chance % are simple and intuitive, but it of course has its drawbacks. I assume the one-off ultimatum is a design choice I will have to live with (spoiled by FM), but I did some testing with reloading and it feels like the resulting percentage is a bit of a sham. Is there an underlying percentage roll that is determined before the interaction for the transfer to succeed? Becaus...

2

Robert_Renaissance

14 minutes ago

General Discussions

Impossible to complete To-Do

Unless I'm missing something, you can't "Check the price of a medical center" if you have already built two support buildings, so I can't complete the "To-Do" tasks.

1

adamh0203

43 minutes ago

General Discussions

Big playing at york

Bug: did I player transaction week 1 as York and now that transaction appears every month on the financials. Side note, if you make a hockey version of this I'll give you all my money.

4

-=PR=-_Miller

2 hours ago

General Discussions

Workshop Tool

When loading up the workshop tool for the 1st time it comes up with folder at bottom of documents do you just type in your Mod name of do you use the data from the game ?

6