Hidden Eleven
Football draft game online: play free with friends
A football draft game takes the most fun part of fantasy football, picking your squad, and turns it into a head-to-head contest you can finish in one sitting. Hidden Eleven adds a twist that makes every draft feel different: you can hide your best picks from your opponent until kickoff.
On this page
What is a football draft game?
In a draft game, managers take turns choosing players from a shared pool. Once a player is taken, nobody else can have them, so every pick is also a decision about what your opponent can no longer get. Fantasy football leagues run drafts like this once a season. A draft game compresses the whole idea into a single match: you draft, you set your lineup, and the squads are compared straight away.
That makes draft games a good fit for a quick session with friends. There is no season to keep track of and no weekly admin. Everyone starts from the same pool under the same rules, and the result depends on the decisions you made in the last few minutes.
How a Hidden Eleven match works
Hidden Eleven runs in the browser on desktop and mobile, with nothing to install and no account to create. A match moves through a few clear phases:
- Room setup. The host chooses which leagues the player pool is built from, how long each turn lasts, and optionally the formation. Everyone else joins with a six-letter room code.
- Ability draft. In rooms with abilities on, each manager secretly picks a special card, such as Captain, Yellow Card, Sub or Extra Bench, to use later in the match.
- The player draft. On your turn you tap an empty position on your pitch, then choose one of the players offered for it. Each card shows a rating, a position and the player's club and nation.
- Hidden picks. Some rounds are played with sealed dossiers: you choose a card without seeing who is inside, and your opponent can't see it either until the reveal.
- Bench, abilities and final lineup. After the draft you pick substitutes, abilities are resolved, and you get a last chance to rearrange your starting eleven.
- Results. Squads are scored on defence, midfield and attack averages, completed chemistry challenges, card chemistry and line-leader bonuses, with a full points breakdown at the end.
A typical match takes around ten minutes with 30-second turns. Shorter timers make for a fast, instinctive game; longer ones give room to plan chemistry carefully.
Playing with friends (and without them)
To play with friends, one person hosts a room and shares the six-letter code. Friends tap Join a Room, type the code, and appear in the lobby. The host starts the match once everyone is ready. Rooms take between two and ten players, so the same game works for a quick one-on-one or a whole group chat.
No one online? Play vs AI opens the same room settings with an AI opponent already seated, so you can practise drafting, try new formations or learn the abilities without waiting for anyone. For a longer session, Tournament mode runs a knockout bracket after the draft.
Start a room →Why the hidden picks matter
In most draft games, the best strategy is to watch what your opponent takes and react. Hidden picks remove part of that information. When a strong player goes into a sealed slot, your opponent has to keep drafting without knowing what they will face, and you have to decide whether a hidden card is worth the risk of a poor fit when it's revealed.
That small change turns the draft into something closer to a card game with bluffing. You aren't only optimising ratings; you're managing what the other manager knows. If you want to go deeper, the strategy guide covers hidden-deck timing in detail.
Quick questions
Is Hidden Eleven free?
Yes. There are no purchases or paid advantages; the site is supported by advertising.
Do I need an account?
No. Enter a display name and you can host, join or play against the AI straight away.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. The layout adapts to phones and tablets, and on small screens you can hide the bottom panel to see the whole pitch.
Are the players real?
The pool is built from real club rosters across the supported leagues, plus special categories such as Icons and Heroes. Ratings are tuned for Hidden Eleven's own balance. See Leagues for what's included.