TacticBoardAnimated soccer plays, built in your browser
Draw the runs, draw the passes, press play — and watch the move happen instead of explaining it twice.
A still diagram tells a player where to stand. It does not tell them when to run, who moves first, or what the pass is waiting for. That is the gap animated plays close: you build the move once, press play, and the timing explains itself.
TacticBoard does this in the browser, free, with no download and no account. Place your players, draw the movement, and the board works out the sequence from the ball — a pass, a dribble, a run timed to the beat it was drawn in.
Open the board and build a play →
Free, in your browser — no download, no account needed to start.
How to build an animated play
Set the shape
Start from a formation preset or drag players where you want them. This is the position the move begins from — kick-off, a throw-in, a settled build-up, whatever you are coaching.
Draw the movement
Use pass arrows for the ball, dribble arrows for a player carrying it, and run arrows for movement off the ball. Draw them in the order they happen.
Press play
The board reads the ball chain — pass to dribble to pass — and runs the move. Player runs fire on the beat they were drawn in, and the pace comes from the actual distance covered.
Add the next frame
Each frame is a scene. Add another to show the same move from a different starting point, or the second phase after a set piece.
What coaches use it for
- Set-piece routines. Corners and free kicks are almost impossible to explain on a whiteboard because everything happens at once. Animate the blocking run, the near-post decoy and the delivery, and players see who moves first.
- Pressing traps. Show the trigger pass, then the three players closing simultaneously. Static arrows make a press look chaotic; animation makes the timing obvious.
- Build-up patterns. Play out from the back, the centre-back splitting, the pivot dropping, the full-back pushing on. Animation shows why the third pass is only available because of the first.
- Attacking combinations. Overlaps, third-man runs and give-and-goes are defined entirely by timing. This is the clearest way to teach them short of a full session.
Tips for plays that actually read well
- Draw the ball's journey first, then the runs off it. The board orders the move by the ball chain, so getting that right up front saves re-drawing.
- Keep each play to one idea. A move with eleven arrows is unreadable at any speed — animate the pattern you want, not the whole phase of play.
- Use a run arrow for a decoy even when the player never receives the ball. Watching the defender get dragged out of position is often the point of the whole clip.
- Build the move from the shape you actually play. Starting from your own formation preset makes it look familiar to the players who have to run it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the animated play builder free?
Yes. Building plays and playing them back is free for everyone, with no account needed to start. Free accounts can save one animated play per day; TacticBoard Pro removes that limit.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs entirely in your browser on desktop, tablet or phone. There is nothing to download and no app store involved.
How is this different from just drawing arrows?
A drawing shows every movement at once, so players cannot tell what happens first. An animation runs the move in sequence, which is what makes timing — the hard part of any pattern — coachable.
Can I use it for set pieces?
Yes, and it is the clearest use for it. Corner routines and free-kick patterns depend entirely on runs being timed against each other, which a still diagram cannot show.
Can I share a play with my team?
You can export your board as an image to send to players, and saved tactics are available from any device you log in on.
Start from a formation
Most plays are easier to build from a shape your team already knows. Pick one, then draw the move on top of it.
- 4-3-3 — The modern pressing formation — width in attack, a midfield triangle, and clear pressing triggers.
- 4-4-2 — Two banks of four and a strike partnership — the most teachable defensive shape in football.
- 4-2-3-1 — A double pivot for control and a number 10 to unlock — the most balanced shape in modern football.
- 3-5-2 — Three at the back, wing-backs providing all the width, and a numerical edge in central midfield.
- 3-4-3 — An aggressive back three with a front three high up the pitch — built to press and to attack in numbers.
- 4-1-4-1 — A compact defensive block with a dedicated screen — very hard to play through, harder to attack from.
- 5-3-2 — Five across the back, three in midfield, two up top — defensive security with a genuine counter-attack.
- 4-4-2 Diamond — A narrow midfield diamond that wins the centre of the pitch — and hands you the flanks to defend.
Build your first animated play
Place your players, draw the runs and passes, and press play. It takes about a minute.
Open the tactics board →