If you’re tired of FM26, you owe it to yourself to play this Football Manager deckbuilder

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By now, I’d normally be around 20 seasons into a Football Manager game, managing a team in a fairly average European country.

This year has been different, though. I didn’t really enjoy playing FM26, and despite being optimistic about FM27 when I reviewed the previous version, I haven’t been able to get into this year’s game.

I haven’t fully gotten into Football Manager 2026, but I still have that urge to play a football management game. I’ve started and abandoned a lot of games trying to find one that really clicks. Luckily, late last month, I found something that might just be it.

Nutmeg is a really interesting and unique football game.

Okay, so Nutmeg is this really cool game that throws you right back into the golden age of English football – the 80s and 90s! You basically get to be the manager of a club, and you’re responsible for everything – signing players, hiring staff, managing the budget… the whole nine yards.

What really makes this game different is that it’s not about complex tactics like most football sims. It’s actually a card game, which is a totally fresh approach!

Similar to the game Slay the Spire, you use a set of cards during a match to affect how it plays out.

Your team will move the ball down the field by passing, evading opponents, and shooting. Each of these actions has a chance of success, and the cards you choose to play at the right moments can significantly increase your team’s chances of scoring.

It’s a deceptively simple mechanic that actually feels surprisingly analogous to FM.

Similar to how you might adjust your strategy when playing against different opponents – conserving energy against stronger players and going all-in against weaker ones – Nutmeg gives you the same level of control over how your games play out, but in a new way.

At the beginning of matches, I used to try and score quickly by playing aggressively and using all my options right away. However, this often backfired, leaving me vulnerable and allowing the other team to counterattack and score.

When you’re not playing games, you can focus on developing your team – things like signing new players, handling finances, and making other important management decisions.

It’s not as immediately easy to use as Football Manager, with all its established stats, scouts, and data, so it can seem a bit daunting at the beginning. However, once you learn the ropes, it delivers a similar satisfying experience.

Honestly, as I’ve been playing, the game’s database just keeps getting better and better. And if you’re a ’90s football fan like me, Nutmeg is seriously a treasure trove of awesome stuff!

There’s nothing quite like the excitement of discovering and signing a promising young player – a future star like Ronaldo – for your team’s academy.

The game’s database is remarkably accurate, reflecting real-world events in the game itself. It’s a truly impressive achievement, and Sumo Digital, the game’s developer, deserves recognition for it – hopefully, we’ll see more projects like this from them.

With the growing popularity of classic radio station databases, Nutmeg delivers exactly what people are looking for.

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The gameplay is definitely the best part of the game, but it’s also worth noting how wonderfully nostalgic the game looks and feels.

The game unfolds entirely on a desk cluttered with an old computer, fax machine, and a television displaying the Ceefax service.

Although I only experienced the very end of this technological and artistic period, being relatively young, I still find it incredibly appealing, and I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t.

It reminds me of the simple, fun browser games I used to play on our family computer, like Jumpers for Goalposts. They weren’t fancy, but I always enjoyed them.

I would be lying if I said there were not some issues that I’d like to see fixed up.

I enjoy tracking my progress, checking out opponents’ players, and earning awards. While these might seem like small details, they really enhance the overall experience and are what make me want to keep playing.

Now, is Nutmeg a real competitor for FM? I don’t think so.

It simply doesn’t offer the same level of detail as Football Manager, especially when it comes to tactics, player transfers, and scouting. Because of this, I don’t think I’ll be playing it for long-term, multi-season campaigns.

But that isn’t a bad thing by any means.

Nutmeg is a really fun game that cleverly mixes football management with the strategy of deckbuilding. It’s a fresh and captivating experience.

If you’ve been enjoying Football Manager recently, I highly recommend checking out Nutmeg. It’s a really enjoyable game with a lot of heart.

Authors

Alex RaisbeckGaming writer

Alex Raisbeck writes about video games for TopMob, covering both big-name titles and smaller independent games. He’s also contributed to publications like VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, and PCGamesN.

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2026-04-07 13:05