Match Day 2nd Edition - The Engine Rebuilt
21 August 2026
If You Already Own Match Day, Stop Reading and Go Download It
The 2nd Edition is a free update. Same product, same download link, new files in your account right now. That was always the deal - the game improves, your copy improves with it.
Everyone else: here's what changed and why.
What 2nd Edition Actually Changes
Quick Play now rolls 3d6. The old two-dice matrix produced sensible averages but the wrong shape - almost no goalless draws, hardly any thrashings, everything bunched around 2-1. The rebuilt Match Rating Matrix keeps every row's average exactly where it was - which is why every season pack you own still works - but maps it onto the bell curve football actually has. Around 8% of matches finish 0-0 now. One in ten is a proper hiding. Both teams score about half the time. Those are real-league numbers, and now they're the game's numbers.
Long Play gets the d10 Control Matrix. The full event-by-event experience now runs on a d10 control roll against a 19x19 matrix - every ATK and DEF pairing has its own line. Home advantage arrives in the second half, where it belongs. Red cards swing the match by two bands, because they should.
Two apps in the box. The free League Helper runs whole seasons in your browser - paste any pack's CSV block, generate fixtures, roll matchdays, watch the table build. New in this update: points deductions, for leagues where somebody starts on minus eight. The Long Play app plays every event with animated dice, extra time and penalty shootouts included. Both are single HTML files. No install, no internet, no account.
The rulebook now rates whole leagues honestly. Book One's rating method gains a Balance Check - a one-minute step that makes sure a division you've rated yourself plays at its real-world scoring rate, whether that's the modern Premier League or 1930s England at four goals a game.
What Didn't Change
The three-step match. The three-number team ratings. The Close Finish. Your season packs - all of them, unchanged, compatible. And the 1st Edition ships inside the download too, so if you prefer the original two-dice game, it's still yours.
The 92
Launching alongside it: every English league club - all four divisions, ninety-two teams - rated for 2026/27 before a ball has been kicked. Pay what you want. Print a division, play the season before it happens.
One Download With Everything
If you want the lot in one go - both editions, the World Cup 2026 tournament kit, six season packs, and the creator tools - that's Full 90, the complete Match Day collection.