Q&A for How to Make a Paper Football

Making curves on your paper football takes a little creativity, but it’s totally doable! To create those rounded shapes, you can try lightly dampening the paper by using a spray bottle to mist it gently—just enough to make the paper a bit more pliable without soaking it. This gives you control and helps the paper bend smoothly instead of folding sharply. Start with a tiny amount of water and see how the paper reacts; too much can make it soggy or prone to tearing. Once the paper is slightly damp, you can mold it into curves by pressing and shaping it with your fingers or rolling it over a rounded surface, like a pen or your palm. The key is to work slowly and evenly so the paper doesn’t crease unintentionally. Let it dry in place to hold its curved shape, and you’ll end up with a unique paper football that has a sleek, rounded look!

Paper football is simple. You flick the football across the table and try to get it to stop partway over the edge of the table to score a touchdown. If the football goes all the way over the edge of the table, “kick off” by placing the paper football on your palm and hitting your fingers on the underside edge of the table to launch it. If you score a touchdown, kick a field goal by flicking the football between the other player’s hands, which are held with the thumbs together in the shape of goal posts.

In a typical paper football game, the goal is made with one of the players’ hands. Have them place their hands together, palms out, with their thumbs touching to form a goal shape. Alternatively, you can make a goal out of toilet paper rolls. Tape a flat piece of paper or cardstock over the top of one roll, then tape 2 more rolls on the ends of the flat piece to make the goal posts.

To make a sticky note football, fold a square sticky note corner to corner to form a triangle with the sticky surface facing out. Fold the triangle over 2 more times to get an increasingly small triangle. The sticky surface should help the paper cling to itself so your football doesn’t come apart.

Hold it with one hand on the top with the longest part facing you; the other end should be resting against a table. Place the first or middle finger of your other hand against your thumb, then flick it against the side facing you. It takes a little practice.

It is supposed to look like an obtuse triangle that is small and that you can flick easily. Do a google image search for "paper football."