Street football (American)

Penalties are rare and are usually only enforced in the most egregious cases, such as serious injuries or blatant pass interference.

The game ends when a pre-determined number of touchdowns or points has been scored, or an arbitrary time is reached (for instance, dusk or the start of school).

In order to achieve a series of downs, backyard football requires the team with the ball to complete two passes or reach a certain point on the field.

Few games include enough people, or the proper equipment, to run a chain crew to maintain the 10 yards familiar in most organized leagues.

The use of a center is optional, depending on the rules set forth, and other ways to start the play (e.g. the quarterback picking up the ball directly, or holding the ball out prior to starting play, then pulling it back to begin) are often used in lieu of a snap.

Some organizations that don't require the center to snap the ball to the quarterback use two linemen.

Because of skill, field size and other issues, this is usually not a kickoff, but rather a "punt-off" or a "throw-off".

Many versions skip this process and start the offense at a certain point, similar to that following a touchback in organized leagues.

Thus, until an interception or turnover on downs occurs, both teams defend and attempt to score on the same end zone.

There can be a rush on the quarterback (commonly called a blitz in this context) depending on the rules set out before the game.

Atari's Backyard Football series, on the other hand, is a more kid-friendly game with players including child versions of NFL stars.