Kick Off versus Sensible Soccer

Kick Off is the 1989 Amiga football game by Dino Dini, published by Anco. Sensible Soccer is the 1992 reply from Sensible Software. People compare them because both use a top-down pitch and a ball that does not glue itself to a player's foot.

Last checked: 2026-10-30

What the series articles actually say

The Kick Off series article credits the 1989 original, Dini, and Anco. Its figure of 24 referees belongs to Kick Off 2, rather than the 1989 original. Amiga Power's criticism of Kick Off 2's controls is part of the same record. I am not re-adjudicating a 1990s magazine feud.

Sensible Soccer's article presents 1992 as the point where that top-down idea became the Sensible house style. Eurogamer's 2006 review still talks about the series as the reference point, years after both originals.

A short contrast
	Kick Off	Sensible Soccer
Year	1989	1992
Lead name	Dino Dini	Sensible Software, Jon Hare among the designers
Publisher then	Anco	Renegade Software for the original; later Codemasters
Buy it in 2026	Separate retro releases, not this site's shops	GOG and Xbox for the Sensible line

A video, without a date

SirClive's Retro Gamesworld posted a comparison under the title Kick Off vs. Sensible Soccer. The upload date on the public page looked wrong when it was checked for this site, so I am not printing a day and I am not attaching a player. The source list links directly to that comparison.

Questions people ask

Is Kick Off 2 the same argument?

Kick Off 2 is the follow-up people usually mean in the control argument. It is still Dini and Anco's line, not a Sensible patch.

Which is better?

I will not award it. If you want the game this site documents, buy SWOS 96/97. Kick Off is a different purchase.

Keep going

Sources checked 2026-10-30

Wikipedia, Kick Off series — checked 2026-10-30
Wikipedia, Sensible Soccer — checked 2026-10-30
SirClive comparison video (upload date omitted) — checked 2026-10-30
Eurogamer, 2006 — checked 2026-10-30