Rosey
 | |
| Highest governing body | The Rosey Federation |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Nickname(s) | Moxieball Cascadian football Rosey football |
| Contact | Full (PvP) |
| Team members | 2 (unlimited substitutes) |
| Type | Team sport Outdoor PvP Football code |
| Equipment | Dyed leather uniform Iron sword Rosey bat Wicket rose |
| Venue | Rosey pitch |
| Presence | |
| First played | January 2, 2026 |
| Registered players | 34 |
| Country or region | Worldwide (Most popular in North America and among the Cascadian diaspora) |
| Olympic | No |
| Competitions | Rosey Federation League (RFL) |
Rosey, formally known known as Rosey football, and also known as Cascadian football, is an objective-based team PvP sport and variant of football played primarily in North America, originating in Terra Aurora's Cascadia. Rosey is played between two teams of two players who alternate making attempts to score by rushing into the opponent's "Home Zone," located on the ends of the field, known as a rosey pitch. During an attempt, the goal of the defending team is to "down" (kill) an attempting player, causing a "takeaway" (turnover) and ending the current attempt, beginning their own. The sport is characterized by its integration of standard Minecraft player-versus-player (PvP) combat (utilizing swords and fishing rods) as a fundamental mechanic for both offense and defense, rather than utilization of a ball, like other major objective-based team sports and football codes like association or gridiron football popular on EarthMC. While Rosey doesn't use a ball, it is often also considered an EMC offshoot, variant, or code of rugby.
Governed by the Rosey Federation, the sport is typically played in two innings of four minutes each. The Rosey Federation is responsible for enforcement and adaptation to the rules, and the organization of professional competition. The premier organized league of the sport is the Rosey Federation League (RFL), consisting of 8 teams, 7 of which are located in North America (4 in America, 1 in Cariboo, 1 in Texas, and 1 in Acadia), and 1 of which in Europe (Switzerland).
Gameplay
Field and equipment
A standard Rosey field is 100 blocks long. The field is divided by several key interval markers, that being the Half-Line in the center, and the 9, 18, and 27 meterlines in both directions. The outer boundaries are largely defined by a rose bush wall on both side, and the scoring area, known as the homezone, is located past the 36 meterline, which is known as the homeline. In the center of the half-line is a beacon, which is where play starts and restarts after stoppages of play.
In the center of the homezone exists a grass triangle known as "the Hole." If, during a try, the scorer enters the Hole, the defending team is awarded one point, and the try concludes as a failure. This acts similarly to a "safety" in gridiron football, penalizing the offense for poor positioning. Also in the homezone is the wicketbox, consisting of a 5-block tall, 3-block wide bamboo fence-post topped by a flowerpot with a rose. This is known as the wicket, and is the final objective of an attempting team!
Players are equipped with non-enchanted leather armor in team colors, an iron sword, and a basic fishing rod. Sustenance is strictly limited to one stack of bread; the use of any other food or enhancements is classified as an "illicit substance" violation. When possible, the swords and armor are made unbreakable.
Comparison to Other Sports
Rosey occupies a middle ground between the player-as-ball mechanics of EMC soccer and item-based mechanics of EMC gridiron football by rejecting the concept of the ball entirely, focusing entirely on PvP and "downs" as the mechanism for a change in what is in effect, possession, with the player's body being used to score rather than a ball
The Toss
Matches begin with the Toss, which is a duel between the two designated team captains. The winner of the Toss is awarded the first attempt of the first inning, while the loser is awarded the first attempt of the second inning.
If the score is tied at the end of the second inning, the match is decided by an overtime toss. This is a final winner-take-all deathmatch between captains, worth one point, and the winner is immediately declared the victor of the match.
Scoring
Points are primarily scored through a two-stage process:
- A run, worth 3 points, is awarded when an attempting player crosses the 36m Home Line into the Home Zone.
- Once a run is scored, that player becomes the scorer, and that player begins a try. The scorer is the only player permitted to attack and break the wicket, which is a rose pot on a 5-block tall fence. Successfully breaking the wicket completes the "Try" and resets play to the center. During a try, downing the scorer or their teammate does not result in a takeaway, but downing the scorer ends the try, and by extension the attempt. After a conclusion of a try, the clock stops, and the defending team starts an attempt from the center of the field.
Penalties
In Rosey, penalties serve as both a regulatory measure to ensure fair play and a secondary method of scoring for the non-offending team. Unlike many traditional sports where penalties merely result in a change of field position, certain infractions in Rosey provide an immediate numerical advantage on the scoreboard.
Illicit substance use
The most severe infraction in the sport is the use of "Illicit Substances." Per Federation rules, players are restricted to a single stack of bread for sustenance. The use of any prohibited items, including potions, golden apples, or enchanted equipment, results in the immediate ejection of the offending player and the turnover of possession.
Hole crossing
While not a penalty in the sense of a rule violation, a hole-crossing is a scoring penalty applied to the attempting team for poor navigation. If the designated scorer enters the triangular grass area known as "The Hole" during a Try, one (1) point is awarded to the defending team. This is most similar to the concept of the safety in Gridiron football. Points gained from the hole can be decisive in the outcome of a match, and many defending players often try to bat the scorer into the hole to gain a defensive point while also saving the wicket.
Timing
A standard match consists of two innings, each with a four-minute running clock. The clock stops for turnovers, penalties, or team timeouts. Each team is permitted two timeouts per inning.
Other rules
Out of bounds
When a player exits the rose walls on the sides of the field, the player is determined out of bounds and the play and clock is stopped. The play resumes at the center of the field at one of the various meterlines, depending on the position of the player on the field, and whether the out of bounds player was on the attempting team or defending team.
If the player was on the attempting team, play restarts at the meterline most recently crossed by the defensive player furthest away from their homezone. If the player was on the defending team, play restarts at the meterline closer to the attempting team's homezone from the furthest player on the attempting team, however no play can resume at the homeline.
History
Rosey was invented in late 2025 by Sayerleft, who previously served as the 1st president of Cascadia, the 6th chief justice of Cascadia, and a central figure in the formation and development of the Cascadian nation. It was created in order to have a game that is simple, strategic, intuitive to the mechanisms of Minecraft, and able to create a sense of Cascadian national unity both in the latter months of Terra Aurora and among the Cascadian diaspora in Terra Nostra.
In early development, the game was known by the names of Cascadian football or Rosary football. It was named "Rosey" following a vote among early players, although many had taken to calling it "Moxieball", after former president and mayor of Victoria Moxicodone, where the first stadium was planned to be built. Some other names considered were Rosebat and Rosebud.
The Rosey Federation was established on January 4, 2026, and Sayerleft was appointed as the federation's first Commissioner. The first task of the Rosary Federation became the organizing of a league, which was announced as the Rosary Federation League, or RFL, on the same day. The process for acquiring umpires, clubs, and players began on that day.
8 clubs eventually were formed for the First RFL Season, with a draft occurring to assign undetermined players to new clubs struggling with roster maintenance.
Following the successful first season ending shortly prior to the closure of Terra Aurora and launch of Terra Nostra, the various clubs were either relocated to new locations on Terra Nostra, or sold to new owners.
Rule changes
The first edition of the Official Rules of Rosey was published on January 4, 2026. Differences between the first edition and the current version of the game include the usage of diamond swords instead of iron, the usage of fishing rods instead of the "bat", a 1-point penalty for usage of illicit substances, and most importantly, the ability for a defending team having performed a takeaway against the attempting team to immediately rush towards their side without any stoppage of play. These would be changed by January 18, 2026, with the release of the Official Rules of Rosey (Second Edition). Notably in the Second Edition, takeaways were changed to result in a stoppage of play and resumption at the nearest meter line to the takeaway.
Offsides
The 9-meter rule, also called offside was a foundational regulation present in the first and second rules of the game designed to maintain competitive momentum and ensure that all players remain engaged in active play. Unlike traditional offsides rules in American football, Rugby, or Association football, offside in Rosey applies to both the Attempting and Defending teams simultaneously. During an attempt, specifically the first attempt following a start or resumption of play, no player from either team is permitted to cross the 9-meter line located on the side opposite the target Home Zone of said attempt. If a player does so, they are considered in an offside position.
This rule served two primary tactical functions. It aimed to prevent defensive "camping," by preventing a defending player from sitting deep in their own Home Zone while their teammate attempts to down an attempting player to cause a takeaway, in which the camping player would simply enter the home zone and score. It also aimed to prevent attempting players from anticipating a takeaway and sending one of their players to camp the defense's homezone. In general, the rule ensures that if a takeaway occurs, the new attempting team must earn their territory rather than having a player already in position to score, and that the defensive team cannot also obtain an unfair advantage.
If any player crossed the 9m line during the initial attempt of a play and finds themselves in an offside position, the Umpire rules the play dead. The attempt is ruled a violation, and play is reset at the Beacon.
The offsides rule was removed in the third edition of the rules in March 2026, due to its ability to be abused to stop play. The abolition of offsides has led to certain new strategies being developed, such as the backwards distraction, and discussion over potentially introducing a defensive point for downing an offensive player in the opposing homezone.
| Current season, competition or edition: RFL Season II (upcoming) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Rosey |
| Founded | January 4, 2026 |
| Founder(s) | Sayerleft |
| First season | 1st |
| Commissioner | Sayerleft |
| Organizing body | Rosey Federation |
| Headquarters | 210 Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, America |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Region | Cascadia |
| Broadcaster | RoseyTV |
RFL
The Rosey Federation League (RFL) is a professional Rosey league in the Republic of Cascadia. Composed of 8 teams, the RFL is the major sports league in Cascadia, the fourth-largest in the world (behind F1, Kings League, and the EFL), and the highest professional level of the sport of Rosey. The RFL season consists of a regular season, consisting of 9 games for each club, which is followed by a postseason concluding in the Ranger Cup, the ultimate championship of the sport.
RFL Season I began on January 23, 2026, and concluded on March 7, 2026. The postseason began on March 14, 2026, with the two Ranger Cup semi-final matches, and concluded with the first Ranger Cup on March 29, 2026, in which the Fighting Salish were defeated by the Loon Lake Redeyes to become the first champions of Rosey football. RFL Season II, the first on Terra Nostra, is expected to start in mid-May 2026.
Teams
The RFL consists of 8 teams, with no divisions. Clubs vary, with some, such as Salish, representing broad regions (the Cascadian Metropolitan region), and some instead representing community groups or towns. Each team is administered by a general manager, accountable to club ownership. 7 of the 8 clubs are owned by a sole private owner and 1 is owned as a publicly-held nonprofit. In the past, several clubs had been owned by local governments but have since been sold.
Starting in the second season, each team plays 9 regular season games, competing once against every other club in the league once, plus two games determined based on place in the standings. Each club plays as close as possible to half away games and half home games, although the clubs with a better record in the previous season have one more home game than the others. Following the regular season, the top four clubs by win-loss record break to the playoffs. If there is a tie for fourth place, a special wild card game is played to determine the fourth seed in the playoffs. Two playoff games are played, one between the 1 and 4 seeds, and one between the 2 and 3 seeds. The victors of these two games compete in the Ranger Cup.
| Club | City | Homepark | First season | General manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighting Salish | Chicago, America | Wrigley Field | I, II | Setrus |
| Halifax Havaikans | Halifax, Acadia | Valedux Memorial Stadium | I, II | GuyWithALife |
| Manicouagan Mariners of Detroit | Detroit, America | Manicouagan Park | I, II | TheeHawaiian |
| St. Louis Pioneers | St. Louis, America | Prairiedog Park | I, II | KayP7 |
| Neverland Pirates | Neverland, Texas | Pirates Park | I, II | JoeJoe77 |
| Swiss Redeyes | Zürich, Switzerland | New Redeyes Field | I, II | Bachinuni |
| Cincinnati Royals | Cincinnati, America | Kingdome | I, II | Joesheisty |
| Oakwood Oakwardens | Oakwood, Cariboo | Comment Field | I, II | The_Last_Comment |
RFL draft
The Rosey Federation professional player draft, also known as the RFL draft, is the means in which players not committed to any particular team can be selected by RFL clubs.
For the first draft, clubs are given a certain number of "draft points", in order to give an advantage to clubs with poor performances in the last season and struggles with keeping a roster. The management of the clubs then rated the various draft-eligible players on a scale of 1-10, and the club's overall demonstrated interest in the various players was then translated into the allocation of the club's points. The club with the most points bid on each player drafted the player, with the exception that a club could only draft more than one player if every other club has drafted a player first. Players were also able to blacklist at maximum one club from drafting them.
January 2026 RFL draft
Six players were entered into the draft.
| Pick no. | Player | Club drafted to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flippizzacake | Fighting Salish |
| 2 | Bachinuni | Loon Lake Redeyes |
| 3 | ElimBessus | Hermosillo Havaikans |
| 4 | _Weirdguy | Eureka Warriors |
| 5 | Swat907 | Eureka Warriors |
| 6 | SergioTheCrafter | Manicouagan County RC |
Rosey Federation
The Rosey Federation is the highest governing body of the sport of Rosey. It is incorporated as a non-profit corporation in the Republic of Cascadia, and cooperates with The Cascadian Independent in media broadcasts of RFL matches. The federation also regulates and oversees umpires, and can revoke accreditation of umpires.
The leadership of the federation is as follows:
| Title | Officeholder | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | SayerQT | January 4, 2026 |
| Counsellor to the Commissioner for Broadcasting | Bachinuni | February 1, 2026 |
| LadyEsquimalt | since January 5, 2026 |
| SayerQT | since January 5, 2026 |
| HawaiianDPG | since January 5, 2026 |
| swat907 | since January 6, 2026 |
| GuyWithALife | since February 13, 2026 |
| Flippizzacake | since March 1, 2026 |