Open the game and choose Single game for an exhibition or Seven-week season to coach one franchise through the complete league schedule. Choose the matchup or franchise, quarter length, computer coordinator's skill and weather, then begin. Saved games and seasons receive separate continue buttons.
Everything is a button: use one of the three complete calls under Coach's read, or tap a formation tab and then a play card. Keys 1–9 call the visibly numbered play on the sheet, R repeats your last offensive or defensive call, T calls a timeout, and H toggles hurry-up. The whole interface works with a keyboard, a mouse or a finger.
Each snap is one decision each. When you have the ball you pick a formation and a play; the computer picks a front and a call at the same time. When they have the ball you pick the front and the call. The two meet, the result is drawn on the chalkboard, and the situation updates. After a touchdown you choose a kick or a two-point try.
There is no unit movement: the ball moves. The field strip at the top of the board shows the line of scrimmage in blue, the first-down mark in yellow, and the current drive shaded. A yellow bar above the strip shows the last play's gain, red for a loss.
Touchdown six, extra point one, two-point try two, field goal three, safety two. Field goals are attempted from the spot plus seventeen yards; the kicker's rating and the wind decide the odds.
Lead when the fourth quarter ends. If tied, overtime is one period, first score wins.
Trail when the fourth quarter ends, or concede the first score in overtime. If overtime ends still tied, the game is a tie.
The game autosaves after every snap into this browser's local storage under the key tronsoft_chalk_talk_save. Reopen the game and press Resume saved game. In an exhibition, Quit to menu discards the save; in a season it returns to headquarters and keeps the week ready to resume. New game after an exhibition final starts fresh.
The scouting tables show what the defence has on you by situation. Once a row reaches three snaps the coordinator uses it. Keep every row near half and half, or make its guess wrong on purpose.
A season is seven weeks: every one of the eight clubs plays every other club once. Play your scheduled game, record the final, and the league simulates the other three fixtures. Standings rank clubs by win percentage, point differential and points scored. Your season and any in-progress week are autosaved separately under tronsoft_chalk_talk_season.