The Grounds in EA SPORTS FC 27 includes a set of activities that are neither conventional 11v11 matches nor the 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 Street Football pitches. Known as Kickabouts, they mix football control with target games, basketball-style scoring, balloon elimination, possession battles and obstacle racing. Joining is often done at an in-world information board and queue zone, not through the same matchmaking menu as a stadium competition.
EA's current Kickabouts Help guide identifies seven named activities: Bocce Ball, Balloon Ball, Bucketball, The Big Race, Team Keep Away, Scenarios and Goal Control. An earlier official August 4 Grounds Deep Dive additionally described Drop Kick Targets. That discrepancy is worth acknowledging: the old article does not prove an eighth live queue still appears today, nor that the activity was permanently removed. Check the present in-game map.
This guide focuses on how each game is actually won, how you join a party, why a queue sometimes stays empty, how Archetype XP and Grounds Coins relate to Objectives, and the important rule that AMPs do not apply or lose duration during Kickabouts. Suggested tactics are coaching interpretations rather than unpublished EA mechanics or guarantees of a fixed reward.
- Seven current EA Help types have different scoring and win rules.
- Read each board and use the party queue when playing with friends.
- AXP and Grounds Coins can be earned, but AMPs do not apply or lose duration.
- Older official previews included Drop Kick Targets; verify the live map.
Finding an activity on the world map
Kickabouts appear across The Grounds' three districts. Open the top-left map icon, select a nearby activity and choose Travel if offered—or walk to its pitch. Before playing, the information board tells you the particular objective and scoring conditions. Enter the queue zone and press Play.
The queue shows how many competitors the activity needs and how many have joined. While waiting you may watch the current match from the sidelines. Some activities spawn a separate match without waiting for the visible pitch to free up, so a waiting indicator is not necessarily a network failure.
Read the board, not only the title
The information board describes how to play, what counts toward winning and sometimes whether an AMP applies. That matters because different games calculate progress using points, possession time, eliminated balloons or controlled target goals.
A useful habit is reading the current objective and win condition every time you change activities. In Scenarios the on-screen instruction can also vary mid-play; remembering last round's task is no substitute for checking the active instruction.
Bocce Ball: controlled placement wins
Bocce Ball is a three-person free-for-all based on kicking a ball into scoring target zones. Smaller targets are worth more, and the highest total score wins. The key risk is the Dead Zone, which subtracts points rather than helping your result.
A controlled placement into a reachable target may be better than a powerful kick that overshoots. The older EA Deep Dive explains rotating targets and detailed historic point values, but consult the live board before relying on any exact present-day number.
Balloon Ball: three balloons per person
Balloon Ball uses four players in a free-for-all and two footballs on the pitch. Take possession, then strike a ball at an opposing player to pop one of that player's three balloons. Losing all three balloons eliminates a player.
This is not a match settled by normal goals. Aim for a reachable opponent while protecting your remaining balloons and deciding when to pursue either ball. Being hit once is not instant elimination unless it was your last balloon.
Bucketball: baskets worth two or three
Bucketball is a team game where you kick the ball through the opposing basket. Close-range successful baskets give two points; baskets beyond the three-point line give three. A foul awards the opposing side a free-kick opportunity.
Choose the higher-percentage close basket when you can score consistently; consider the farther three-point attempt when it fits the match. This is practical risk management, not an EA rule that long shots are always the best strategy.
The Big Race: speed with possession
The Big Race is an obstacle course that tests dribbling under control. You must navigate the track while maintaining possession, making clean turns more relevant than simply sprinting fastest in a straight line.
Plan the next turn before reaching an obstacle and protect your path rather than recklessly accelerating. EA's August preview described multiple track variants; current map and board determine which version is active.
Team Keep Away: 3v3 possession multiplies points
Team Keep Away is a 3v3 activity rewarding the side that controls the ball. Teammate passes increase your point multiplier, allowing good passing sequences to accumulate points more quickly than holding possession without support.
Create clear passing lanes and offer two outlets to the player in possession. The aim is keeping and moving the ball, not shooting into a traditional 11v11 net. The game's live score and board determine any exact multiplier or win threshold.
Scenarios: the required goal matters
Scenarios gives you an objective to complete, sometimes with a supporting teammate. It could ask for a specific finish such as a first-time shot, and the required action may change. Watch the instruction shown on screen.
Scoring an ordinary goal may fail to satisfy a special requirement. Choose the pass and movement that create the requested opportunity instead of rushing a finish just because a goal is visible.
Goal Control: own more goals over time
Goal Control is a 1v1 contest played around several separate goals. Score in a goal to claim it. Your opponent may reclaim that same goal by scoring there; points accumulate over time in relation to how many goals you currently control.
Think in terms of retaining multiple scoring zones rather than repeatedly hitting just one. Decide when defending current ownership is valuable and when claiming another goal gives you a better chance of increasing your lead.
Street Football is not a Kickabout
EA distinguishes Kickabouts from The Grounds' 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 Street Football. Both can have rule boards and local queues, but Street Football is a small-sided football match, whereas Kickabouts follow special objectives and mechanics.
A Grounds Objective saying 'complete a Kickabout' is not necessarily satisfied by a Street Football win. Read the activity name and task wording in the actual Objectives tab.
Playing in a party across platforms
In the Kickabout queue zone select the option to queue with your party, which sends invitations to its members. After accepting, they can join the queue and play on your team in compatible activities. EA's Kickabout support page explicitly lists cross-play across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
EA's broader Grounds launch page also lists Nintendo Switch 2 as a platform where The Grounds exists, but that alone is not proof of unrestricted Switch 2 cross-play party invitations with every other platform. Check the real invite UI rather than promising a platform combination EA Help does not specify.
Why a queue may not start
EA identifies three common explanations: too few players in your current Grounds world, another match still running, or capacity limits for simultaneous instances of that activity. White dots on the map indicate where other people are gathering.
Try a more populated location or an alternative activity, and read the current queue number before blaming your Wi-Fi. The October developer launch update discussed queue participation problems and potential improvements, but proposed work should not be reported as an already shipped fix.
What Kickabouts can reward
Playing Kickabouts can earn Archetype XP (AXP) and Grounds Coins. Certain activities also contribute to in-world Objectives, offering a way to make progress between Clubs matches or while waiting for friends.
EA does not promise one universal fixed Coins-per-minute or AXP-per-queue formula in its current Help guide. Grounds Coins are not FUT Coins, and completing one queue is not guaranteed to finish any particular Objective.
Finding the right Objectives
Open World Map and switch to the Objectives tab. Some tasks ask you to play or win an activity; others require doing it with Clubmates, performing a specified football action or taking part in a limited-time event.
Be precise about the verb: 'participate', 'win' and 'with Clubmates' are not interchangeable. If progress doesn't appear, confirm that the action and activity met the exact requirement before filing a bug report.
Limited-time live event markers
Kickabout and Street Football pitches can host limited-time events. Look for a timer icon above a gameplay location. Rules, linked Objectives and potential rewards can differ from the ordinary activity, and some events connect multiple locations.
Before waiting in a long queue, read the event details and objective chain. No universal future start time or payout amount should be invented without a current official announcement or live in-game confirmation.
AMPs do not work or lose durability here
EA explicitly states AMPs do not apply in Kickabouts. Playing a Kickabout also does not reduce an AMP's remaining match duration or durability. Your Archetype card may display that AMP as disabled during the activity.
Don't buy or activate an AMP expecting its effects to change a Bocce or Bucketball result. Conversely, the inactive status is not proof your AMP has disappeared or broken. Other Clubs modes have their own AMP application rules.
Emotes are disabled while playing
According to EA, Emotes are not enabled during Kickabouts. The Emote you have equipped can still be shown on the Top Players results screen afterward.
If pressing the emote shortcut during the activity does nothing, that alone is not a control failure. The specific restriction does not mean all Emotes across The Grounds are globally unavailable.
Why the official materials list seven and eight
The current EA Help guide explicitly names seven Kickabouts. EA's earlier August 4 Deep Dive also had a Drop Kick Targets subsection within the Grounds Kickabouts overview. Those sources describe different published lists and may reflect changes to presentation or availability.
Avoid claiming that an eighth queue is definitely playable now or that the earlier activity was definitely deleted. The active World Map, information board and live-event details are the correct practical checks in a service updated over time.
Which of the seven should you try first?
Try Bocce Ball for placement accuracy, Balloon Ball for elimination decisions, Bucketball or Team Keep Away with a coordinated group, Big Race for dribbling, Scenarios for purposeful finishing and Goal Control for territory management.
Those are our own suggestions, not EA's official difficulty ranking or a claim of guaranteed best rewards. A smaller available queue and a matching Objective may be more useful than chasing a supposedly optimal game.
Official references and live status
Our primary source is EA Help's updated Kickabouts article. The August 4 official The Grounds & Clubs Deep Dive supplies historical feature descriptions; the Navigate The Grounds Help article confirms the world/map context; the October 2 developer launch update discusses queue issues under review, not guaranteed fixes.