Tape to Tape Game Modes

Players typing Tape to Tape game modes often hope for franchise or online seasons. Those are not in the game. Here is the mode map backed by Miraheze's Game Modes page, official feature lists, and studio Q&A summaries gathered in research.

Roguelite Campaign

The centerpiece. Build a path across a colorful map, recruit, train, collect Relics and Benchwarmers, unlock Squads, and face gimmick rivals. Fail a run, keep unlocks, retry. Solo or local couch co-op. This is the mode Steam 1.0 marketing pushes hardest.

Play Now

Quick match setup between two sides. Miraheze documents toggles such as period count/length, player count on ice, difficulty and powerups. Use it to practice Squads or settle couch arguments without campaign pressure.

Tournament

Bracket-style local play. Community docs list brackets like 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 teams with series length, period settings, 3v3–5v5 style skater counts and powerup toggles. Exact UI labels can drift with patches — confirm in your build.

Practice

Free skate / shootout / tutorial-style spaces for mechanics. Ideal for one-timer drills and poke-check stick overlap practice without scoreboard stress.

Shootout and customization notes

Official feature language groups Shootout with other local party modes. Miraheze also mentions Customization for building teams/players used in local modes. Treat customization as a sandbox feeder into Play Now / Tournament, not a separate career.

Modes you will not find

Studio Q&A and community summaries are consistent:

• No franchise mode
• No season / career sim in the NHL-management sense
• No native online multiplayer

If a search suggestion promises "franchise," it is wishful autocomplete — not a hidden menu.

Emerging / renamed labels (Unverified)

Community news sometimes mentions extra labels (Eliminator, 16-bit Mode as Squad/playlist language, etc.). Those may be Squads, mutators or limited events rather than top-level modes. Until listed in official mode menus, keep them Unverified as separate modes.

Choosing a mode for your night

• Learning mechanics: Practice, then Play Now
• Story / unlocks: Campaign
• Party bracket: Tournament
• Quick skills contest: Shootout (per official feature grouping)
• Remote friend on PC: Campaign or Play Now via Remote Play Together — still local under the hood

If someone asks for franchise, send them this page instead of a fake menu path.

Sources

Miraheze Game Modes; official feature lists; studio Q&A summaries (no franchise / no online); community labels for mutators kept Unverified as top-level modes.