How to play the Manchester United history timeline

Every card is a moment from Manchester United's history: trophies, signings, managers arriving and leaving, tragedies and takeovers. You order them by year, and each card has a short line under the title explaining what happened. A single moment opens the line, with its year face up. From then on, you pick a gap for every card. Land it right and you see the year; a wrong one still puts it where it belongs and costs one of your three lives.

The deck reaches from the club's working-class roots all the way to the current ownership era. The years under its most successful manager are packed with cards, so expect tight calls between title wins, cup runs and big-money arrivals. Records are tricky, because a record signing only tells you the fee was big for its time. The early days have fewer cards, but they're easy to misjudge.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

How players are doing

This deck has been played 17 times. An average run places 9.4 cards, and 76% of all placements land in the right spot. 12% of runs place every card.

The cards players get wrong most often:

First league championship missed 63% of the time, usually by a single place
Record signing of Van Nistelrooy missed 57% of the time, usually by a single place
Glazer family takeover missed 56% of the time, usually by about 2 places

What's in the deck

Here are 26 of the 26 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Founded as Newton Heath LYR Railway workers form the club that becomes United
Renamed Manchester United The club adopts its modern name after near-bankruptcy
First league championship United win their first First Division title
First FA Cup triumph United beat Bristol City in the final
Old Trafford opens The club moves into its new stadium
Busby Babes league title Matt Busby's young side win the championship
Munich air disaster A plane crash claims the lives of eight players
European Cup won at Wembley over Benfica Charlton and Best lead United to their first European crown
Relegated to the Second Division United drop out of the top flight under Tommy Docherty
Ferguson appointed manager Alex Ferguson takes charge at Old Trafford
First Ferguson FA Cup United beat Crystal Palace in a replay
Cantona signs from Leeds Eric Cantona arrives to transform the club
Ferguson's first league title United end a 26-year wait for the championship
The Treble completed in Barcelona Solskjaer's late goal beats Bayern in the Champions League final
Record signing of Van Nistelrooy A then-club-record fee brings the Dutch striker
Ronaldo signs from Sporting A young Cristiano Ronaldo joins United
Rooney signs from Everton A record fee for a teenager brings Rooney to Old Trafford
Glazer family takeover American owners complete a leveraged buyout
Moscow Champions League final win over Chelsea United beat Chelsea on penalties in the rain
Nineteenth league title surpasses Liverpool United become England's most-titled club
Ferguson's farewell title Alex Ferguson wins the league in his final season
Ferguson retires Sir Alex steps down after 26 years and hands over to Moyes
Record signing of Pogba Paul Pogba returns for a world-record fee
Europa League won in Stockholm Mourinho's side beat Ajax to complete the European set
Ten Hag's League Cup United end a six-year trophy drought against Newcastle
Ratcliffe buys a minority stake INEOS takes control of football operations