This study aimed to compare the incidence of core tactical principles, the percentage of successful tactical actions and the general network properties of football small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG) with and without the limitation of the number of touches allowed per possession. Thirty-six under-15 football players, from a national level, participated in this study and performed the 15.067 tactical actions analysed. They played four bouts of small-sided games, with four minutes of passive recovery in-between, in two experimental conditions: free-play SSCG and 2-touches SSCG. Data was analysed by the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer and the Social Network Analysis Applied to Team Sports. Results showed that the 2-touches task increased the incidence of actions of width and length without the ball (p=0.001; r(effect size)=0.519; large effect), depth mobility (p=0.029; r=0.248; small effect), concentration (p=0.001; 0.494; medium-to-large effect), and defensive unity (p=0.001; r=0.470; medium effect). The 2-touches format also increased the defensive performance and the values of density (p = 0.001; r = 0.506, large effect) and clustering coefficient (p = 0.007; r = 0.395, medium effect). In summary, the 2-touches rule must be adopted by coaches when pedagogical principles of ball circulation are intended. Also, the 2-touches task may be used to reduce the tactical complexity of the task for the defending team.