1 FOOTBALL GUIDE

Fall 2014
Volume I. No. 2
Price 9 dollars
NEFORFIVE.CO
O
M
A TABLETOP-SPORTS BLOG
OFFICIAL
F OOTBALL GUIDE
Your Source For Everything You Need
to Know About Tabletop Football Simulations
E dite d by Paul
Dylan
Featuring:
1
scott simkus on lebron vs. jordan in strat-o-matic basketball
* the apba football club's geoff giordano on the history of football sims * REPLAY
THE SUPER BOWL with FREE Red Zone charts * chris palermo on paydirt! * 2014 world
cup ratings for mea copa [and a FREE copy of the game!] * letters to the editor *
tim plum of PT Games on the resurrection of avalon hill's title bout * what is the
best baseball season to replay? a sabermetric argument * game reviews...and more!!
1
2
LINE
OFF
PLUNGE TACKLE
14
25
4
5
13
INT 29
15*
22
1
8
O=5
8
8*
12
O=10
PI 24
14*
23
7
4
6
7
10
6
21*
24
3
B
2
1
4
8
17
PI 27
25
2
1
26
4
12
33
8
5
5
13
22
15
23
30
Audibles
-1
7
1
3
9
11
3
1
8
6
8
3
1
5
16*
26*
8*
17
11
33
33
2
5
B
5
14
5
34
34
6
2
3
4
14
8
35
35
5
3
4
3
13
4
36
36
4
6
7
2
7*
15
3
37
37
1
3
9
2
6
7*
18
24*
1*
15
7
38
38
1
3
11
12
9
13
40
3
13*
6
39
39
O=10
2
12
25
9
21
28
46
2
3
1
4
1
5
20*
O=10
3
11
1
2
Team
Off
Def
35
Record 13-3 * Points For; 606 * Points Against 399
12
11
2
2
O=5
1
31
PI 19
TD
O=5
45
O=10*
12
1
2
2
O=10
17
O=5
O=5
16*
28
Pass
13
2
1
13
14*
D=5X
D=5X
O=10
13
14
2*
4
22
22
6*
13
15
15
1
18
13
6
19
13
4
20
13
F-11
21
21*
9
22
13
6
23
16
F-9
24
25
15
Pass
13
7
26
13
Pass
27
14
7
28
20
3
29
17
4
30
2*
16
Pass
31
23*
20
Pass
32
25
Pass
33
18
Pass
34
14
Pass
35
18
Pass
36
17
5
19
37
13
5
QB SNEAK
Audibles
-5
3
1
Fumble Recovered 10-25 * Lost Ball 26-39
11
12
+1.0
1
11
12
Home
14
9
45
44
2
3
33
11.1
5
O=10
38
21.2
B
9
TD
26/11
8
21
O=5
Kick Ret Punt Ret
20
O=5
3.9
25
O=10
13.8
D=15X
F
D=15X
Int Ret
D=15X
INT 14
9
9.9
F+16
24
5
41.6
PI 6
F
10
11
Punt
PI 0
F
1
5.3
10
4
28
37.3
F
F
F+27
3rd D pct
F+3
F
D=5
128
1
19
D=5
Pen
18
19
D=5
59.0
18
1
D=15X
OFF
27
19
D=5
DEF
19
F+13
# ON
DICE
D=5
35
TD
54
QT
6
11-34
D=5X
F
B
12
Fair catch
10
35
9
SIDELINE
Let ball roll
D=5X
F+6
8
LONG
Penalty D=15
3
B
32
+1.0
39
31
32
Power
46
12
7
MEDIUM
232.5
5*
31
1
2
1
34
8*
13
3.9
44
23
14
3*
24.0
26/10
4*
QT
38
2.3
4.3
11
F
9*
46.1
13.1
D=15X
F-5
30
35.2
2.1
10
F
25
98
63.6
4
9
DEF
OFF
10
36-39
10
4
Punt
Return
Muff
17
3
2 9
INT
1
INT17
QR
16
6
18
11.1
Sacks
F-2
31*
PI 21
41.6
13.8
21.2
Rec
Ave Run
Ave Fum/lost
31*
TD
42
5.3
D=5X
32*
45*
37.3
Int%
48
10*
28
128
Comp%
10
D=5X
D=15X
OFF
8
35Die
# On
9
ballcolumn*
roll
Fair Let
catch
O=10
D=5X
TD
3
2.1
21
3
35
3rd D pct
3
O=10
12
7
DEF
5
O=5
4
1
3
D=5X
8
6
10
9
2
11-34
2
17
12*
3
16
17
6
6
Int%
16
4
10
3
6
1
OFF
10
19
1
# On Die
21
1*
B
B
F
38
QT
21
Chart Designer * Darrin Hunter
19*
D=5
1
INT
2 9
INT17
QT
QR
5
D=15X
D=5X
10
6
11
32
PI 33
53
16
3
20
2
11
1
(4)
F-1
1
Comp%
1
63.6
(4)
59.0
F-1
Pen
8
3
56
1
3
31
3
19
1
B
13
E
F
2
4
15
1
1
2
1
4
O=5
9
11
5
37
10
6
2
2
1
2
10
23
1
4
1
D
E
7
2
4
1
3
1
F-1
2
36
30
22
1
F+16
1
30
1
F-1
3
32
4
8
1
1
2
1
5
11
F+16
2
D=5
C
D
35
O=5
1
D=15X
6
SHORT
3
2
4
29
1
(0)
21
5
1
4
(0)
2
Offense
B
C
2
3
28
1
1
3
1
4
29
12
F-1
1
3
23
3
34
28
16
QT
(11)
(4)
3
(8)
QT
QT
3
(8)
5
INT
QT14
QT
5
5
INT5 14
QT
QT
5
5
5
(11)
QT
52
QT
5
5
(11)
33
16
27
2
(0)
2
2
21
O=5
27
A
B
O=5
5
15
LINE
9
O=5
24
INT 39
LONG
QT
QT
1013
INT
20
6
(15)
(21)
39
1
(13) INT
(38)
(5)
QT
QT
(44)
(6)
QT
(5)
INT 13
20
F
INT
(15)11 (21)
(11)
8
13
(13)
(38)
13
(44)
3
(6)
QT
INT
(16)
F -1
INT
11 (28)
QT
(18)
3
(11)
8
2
(20)
13
10
(27)
32
10
(38)
INT2 -1
(16)
(28)
1
INT 8 INT
QT
(18)17 (39)
QT
INT 17 (20)
QT
2
4
(11)
(16)
INT
2
4
10
(27)52
2
10
(38)
(9)
1
INT 8 INT4 17 (39)
(11)
QT
INT
17 QT
QT52
(11) INT
(16)15 INT
3
9
QT
10
4
1
QT
QT
(9)
4
QT
QT
(11)
QT
QT INT 15 QT
TD
F+1
QT
INT9 17 QT
TD
3
QT
QT
Rec4Ave Run1Ave Fum/lost
Sacks
QT
QT
13.1
4.3
26/10
44
QT
QT
TD
9.9
3.9
26/11
44
F+1
QT
17 Punt
TDRet
Punt
Int
Ret INT
Kick Ret
O=5
2
25
4
QT
13
2
2
QT
(4)
3
21
23
(4)
(4)
1
34
4
(4)
3
26
(5)
(5)
15
2
SCREEN SHORT MEDIUM
15
5
SCREEN
10
(1)
1
3
17
13
DRAW
20
4
DRAW
1
F-1
O=21*
END
RUN
1
21
2
(0)
12
D=15X
1
LINE
OFF
PLUNGE
TACKLE
2
INT 25
4
15
21
32
Cover
43
3Short
Run
Run
54
15
21
Short
32
Run
43
Cover
54
2 Flats
15
21
32
Cover
43
2Nickel
Flats
54
Under
15
21
32
Nickel
43
Dime
Under
54
Prevent
15
21
32
Dime
43
Prevent
Blitz
54
15
Fair catch column*
2
Muff
3
Blitz
Penalty D=154
Fair catch 5
22*
DICE
17*
Cover
3 Run
2
10
11
#12
ON
DICE
13
10
14
11
15
12
16
13
17
18
14
19
15
20
16
21
17
22
18
23
19
24
20
25
21
26
22
27
23
28
24
29
25
30
26
31
27
32
28
33
29
34
30
35
31
36
32
37
33
38
34
39
35
36
1
37
2
38
3
39
4
5
1
2
3
4
9
A
11
(11)
9
(4)
SIDE-
5
8
19*
76
D=5
61
49*
5
55
4
D=5
3
D=15X
2
D=15X
12
6
3
END
RUN
1
2
# 3ON
10
A
O=10
13
# ON
DICE
O=5
27
FIELD
GOAL
10
Special teams
O=5*
2
OFF
TACKLE
# ON
LINE
DICE PLUNGE
58
29
30
39
Blk-17
37
16
Blk-18 D=15
39
Copyright 2014 ©
4
33
7
F+1
39
Kickoff
PUNT
PUNT
FUM
INT.
FIELD
Return
-6
RETURN
RETURN
RETURN
GOAL
37
18
D=15
9
39
Blk-17
58
29
30
39
F+17
54
9
NG
Blk-18
37
D=15
16
58
55*
8
58
O=5
39
4
33
7
F+1
55
71
39
37
18
D=15
9
15
O=5
33
TD
39
25
53
29
58
F+17
54
9
30
NG
39
15
53
33
TD
3
39
58
55*
8
58
O=5
15
52
38
9
4
55
71
F+1
39
25
51
7
16
F-4
15
O=5
33
TD
39
F+30
37*
32
11
25
53
29
58
39
22
58
13
37
15
53
33
TD
3
39
22
37*
14
28
15
52
38
9
39
21
40
1
33
25
51
7
16
F-4
F+25
41*
D=5
28
F+30
37*
32
11
39
Blk-9
F+19
44
2
3
22
58
13
37
39
21
47
Muff
26
22
37*
14
28
68
6
26
21
40
1
33
24
47
18
24
F+25
41*
D=5
28
39
6
23
35
15
22
29
39
Blk-9
F+19
44
2
3
18
44*
2
38
21
47
Muff
26
28
36*
O=10
2
32
39
21
68
1
6
26
22
42
12
22
2
29
24
47
18
24
6
20
45
4
31
23
35
15
22
29
39
26
46*
39
18
44*
2
38
27
39*
11
49
28
36*
O=10
2
32
39
19
50
22
38
23
22
42
12
22
2
29
18
68
19
38
39
20
45
4
31
Special 46*Teams
Defense39
26
2
(0)
(0)
27
39*
11
49
39
(2)
(0)
19
50
22
38
23
(3)
68
19
38
18
39
1
(33)
Special Teams
Defense
(32)
2
(0)
(0)
(2)
(0)
(3)
1
(33)
13
TB
65
TB
Kickoff
62
TB
64
65
72
TB
71
62
TB
TB
64
TB
72
TB
71
TB
74
TB
66
TB
TB
68
TB
TB
74
TB
66
TB
67
68
TB
69
TB
TB
73
67
TB
70
69
TB
TB
73
70
TB
56
70
TB
Power
TB
232.5
70
Home
56
D=5X
Defense
4
10
43
2013
Seahawks
2
(1)
1
31
Copyright 2014 ©
26
PUNT
FUM
INT.
RETURN RETURN RETURN
D=5X
PUNT
-6
14
24
Kickoff
10
LONG
D=5
SCREEN SHORT MEDIUM
D=15X
3
DRAW
12
6
Special teams
11
13
Kickoff
Return
1
23
A
# ON
DICE
9
QT
SIDELINE
B
8
9
SIDELINE
7
8
LONG
6
10
22
Defense
1
F-7
5
7
MEDIUM
4
6
SHORT
3
5
SCREEN
END
RUN
4
DRAW
2
3
END
RUN
1
14
Fumble Recovered 11-32 * Lost Ball 10, 33-39
2
OFF
TACKLE
LINE
OFF
DICE
PLUNGE TACKLE
13
14
D=15X
2013 Seahawks
13
F-8
Record 13-3 * Points For; 417 * Points Against 231
2013 Seattle
# ON
2
(29)
(20)
2
4
10
1
4
3
Blk-4
3
32
10
73
31
18
+1.0
26
Home
18
6
3
7.8
7
23
37
9.8
5*
25.0
19*
O=5
13
29.3
7
Kick Ret Punt Ret
6
8.3
13*
TD
20
13.1
O=10
Int Ret
30
11*
43.8
INT 46
D=15X
21
46.1
PI 8
Punt
26
46.3
D=5
O=5
12
38.1
PI 7
3rd D pct
O=10
4*
22*
97
11*
D=5
117
6
2
Pen
O=5
2
43
DEF
O=10
6
OFF
8
12
15-36
7*
37-39
7
Fair catch
28*
O=10
QT
Let ball roll
QT
5
11
13*
Punt Return
QT
QT
+1.0
QT
12
Power
QT
229.0
QT
QR
6
QT
41
9
20
9.8
9*
Sacks
7.8
3
25/9
3
27/16
29.3
2
3.9
QT
4.1
13.1
23
QT
12.2
QT
QT
2.8
O=10
2
58.2
15
DEF
QT
Penalty D=15
B
B
B
1
Punt
B
12.1
46.1
B
Rec
Ave Run
Ave Fum/lost
43.8
8.3
25.0
22
1.5
38.1
18*
Int%
46.3
20
O=10
3rd D pct
42*
27
68.3
97
30
11
F+2
Pen
12
QT
Comp%
117
8
B
OFF
DEF
3
6
10-14
5
2
# 37-39
On Die
3
B
Muff
Punt
Return
11
21
Fair Let
catch
ballcolumn*
roll
20
Chart Designer * Darrin Hunter
19
12.2
18
12.1
17
(3)
58.2
16
68.3
8
Rec1Ave
4
4
1
(8)
(8)
3
5
30
(30)
(3)
F+2
3
Comp%
2
F+6
(35)
4
(30)
3
3
(35)
1
(30)
16
3
3
Int%
1
1.5
16
2.8
4
4
2
3
(13)
4
QT
2
37
(13)
QT
QT
2
7
QR
QT
15
F
E
F
(30)
(30)
4
3
2
3
Team
Off
Def
4
11
29
7
(30)
3
(30)
4
4
QT
2
7
2
D
E
(31)
10
16
(18)
QT
5
(27)
QT
INT 16 (31)
QT
10
16
7
52
(27)
QT
QT
INT
16 INT
QT39
(16)
(13)
7
QT
26
28
3
QT
QT
(16)
INT
6
10
QT39
QT
QT
28
INT 8 INT6 13
QT
QT
Run3Ave Fum/lost
Sacks
6
10
QT
4.1
27/16
20
QT
3.9
25/9
41
INT
8 INT
13 Punt Ret
Int Ret
Kick Ret
O=5
(23)
3
3
INT 4
3
QT
(13)
3
1
2
F+2
3
F-14
27
3
1
F-1
2
F+6
34
6
C
D
(11)
QT
3
O=10
QT
3
2
(18)
(11)
1
QT
2
O=5
1
QT
(36)
(27)
(54)
QT
5
26
INT 4
(5)
3
1
(21)
(16)
(23)
25
F+2
3
F-14
3
2
2
(5)
10
11
#12
ON
DICE
13
10
14
11
15
12
16
13
17
14
18
15
19
16
20
17
21
18
22
19
23
20
24
21
25
22
26
23
27
24
28
25
29
26
30
27
31
28
32
29
33
30
34
31
35
32
36
33
37
34
38
35
39
36
37
1
38
2
39
3
4
1
5
2
3
4
5
# ON
DICE
O=10
1
(3)
F-1
13
3
1
(12)
27
44
44
FIELD
GOAL
42
27
48
44
38
44
43
42
43
48
38
38
NG
43
42
43
48
38
33
NG
43
42
27
48
27
33
30
43
48
27
48
27
34
30
48
48
21
48
34
48
21
48
48
34
29
48
36
48
36
48
29
36
36
(29)
(20)
FIELD
GOAL
D=15X
14
B
1
(1)
2
2
1
(1)
(30)
23
(36)
16
(27)
QT
(54)
18
46
O=15
18
Run 35
22Copyright 2014 ©
75
22
18
46
81
75
Kickoff
PUNT
PUNT
FUM
INT.
Return
-5
RETURN
RETURN RETURN
17
60
1
2
18
46
O=15
18
105
40*
8
Run
35
22
75
22
56
40*
8
18
46
81
75
24
40*
27
O=15
17
60
1
2
22
40
D=5
105
40*
8
27
O=15
TD
Blk-18
56
40*
8
TD
41
TD
TD
24
40*
27
O=15
10
38*
1
22
40
D=5
40
39
2
Blk-18
27
O=15
TD
10
45
TD
41
TD
TD
27
O=5
5
75
10
38*
1
28
49
Muff
1
40
39
2
29
50*
Muff
1
2
10
45
25
44
10
F+29
27
O=5
5
75
39
44*
4
28
49
Muff
1
1
19
37*
D=15
29
50*
Muff
1
2
21
37
20
10
25
44
10
F+29
20
37
1
39
44*
4
22
54
13
F+29
19
37*
D=15
30
55
14
60
18
21
37
20
10
19
48
O=10
60
20
37
1
O=10
46
O=10
13
3
22
54
13
F+29
12
41
6
17
30
55
14
60
18
31
51
12
O=15
19
48
O=10
60
10
22
53
6
17
3
O=10
46
O=10
13
3
34
41*
1
12
41
6
17
21
41*
F+7
1
18
31
O=15
Special 51Teams12
Defense
22
53
6
17
3
34
41*
1
3
21
41*
F+7
1
18
Special Teams10
Defense
73
Blk-4
1
3
28
(21)
(16)
QT
Copyright 2014 ©
PUNT
FUM
INT.
RETURN RETURN RETURN
Special teams
PUNT
-5
13
6
2
(9)
2
QT
SIDELINE
16
QT
LONG
* 10-15
50
68
55
Kickoff
TB
50
66
68
67
55
TB
TB
63
66
59
67
TB
TB
65
63
TB
59
71
TB
65
TB
TB
71
TB
TB
TB
TB
56
TB
TB
TB
73
56
70
TB
TB
73
TB
70
TB
TB
72
TB
74
TB
TB
Power
72
229.0
74
Home
Kickoff
Return
11
B
C
1
7
QT
3
9
8
(12)
A
Kickoff
23
2
F+2
2
73
9
SIDELINE
12
1
1
2
(0)
1
(3)
(9)
QT
6
SCREEN SHORT MEDIUM
5
8
LONG
24
1
(1)
2
1
(0)
DRAW
END
RUN
2
7
Defense
7
6
D=5
F+2
1
41
31
5
SCREEN SHORT MEDIUM
10
A
B
4
DRAW
1
OFF
(1)
(1)
1
2
1
2
# ON
(2)
3
LINE
OFF
Cover DICE
F-1 TACKLE
2
4 PLUNGE
3 Run
(1)
(1)
15
2
21
(0)
(2)
32
(0)
(0)
Cover
F-1
2
43
(0)
3 Short
Run
22
54
Run
(0)
15
1
(0)
(0)
21
(1)
(3)
Short
(0)
32
Run
2
43
(3)
1
Cover 2 5
1
(3)
4
Flats
(1)
(3)
15
F+6
21
(3)
(3)
1
32
(4)
Cover 2
(3)
43
1
Flats
Nickel
F+6
54
2
(9)
Under 1
(3)
(35)
6
5
(4)
21
1
32
Nickel
2
(9)
43
4
Under
Dime
(35)
6
54
2
Prevent 1
2
1
5
21
4
5
43
32
2
Dime
25
43
3
Prevent
2
1
54
Blitz
4
51
15
(33)
2 Die
3
2
Fair catch column*
# On
5
3
3
Muff
10-14
OFF
Blitz
Penalty D=154
DEF
(33)
1
Fair catch 5
15-36
A
3
END
RUN
2013 Broncos
(1)
DICE
-1
Fumble Lost Ball
* 10-15
Fumble
Lost Ball
# ON
LINE
DICE PLUNGE
* 10-12
# ON
<------------------RUSHING PLAYS----------------><-------------------------PASSING PLAYS------------------------->
Fumble Lost Ball
* 10-12
Fumble
Lost Ball
Offense
<------------------RUSHING PLAYS----------------><-------------------------PASSING PLAYS------------------------->
2013 Denver
38
QB SNEAK
39
1
2
4
3
5
table of contents
RED ZONE
PAGE
2
PAGE
10
based on AVALON HILL’S PAYDIRT!
CHARTS TO REPLAY
INTERVIEW WITH
PT GAMES’ FOUNDER:
THE
PAGE
A Letter From Your
Humble Editor
4
16
PAGE
6
5
TIM
PLUM
2013 SUPER BOWL!
PAGE
PAGE
A BRIEF
HISTORY
OF
FOOTBALL
BOARD GAMES
PAGE
12
Scott Simkus reports
on the
BY GEOFF GIORDANO
Founder, APBA Football Club
showdown:
PAGE
21
MEA COPA
2014 WORLD CUP RATINGS
Michael Jordan vs. Lebron James
PAGE
PAGE
23
Introducing:
8
the
PLAYER’S CLUB
FOOTBALL GAMES GUIDE
BEST.
GAME.
EVER.
PAGE
14
PAGE
9
THE CONTINUING LEGACY OF
BY THE NUMBERS
BASEBALL:
What is the best season to replay?
OneForFive.com takes a (not quite)
objective look.
IMAGE COURTESY OF OFFICIAL MLB HISTORIAN,
JOHN THORN
AVALON HILL’S
PAYDIRT!
BEST. GAME. EVER.
by
Chris Palermo
I searched high and low to find evidence that someone - anyone - held the copyright
to that image from the 1940 Illustrated Football Annual on the right, but I was able
to find no evidence that the copyright was renewed in the early 1970’s when it would
have been up for renewal.
oneforfive.com
a tabletop sports blog
print ed., volume one issue two
editor's note
For any performance to be called a “sophomore slump,” the first qualification is that there must have been a decent
rookie performance in the first place. Issue Number One of the OneForFive.com Print Edition was decent, if-I-dosay-so-myself, and I’ve lost much sleep over the past three months agonizing over the fear that the second issue
would not live up to the standard set by the first.
I won’t lose any sleep tonight. This issue is good.
If you didn’t get the first issue, but you did get this one, my guess is that the subject matter of this issue (football)
was more appealing to you than the subject matter of the first issue (“football”). I hope that you find this issue
interesting and thought-provoking.
There is a lot in here for football fans to enjoy: Geoff Giordano of The APBA Football Club wrote a great piece on the
History of Tabletop Football Games. I’ve ranked the top 15 most popular football games that are being played today,
while providing analysis and justification for my ranking of the top 5.
Editor and Publisher:
Business Director:
Paul Dylan
Melissa Dylan
Circulation:
Advertising/Sales:
Paul Dylan
Paul Dylan
Art/Graphic Design/Layout:
Paul Dylan
Director of “I think you can do
better than that, Daddy”:
Ruby Dylan
Dr. Princess of Lalaloopsyland: Eva Dylan
Champion Tennis Ball Chaser: Elsa the Dog
President of Puking on my shoes
and then howling for more cat
food as if he hasn’t been fed all summer:
Catcher Dylan
Chief of Purrpurrpurr, what?
Happy the Cat
Oneforfive.com Print Edition is a Quarterly Magazine,
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January, and April of each year.
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Ad rates are available on request.
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page 4
@heyblue
facebook.com/oneforfive
[email protected]
In addition, lifelong tabletop-football fanatic Chris Palermo discusses Avalon Hill’s Paydirt - an out-of-print football
game being kept alive by fans such as Chris Hunter, who releases his charts under the brand “Red Zone.” When you
receive this issue, you should get a link to a Google Docs folder that will have all you need in order to play Red Zone/
Paydirt yourself. You can start things off by replaying the most recent Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks
and Denver Broncos.
Also in this issue, you’ll find an interview with the ambitious and outspoken Tim Plum, head of PT Games and the
man behind the newest incarnation of Statis Pro Football, now known as Football Bones. If you love those old
Avalon Hill games like Statis Pro and Paydirt, you probably remember the classic boxing game, Title Bout, too. In his
interview, Tim shares some insight into his role and how he brought the original designer of Title Bout (Jim Trunzo)
in to work on the resurrection of the game.
Geez! There’s so much more to talk about! It was really a pleasure to come up with three guys to honor in The
Player’s Club. Congratulations to Steve Heller, Frank Albidone, and Greg Barath. I hope that I can enlist the help of
you, dear reader, to point me towards others who are worthy of admission to said club.
If he hadn’t already contributed to the magazine this quarter, Scott Simkus would have been a shoo-in to get
his laminated Player’s Club pass this time around. Scott is the man, the myth, the legend whose independently
researched database of Negro League Baseball statistics formed the foundation that famously statistically-accurate
Strat-O-Matic Baseball used to create a 108 card Negro League Heroes set just a few years ago.
I’ve written a lot on my site about the quick-play World Cup soccer game, Mea Copa. Mea Copa was Anthony
Apostolico’s game, his ratings, everything. Give AA a HUGE thank you from all fans of World Cup soccer next time
you see him, because in the downloads folder that came along with this Fall 2014 issue, there are PDF scans of the
ENTIRE game.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Anthony didn’t do the ratings for the 2014 World Cup, and he doesn’t know anything whatsoever about the abridged version of Mea Copa that appears in the pages of this magazine. Those were all my work,
which I felt qualified and capable of, since it’s likely that there are very few people on Earth - Anthony included who have played as many games of Mea Copa as I have.
The abridged version of Mea Copa was a necessity, because I wanted to be able to have a version of the game contained entirely within these pages. That way, if you pick up the magazine at the dentist’s office or something, you’ll
be able to play Mea Copa even if you don’t have the link or url to the Google Docs folder.
Ok, who am I forgetting to thank? Again: Glenn Guzzo, John Herson, Tim Plum, PETE MANZOLILLO - whose scrabble
boards at CUSTOMSCRABBLEBOARDS.COM are works of art, and STEVE ANDERSEN - who, coincidentally is releasing
a beautiful full-color book (I have a copy already!) all about the history of Tabletop Football games. Is that serendipity or what?
Oh, and of course I can’t forget Jeff Polman and the Freaks in the ‘73 Freaks Strat-O-Matic League! Thanks for letting
us dissect your scorecard, Jeff.
And thank you to my lovely wife and beautiful girls, who totally get me, and that’s amazing.
- Paul Dylan
October 1, 2014
Reader feedback is vital to the success of
OneForFive.com Print Edition. A primary goal
of this publication is to reflect the state of the
hobby today, which can’t be done without the
voices of those who are keeping this hobby alive
- that’s you!
If you want to be recognized with your name in
print, send an email to [email protected]
with the subject “Mailbag.”
NOT JUST THE STATS
Hello Paul,
Nice job on the One for Five Newsletter. I
love to read back issues of the SOM Review
and StratFan as well as the APBA Journal. I
like to read about replays, not just the stats,
but how the replay was conducted and long
it took. I also like to read interviews with
people in the hobby as you have done with
John Hershon on APBA Soccer.
MAILBAG
LOOKING FOR A TOP NOTCH TENNIS GAME
Hi Paul,
I read the magazine [vol 1, no. 1] this afternoon and would like to compliment you on
a job well done. I especially enjoyed the interview with John Herson, along with the
info on page 9. I’ve always been a huge fan of Second Season football so it was no surprise to see it being so popular with others. I also enjoyed the soccer game reviews.
One question: In the interview with Herson he mentions that the Trunzos wanted
him to consider a tennis game, but he wasn’t interested. Do you have any follow up
information on this (potential) tennis game, or perhaps know how/where I could get
in touch with Trunzos to inquire more about it? I have LONGED for a top-notch quality
tennis game for ages so that specific part of the interview really caught my eye.
-- Tom Nahigian, California
-- Kevin Burghardt, Wisconsin
Hi Tom - Thank you so much for this email!
I think your perspective is very relevant
since your email probably speaks for most
of the guys who read oneforfive.com,
Hi Kevin - Thank you for all the kind words. In regard to a tennis game by the Trunzos,
I’m afraid I don’t have any information for you. Hearing that one exists is certainly
intriguing though, considering Jim Trunzo was the game designer of Avalon Hill’s popular Sports Illustrated Pro Tennis, published in 1983.
Future issues of the magazine will definitely
have more stories about readers’ replays.
Notice that I said “stories about” instead of
saying “results of” because I firmly believe
that the most fulfilling aspect of this hobby
is not compiling results, it’s committing
oneself to the journey to get those results.
When all is said and done, I always remember the journey, but rarely remember the
destination of each player and team in each
season I replay.
Trunzo can be found on Delphi Forums with the username “Jim Trunzo” or, he’s also
on LinkedIn (just search for Jim Trunzo). Considering the recent collaboration with PT
Games, you might be able to reach Jim through that game company, too.
-- Paul
In this issue, you’ll find a new page called
“The Player’s Club.” The Player’s Club is
new feature that will be in future issues,
too. In it we’ll highlight people in the hobby
who are doing extraordinary things, like
posting excellent threads and replay recaps
on various forums, or curating interesting
blogs on the subject of tabletop-sports.
-- Thanks for being along for the ride,
Paul
JUST NOT FOR ME
Paul, without doubt you are to be praised for
a job well done. There is much care shown in
your first release and extremely high quality.
However, it is simply not for me.
I play mostly baseball and some football on
the tabletop. Having tried the computer
versions for both, found they simply were
not satisfying. Unlike many in this hobby I
do not have a closet full of various games.
APBA, Replay and Second Season fill my
needs completely. Sure I look at the new
games that come out but in most cases find
some issues that turn me off. The games
mentioned flow well and without extended
playing times.
ONEFORFIVE.COM:
FULFILLING
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
SINCE 2014!
When I was a kid, I always wanted to get the
APBA Journal but didn’t have he money...
because I was a kid. This is fulfilling that
childhood void!
Let me wish you the very best at your venture. Thank you,
Thanks!
-- Jerry Hines, Louisiana
-- Lenny LaFrance, California
Thank you for the thoughtful and kind
response, Jerry. Issue Number Two focuses
primarily on football games, with a piece
written by Geoff Giordano of the blog The
APBA Football Club that you may find especially interesting. Future issues will have lots
of baseball coverage, since baseball games
are by far the most popular tabletop-sports
simulations - and they’re what I play the
most, too! -- Paul
page 5
Can’t Beat the Heat?
by Scott Simkus
Lebron rubbed his hands together, clapped, stretched his long,
muscular arms toward the rafters. By the time his trademark
plume of chalk dust settled on the scorers’ table, King James was
already halfway home to Cleveland. The Heatles were no more.
Three amigos, the greatest basketball team ever assembled by
three gargantuan egos, was already in the rearview mirror, a
footnote to basketball history.
That’s how quickly it all goes. Point. Click. Delete: ‘Bron’s
build-your-own-dynasty, dismantled. As a long-time Chicago Bulls
fan, this was bitter sweet to me, the pre-fabricated juggernaut
vaporized. Miami had been a helluva good story. Polarizing. Good
or bad, right or wrong, the
Heat made us pay attention.
They got us talking about
off the court stuff at the
beginning, about what
it meant that three of
the game’s biggest stars
could manipulate the
system, loading up as if
the NBA were an open
gym at the local junior
high, but it was the on the
court stuff which kept
my attention. As much as I
enjoy watching the
games-- especially the play-offs--
I’m equally addicted to the mental gymnastics of cross-era debate.
With the internet comments sections and sports radio, arguing the
relative merits of teams from different eras has become a bigger
pastime than the sports themselves.
Is Lebron better than Michael? Could the Heat beat the
1990s Bulls in a seven game series? Depending on where you live
and what team you follow (and how old you are), you probably
have your own version of sports conversation nitroglycerin. Might
be Bird versus Magic. Or Wilt versus Russell. If you’re a modern
baseball fan, there was briefly a Trout-versus-Harper debate,
which quickly fizzled when Bryce started running into walls.
I’ll be honest with you, here in Chicago there’d been a lot
of hand-wringing over the Jordan-era Bulls legacy. Lebron had us
nervous. After all, if the Heat rattled off four or five championships
in a row, there would have been more than a few Chicagoans
facing an existential crises. We haven’t had a lot of winners here,
we’re certainly as provincial a sports city as any in the country,
and the Bulls’ six rings in eight seasons is an important ingredient
of our identity. Knocking the Bulls off their imaginary mantel as
the reigning all-time basketball dynasty would be like taking HGH
away from a 1998 Mark McGwire. It would suck the power out of
us.
We can argue until we are blue in the face, but those
of us who enjoy tabletop sports have an outlet other sports fans
miss: we can actually put two teams from different eras on the
same court (or field) and play our way toward some answers.
HARDWOOD CLASSICS
I can’t claim to be the expert on basketball games, but these
are my favorite - Paul Dylan
1. REPLAY BASKETBALL - Many gamers will tell you that the
modern FAC-only (no-dice) version of Replay Basketball better
replicates the sport’s pace and energy than any other game does.
The components, including a thoughtfully designed tri-fold game
board, are beautiful and pro-quality too. With statistically accurate results and a high fun-factor, Replay Basketball is the gold
standard for hoops games.
2. STRAT-O-MATIC BASKETBALL - As a simulation that cap-
tures the strengths and weaknesses in each individual player and
team and ultimately generates realistic results, Strat-O-Matic is
terrific. True to the Strat-O brand, the cards are elegant and the
basic game engine is solid. Some of the advanced features can
page 6
Michael Jordan
Roll Dice in the Kitchen!
I’ve been a tabletop fan since the late 1970s and first became
interested in Strat-O-Matic Basketball in 1982. My interest in it peaked
around 1991, when the Bulls won their first championship and I was
focusing most of my attention of flunking out of college. It’s all a haze
now, but my mother must have thrown away my SOM basketball game
and I drifted away from it for more than twenty years.
Then finally, this winter, when it seemed the Heat were
poised for a three-peat, my curiosity got the best of me. Are they
better than the Bulls? I went online and tracked down the game,
purchasing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10), the game parts, and the
last championship Miami Heat bunch (2012-13, 66-16). Wanted to see
if the Strat-O-Matic simulation could help me sort through the mess.
I’ll spare you most of the gory details, but I set up a best-ofseven series. Because the Bulls had the better overall record, they’d
get home court advantage. As any basketball fan knows (especially
fans of the SOM simulation), home court is a HUGE factor.
Before getting to the games, I thought about the Lebron
vs. Jordan debate. Who is better? From the cardboard perspective,
the answer is Lebron. He shoots for a higher percentage, has
better rebounding ability, and if you feed him the ball, he’s going
to dominate. And this is where a sim fails us a little bit. In the basic
version of SOM, Lebron doesn’t ever disappear in the fourth quarter,
like he sometimes does in real life. And the leg cramps are nowhere
to be found. Lebron on paper is the beast we all see when he’s at his
best, unstoppable. Jordan has a great card, in all facets of the game,
but his 1995-96 paper version lags a little behind Lebron of 2012-13.
As for the series, well, home court advantage proved
to be decisive. Despite Lebron James dominating Scottie
Pippen throughout the series, the Bulls depth and varied
skills (three point shooters, Dennis Rodman on the boards,
vicious defense) helped them nose out the Heat in a hardfought seven games. If the Heat had the home court, it likely
would have gone the other way. But if there is anhy sort of
poetic justice, Jordan had his best game in the finale (45
points), while James had his worst (scoring “only” 34, with 7
turnovers). Simulations certainly have their limitations, but
something about that ending passed the smell test. I finished
that series with my Chicago pride intact.
Scott Simkus worked as a consultant for the Strat-O-Matic
Game Company, helping create their first Negro League set.
He is the author of “Outsider Baseball: The Weird World of
Hardball on the Fringe.”
cause the rhythm of the game to stutter and slow, but when I
want to really feel like I’ve got Magic Johnson feeding a no-look
pass to Kareem, I don’t think there is a game that brings that to
life better than Advanced Strat-O-Matic Basketball.
3. BASKETBALL BONES - Of the games on this list, Basketball
Bones has the gentlest learning curve. Its best feature may be
that nearly all results come from the player cards - almost zero
chart lookups. The components are high-quality and the final
minutes of the game have the drama you’re looking for in a basketball game. Some have criticized the game for low scores and
“inaccurate” results, but I’m not convinced there is a statistical
problem.
Here are a few more of my favorites:
4. Regular Season Basketball; 5. Statis Pro BB; 6. Inside the Paint; 7.
TMsg (computer/c&d hybrid); 8. Everyday Player (fka Oscar Robertson’s
Basketball);
Lebron James
page 7
Introducing:
If you’re the kind of tabletop-sports gamer
that I am, you have probably started tons of
projects over the years, yet finished only a
few.
the
PLAYER’S CLUB
Fnishing a project, to me, comes with a set
of conflicting emotions. On the one hand,
there is a certain sense of pride for having
completed a goal that may have taken months or even years of dedication and perserverance. On the other hand, there is a feeling of
loss, too. Like summer camp is over and I might never see some of my new best friends ever again. And, if I do, it just won’t be the same
as it was in this special time.
Because I know that these complicated emotions are awesome and powerful, and because I know that your family and friends (unless
they play these games, too) probably don’t appreciate what it means to you to finish a gaming project, OneForFive.com has provided this
space to recognize you and your finished project. If you have completed a project recently and you want all the tabletop-sports world
to know about it, or, if you would like to nominate someone to be recognized for a particularly amazing project, please email paul@
oneforfive.com with the subject “Player’s Club.” In the meantime, here are our first three more-than-deserving honorees:
HONOREES:
STEVE HELLER, Fort Collins, CO
FRANK ALBIDONE, Ontario, CANADA
GREG BARATH, Huntsville, AL
After Boston had tied the game at 2-2
with 1:21 left to play in regulation, the
Habs’ Doug Jarvis put one in the net with
just 27 seconds left on the clock!
The just-completed 8th project lasted 13
months and Frank rolled 528 ballgames in
the process.
In August, Greg completed his 4th published
full-season replay with APBA FOOTBALL. He
replayed the 1967 season, playing a 14game schedule and playoffs for all teams in
both the NFL and AFL. Including playoffs,
Greg played 180 football games.
Steve recently completed a terrifically fun
tournament with HOCKEY BLAST, using all
teams from the 1979-80 season. It took
115 games to complete the tournament,
which was won by the Montreal Canadiens with a thrilling game 7 win against
the Boston Bruins.
Said Heller, “This has been the most fun
I’ve ever had with any replay I’ve ever
done. Hockey Blast is one great game
and I’m so glad I found it. Thanks Keith
for creating this wonderful game. And
thanks to EVERYONE that read this thread
and gave me such nice comments, it really
helped to keep me going.
Frank recently completed his 8th “Hall of
Fame League” project with STRAT-O-MATIC
BASEBALL. Each of Frank’s HoF Leagues
has had 12 teams, each playing an 88 game
schedule. After 8 seasons, Frank has played
a total of 4,224 games, plus World Series
games.
Frank is something of a tabletop-sports
legend. On top of his Strat leagues, Frank
has also completed numerous World Cup
replays and other tournaments with CLASSIC
SOCCER, as well as a complete replay (all 76
games for all 12 teams!) of the 1969-70 NHL
season with HOCKEY BLAST. His Hockey
Blast project took 21 months.
I’d love to do this again sometime with
another season.....”
If you would like to read recaps of all 8 of
Frank’s Strat-O-Matic Baseball “Hall of Fame
Leagues” you can do so here:
You can find Steve’s replay thread here:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/tabletopsports/messages/?msg=26301.1
http://forums.delphiforums.com/plaaygames/messages/?msg=5101.1
page 8
You might know him as “OGuard62,” but
Greg Barath has been a fixture in the tabletop gaming scene for awhile. Greg is one of
the pre-eminent experts on APBA FOOTBALL, and posts many instructional videos
and articles of interest for that specific
gaming community.
The Raiders triumphed in the Super Bowl,
over the Packers, 20-17. Green Bay missed a
last-second 41 yard FG that would have tied
it up and sent the game to overtime.
More at:
http://oguard62.com
BY THE NUMBERS
What is the Best Baseball Season to Replay?
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS DETERMINES
1964 TO BE THE BEST SEASON TO RECREATE ON THE TABLETOP.*
*OKAY, MAYBE NOT 100% OBJECTIVE...
To paraphrase a famous quote by Roger Angell, “There will never be
a better baseball season than the one you saw when you were ten
years old.”
Despite its flaws, the fact that this top 15 list ended up with so many
of the seasons that have been traditional favorites of the hobby tells
me that I’m on to something here.
1964, 1967, 1978, 1934, 1927, 1908... these seasons and a few
others seem to be universally acknowledged as among the best in
baseball history. Consequently, these seasons enjoy great popularity among baseball simulation enthusiasts.
WHY 1964?
But of all the seasons throughout history, why are these ranked
so highly? Are there other seasons that feature some of the same
qualities, but may be overlooked (so far) by hobbyists?
And, if we are able to objectively determine why certain seasons are
considered the greatest, is it possible that we may be able to objectively determine which is the greatest season of them all?
THE METHODOLOGY
* Pennant races in both leagues, with only 5 wins separating 1st 5th in the NL, and 2 games separating 1st - 3rd in the AL.
* Active Hall of Famers in their prime: Mays, Mantle, Koufax, Brooks
and Frank Robinson, Killebrew, Kaline, Drysdale, Yastrzemski, Santo,
Aaron, Clemente, Oliva, Billy Williams, Mathews, Mazeroski, Banks,
Stargell, Pete Rose#, Ford, Marichal, Gibson, Perry, Bunning, Tiant,
Roberts, Wilhelm
* Classic 7 game WS featuring the Cardinals and the Yankees,
immortalized in David Halberstam’s book October, 1964
* The Phamous Phillies September collapse
I ranked all seasons between 1903 (the first World Series) and 1986*
by four measures, in the following order of importance:
1. % of teams who finished the season < 5 games behind the leader
2. Active % of pitchers + % of hitters in the league who eventually
reached the Hall of Fame
3. % of teams who finished the season <10 games behind the
leader
4. How many games the World Series lasted
Additionally, I gave a small bump to seasons from 1961-1987 due to
the fact that these seasons are within the memory (or not far before
it) for most of us.
The one thing this methodology did not take into account was historic individual accomplishments or events. Some seasons, I think,
are undervalued in this method. 1941, for instance, does not rank
highly in this system because only 3 of the 16 teams that comprised
the two leagues had any reasonable chance at a pennant that year.
However, the chance to replicate Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting
streak and Ted Williams’ .406 batting average have made this season
a favorite for many. This system couldn’t account for such great
individual performances.
In order to account for those significant but intangible aspects of
certain seasons - here is the non-objective part - I added about 4%
to the total points of certain seasons and subtracted as much from
some others. 1926 came out on top at first, but after the subjective
manipulations, it moved down to 4th best. It seems to me there is a
flaw in any system that thinks 1926 was the best season ever.
RANK
YEAR
TOTAL
POINTS
1
1964
158.20
2
1924
154.65
3
1982
153.96
4
1926
153.65
5
1973
145.87
6
1967
144.80
7
1908
143.51
8
1952
134.50
9
1916
134.31
10
1930
134.21
11
1978
133.25
12
1950
133.22
13
1979
132.49
14
1969
130.51
15
1974
130.15
* 1986 seemed to be a good endpoint since many great players who began their
career around this time - including Clemens, Bonds, Biggio, Palmeiro, Sosa - have only
recently arrived on the Hall of Fame ballot and their eventual enshrinement is still up
to history to decide. Determination of the best seasons to replay from 1987 to the
present would require a different methodology.
page 9
PT GAMES’ FOUNDER
TIM
PLUM
INTERVIEW
If there’s a busier guy than Tim Plum working in the tabletop-sports business
today, I don’t know him. Plum is the founder and head of PT Games, the game
company responsible for the hit baseball title Payoff Pitch released in 2013,
2012’s re-release of Avalon Hill’s Statis Pro (updated and rebranded as Football
Bones), the continued evolution and support of the classic hockey title Faceoff
(now known as Hockey Bones), the hoops sim Basketball Bones, and the resurrection of what some call the best boxing game ever known, Jim & Tom Trunzo’s
masterpiece, Title Bout.
This interview was conducted via email early in September, 2014.
• 1for5: Why did you get into the game business in the first place?
When did you get started thinking about publishing and distributing games? Was there a specific moment where you decided "I
have to do this"?
• PLUM: My friend and I started PT Games in 2001 to sell
Dungeons and Dragons products under the 3.5 OGL.
We branched out into Faceoff Hockey cards to support the Can-Am
League. A group of guys that formed in 1972 (I believe, I will check
the date). Faceoff had gone through some rough times and I saw a
chance to keep the game alive, board and computer by bringing it
to another friends computer sports company, Wolverine Studios.
The deal we had was he distribute the computer and I distribute
the player cards. After a few years selling about 10-20 sets, I decided to open PT Games Sports.
The AHA! moment for me and sports board games came when I
read a post on tabletopsports.com about a guy looking for testers
for a basketball game idea he had. Funny thing was that the post
was 4 years old and had mysteriously bumped by someone. Long
story short, Basketball Bones was born. I talked it over with several
people and decided to rename Faceoff to Hockey Bones and since I
had been messing around with Statis Pro Football I decided to bring
Football Bones to the market.
• 1for5: In the case of Hockey Bones and Football Bones, you
resurrected old franchises that had been out of print but still had a
loyal following. What responsibility, if any, does PT Games hold in
regard to the legacies of these fan favorites? Or, do you consider
your titles to be something brand-new and not necessarily tied to
the games they evolved from?
• PLUM: I hold the legacies of both games very close to the heart.
In the case of Hockey Bones, absolutely nothing is different outside
the title. I used the last published rules from 2000. I redesigned the
layout and corrected grammar.
With Football Bones, I am a long-time player, 28 years and counting
in an ongoing face to face league so I don’t want the basis of the
game to change. Only to improve, modernize, update if you will. I
page 10
sought out Jim Barnes and received his blessing. I’m the only person
to ever do that. Football Bones plays exactly as Statis Pro did, same
system.
I do like to think that we can let the titles evolve. With Hockey Bones
we’ve made changes under the hood, while rebuilding the card generating program we found mistakes in the math and updated to use
modern stats like time on ice that were unavailable when the game
and program were originally written. I have the original programmer
on my team as well as professional NHL people and long-time Faceoff
players so any changes we do make are genuine. Not just me tinkering.
Football Bones is the same way, I updated the game to a base 10
and am using advanced stats not available when Mr. Barnes made
the original game or player cards. In addition, as the NFL game has
evolved Football Bones can and has evolved to stay current.
• 1for5: Speaking of Football Bones, in what ways do you feel FB
succeeds at simulating the sport better than other games on the
market?
• PLUM: I believe that FB succeeds because we use advanced metrics
not available to the general public and the game play execution is
very simple. All the complexities are there. Deep results with simple
play. Play execution is simple, the cards are large enough to read
easily, and play is very smooth.
• 1for5: How does Solo Football Bones differ from the standard edition? What was the thought process behind designing and releasing
a new version of FB? For someone new to FB, which version of the
game do you recommend?
• PLUM: When I released FB it was from the perspective of a long
time face to face player.
The audience for these games has grown up and away from other
players, so I had people wanting to play/reminisce if you will with FB
but the table space needed was an issue.
While wargamers setup a game for long time play, sports gamers
don’t, they want a small footprint.
ADVANCED TITLE BOUT PROTOTYPE COURTESY TIM PLUM, PT GAMES
So I removed the individual player cards and displays, transferring the
data to 8.5” x 11” two-sided sheets. I innovated on presenting certain
numbers, using ranges. Instead of rolling and looking up a yardage
result, now the player rolls for a length of play, normal, short or break
and then yardage. Special teams are the same way.
One other change was to remove a few defensive formations and a
couple offensive plays. I shrunk the charts to half as many, removing
the optional or detail oriented ones.
The game still flows very quickly and the player has the best of both
worlds, a small footprint and a great game engine.
As to my recommendation. Its really your circumstances. Do you like
individual player cards? How much table space do you have? The
games are so similar in execution its really up to the player.
• 1for5: With Faceoff/Hockey Bones and with Statis Pro/Football
Bones you went out of your way to secure the blessing and official
rights from the original game designers before re-releasing the products under the PT Games label. Why was this important to you?
Unlicensed fan-created sets for out-of-print games are abundant
on the internet – if I’m just a guy who wants to play tabletop-sports
games, why should I care if the cards I’m using were created under
legal license or with consideration to copyright law?
care? Well, common decency. Do you want someone blatantly
stealing your ideas and creation?
Most gamers have a code of decency. They want what’s best for
the hobby, if that means a little note saying’ “Jim Barnes loves the
game and is impressed” all the better. At least Mr. Barnes or someone else as creator made the decision to give permission.
It’s a slippery slope to allow people to use material without permission. And PT Games feels strongly in not stealing or appropriating
someone else’s work.
• 1for5: I'm a big fan of the old Avalon Hill game, Title Bout, and
it was really exciting to me to hear that not only will PT Games be
re-booting the game with the new moniker "Advanced Title Bout"
but that the original designer, Jim Trunzo, is involved in the project.
Can you tell us how much involvement Trunzo will have? Is it fair
to say that Advanced Title Bout will more accurately represent his
original vision than the AH version did?
• PLUM: Mr. Trunzo has complete control of the updates of the
game as they pertain to game mechanics and documentation. PT
Games is handling the design work.
Yes, it is fair to say that ATB will more accurately reflect Jim’s original vision.
• PLUM: I feel first and foremost the creator of a product, out of print
or not, deserves acknowledgement if not compensation for their
work.
• 1for5: Can you share a few of the new features and/or mechanics of Advanced Title Bout that are an update from the original
version?
Now a distinction must be made between fan created sets and the
original game. Card sets are a specialty item. You must have the original game to play. As long as the card creator acknowledges the need
for the original game and does not build on the game, that’s okay.
• PLUM: Some of the action that required a chart look up will be
on the FAC card.
If the ‘fan’ makes changes to the original game. Charts, tables, game
mechanics, that is where I believe all attempts should be made to
contact the creator and seek permission.
If applicable to a fighter he will have prime and past prime ratings.
To use your words of a guy that just wants to play, why should you
Better and more accurate cut and knockdown system.
Each set of ratings will be on a different side of the player card.
[continued on page 20]
page 11
FOOTBALL
RANKING
GAMES GUIDE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
SECOND SEASON [Plaay.com]
FOOTBALL BONES [PT Games]
GRIDIRON WARS [Downey Games]
APBA FOOTBALL [APBA Games]
STRAT-O-MATIC FOOTBALL [Strat-O-Matic Games]
6. SIDELINE FOOTBALL [FTP Games]
7. INSIDE BLITZ [Inside Sports]
8. 4th STREET PRO FOOTBALL [4th St. Software]
9. REDZONE/BOWL BOUND/DATA DRIVEN FOOTBALL
10. MEAN GENE’S MATCHUP [Downey Games]
THE SEARCH FOR THE
PERFECT TABLETOP FOOTBALL GAME STARTS HERE...
American Football is an incredibly complicated sport, with 22 men on the field at all times, each with his own specific role which may differ
from one play to the next. To attempt to design a Card & Dice game that independently simulates all of the moving pieces on a football field
at any one time is a fool’s errand.
It stands to reason, then, that while designing a football game, designers need to compromise certain aspects of “realism” in the name of
“playability.”
In the nearly three years that I’ve been doing game reviews and creating other content for OneForFive.com, I don’t know that I’ve ever taken
on a more difficult task than ranking the 15 most popular tabletop football games. There are a number of reasons for this, but the chief
source of my consternation was the fact that although all of these are statistically-driven football simulations, each is designed with its own
philosophy about which aspects of the sport to focus on and which aspects need to be given a more general treatment. The variance of
philosophy from game to game can make it nearly impossible to call any one better than any other.
So if we have an apples vs. oranges scenario, how do we decide which is “better?” Is it even possible? First, let’s see what these games all
have in common with each other:
* Each game is a Card & Dice (or FAC) Simulation of American Football that attempts to recreate a gridiron contest using statistical records
to determine relative strength of each team
* In each game, Offensive and Defensive squads interact with each other in a way such that the better offenses should score more points,
and better defenses should allow fewer.
* Teams are individually rated for skill at executing and defending each of Running, Passing, and Special Teams plays
* Individual skill players on each team are rated so that their performance reflects their actual talent relative to the league
* There is a mechanism in place within the game to simulate timing of a game. It could be triggered in any number of ways, but the game
should flow with a linear timescale so that the clock ticks down in some way each time there is a new event (some games track time play-byplay, others drive-by-drive)
The 5 basic elements (accurate stats, offense/defenses rated for points, offense/defense rated for pass/run, players rated for skill level, some
type of timing system) have been approached from a design standpoint with great creativity; from Second Season’s if/then charts on any roll
from 24-66, to Football Bones’ 99 different combinations of offense/defense matchups from scrimmage (see insert on page 14), to Diggin’
Deep Football’s chart for runs that break into the defense’s secondary.
How each game approaches these elements says more about its designer’s philosophy and perspective than its quality - how elegantly it
solves the problem of reflecting its philosophy is ultimately the only basis on which we can judge. That is to say, we can’t judge these games
against each other, except to judge how well each game accomplishes whatever it is it specifically sets out to do. It’s like asking which is a
better science fiction movie: Star Wars Episode VI: A New Hope or Star Trek: The Motion Picture. We can’t judge them on their specifics
because they are very different movies, but we can say that Star Wars did a better job of being the movie it set out to be than Star Trek did.
Now, if you want to debate The Empire Strikes Back vs. The Wrath of Kahn, get your own magazine.
page 12
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
DIGGIN’ DEEP FOOTBALL [Diggin’ Deep Sports]
GOAL! FOOTBALL [Downey Games]
EVERYDAY PLAYER FOOTBALL [Everyday Games]
FAST ACTION FOOTBALL [Downey Games]
GAME WINNING DRIVE [Downey Games]
#1
NOTE: This is by no means an exhaustive list. These are just the Top 15
games, and there are dozens more to be explored. The rankings here are
wholly subjective though, and if you asked 15 different gamers to rank the
best football games, you’re likely to get 15 different lists. Each game on
this list has something special to offer, and every one of them is somebody’s
favorite. I encourage you to try as many of them as you can to find the game
that best suits you.
some sample individual player cards from Football Bones
SECOND SEASON
Designer: Keith Avallone; Publisher: Plaay.com
Availability: direct from Publisher (Pro Quality Components);
Price for game + one season: $64; Players: 1-2; Game Time
1.5 - 2hrs; Dice req’d: 2d6, d20; Cards: Team Cards, but each
player individually rated
Description:
In Issue One of this magazine, we reported on a poll of gamers where we
asked, “If you were going to be alone on an alien planet with 5 games, which
5 would you take?” No other game, in any sport, was mentioned in as many
responses as Second Season Football.
Among C & D football gamers who fancy themselves amateur Bill Belicheks,
Second Season has been derisively called a “chart flipper.” That is, some
would say that it’s a game that doesn’t reward coaches for better coaching as
much as it rewards coaches for better guessing. Offense picks a play, defense
tries to guess it and picks a formation. You figure out which chart to use
based on that matchup and then roll the dice to find out what happened. To
an extent, that’s a true representation of the game.
However, where that depiction of the game falls short is in its lack of acknowledgement for the nuance and creativity of Second Season’s charts.
First of all, each offense vs. defense page offers hundreds of different results,
based on which quarter of the game you’re in and who is on the field at the
time. More importantly, game designer Keith Avallone has a gift for creating
game charts that use just enough descriptive text to bring the play to life
without giving so much away that the results grow stale over time.
It’s not untrue to call Second Season a “chart flipper,” but it just might be the
best chart flipper there ever was.
#2
FOOTBALL BONES
Designer: Tim Plum (based on Jim Barnes’ Statis Pro
Football); Publisher: PT Games; Availability: direct from
Publisher (Pro Quality Components); Price for game + one
season: $57; Players: 1-2; Game Time: 2+hrs; Dice req’d:
2d10; Cards: Individual cards for every player in the league (1,950 cards for
2013-14 season)
Description:
Football Bones is a re-boot of Avalon Hill’s classic Statis Pro Football. Avalon
Hill (AH) released some great sports games in the 1970’s and early 80’s, but
the company was primarily known for its wargames catalog. As anyone
familiar with that genre will tell you, unlike most tabletop sports sims which
have a limited footprint and can be played in one sitting, wargames of the
type Avalon HIll published were designed for the gamer who wanted to
be fully immersed in the experience of managing a battle or campaign.
AH’s wargames could be incredibly detailed and deep with huge footprints
and long game times. Anticipating a crossover audience, Statis Pro was to
football what the typical Avalon Hill game was to war. Statis Pro was, and
remains, incredibly popular with a certain type of gamer.
PT Games founder Tim Plum (see interview, page 10), was careful to keep
the core of the Statis Pro engine intact and, in fact, sought the counsel and
approval of Statis Pro’s designer, Jim Barnes before releasing Football Bones.
The result is a game that offers the same gaming experience as the original
AH release, but uses advanced statistics and has evolved to more accurately
reflect the modern sport as it is played today.
Those who want a deep strategic experience and who aren’t scared off by
the heavy box and dense instruction booklet love this game. It’s the best of
its kind.
For a “lighter” version of the game, Solo Football Bones (with a smaller
footprint, less bells & whistles) was recently released, too.
<continued on next page>
a sample team card from Second Season Pro Football by Plaay.com
page 13
FOOTBALL GAMES GUIDE
#3
Rushers
RANGE
23
34
43
52
61
63
64
65
66
66
66
B (25)
K (16)
K (16)
Y (2)
L (15)
M (14)
X (3)
A (26)
K (16)
A (26)
W (4)
Receivers
RANGE
RATING
Justin Vincent
Joseph Addai
Alley Broussard
Matt Mauck
Shyrone Carey
B. Edwards
Marcus Randall
Skyler Green
D. Henderson
Michael Clayton
Blain Bech
GRIDIRON WARS
Designer: Jeff Downey; Publisher: Downey Games
Availability: direct from Publisher (full-color, indie print
quality); Price for game + one season: $29.99; Players: 1-2;
Game Time: 30 mins - 1 hr ; Dice req’d: 2d6 (FAC system
available, too); Cards:
Michael Clayton
D. Henderson
Skyler Green
Eric Edwards
Joseph Addai
David Jones
Dwayne Bowe
Justin Vincent
Craig Davis
Keith Zinger
D. Robinson
G. Giambelluca
Shyrone Carey
B. Edwards
Alley Broussard
Description:
Jeff Downey, designer of the game says: “First of all, let me state that this
is not a quick-play game. It’s a full play-by-play simulation of football that
plays rapidly. Once you are familiar with the game, you’ll be able to easily
complete a game in 40 minutes or less.
Passers
The goal in designing GridIron Wars was to create a game that played rapidly, was easy to learn, statistically accurate and most importantly, fun. I think
that I’ve succeeded on all counts.”
Downey is correct that he succeeds on all counts, which is why Gridiron
Wars comes in at #3 on this list. GIW is an easy game to learn, a simple
game to play, and offers a solitaire system that can leave you with as many
or as few coaching decisions as you’d like.
Matt Mauck
Marcus Randall
But it’s precisely because of this simplicity that Gridiron Wars shines,
especially for the solitaire player. Without dozens of complicated charts and
without getting bogged down by minutiae the solitaire player can relax and
roll a game of football on the tabletop with about as much investment as
one has when watching a game on television. This won’t appeal to all football fans, but to the type of fan that is looking for a casual, quick and fun
tabletop football experience, Gridiron Wars suits the bill as well or better
than any other.
For a gaming experience with more options, Downey Games does offer an
Advanced version of the game, which includes more offensive plays and
defensive formations. However, it is in its basic form that the game stands
out. The Advanced version of the game loses that engaged-spectator feel
and thus is less compelling to play.
RATING
BREAK
FUM
A
D
C
E
C
C
E
D
E
E
E
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
BREAK
FUM
B
B
C
D
D
C
D
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
Rush D
-3
D-SACK
1
Chad Lavalais
Marquise Hill
Marcus Spears
Eric Alexander
Melvin Oliver
Kyle Williams
Lionel Turner
LaRon Landry
Travis Daniels
Kirston Pittman
Brian West
Cameron Vaughn
Randall Gay
Dave Peterson
Corey Webster
R (9)
O (12)
U (6)
V (5)
Y (2)
N (13)
T (7)
U (6)
V (5)
U (6)
S (8)
Z (1)
U (6)
Z (1)
Z (1)
RATING
INT
SACK
FUM
I1
I1
S1
S1
C
C
%
90
10
26
36
44
51
55
56
62
64
66
30-39
40-49
50+
KO
XP
65
65
46
46
41
36
25
33
C
B
64
62
Punter
Rating
CC Rate
FUM
Q
B
C
#4
16
25
35
43
51
54
61
64
65
66
66
66
66
66
66
Range
20-29
Punt Returns
Range
Interceptions
65
65
Skyler Green
Shyrone Carey
Travis Daniels
Ronnie Prude
D-INT
0
PASS %
41
Corey Webster
Jack Hunt
Travis Daniels
Lionel Turner
LaRon Landry
Ronnie Prude
Kyle Williams
Marcus Spears
Chad Lavalais
1-19
Donnie Jones
Pass D
-4 / -1**
RUN %
59
Sacks
25
36
51
53
55
61
62
63
64
65
66
66
66
66
66
H (19)
H (19)
Penalty
O2 D2
D-FUM
-1
Kicker
Ryan Gaudet
Chris Jackson
APBA PRO FOOTBALL
Range
Rating
Break
FUM
FC
41
63
65
66
J
R
W
Z
A
C
E
E
C
C
C
C
16
16
X
X
Designer: Dick Seitz;
Publisher: APBA Games
Availability: direct from
Publisher (full-color, Pro Quality Components); Price for game + one season:
$122; Players: 1-2; Game Time: 1.5 2hrs ; Dice req’d: 2d6; Cards: Individual
cards for every player in the league
(1,440 cards in 2013 set)
Kick Returns
Critics of the game will point to the play calling options, specifically the fact
that you have just two options on offense: Run or Pass.
Fum Lost
36
Turn Ret
C
2003 LSU Tigers
D. Henderson
Skyler Green
Bennie Brazell
Range
Rating
Break
FUM
42
64
66
Q
S
A
C
C
C
C
C
C
Description: There are many who
would call APBA Pro Football the best
football simulation game in history.
First released in 1958 by the original
game designer Dick Seitz, the basic
version of the game remains virtually
unchanged in the decades since.
And it’s no wonder. Of the tabletop football games profiled in this
magazine, none has a more loyal and fanatical
base than APBA Pro Football. Which may be
why APBA can charge $95 for a new card set
each season.
AVALON HILL’S PAYDIRT!
By Chris Palermo
The game Paydirt (and its lesser-known sibling, Bowl Bound) dates back to the early
1970s. Originally called Sports Illustrated Pro Football, it became part of the Avalon
Hill catalog when it purchased the entire SI line of games from Time, Inc. Dr. Thomas
R. Nicely, a mathematician specializing in random and statistical probabilities, was
hired to design the new charts, which were published by the company until the mid1990s.
Hasbro purchased Avalon Hill in 1998. Soon thereafter, a handful of enthusiastic fans
of the game began releasing homemade charts. Each homemade chart was unique –
certainly, each individual designer used his own unique formulae – but each designer
also made slight tweaks to the game play. As there have been no “official” releases
of Paydirt charts since 1998, all recently charted seasons have been created by enthusiastic and enterprising individual designers.
Paydirt is a team-driven simulation; there are no individual players. Instead, each
overall team’s performance is reflected in its own chart. Each team’s rushing chart is
created from an aggregate of all results of all the rushing plays by all of its running
backs throughout the year. The passing plays are the sum totals of all the quarter
Though it’s a great game that doesn’t have any glaring
weakness, it isn’t the best at any one aspect either.
That is to say:
* statistically, APBA Football’s results are reasonably
accurate - though not as good as Inside Blitz’s;
* APBA Football is very easy to learn and relatively
simple to play - but not as easy and not as simple as
Gridiron Wars, or even Paydirt;
* APBA Football comes with cards for 1,440 players that includes offensive linemen! - but Football Bones
comes with nearly 2,000 cards and linemen are rated
individually for both run blocking and pass blocking.
* Many games have more seasons in stock, but APBA
has nearly 20 seasons available, as far back as 1958.
* Though APBA is one of the best in both categories,
Strat-O-Matic is better in head-to-head and draft
league play. When up against the whole field of football sims, APBA isn’t the best in any particular aspect.
What APBA does best, however, is do everything well.
“I feel very strongly about this: Head-to-head, Strat-O-Matic
Football is the best sports game ever invented.”
- Game Designer and Founder of Strat-O-Matic Games, Hal Richman
#5
STRAT-O-MATIC
FOOTBALL
Designer: Hal Richman; Publisher: Strat-O-Matic Game
Co. Availability: direct from Publisher (Pro Quality
Components); Price for game + one season: $49.99;
Players: 1-2; Game Time: 1hr - 2hr ; Dice req’d: 2d6, d20; Cards: 672
cards (per team: 14 offensive skill players, 3 team defense cards, 1 card
with ratings for offensive and defensive linemen)
Description:
In Strat-O-Matic Fanatics: The Unlikely Success Story of a Game that Became an
American Passion, author Glenn Guzzo quotes Strat-O-Matic founder (and inventor of its football game) Hal Richman as saying, “I feel very strongly about this:
Head-to-head, Strat-O-Matic Football is the best sports game ever invented.”
AVALON HILL’S PAYDIRT!
(continued from page 13)
backs and all the receivers throughout the year. With no individual players, there
are no individual statistics; however, the game totals for passing, rushing, etc. are
typically quite comparable to the real-life’s totals.
The game uses a unique matrix, called a “Priority Chart”, which shows how results
are calculated. On each play, the defense secretly selects one of six defensive sets.
Once the defensive coach indicates readiness, the offense reveals one of nine
offensive calls.
The game uses two unique six-sided dice for defense (which can generate a total
ranging from 1 to 5 between the two dice – with 1s and 2s more common than
4s and 5s); and three unique six-sided dice for offense (generating results from
11-39 – without getting in to specifics; the “10s” die has one 1, two 2s and three
3s, making 31-39 far more likely than any other result. In addition, the second two
dice are added together and skew towards returning 4s, 5s and 6s (more than the
1-3 and 7-9) – Remember, Dr. Nicely was a mathematician, specializing in statistical
probability and randomness.).
Here are a few examples to see how the game works:
Let’s say the Broncos called an end run and Seattle, on defense, called a Cover 3
Run. On the roll, the Broncos roll a 36 (7 yards) and the Seahawks roll a 1 (blank).
Checking the Priority Chart, a green number (#) by the offense, cross-referenced
with a white/blank result from the defense, results in “ADD” –the results are added
together and it’s a 7 yard gain by the Broncos on the ground.
Of all the sports simulations, football is one of the best for face-to-face matches,
since both players have decisions to make on each play. However, that is also the
curse for the tabletop football designer. Since so many results are based on the
defense guessing “right” or “wrong” on a given play, the offense is constantly
tempted to choose plays non-intuitively: 3rd and 11? Sure – we’ll go Off-Tackle! And,
far too often, games reward that non-intuitive play-calling.
When a defense guesses wrong in real life, however, it usually recovers (and the
better defenses recover more quickly). So, when evaluating a football game, one of
the first things to determine is how well the game handles that temptation.
RIchman worked on the design for Strat-O-Matic Football for 4 years before
releasing the game in 1968. The game was intended for - and excels at - Headto-Head competition between people. According to Guzzo’s book, even Richman
says, “it’s not a good solitaire game, but the game was set up to play head-tohead.”
The game board is a prominent element of Strat-O-Matic Football, and is the
most iconic of the boards for any of the football simulations. Besides its aesthetic
appeal, what makes the board stand out from the crowd is its utility. In the
Advanced version of the game, defenders can be physically moved around the
board to visually depict the zone each covers.
Critics will suggest that Strat’s 50/50 model, whereby half of the results are read
from the offensive cards, half from the defense, is a flawed design. Some have
also said the game can feel like an elaborate version of rock/paper/scissors - especially the Elementary version of the game - saying that because the results are
so heavily influenced by whether or not the defensive coach “guesses right” or
“guesses wrong” that the game engine is ripe for manipulation by savvy coaches.
For a second example (and to show how well the game addresses defensive
recovery), the Broncos call a medium pass, rolling an 11 (TD!); and the Seahawks
were thoroughly fooled, guessing Short Run. They rolled a 1 (15 in parentheses).
Checking the Priority Chart, we see an offensive TD, when cross-referenced with a
number in parentheses by the defense, means the defensive result “trumps” the
offensive result. In this case, bye-bye TD ... it’s only a 15 yard gain. The Seahawks
didn’t stop them, but they recovered in time to deny the TD.
If you check the Broncos’ defensive chart (and, remembering that a 1 is the most
common defensive roll), the Broncos would’ve had a blank result. The touchdown
would’ve stood.
Obviously, the game is a little more complex than that; but not much more. Learning to read the priority chart (and, eventually, memorizing what trumps what) is
the key to quick games. A game between two players who know the system should
take about an hour.
Avid fans continue to make Paydirt one of the more popular in the tabletop football
world. Even at the annual World Boardgaming Championships, a convention filled
with the latest boardgames, Paydirt continues to draw more than 40 players for its
tournament.
The lone limitation might be the lack of individual players; but, the game offers
accurate statistics; realistic in-game decision-making and extremely quick playing
times. For most, those pros will far outweigh the cons.
In the final analysis, Strat-O-Matic Football ranks #5 on this list because it offers
the following:
* Arguably the best head-to-head experience of any football sim
* A novel and useful approach to the problem of sorting and visualizing which
defenders can cover which zones
* The game company’s wholly earned reputation for attention to detail and
statistical accuracy
* A simple and fun Elementary version of the game, with optional Advanced, and
Super-Advanced sets of rules all included in the game box - giving the gamer the
opportunity to choose the level of verisimilitude and depth of game play desired
in the experience.
Chris Palermo
has been a gamer for
as long as he can remember. While he now
runs a successful gaming club on Long Island
(libogroup.com), his first love remains sports
simulations. Of the nearly 2,000 games in
his collection, approximately 300 are unique
sports simulations. As a regular attendee of
the World Boardgaming Championships, he
continues to enjoy some of the classic sports
sims (including Paydirt)!
A BRIEF
HISTORY
OF
FOOTBALL
BOARD GAMES
BY GEOFF GIORDANO -
Founder, APBA Football Club
For just about every human endeavor, it seems a game has been created to capture the flavor of the real thing.
Generations of would-be surgeons tried their hand at Operation. Fantasy farmers of America plow through hours of FarmVille. Games of money and power snowballed in the wake of Monopoly, which received a 1935 patent assigned to Parker Brothers. Games with railroad themes
range from Avalon Hill’s Rail Baron, introduced in 1977, to today’s award-winning Eurogame Ticket to Ride and its various expansions.
No surprise, then, that the game of American football (pro and college) has inspired many designers to try their hand at depicting the gridiron
in miniature. Since the iconic overtime NFL championship of 1958 between the Giants and Colts — generally regarded as the game that thrust
the league into prominence — American football has been rendered in dozens of ways, using various combinations of cards, dice, spinners,
player pieces and other, more curious devices.
Growing up on the cusp of the PC age, I first tried to devise my own realistic football game using Topps cards. Of course, that didn’t work —
especially when teams like Pittsburgh, Oakland, Dallas and Minnesota had roughly a dozen carded players but cellar-dwellers of the late ‘70s
had about half that many.
Next came Cadaco’s Pro Foto-Football, copyrighted in 1977 and featuring a cool plastic stadium and cardboard scoreboard/timer. Touted on
the box as “The Original Game of Real Football Strategy,” the game allows players to select an offensive play card, superimpose a transparent
defensive card, and slowly move the envelope holding those cards to reveal how a play progresses. (Since the timer featured 30 plays, I ended
up using that for my APBA football setup.)
Then I found Sports Illustrated’s Paydirt! (tagline “The Authentic Pro Football Action Game”), featuring statistically based
team cards with offensive results on one side, defensive and
special team results on the other. The current copy we own is a
version of our original, copyrighted 1974 and in the familiar box
featuring the Redskins and Cowboys on the cover.
Finally, like so many other APBA fans, I saw the compellingly-written ad for APBA football in one of the NFL season preview magazines. Not only did the game appear more aesthetically pleasing than its biggest rival, Strat-O-Matic (launched
in 1967-68), but it had what I wanted: cards for each of “my
guys” to accurately represent their attributes. Strato, of course,
goes the route of featuring cards with results on them for key
offensive players, but only team cards for defense (elementary
and advanced). Unlike APBA’s game engine, Strato incorporates player matchups to influence results, and its field allows
advanced gamers to position certain defenders.
page 16
As the founder of the APBA Football Club, it’s obvious that I’m
unabashedly biased in my lifetime devotion to the game of APBA
Football. The history of the game goes back to 1958 when, presciently, APBA founder Dick Seitz launched his version of a statistics-driven football board game with player cards based on the
1957 season.
Seitz got his start in the game-publishing business by playing and
resurrecting Clifford Van Beek’s then out-of-print baseball game National Pastime. National Pastime was, by most accounts, patented
in 1925 but not commercially printed until 1930-31. But despite
sharing the basic concept of individually calculated player cards
and dice rolls of 11 to 66 for play outcomes, when compared to
National Pastime and/or APBA Baseball, APBA Football is a different
animal entirely.
For that reason, we view APBA Football as the company’s first truly
unique creation and the original fantasy football product. Though
the company’s baseball game far outshadows APBA Football in
terms of popularity, current APBA CEO John Herson is known to
be a “football guy” who has vowed to begin reissuing out-of-print
seasons recalculated for the “master game,” which was unveiled
in 1983 for the 1982 season (the 1965, 1970 and 1975 seasons are
slated to be the first reissues).
For decades, APBA and Strat-O-Matic have remained the most
popular football simulation games on the market, but plenty of
other options have emerged and gained loyal fans over the years. A
quick survey of Board Game Geek turns up four pages of results for
football products. Search for “vintage football game” or “vintage
football board game” on eBay and you’ll find plenty of tempting
choices to add to your collection.
Generally, we discern three basic types of football board games:
statistics based, generically strategy based or franchise-building/
draft based. Not counting electric, PC or web-based football games,
here’s a quick-hit (and nowhere near definitive) list of some of
the more notable entries into the field, including some from our
collection.
1920s-1940s
Intercollegiate Football by Hustler
Toys. The oldest football board-type
game we’ve found. Dating to the ’20s,
this game features a tin cylinder in
which outcomes are revealed for a
line play, end play, trick play, punt and
kickoff returns, PAT/FG atttempts, and
forward pass/INT. Instructions call for a
game lasting 20 minutes or 100 plays.
An August eBay auction listed a buy-itnow price of $379.99. “Get the thrill of
a foot ball game at home” and “Have a
foot ball gridiron in your home” with Intercollegiate.
Cadaco: The long line of Cadaco football games began in 1936 with
Elmer Layden’s Scientific Football, according to BGG. Layden, a member of the legendary Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, was coach and
athletic director for the Irish at the time. The company later issued a
game called Touchdown, as well as a version of Layden’s game called
Varsity and another disc-based game called All-American Football.
Labeled the “college edition,” versions of the game dated to 1942
feature results charts that form three walls of a “stadium” around the
football playing field. The field features a sliding down marker and
football residing in slots at the top and middle of the field, respectively — the style ultimately appearing in APBA. Scientific Football also
uses 30 plays per quarter, another eventual APBA staple. The first of
the company’s many variations on its “foto-electric” football games
dates to 1941, BGG indicates.
Pro Football. A simple titled spinner-based game by Milton Bradley
that also came in a Canadian version. BGG dates it to 1964.
Strat-o-Matic Pro Football. Like Seitz at APBA, Hal Richman established his company with baseball before offering a gridiron product
in 1968 that is going strong to this day with season sets going back to
the late ’50s and a robust website.
All-Pro Football. A big-box, well-packaged game dating to 1967 and
branded as the official game of the NFL. Another player movement
game featuring checkers-like pieces and field divided into light- and
dark-green squares.
1970s
Tom Hamilton’s Football Game/Pigskin. Copyrighted by Parker
Brothers as far back as 1934-35, the original features a playing
field labeled “Football’s Classic Army-Navy Soldier’s Field, Chicago,
November 27, 1926.” Both the original version and a later version
copyrighted 1960 feature stumpy red and yellow wooden player
pegs. While the more modern version has a green-and-white football field, the original uses a card-driven system of generating play
outcomes using the “Chart-o-graph” and a black-and-silver playing
board. Vintage Pigskin also uses a rudimentary injury system. Our
copy features a filled-out chart-o-graph dated Jan. 21, 1956.
Statis-Pro Football. Originally created by Midwest Research in 1973,
Statis Pro became an Avalon Hill/Sports Illustrated product featuring
stat cards for each player on each team until Avalon Hill went defunct
in the 1990s. Statis Pro Football lives on today in a new package,
marketed by PT Games as Football Bones. (See interview with PT
Games founder and President Tim Plum in the this issue.)
Fun Football/”The Scrambler.” Our still-unopened version, copyright
1973, features a blue “scrambler” offensive player piece and four red
defenders. The goal is to score (or prevent) a touchdown by moving
pieces on the dark green squares of the board. First player to 28
points wins.
Stars On Stripes Football Game. Dating to 1941, “it teaches football” using a combination of results charts and three dice. Thirty-two plays per quarter.
Rose Bowl. “Keck’s Original Football Game” dates to 1949 and uses
player-shaped pieces on a green-and-white football field divided
into squares. Dice rolls dictate player moves.
1950s
Play Fut-Bal. Copyrighted in 1957, a year before APBA’s inaugural
release, Fut-Bal comes in a thin red-and-green box and use a deck
of red offensive cards and green defensive cards with play results
on them.
APBA Pro League Football Game. The game that raised the bar.
The APBA Football Club is producing an unofficial handbook documenting the game’s evolution, which we have synopsized in an
article on the game’s many variations.
Avalon Hill Football Strategy. BGG lists its creation as 1959; we
own a copy copyrighted 1972 that comes in the more familiar AH
bookcase box and features the “Football Widow’s Handbook: A
Wife-Type Manual of Football Knowledge.”
1960s
Bible Football. Issued in 1963, this trivia game promises “Bible
facts plus the excitement of FOOTBALL!”
Adam Games Football (Taylor Marketing): This 1964 creation features team cards based on season statistics. Our collection includes
the 1962-64, 1969, 1971, ’74 and ’76 seasons.
page 18
Pro Draft. Using 50 official 1974 Topps cards, this Parker Brothers
game features a large plastic football housing a spinner that tells you
how many “contract cards” you can draw to help you build a team.
1980s
NFL Strategy. An NFL-branded game by Tudor (ours is copyright 1980;
BGG dates it 1970) that features a play system quite similar to Cadaco’s aforementioned Foto-Football but with far more play options.
Features a sturdy multifunction plastic gray playing board with green
football field and sliding plastic balls to indicate probabilities of play
success.
NFL Franchise. Dated 1982, this is another team-building game in
which you purchase a franchise, choose a coach and add players.
NFL-branded.
Clutch Football. According to the manual introduction by inventor
Ron Poisson, “Clutch Football was first conceived in West Pakistan,
while I was serving an isolated tour in the Air Force” from September
1968 to November 1969. Copyrighted 1984, with a first edition in
1985, this rare and well-packaged product features a sturdy, cribbage-like plastic football field with four brass pegs, a 26-page large
glossy manual, and a variety of play cards.
1990s-present
Inside Blitz Football...
Second Season and Cold Snap by Plaay!...
4th Street Football...
Pizza Box Football...
Diggin’ Deep Football...
The list of new football board games keeps growing in the 21st century — even in this era of EA Sports, Inc. and their ubiqitous video
game, Madden NFL Football. And online, Paydirt! (varations of which
now go by Data-Driven Football, Red Zone, and Bowl Bound) lives
on. In our collection, still unopened, is a copy of Playbook Football,
copyright 2008 by Bucephalus Games. It’s a heavy, colorful game
featuring multiple play cards and several multisided dice.
Geoff Giordano, founder of the APBA Football Club — the first independent group of social-media sites dedicated to APBA football —
acquired his first game of APBA football in 1979.
Football Fans Over 40 Rejoice!
Remember APBA, Strat-O-Matic, Talking Football, and Monday Night Football
tabletop games? These and over 280 other games over a century are depicted
in full color in the new book - Retro Football Games. Also, fun trivia and other
neat factoids are peppered throughout making this the most entertaining
coffee table book of the year.
•Rekindle fond memories
•Discover rare games you missed as a kid
•Test your football knowledge with fun trivia
•The first and only comprehensive catalog
Makes for a great early X-mas stocking stuffer - $25.00
www.retrofootballgames.com
[email protected]
page 19
MEA COPA ‘14
WORLD CUP SOCCER - QUICK PLAY GAME
INTRODUCTION
Mea Copa is a quick play soccer game, designed by Anthony Apostolico of Time Travel Games. Apostolico is best known for the full play soccer simulation Classic Soccer, which was called by OneForFive.com “the Gold Standard for soccer simulations.”
Mea Copa was originally meant to be a supplement to Classic Soccer; to help gamers work through all qualifying rounds on the way to setting up
alternate-universe World Cup tournaments; or, as a way to efficiently complete tournaments created with World Cup sides from different eras going
against each other. Mea Copa ‘14 - the version of the game published here - is an abridged version of the game, though a PDF of the complete game
with ratings for every World Cup since 1930 is available for free download with purchase of this magazine. This is an abridged edition of the rules,
though all team ratings (see inside back cover of magazine) are accurate and will be compatible with the full version of the game. The original, complete rulebook is available as a free download with your purchase of this issue.
BASIC RULES
To play a game you’ll need these rules, the charts located on the inside
back cover of this magazine, and 2 10-sided dice. A pencil and paper
will come in handy, too.
Once you’ve decided which two teams are playing, the first thing you’ll
do is make a simple pre-game calculation for each team, to determine a
rating for the club in the game at hand.
In this version of the game, each country is rated in 6 categories:
1. Offense; 2. Defense; 3. Goalkeeping; 4. Penalty Kicks (shooting and
saving); 5. Random Events (X-Chart); 6. Overall Power
I. DETERMINE MATCH RATING FOR EACH CLUB
Let’s take 2014 Belgium vs. 2014 United States. Add Belgium’s Offensive
rating (1.20) to the USA’s Defensive rating (1.50) and divide by 2, the
answer (1.35) will be Belgium’s rating for this game. Using the same
process for the USA, ((1.25 + 0.60)/2) we get a 0.93 rating for the Americans (always round up from the thousanths place).
* Some teams have a number of asterisks (*) attached to their ratings.
This means that if the team is competing against a club with a greater
Power Rating, then the team’s performance will suffer. For each * on
the Offensive Rating, subtract 1.00 from that offensive rating if they’re
up against a better squad. For each * on the Defensive Rating, add 1.00
to their defensive rating if they’re up against a better squad.
Now that we have each club’s rating for the game, we can get started.
II. PRE-MATCH ROLL
Before every match there is a Pre-Match Roll [see chart on pg 23] Roll
the 2 10-sided dice, check the Pre-Match Roll chart and follow its
instructions.
III. THE MATCH
The game is played out in 15 minute increments, plus a stoppage time
period each half. Here is the basic procedure:
In each 15 minute period, each side will roll to see how many chances
on goal they earn. Each chance is a 15% opportunity to score. THESE
CAN BE BUNDLED TOGETHER.
For instance, Belgium rolls first against the USA. Belgium is rated 1.35
for this game - since 1.35 isn’t on the Game Chart (these averages rarely
match up exactly to the figures on the chart) and Belgium’s Power Rating of 91 is greater than the USA’s rating of 87, we round that 1.35 up to
page 20
1.40 (team with the greater Power rating moves up, lesser Power rating
moves down).
Now let’s say Belgium rolls a 27. Find 27 on the 1.40 row on the Game
Chart. It’s in the 3 column. That means that Belgium will have three 15%
opportunities in this first segment of the match with USA.
To take these opportunities, Belgium has a choice: they can attempt 3
shots on goal, each with a 15% chance of success, or they can bundle
those chances up by taking 1 shot with 45% chance of scoring, or 2 shots
(30% and 15%).
After Belgium has rolled for their opportunities, the US has a turn.
IV. STOPPAGE TIME
Every match will have a Stoppage Time roll after each half is played. Stoppage Time (sometimes known as Extra Time), is played exactly the same
as any regular 15 minute interval, except now each opportunity is only
worth a 5% chance at goal.
V. PENALTY KICKS
Each team has a Penalty Kick rating and a Penalty Kick Defense rating.
Penalty Kicks are required if a match in a knockout round of the tournament should still be tied after 120 minutes of match play.
Additionally, any time a side rolls 01 during a chance at goal, a Penalty
Kicks is awarded. To clarify, if a side has a 30% chance at goal (for instance) and rolls a 01, they do not automatically score a goal, instead they
must proceed to take a PK.
The base rating of all Penalty Kicks is 81. Find the team’s PK rating (the
1st number before the slash) and add or subtract it to 81. Then add or
subtract the opposing team’s PK Defense rating (the number after the
slash). The resultant number is the kicking team’s percent chance for a
goal. The chance to score can never go above 99%.
VI. GOALKEEPER RATING
The GK rating can come into play on X-Chart events, and potentially after
a goal is scored. Certain teams (the USA, for instance) have a ** in the
GK rating column. Every time a goal is “scored” against any ** GK in this
tournament, roll again. If the next roll is 01-20, the goalkeeper has made
a spectacular save! Any roll between 21-00 and the goal stands.
VII. X-CHARTS
Any time a club rolls a 55 when rolling on the game chart, they will be
MEA COPA ‘14
WORLD CUP SOCCER - QUICK PLAY GAME
referred to their X-Chart result. Every club has an X-Chart result. Find
the number in the club’s X-Chart column and reference that number on
the X-Chart itself. Some results are ordinary, some are pretty amazing.
VIII. GOAL SCORERS
Goal scorers are provided to add color to results. Since teams are
already rated for goals scored in the tournament, there is no individual
rating for, say, Thomas Meuller’s ability to impact the game as opposed
to Mario Goetze. However, each team’s goal scorers are rated based on
percentage of the team’s goals they scored in the actual tournament.
Once a goal has been scored in a match, to determine who scored it take
a look at the team scoring chart. It will look something like this:
40/Dempsey; 60/Brooks; 80/Jones; 00/Green
This means that on a roll of 01-40, Clint Dempsey was the goal scorer,
from 41-60 John Anthony Brooks scored the goal, from 61-80 Jermaine
Jones was the goalscorer, and from 81-00 Julian Green put it in the net.
To determine time of goal, roll the dice, consult the following chart and
add the number of minutes to whichever 15 minute interval in which the
goal was scored:
01-07: 1 min
29-35: 5 min
57-62: 9 min
81-86: 13 min
08-14: 2 min
36-42: 6 min
63-68: 10 min
87-93: 14 min
15-21: 3 min
43-49: 7 min
69-74: 11 min
94-00: 15 min
22-28: 4 min
50-56: 8 min
75-80: 12 min
So , for instance, if a goal scores in the first 15 minute interval of play, roll
for the time. If you rolled a 44, the goal occurs in the 7th minute of the
match. If you were in the 3rd 15 minute interval of play and rolled a 44,
the goal would have occurred in the 37th minute (since 30 minutes had
elapsed after two intervals of play).
NOTE: This abridged version of the game does not include Formation
Charts, but the Formation Chart rules from the full version of the game
can be used if you so choose.
Continued from page 11 - Interview with Tim Plum of PT Games
More accurate representation of the fighter through the available metrics on Besides, I’m my own worst critic. I sit down to play a game, find something
each card. More accurate system for cuts/knockdowns and knockouts. These that I want to tweak/alter/change and I immediately go to the computer
are a few of the updates.
open the file and make the change.
• 1for5: When should we expect ATB to be available?
• PLUM: No release date has been announced. Keep an eye on our website
for more details.
• 1for5: No one can say that Tim Plum and PT Games are not ambitious.
With the release of ATB, you'll be publishing 5 games, each in a different
sport. How do you manage to stay on top of each game, managing card set
releases, updates, and product launches while managing work and life and
finding your own time to be a gamer?
• PLUM: One of the things that I decided was to not try and be the creative
genius for every game. Greg [Eno, game designer] handles all card making
for his game Basketball Bones, Joe [Bryan, game designer] handles all Payoff
Pitch Baseball, and at the moment Jim [Trunzo] and I work together on cards
for Advanced Title Bout. I maintain the look and feel of every game.
My life is very hectic and it’s hard to find the time for everything but we
manage. The one thing left out for me is time to actually play the games.
That I don’t have much of.
I’m trying a ‘64 replay of the Dodgers in Payoff Pitch and I can barely finish a
game without sending Joe an email with a suggestion or thought.
• 1for5: When you look down the road three or five or ten years from now
- what will PT Games have accomplished? What is on the horizon for you and
the company? What should fans of your products be looking forward to?
• PLUM: The future for PT Games is very bright, we have many irons in the
fire, including new games, better game materials, new cardsets, a new website, new ecommerce, bringing on board someone to help me with special
projects. Hopefully Wizards of the Coast opens up the new 5th edition D&D
to an OGL and we can step back into our root products.
I hope to bring non-sports titles to the public and open new markets/outlets
for our games before Christmas.
So many things to do, so little time....
- thanks Paul
BEST. GAME. EVER.
On this back page of each issue, we’ll feature a scorecard of the Best. Game. Ever. In this issue, we feature a
game from Jeff Polman’s ‘73 Freaks League. The ‘73 Freaks League is a draft league of 12 teams, using the 1973
Strat-O-Matic card set. Jeff invited 12 friends including yours truly to draft a team, make lineups and managerial
suggestions, and then let Jeff play out the 162-game season with said teams.
This game featured the West leading OneForFive Dotcoms at home (Dodger Stadium) vs. Jason Toon’s 2nd place
Kuhnskinners, who were 6.5 gb at the time.
At press time, the season still has about a week left in it, and led by Al Bumbry’s league-leading .351 BA, Davey
Johnson’s 42 home runs, and Don Baylor’s 57 stolen bases, my OneForFive Dotcoms have already clinched the
Western Division pennant. We’ll face the champion from the East (not yet determined) for a 9 game series when
the regular season ends.
KUHNSKINNERS
AB R H BI
2B MORGAN
5
CF MADDOX
4
DH F. ROBINSON5
C
TENACE
2
1B TORRE
4
RF RICHIE
3
-PH/RF A.JOHNSON 1
LF BROCK
4
3B HUNT
4
-3B MONEY 0
SS SPEIER
4
1
1
2
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
3
0
3
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
2B
HBP
HR
GIDP
E
BB: TENACE (2); SO: MADDOX, TENACE,
TORRE, BROCK (3), SPEIER; E: BROCK
PITCHERS
BIBBY
HERNANDEZ
IP R ER H BB SO HR
8 6 5 7 4 8 3
1/3 2 2 1 1 0 1
ONEFORFIVE DOTCOMS AB R H BI
LF
DH
2B
1B
CF
3B
C
SS
RF
PH
BAYLOR
BUMBRY
SCHMIDT
D. JOHNSON
McCOVEY
MONDAY
SANTO
MUNSON
CONCEPCION
COGGINS
4
4
0
4
4
4
4
3
4
3
2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
2
1
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
HR,SB
3B
HR
HR
HR
BB: BAYLOR, BUMBRY (2), JOHNSON,
MUNSON, COGGINS; SO: JOHNSON,
McCOVEY (2), MONDAY (2), SANTO,
CONCEPCION, COGGINS
PITCHERS
CLEVELAND
HILLER
IP R ER H BB SO HR
7 5 3 6 2 5 1
2 2 0 3 0 2 1
scorecard by: JEFF POLMAN
on Twitter: @JPBALLNUT
The OneForFive Dotcoms take a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th, after Don Baylor’s 18th home run on the season. Reggie Cleveland takes the mound
in the top of the 8th to face Garry Maddox. Maddox is hit by a pitch. Frank Robinson singles Maddox to 3rd and then the bases get juiced when Gene
Tenace draws a walk.
The Dotcoms have the league’s best bullpen, so in comes fireman John Hiller to put out the rally. He gets Joe Torre to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but
Maddox scores in the process. The precarious 5-4 lead is blown on the next batter, when Lou Brock rolls a 1-3 HOME RUN. It’s 7-5 Kuhnskinners. The
next batter grounds out and things are uneventful until the bottom of the 9th.
Davey Concepcion, not known for his bat, leads off the bottom of the 9th with a HR, and Coggins draws a walk. Suddenly the tying run is on base an the
winning run at the plate, but Ramon Hernandez comes on for Bibby and induces Baylor to hit into a double play. Prospects are meek as there are two
out and Mike Schmidt, with his .143 batting average is coming up to hit against the lefty. But he draws a WALK! And with two out in the bottom of the
9th, Davey Johnson stands in and parks the first pitch he sees into the upper deck! THE DOTCOMS WALKOFF! THE DOTCOMS WIN!!
page 22
MEA COPA ‘14
WORLD CUP SOCCER - QUICK PLAY GAME
2014 WORLD CUP RATINGS
by ONEFORFIVE.COM
GAME CHART
Corner Kick Chart
01-05
Goal!!!!!!
06
Ball is headed away by opposite defender...01-30 own goal!!!
31-00 another corner!!
07-20
Offensive side gets another roll for chances, but a maximum of 1 goal
can be scored
21-00Save
POWER
RATING
OFF.
Germany
95
2.57
Netherlands
93
2.14
Brazil
91
1.57
Argentina
94
1.14
0.57
Colombia
90
2.40*
0.80*
France
91
2.00*
0.60
Belgium
91
1.20
0.60
Costa Rica
90
1.00
0.40
Algeria
87
1.75
1.75
Switzerland
87
1.75
0.67****
Chile
88
1.50
1.00
Mexico
88
1.25
0.75
USA
87
1.25
1.50
Uruguay
87
1.00
1.50
Greece
87
0.75
1.25
+10/+20
Nigeria
87
0.75
1.25
Croatia
86
2.00**
2.00
Bosnia/Herzogvna
86
1.33
Côte d’Ivoire
86
1.33
Ghana
86
1.33
Spain
87
1.33
Portugal
87
1.33
2.33
Ecuador
86
1.00
Korea Republic
86
1.00
Australia
85
Italy
Russia
PK
X-CHART
0/-10
4
0.57
0/-40
4
1.00****
-10/-40
1
+10/-40
+10/0
11
3
+10/0
16
0/+10
+10/0
15
8
4
0/-40
3
0/-20
0/0
3
14
10
+10/0
9
DEFENSE GK
0.57
**
**
**
**
**
**
+10/-10
+10/0
0/0
7
12
0/-40
16
1.33
0/0
12
1.67
0/-20
6
2.00
0/0
+10/0
12
4
0/-20
13
1.00
0/0
10
2.00
0/0
16
1.00
3.00
0/0
6
86
0.67
1.00
0/0
9
86
0.67
1.00
0/0
6
England
85
0.67
1.33
0/0
3
Japan
85
0.67
2.00
0/-20
3
Iran
86
0.33
1.33
0/0
3
Honduras
84
0.33
2.67
0/-20
3
Cameroon
85
0.33
3.00
0/0
3
X-CHART RESULTS [consult team X-Chart Rating any time a roll of 55 comes up on Game Chart]
**
0.67*** **
1. Neymar is hammered to the pitch! He’s out for the rest of the tournament! Reduce Brazil’s PR by 1, subtract 3% from all Brazil’s scoring chances for the rest of the tournament. For instance, if Brazil has a 30% shot at goal, it becomes a 27% chance with Neymar out.
2. Ochoa makes a fantastic save! On the counter, Dos Santos fires it in and scores! But was he offside? Roll again: 01-90 OFFSIDE, NO GOAL! 91-00 GOOOALLL!!!!
3. Team with Greater Power Rating has a shot on goal: 01-67 GOAL! 68-00 Corner Kick
4. Roll again: 01-30 Forward scores a GOAL on an unbelievable header! 31-00 Team with greater Power Rating is dragged down in box & is awarded a Penalty Kick!
5. Team with Lower Power Rating gets a shot on goal: 01-19 GOAL! 20-00 Save
6. Roll again 01-20: It’s an INCREDIBLE GOAL FROM OUT OF NOWHERE!! 21-40: Opponents steal the ball and make an INCREDIBLE GOAL!! 41-00 Corner Kick
7. Team’s captain is shown a RED CARD! Reduce offensive rating by 0.80, reduce team power rating by 8
8. Player #10 finds space in the box, if team has greater Power Rating: 01-10 GOAL!, 11-00 Saved, otherwise shot goes over the bar
9. Roll again 01-50: see X-Chart Result #7, 51-00 see X-Chart Result #4
10. Opponent has a fussilade of shots, but Goalkeeper makes three tremendous saves! Roll again: 01-40 3rd shot goes out for Corner Kick, 41-00 keeper collects ball
11. Roll again: 01-50 see Result #3, 51-00 Higuain has the chance of a lifetime! Roll 01-04 he scores! 05-00 he shoots wide! What a miss!!
12. Roll again: 01-15 Team’s defender scores an OWN GOAL! 16-00 See Result #3
13. Roll again: 01-25 Team Captain sends in a beautiful cross to choice player who scores a GOAL! 26-50 see Result #5, 51-00 see Result #6
14. Roll again: 01-50 see Result #2, 51-00 see Result #10
15. Roll again: 01-50 if opponent is ** keeper, he saves 4 shots, corner kick for team. 51-00 See Result #3
16. Roll again: 01-50 see Result #5, 51-00 see Result #3
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