Sports Gaming Digest (9-8-97)
Greetings Sports Gamers!
This week we have commentaries on APBA Football, two Soccer
games, and a solitaire Paydirt system--just the kind of stuff
that I would like to see more often. To that end, I finally
cracked open Lambourne Games Track and Field last week and
started pawing through the charts and tables.
The Lambourne system is simple and fast moving. When you first
see it you might think is too simple to be interesting. But I
found a respectable level of excitement and tension in the game.
The basic player ratings derive from his personal best for a
given season divided by three. Each runner rolls two dice three
times to complete the 100 meters, with each roll representing
one-third of the race. For each segment of the race, the
players' basic performance rating is modified according to his
Performance Factor at the moment. The product can be better,
worse, or the same. With each player rolling three times, some
numbers good and some bad, you do get a sense of the runners
jockeying for position as they streak down the track.
The set I have includes the 1986 player ratings, plus additional
ratings for players derived prior to the 1988 Olympics. I don't
know if the designer has produced other player sets but it seems
simple enough to do. I ran a 100 meter sprint tournament using
the 21 sprinters provided for 1986. I used all players are peak
performance (PF level 6).
The first round included three heats with seven sprinters each;
top four advanced. Surprisingly, Carl Lewis and Linford Christie
both finished fourth in their heats. The twelve semi-finalists
ran in two heats, again with the top four finishing. This time,
Christie fell out, and Lewis finished fouth again. Ben Johnson
won his semi-final heat. Some of the other better runners (names
escape me at the moment) didn't make the cut for the finals. In
the last race, Carl Lewis showed his best stuff and blazed to a
9.89 Gold Medal, with Johnson taking Silver (9.94), and Marsh the
Bronze (9.95).
When I can find some time, I plan to delve into the other track
and field events for the full experience of running, jumping and
throwing. I'll let you know what happens.
Now for other matters.
Development of the Solitaire Statis Pro Football instructions is
reaching completion. I have sent a draft to Stuart Tucker at the
General. Last Spring he indicated he might be interested in
publishing an article even though the game is no longer produced.
We're fortunate that Stuart has an interest in sports games but
he cannot afford much space in the magazine not much coverage of
o.p. games. We'll see.
The Decathlon project is still in progress. I am in the process
of obtaining the earlier scoring tables and career stats for
various decathletes. I have a bunch of data sifted from the
existing player charts but I haven't had the time to put them in
any form that could be used for discussion. Hopefully soon.
Here are some other projects that I've had on the back burner for
a while--sometimes it gets quite crowded back there.
Years ago I started developing Fast Action Dice procedures for
Statis Pro Baseball and Basketball to parallel the FAD system for
SP Football. I have done portions of the necessary number
crunching and chart development and I would welcome participation
from other fans of the SP system. It would be nice to have some
other people involved to share and doublecheck the work and toss
around ideas. I don't expect these systems would be published in
the General.
Another item on my agenda is decoding Statis Pro Football. The
baseball and basketball game rules used to include the
instructions for making player cards but the football game has
remained a mystery to me. I've started poking around with some
player cards to look for patterns. If anyone else is interested,
let me know.
Earlier this year I finally obtained a copy of the original
Sports Illustrated All-Time All-Stars Baseball game after a 25-
year search. This game has always been something of a Holy Grail
for me because I was a big fan of the old SI football and
baseball games. Somehow I never got around to forking out the
money to get the ATAS game. I suppose I figured it would be
around for years and there was no rush to buy it. Silly me.
Superstar Baseball from Avalon Hill has never satisfied my taste
for an ATAS roster, and I always regretted that AH chose not to
resurrect the full set. The next best thing to a complete yearly
player card set is a complete ATAS player card set. I am hoping
for some useful tips from David Neft regarding development of the
original SI games to give me some incentive to resurrect the ATAS
concept with up to date player charts and revised and expanded
rosters to include the great players who have played since the
early 1970s. I would like to hear from any of you who might be
interested in discussing the relative merits of players to be
included and work out appropriate rosters.
For something entirely new, I am toying with the idea of
developing a basketball game using a system parallel to the
football and baseball systems. I haven't put much thought into
this yet but if anyone else finds the idea interesting we can
throw around some ideas.
And finally, I am pondering the ramifications of modifying the SI
Football system to use individual player performance. I'm
thinking of some kind of hybrid system that straddles the
traditional SI team charts and the fully individualized SP-type
rosters. Example: the primary running backs could have their own
chart while the lesser-used runners could be lumped together into
an "other runners" chart. Same thing with receivers. The
offensive line might be represented together as "first string"
when the starters are available, or "second string" when
substitutes are in with some deviation in blocking ability. The
defense could be handled in a similar fashion, distinguishing
"run defense" from "pass defense", etc. Basically, I have alway
enjoyed the streamlined simplicity of the SI system and the
individual detail of the SP system. I would like a workable and
interesting system that fit in between.
Any and all of these ideas are open for discussion and comments.
Let the games begin.
Regards,
Jim Gordon
jgordon@library.berkeley.edu
P.S. Happy Birthday to me today. Number 39.
********************************************************************
From: DBaumga536@aol.com
Who remembers Pro Football Franchise?
********************************************************************
From: Richard Guenther
I own the APBA Pro Football game (latest copy), and the Master
Set. I have two sets of cards 1996 and 1983, that I've mixed
together a bit to increase the size of the rosters from the maximum
of 37 for any year from APBA, to 45. The leftover players will
eventually be worked in to the game as "new" college players,
and some of the players I'm using now will "retire" to the excess
pile. [Of course I need to figure out a randomized system for this,
but I've got plenty of time...]
The basic APBA Pro FB game is VERY basic. In fact, it's almost
laughable. I see no reason for anyone to buy it instead of the
master set, which includes all the basic rules, uses the same player
cards, and costs the same. I'm playing a season with the 1983
Detroit Lions, along with a few other players. My first game was
against Atlanta and I won 34-21. The game took me about 4.5
hours to play, which I'd like to change, as it seems long to me. I
used almost all of the advanced rules, except for player keys, and
some optional rules from the APBA digest--mainly a "floating index"
chart that increases the value of the non-ballhandling positions. In
the APBA game (basic and Master), there are only 3 grades of
defensive team quality: A, B and C. Because of this, a team can
often lose a great lineman and still not have to move down a
grade. With the floating index, ANY change in the line up will
have an effect on the overall offensive or defensive quality of a
team, as there are now about 20 different defensive team qualities.
Now there can be teams somewhere between A and B, so they
will sometimes (you roll for this before every play) perform like an A
team, and sometimes like B (or even C). I emphasize this as it's
one of the main complaints people have about the APBA FB
game. This corrects that defect somewhat, at least. I also use the
position identifier colums in the rules to determine who gets the ball
on passes. I know this seems unrealistic in ways, but having the
ball distributed as it was in real life is something that matters to me.
I don't want to be able to throw to my best receiver every time, like
you can in the basic game.
The game was pretty accurate statistically. I was playing it
solitaire, with me calling the plays for the Lions, and my solitaire
system calling the plays for the Falcons. Some of the problems I
may have had are due to the solo system, which I've now
tweaked a bit for next week's game (vs. TBay). Face to face I
believe the APBA Master FB game would be a lot of fun,
especially with all the optional rules, like audibles, keying, and trick
plays. Solitaire its pretty fun, too, and those that don't mind some
chart flipping and book-keeping may want to try it. I would greatly
recommend the articles from APBA Journal, and I think they may
sell them all as a packet. Besides the floating index system, these
articles also include a Statis Pro Football-like system of matchups,
which greatly increases the value of those line positions, and also
makes the game seem more realistic.
Unlike many other sports games that play with player cards, the
APBA Master FB game is more than just luck and dice rolls. A
good player will be able to lead a weak team to more victories with
good strategy and playcalling, if a number of optional rules are
utilized.
********************************************************************
From: Terry Rooker
Subject: Tactical Soccer Games
There had been brief mention about this general topic earlier. I finally
have time to write something up. There are two tactical games that I'm
aware of, as opposed to management type games. I am not including
Subutteo as it is a different type of game altogether.
There is a German game called Soccer League. It is described as an
instructional game for players, coaches, and others. At first I was
dubious of the claim, but not that I understand some of the abstractions
involved, it is a true statement.
The game comes with 22 (+ two spare) little plastic disks for players.
Each is numbered so you can use them for any type of formation, at the
expense of having to remember that numbers 2 through 5 are now defenders
because you swtiched to a 4 back system. The game is played on a plastic
mat that is nearly 3' by 4' (sorry I didn't bother measuring it) that is
marked in a square grid that I'll talk about next. The game also
includes plastic yellow and red cards so you can keep track of your foul
status (although unlike soccer fouls are tracked per team and not per
player). There are 2 plastic whistles so each player can play referee
and signal fouls with a quick (or long) blow on the whistle:-) There is
also an egg timer to keep the play moving. This game uses clock time to
determine the end of the half. So if a player plays very slowly and
takes long time to move his pieces, then it reduces the amount of
activity in the game. Finally, there is a white plastic ball, flattened
on one side so it won't roll.
It is played on a square grid. There are a hundred+ small squares and
they are also grouped into larger squares of 4 small squares each. The
squares are critically important to understanding the game. The large
square represents the area controled by a player. If a player has the
ball in the same large square then it can't be taken away. In addition,
you can only play the ball diagonally over an 'enemy' occupied square.
If you play straight across or up and down the player blocks the play of
the ball. If you manage to get a player adjacent to an opponent, then
neither player can get the ball.
If you had free movement then these restrictions would prevent any
interesting play. Fortunately, there is a limit on movement, namely a
die roll. A player rolls the die and the result is the number of small
squares the ball and players can move. If you move a player then
only that player gets to move. They can move the number of squares
rolled on the die. If you play the ball you can move the ball more than
once. If you play it as a pass, then the recieving player can play the
ball again using the same die roll result. So if you keep your players
spread out then you can quickly move the ball down field on a single
(admittedly above average) die roll.
Scoring is simple. If you play the ball into a square representing the
goal, then you score a point. To help prevent this, the goalkeeper has
some additional area that he can block. But with proper placement, you
can still shoot around the keeper.
There are additional rules for simulating offsides and other fouls.
Mostly, a die roll may determine if the defender has fouled the player
with the ball. This ignores offensive fouls, but since most fouls are
against the player with the ball it is an exceptable simplification.
Another simplification is the lack of dribbling. If you consider that
most often the ball is moved by passing and dribbling is used to
maintain possession, then the abstraction of the large squares can handle
most of the dribbling. Again, there are occasions, such as a breakaway,
where the ball is moved more than 10 yards (meters?) downfield by
dribbling, but it is sufficiently rare that its absence in the game is
acceptable.
So Soccer League lives up to it's billing. Although, the tactical
lessons you learn are obviously limited. You can have fun while learning
something which is not a bad goal. Of course, translating what you learn
to an actual soccer field can be difficult but that's not the fault of
the game.
The other game is an American game out of Seattle called Total Attack
Soccer. This game is very different in its approach. It is intended to
re-create some of the quick action and excitement of soccer matches, and
for a boardgame it largely succeeds.
The game is played on a hexgrid field on a mounted board. It is much
smaller than Soccer League's mat, maybe 1' by 2' (sorry, again I didn't
measure it). There are 26 little plastic disk representing the players,
although in TAS they are marked with a letter indicating their position
(G, F, M, or S). There are 2 spares per team so you have some latitude
in making different formations. There are lots of spare markers so you
can adjust the mix, but once you cover the original marker it is lost
obviously. With a little creative thinking this is not a problem since
an F can also mean forward and an S can mean sweeper or stopper. There
is a separate peg board that is used to track time and record the score.
There are two flat plastic soccer ball shaped disks to represent the
ball. They have a handle to move them around since possession is
indicated by placing the ball inside the top of the disc that represents
a player.
TAS is played on a smaller surface than SL. The board is about 10+ hexes
by 30+ hexes. Players can move 3-4 hexes per turn. So they won't run
all the way down to score, but they can cover a good part of the field.
Each turn, a player gets 11 points to move his plastic players around.
It takes one point to move a player, and one point per hex to kick the
ball. So you can have a slow building attack by moving many players a
little, or breakaway by moving a few players more.
Passing is easy. You simply move the ball from one player to the next.
If the ball moves more than 5 hexes, then there is a chance (about 33%)
that it will miss. If it does miss, then it is randomly placed in a hex
2 hexes away from the intended target. A pass cannot go through a hex
with an opponent so a pass can change direction once. This gives the
opponents a chance to block a pass. Once a player is through moving, his
opponent gets to go. He can move players adjacent to the ball handler
and try to tackle that player (tackling in soccer is just taking the ball
away, not clobbering the player:-). Tackling is done by both players
rolling a die. They get to add the number of their players either with
the ball or adjacent to the ball handler. The high result gets the ball.
Scoring is easy too. In the basic game you just pass, or dribble the
ball into the goal.
Actually, that's too easy which brings us to the advance rules. There
are numerous advanced rules, which are better described as optional
rules. Some make sense and others just add additional random elements.
Some are necessary to make for a more realistic game. In particular,
there are rules that distinguish the different types of players.
Strikers get more movement (4). Midfielders can kick the ball farther.
Fullbacks get better tackling (they can add 2 per player not 1). Goalies
are faster and get better tackling! There is a rule for more detailed
shooting. Rather than the ball just going in the goal, you roll a die.
You take the distance the ball travelled on the shot, subtract how far
the goalie had to run (yes it can be a negative number). and then add
the dir rolled by the defending player. If the result is less than 2 it
is a goal. Otherwise it may be a rebound (bouncing off the keeper or
goal), a punch out or kick out by the goalie, of it may be a corner
kick. With this rule there is lots of excitement! You have the ball
bouncing around in front of the goal. The attacking player gets 15
points to move players, so they start to crowd around the goal. The ball
bounces out, and someone shoots to the other side of the goal. The
keeper dives, but doesn't have a chance. GOAL!
So TAS is a fun game. Even with the optional/advanced rules it has some
faults. There is little to distinguish the players. And what features
do distinguish them have large differences; a movement of either 3 or 4
is a 33% or 25% difference. The field is very crowded even with
relatively small movement rates. Still it's a lot of fun. You could
always make a bigger field with spare hexsheets. And the small numbers
are the result of keeping it simple. It is a tactical game about soccer,
not a statistical replay simulation. So if you like soccer and
boardgames, it is worth tracking down a copy.
********************************************************************
From: Richard Guenther
Subject: Paydirt solitaire part I
RICHARD'S SOLITAIRE SYSTEM FOR PAYDIRT (version VII)
Here's an AI (artificial intelligence) I've developed for the
Paydirt game from the Avalon Hill Game Company. This system
will call both the offensive and defensive plays for the team
you are playing against. All you have to decide for the other
team are things like: when to punt, when to kick a field goal,
when to accept a penalty, etc. I've developed this system
(with playtesting help from Brian King) over the past 10 years
and have found it to be pretty fun and challenging. You will
need a copy of PD, a ten-sided die, and a 20-sided die.
Preparations before using the system:
First, you must decide some things for any team the AI will
coach. You must determine its best plays to call in short (to
gain 1-7 yards), medium (to gain 8-16 yards), and long (to gain
17+ yards) situations. I abreviate these plays as that team's
SO, MO, and LO and write them on the front of the team chart.
Example: The 1983 Lions may have SO=Off Tackle, MO=Sideline
Pass, and LO=Long Pass. These will vary for each team, and
will help the AI to play up a team's strengths.
You must also do the same for defense: determine a team's SD,
MD, and LD, and write it on the backside of the team chart.
Example: The 1893 Lions will play SD=B, MD=D, LD=E.
The final thing you must do is determine whether the team has a
good Blitz or not. Many teams have blitzes that give up
touchdowns very easily vs. the screen pass. Because of this, I
would consider this team as a "NO" for a blitz rating. If a
team's blitz is relatively safe and strong, I would write "YES"
on their chart. Now we're ready to begin.
How to Use the System.
Make all the calls for your team first--ie. which offensive or
defensive play your team will use. Then, you must find out
what play the AI is calling.
DOWN-YARDAGE Situation.
Before every down, you must first consult the DOWN-YARDAGE
situation chart. This chart will tell you whether the game is
now in an AA, A, B, or C situation. Simply check the current
Yards to Go under the correct down and find out which letter
(on the left) to use for the next charts.
When the AI Has the Ball:
Now take the situation letter (AA, A, B, or C), and Roll 1d10,
consulting the OFF. PLAY TYPE chart to find out whether it will
be a long play or a short play. (If the result is "Long +2",
you will add 2 to the 1d20 roll in the next step.)
Now you know what play TYPE the AI is going to call. Look
under that type on the OFF. PLAYS chart, roll 1d20, and that is
the play the AI is calling. When the AI's offense is within
the opponent's 20 yard line, you must use an alternate play for
LONG plays of #s 15-20. Also notice that there is a result for
22--this will only come up when the OFF PLAYS chart [or the
ahead/behind chart] calls for 2 to be added to the d20 roll.
If this occurs, a result of 22+ will be a RAZZLE-DAZZLE play
(see PD rules).
When You Have the Ball:
Take the situation (AA, A, B, C) from the DOWN-YARDAGE chart
and roll a 1d20, consulting the correct column and row on the
DEF. PLAY chart. That is the play the defense will use.
Note that there is an extra column here: the CRUNCH column.
This column is to be used any time you have the ball within the
11 yard line of the AI's defense. In these situations, ignore
the DOWN-YARDAGE chart and go directly to the DEF. PLAY chart,
using the CRUNCH column.
Note that some plays have an "#" behind them. If a team is
noted as "YES" for the blitz, ignore the listed play and use a
blitz instead.
Also, any time you have the ball within the defense's 20 yard
line, replace any E calls with D.
Ahead/Behind situations:
Sometimes the AI will be too far ahead or behind to not adjust
its play somehow. This will occur only in the second half.
The AI is considered "behind" if it is:
trailing by 15 midway through the 3rd period
trailing by 8 at the start of the 4th period
trailing by anything midway through the 4th period
The AI is considered "ahead" if it is
leading by 15 midway through the 3rd period
leading by 8 at the start of the 4th period
leading by anything midway through the 4th period
When the AI is "behind", these alterations will apply:
+1 to the d10 roll on the OFF. PLAY-TYPE chart
+2 to the d20 roll on the OFF. PLAY chart
-2 to the d20 roll on the DEF. PLAY chart
When the AI is "ahead", these alterations will apply:
-2 to the d20 roll on the OFF. PLAY chart
+2 to the d20 roll on the DEF. PLAY chart
DOWN-YARDAGE
1 2 3 4
AA 25+ 20+ 13+ 10+
A 11-24 9-19 8-12 8-9
B 1-10 1-8 4-7 3-7
C NA NA 1-3 1-2
OFFENSIVE PLAY TYPE
d10 AA A B C
1 L S S S
2 L S S S
3 L S S S
4 L L S S
5 L2 L S S
6 L2 L S S
7 L2 L L S
8 L2 L L S
9 L2 L L L
10 L2 L L L
NOTE: L2=add +2 do the 1d20 roll on the OFF. PLAY chart. If a
team is considered "behind", do not do this--2 is the maximum
that can be added.
OFFENSIVE PLAY
d20 SHORT LONG
1 line plunge end run
2 " " " "
3 " " draw
4 " " " "
5 off tackle " "
6 " " screen
7 " " " "
8 " " (MO)
9 end run " "
10 " " " "
11 screen med. Pass
12 " " " "
13 (SO) sideline pass
14 " " " " INSIDE the 20:
15 " " (LO) (MO)
16 short pass " " (MO)
17 " " " " medium pass
18 " " long pass medium pass
19 " " " " sideline pass
20 " " " " sideline pass
21 same as 20 same as 20 sideline pass
22 razzle-dazzle razzle-dazzle razzle-dazzle
NOTE: If the AI brings the ball inside the defense's 20 yard
line, use the far right column for LONG plays 15-22.
DEFENSIVE PLAY
AA A B C Crunch
1 F F B# F F
2 F F B F F
3 C# C# (SD) B F
4 C C (SD) B B
5 C C (SD) B B
6 (MD) (MD) C B B
7 A# A# C (SD) B
8 A A C# (SD) B#
9 A A A (SD) (SD)
10 D (MD) A (SD) (SD)
11 D (MD) A# C (SD)
12 D# (MD) (MD) C (SD)
13 (LD) D# (MD) C C
14 (LD) D (MD) C C
15 (LD) D D D C#
16 (LD) (LD) D D D#
17 E# (LD) D# D D
18 E E# F A D
19 E E E A A
20 E E E A A
21+ = same as 20..........
NOTE: Whenever the AI's defense is within their own 20 yard
line, they will use D instead of any E result.
And that's it! I must say that this system will not work real
well with 1990 or later team charts. I use charts from the 80s
(83-86), and the system will work much, much better with charts
from this period. The newer charts simply do not work well
with this system, as they are radically different in their
defenses.
Please try this out and send comments to:
guenthre@adams.edu
Richard G
********************************************************************
From: "D., K., P. Premo"
SPORTS BOARD GAMES FOR SALE:
Postage is 10% of order with a $3 minimum for continental US shipments.
Others please contact me.
Power Moves Football - full color, quality card game sponsored by Barry
Sanders $5
Power Moves Basketball - as above, sponsored by Damon Stoudamaire $5
Roller Derby Action -- mini-game $1
Ringside Pro Boxing -- individualized cards for greats in all divisions $10
Ironman Football (1920-25) unique football game with individual cards for the
early era of the game of football $10
ROCKY Boxing Game - full color box and board based on the ROCKY movies, pretty
realistic and a lot of fun $20
Monster Derby (Gamesmith) not really a sports game except you can race all
your famous monsters against one another in a zany derby; quality box and
board $20
I have some boxing books for sale if anyone is interested.
Contact me at: patrickp@eznet.net Patrick Premo
********************************************************************
ONGOING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
[This a list of development projects and variant rules which
have been discussed. I maintain a separate email sublist for Decathlon
and Solitaire Statis Pro Football. If you want more details, just ask.--JCG]
-Decathlon expansion with additional decathletes
-Decathlon variant rules for timing and distances
-Solitaire Statis Pro Football system
-Paydirt/Bowl Bound play and defense variants
-Paydirt solitaire system
-List of active tabletop sports game companies
-House Rules for Statis Pro Baseball
-Statis Pro Basketball strategy variant
-Webpage ideas
-Bowl Bound solitaire and playoff system
-Bowl Bound conferences, schedules, bowls, and playoffs
********************************************************************
END OF DIGEST 9-08-97
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