Tabletop sports games have been around in one form or another for about a hundred years, though it's easy to overlook them in an age where computer simulations can provide realtime, down-on-the-field excitement enhanced by graphics that make the game look like the actual sport. Understandably, computer sports games are wildly successful, and get better all the time.

Yet, there's still something to be said for that face-to-face challenge offered by tabletop games --- making decisions, rolling dice, and reading charts for results --- and so there will probably always be a market for tabletop sports games.

Whether you're an avid football junkie, or you're not even familiar with the sport, Pizza Box Football, by On The Line Game Company, is the tabletop football game to own. Why the name? Well, it's packaged in a cardboard box that opens up like a pizza box. But inside that box with the gimmicky name is a truly fun football game that places you in the head coach's job.

Components:

The game equipment is simple but attractive, and highly functional. The player aids list the 6 steps for calling and resolving plays each down, and the charts are easy to read and understand. The game board is merely used to mark the position of the ball and the First Down marker, but also features peg tracks for quarter, down, time, and timeouts. PBF also includes colored plastic pegs and the all the dice needed to play.

Click on this link to the outstanding Pizza Box Football (PBF) website: http://pizzaboxfootball.com, where you can see the game equipment, and read the rules. The webpage recommends the game for ages 12 to adult, but a child as young as 8 years old could play if he/she knows how football is played.

Red Zone Shootout and Backyard Brawl are two abbreviated versions of PBF that offer coaches some football thrills in a short amount of time. They are also excellent tools for teaching the game. However, almost every fan is going to grab for the full game versions: Smashmouth Full Game, and Professional Full Game.

Smashmouth Full Game is played in four quarters like regulation football, with 30 plays per quarter. Each coach has an equal 'generic' team, so the outcome rests on the strategies, play calls, and die rolls of the players. As the rules on the website explain, there are 3 offensive plays and 3 defensive plays, but the rules also cover QB Pressure, Mishaps, kick-offs and field goals, onside kicks, punts, and short-punts.

Professional Full Game is the Smashmouth Full Game with time management introduced. Instead of a quarter comprising 30 plays, each quarter consists of 90 time units, and each kind of play or field action is assigned a cost of 0-4 time units. This challenges coaches to use the clock to their best advantage, strategically calling plays and timeouts to optimize their opportunities. It actually doesn't take much any longer to play Professional Full Game than it does Smashmouth.

Game Play:

The flow of the game is very smooth, and as coaches get familiar with the 6 steps for each down, they'll seldom refer to the player aid. Each down can be resolved in 15-20 seconds, and with no penalties (they're factored into the gain/loss results); no time-outs between changes of possession and quarters, no half-time show, and no 2-minute warning time outs, a game can be played in 75-90 minutes between experienced coaches. Your first few games may take a little longer.

The Expansion

Click on this link for information regarding the Pizza Box Football Expansion Set. As you can see, the Expansion Rules add 3 offensive and 3 defensive play options to the basic 3 offensive/3defensive options in PBF, creating more realism in the coaching options by adding run blitzing, QB blitzing, route jumps, screen passes, draw plays, and play action. There is a set of the Expansion Rules included in the basic PBF game, so PBF fans can get right into the richer game without buying the Expansion.

But you're going to buy the Expansion Set anyway!! Why? Because the key feature of the expansion is the set of individual charts for each of the 32 pro (NFL) teams, thus allowing coaches to simulate pro match-ups with their favorite teams. These charts are based on the 2004 season statistics, and On The Line intends to publish new team sets each year. These teams are also rated on a scale of 1-3 in seven separate categories:

1. Offensive Run, Short Pass, Long Pass
2. Defense against Run, Short Pass, Long Pass
3. Mishaps

For example, a rating of 1 (weak) or 3 (strong) in a defensive category increases the chances that a defensive die roll will be modified downward or upward, respectively. This enables coaches to play to their teams advantages, and work on the opponent's disadvantages.

Summary

Pizza Box Football is not a detailed football simulation with complex rules. Thankfully, it is a wonderful table-top football game that is ready to play almost right of the box, and provides hours of entertainment. I've played five games, using 'generic' teams and pro teams, Smashmouth and Professional Full Game rules, and I have to say that it gets more fun each time I play. If you're into football and tabletop gaming, I strongly recommend this game.