APBA Football Club Podcast Network – Details, episodes & analysis

Breakaway Football is one of the more unique entrants into the world of #tabletopfootball games: stats-based yet card-driven, data-rich yet colorful and accessible. 

Not only that, but this game thusfar is based on replicating the key attributes of some of the most iconic teams in history, from 1958 to the present – hence, beginning with normalizing stats across eras. Given alternate names and logos in deference to potential licensing issues, these teams are given unique qualities, like random Bum Rap bad-luck outcomes for the representation of the 1980 Oilers. Your Saints become the Sinners, Packers the Stackers, Steelers the Blacksmiths, Buccaneers the Privateeers, etc.

And, the just-released Team Creator lets Breakaway Football fans create teams of their own.

Arthur Franz IV walks us through some of the most important game functions and the thought process that led to them (hint: he watched a LOT of game film to determine how, for instance, the 1978 Cowboys [“the Horsemen”] used and profited from the then-rare shotgun formation). Notably, Arthur has coached football at several levels, starting right out of high school, which adds to his perspective on translating the action on the field to the tabletop.

Arthur and the rest of the Breakaway Football design team will join us for the first time ever at our third cards-and-dice football event at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton on Aug. 24-25.

Buy Breakaway Football:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/breakaway-football

Breakaway Football group on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/244866002738026

Uplink Underground Games:

https://uplinkunderground.com

#football #nfl #footballgame #footballgames #footballhistory #nflhistory #tabletopsports

APBA Hall of Famer Joe "MakoJo" Sweeney (Class of 2005) is one of the earliest inductees into the gameco's tight-knit club of honorees His editors, viewers and utilities for #APBABaseball and #APBAFootball are legend. Joe finished 4-6 in our 10-game Ed Zack Memorial tournament on April 6-7, 2024, at the  @baseballhall . We conducted this interview right at the entrance to the exhibits because the playoffs were going on in the learning center and we had to choose the lesser of two evils in terms of background sound. I might attempt to filter the background noise on this later, but for now let this suffice. MakoJo site (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20210126045052/http://www.makojo.com/ APBA Hall of Fame: http://apbagames.com/hall-of-fame Sample Between the Lines forum string praising MakoJo: https://forums.delphiforums.com/apbabtl/messages?msg=64542.1 Joe Sweeney's BtL profile: https://profiles.delphiforums.com/makojo1

Video version: https://youtu.be/S31A5WsQciE

Catching up with APBA Hall of Famers Ray Dunlap (Class of 2016), Roy Langhans (2001) and Jim Sce (2008) between the fast-paced competition at the first-ever tabletop sports gaming tournament at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Ray gives an update on his 2022 Yankees and Aaron Judge, Roy on his 1905 Giants and Christy Mathewson. Dunlap began playing APBA in 1964, wrote for the APBA Journal for many years, co-created the Suncoast Football League in Tampa in 1979 and served as the Tampa Bay Bucs' official statistician for most of the 1980s. Ray's APBA Football matchup system is a milestone for more fully utilizing all the player cards. Langhans began playing APBA in 1957 and among his myriad achievements played in the baseball and football tournaments at the first-ever APBA convention in Philadelphia in 1973. His Game of the Day thread on the Delphi forum Between the Lines is still going strong after he kicked it off on Aug. 23, 2000. (Roy's GOTD thread: https://forums.delphiforums.com/apbabtl/messages/?msg=3870.1) Sce was a key part of APBA"s coach's program, in which APBA ambassadors spread the word about APBA games to potential players.

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/iO4QZEels3o

Imagine my surprise learning that Sean Culnan — who ran the demos of Plaay's Second Season on Friday, July 28, at Plaay Dot Con 23 in Denver — is also a third-year coach in the National Card Football League. The NCFL dates back to 1981 in Ohio and has been using APBA Football since then. Sean made the NCFL Super Bowl last year and has also completed two full-season replays, 1980 and 1984, using Second Season. He shares a few thoughts regarding league play, tabletop coaching and more.

National Card Football League site:

https://jzajack.wixsite.com/ncfl

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/RxFXzr3oOuk

At long last: The long-awaited, much-anticipated quarterback Clash of 1983 — as it should have happened. One of the all-time “what if” projects featuring John Elway staying with the Baltimore Colts (and perhaps the Colts staying in Baltimore) and facing fellow first-round selection Dan Marino at the helm of a Steelers offense in flux. Amazingly, Elway and Marino only met three times in their careers: two regular-season games won by the Dolphins (a 30-26 shootout in 1985 and a 31-21 MIami win in 1998) and one postseason blowout, a 38-3 drubbing of the Dolphins by the Broncos en route to their Super Bowl 33 victory. Denver and Miami met in the 1999 regular season, but of course Elway retired upon winning his second ring. Had the ’83 draft played out as envisioned here, Marino would have traveled to Baltimore with the Black and Gold for a Nov. 13 contest won by the Steelers, 24-13. The 1980s weren’t entirely terrible for either the Steelers or Colts franchises — there were some playoff appearances amid the more dismal campaigns. In 1983, the Steelers finished 10-6 before bowing in the playoffs, while the Colts struggled at 7-9. MIami finished 12-4, Denver at 9-7 — and both were dispatched in the playoffs by the Seahawks. WIth Marino earning a four-point card in APBA Football’s original 1983 season set vs. only a two for Elway, there’s not much hope of the Colts far exceeding their ’83 record — especially with Elway’s 47.5% completion rate. That said, Elway did show a sign of the magic to come when he threw three fourth-quarter TDs in Week 15 against the Colts in Denver to lift the Broncos from a 19-0 deficit to a 21-19 win (in fact, the Colts and Broncos met in Baltimore in Week 2 as well, with Denver winning 17-10). It would be far more interesting to put Elway 1986 or 1987 with the Colts — although even then Elway’s completion rate stayed in the mid-50s; he didn’t crack 60% completions until his 1993 season. Speaking of the Broncos and Dolphins, they’ve only met 20 times in their history, with Miami leading the series 12-7-1; there’s another great what-if best-of-three series: • 1983 season, when both made the playoffs and could have faced each other. • 1984 season, when Denver lost to Pittsburgh in a bid to face Miami in the AFC Championship • 1997 season, when both made the playoffs Along the lines of this project, check out the 1984 NBA what-if by Rod's Tabletop Hoops ( @redfanrod ) The 1984 Blazers took Jordan, the Bulls took Barkley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejNiE7yvBhc REDZONE/HIGHLIGHTS 11:3422:0532:1437:5554:181:02:451:17:151:30:10 Denver-Miami head-to-head history: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/game_query.cgi?tm1=den&tm2=mia&yr=all First Elway-Marino meeting, 1985: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198509290den.htm Second Elway-Marino meeting, 1998: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199812210mia.htm Third Elway-Marino meeting, 1999: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199901090den.htm 1983 Steelers at Colts: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198311130clt.htm 1983 standings: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1983/ “The day the Royals drafted Elway and Marino”: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/jun/13/john-elway-dan-marino-1979-mlb-draft-kansas-city-royals “John Elway, Bob Irsay and the Colts fleeing of Baltimore”: https://fansided.com/2021/07/23/john-elway-1983-nfl-draft-baltimore-colts/ “How the legendary 1983 QB draft class changed the NFL forever”: https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/04/26/1880-nfl-draft-john-elway-dan-marino-jim-kelly-historic-class “What if John Elway played for the Colts?”: https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/what_if_john_elway_played_for_the_colts/s1_11773_18227675

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/qmRSCZGbXoc

Native New Yorker turned South Floridian Frank Fumai is turning his retirement passion of attending as many APBA tournaments as possible into a new outlet: APBA At Sea, one of the newest regional APBA Baseball tournaments. Fumai, a veteran of APBA tournaments from Chicagoland to Chattanooga and Las Vegas (he's also planning to attend the Kansas City event), initially sought to create a tournament tied to spring training in Florida. When that proved a bit costly, he turned to another passion of his — and the APBA baseball cruise was born. The four-day cruise will feature a one-day tournament. The theme is any third place team between 1980 and 1999, and competitors can choose one player who played on the team 20 years prior (for instance, the 1995 White Sox can include a player from the 1975 team). Team selection will likely begin just before Labor Day, and Fumai will pick last. Veterans and rookies are welcome, and single attendees are eligible to be paired with others to share a room and keep their costs down. The itinerary starts in Fort Lauderdale; Key West is the destination on Day 2, and Day 3 will feature the competition from roughly 8 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. On Day 4, cruisers will spend time in Nassau, Bahamas, before heading home. veterans and newbies welcome — and Frank can supply a team for anyone who needs one. Costs are all inclusive; there is no separate fee to play in the tournament. And there are plenty of things for nonplaying family and friends to do on competition day. The chosen ship is the Celebrity Silhouette :https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-silhouette For more information and to reserve your spot, call cruise coordinator Aidy Alonzo at 954-377-6424. Deposits are refundable if your travel plans change.

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/UooZdyxoJ_E

On the occasion of the seventh Strat-O-Matic football tournament held at CincyCon this year, we talked with tournament director Meredith Adkins about the competition rules, as well how he runs his face-to-face league, the GMVFL. He also discusses two other SOM football tournaments: the Bushwhacker tournament in May and the MDOR in September; both have been running for more than 20 years, he noted. Adkins shares insights into everything from home-brewed rules to how to keep a league running, as well as the custom roll-up mats they had created to expand on the basic SOM game board. The 2023 CincyCon tourmament fielded 10 teams: 1983 WAS 1984 SF 1984 MIA 1985 CHI 1998 DEN 2004 NE 2004 IND 2010 PIT 2019 BAL 2020 KC In a wild 20-19 finish, the 2004 Patriots snuck past the 1985 Bears. Meredith limits participating teams to those from 1983 to the present to aid in recruiting efforts. APBA Baseball and APBA Football figured into his early gaming career, when he saw a testimonial for the baseball game from a wargaming source. 10:08: The Lyman Bostock tournament. GMVFL page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1003156216549923 CincyCon announcement and rules on SOM's website: https://www.strat-o-matic.com/announcements/som-football-and-baseball-tournaments-cincycon/ Reach Meredith by email at baoman2004@cs.com. Strat-O-Matic football leagues listed on SOM registry: https://bit.ly/41vEBlP

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/CTmZ2K3dH0E

Some important things to know about the tabletop football game APBA Football — for newcomers and returnees alike. 00:39 No. 1 01:39 No. 2 04:11 No. 3 05:49 No. 4 07:42 No. 5 09:17 No. 6 APBA Football Stadium Shop: https://apba.stores.yahoo.net/apbafootball.html

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/JcMp4nU3J8E

In a survey of 440 folks not keen on board games, Nick Bentley found seven recurring themes, which he posted in a string of Tweets on May 4. Mr. Bentley is the president of Underdog Games Studio ( @underdoggames5039 ). Those themes won’t surprise us aficionados of tabletop sports games and simulations. All credit for my learning of this survey goes to U.K. board game design expert Chris Backe, founder of  @entrogames https://boardgamedesign.beehiiv.com/ The envelope please: 1. Too long to play 2. Too complex to play 3. Board games are boring 4. Board games make people too competitive 5.Board games aren't social 6. Too costly 7. Negative stereotypes ("geeks," "nerds") Read Nick's entire Twitter thread here: https://bit.ly/3VV7DJD Nick's Google doc detailing every response to his survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tz_RTQ6N6tIXGgmy7jUwfeidhiTawGJP_k0-Z7Q-uks/edit#gid=0 Summary of the seven key reasons by The Meeples Herald: https://meeplesherald.com/news/game-designer-nick-bentley-asks-why-oh-why-dont-you-like-board-games/?fbclid=IwAR2Jz4F5wRrgWxcvRSIuUMfwAdegKPCGqHUJ3dlkX3XdsG-Jp2IXzlr9f1A Nick Bentley's game site: https://www.nickbentley.games/

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/5zYkwxxCl-Q

(published May 10, 2023)

Game designer Mark Bates (Infinite Pi Games) discusses how he transformed the game World Cup! from creator Shaun Derrick’s original version into an all-card version. World Cup! lets users run an “association” of four teams by playing various soccer actions from a deck that lets managers attack, score and defend. Play the entire World Cup in two to three hours. Watch the World Cup! playthrough video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKu49tAh3LQ Buy World Cup! from Infinite Pi Games: https://www.infinitepigames.com/Sovereign Chess:https://mark-bates.squarespace.com/ *** Use discount code APBA for $20 off the World Cup! Champion Package, which includes all three expansions: Laws of the Game, EURO 2020 and QATAR 2022: https://www.infinitepigames.com/store/p/world-cup-world-cup-champion-pre-order The original version of World Cup by Shaun Derrick/Games for the World: https://boardgames.com/boardgame/the-world-cup-game

VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/bxvEJmAgmGw