Some peeps outside looking in don't understand how we can play a game that only has dots running around. In the age of give me my graphics and animation and give it to me now, some would rather have graphics over a thinking mans game of strategy.

For me dots are a nostalgic deal. The first strategy football game I played was when I was a kid. It was my dads actually, but he let my brother and I play it. I forget the name of it, but it was virtually a box with a light bulb in it.

Both the offense and defense had these large cards of plays. Each card represented a football field. The defenses cards had dots all over it and the offenses cards had a jagged line going down the field. The offense would put their chosen play card in the box and then the defense would put theirs on top of the offenses card. Then you would pull back this slider that would light up the offenses jagged line and when it reached a dot the play was dead right there. You'd see how many yards were gained and move a slider on a football field to see where you are at. And of course change the down marker and score as needed. Spent hours on that game. Have loved dots ever since.

So that's my story, but what attracts you to the glorious dots?

Great story, Beercloud!

My experience was similar. The game I played had offensive and defensive play cards that were put in a slot and then you would push back on a little plastic part that would activate an arrow that would bounce off two springs. Where the arrow would end up would be the result of the play. The bad thing about it was you could look at the play cards before you activated the arrow. I was pretty good at snapping that part to get a very positive result. My brother called it cheating. I called it good coaching!

I love that it's a strategic based game and that one can put their strategies into place and watch them play out on the screen via those glorious dots.

Defensively, it's about containment and watching your defenders descend on the ball carrier, mashing him to itty bitty pixels on rushes or lighting up a receiver upon their catching the ball.

Offensively, it's seeing your layered plans come to fruition. Building a particular run up to the point that how you have it set up with blocking and against a certain defense, it'll explode to the house or hitting that home run streak and watching as your beautiful dot races across the screen in pixeled bliss. (the best is when those 95 speed WRs keep extending out the gap between himself and the defender as he bursts for those long TDs)

Essentially, it's being able to create your own world offensively and defensively while driving that strategy home for success and ENJOYMENT. :)

Mine doesn't go that far back, my first football simulation was APBA, which got kicked to the curb for Bowl Bound and Paydirt. Dr. Thomas R Nicely, wonder what he's doing these days?

ABBA? It cranked out Fernando and Dancin' Queen as teams marched down the field. :) j/k

I grew up with the lightbulb in a box as well Beercloud, what fun! Then coaching was x's and o's,
dots if you think about it! This is like those old play books, keeps me going!

NFL Strategy! I still have my game and pull it out once in a great while just for kicks.

I also had a game called Foto Football. The offensive cards had the offensive set drawn on it as well as downfield blocking indicators and the ball carrier path. The defense would have the same kind of thing, but in transparent paper. Both would be put into an envelope and the player in charge of offense would choose where to place the hidden cards. Then you would slowly pull the envelope off revealing the running path and where the runner either evaded tackles or ran right into them. Quarters were based on the number of plays, not time. It was pretty fun!

NFL Strategy! That's it jlyman! I still have mine, too! I think it is in a box somewhere in my cellar. Will have to try and see if I can find it. Might bring it to family Christmas and see if my brother wants to play! ;)

The best graphics are the one's we see with our mind's eye. So in this case, the movement of the dots (or the little figures depicted on the screen in MFN) can't be replicated in any graphics any better than we can simply imagine.

I've played them all. APBA, NFL Strategy, Strat-O-Matic and then some. They have all led to a better understanding of the game in real life. When Madden or any of the graphics driven games go back to a truly game management mode, I'll give them a try once more. Until then, I'll stick with MFN as long as JDBaker keeps up with it and I enjoy the camaraderie of the MFN community.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I think for me it?s twofold -- 1. Most of the GM/Sim games I?ve seen usually end with just having a play-by-play that you have to read if you want more than the end score and stats. Simply having dots bouncing around is an improvement over that, but 2. it reminds me of an old game we used to play in college called Playmaker Football (circa 1989), where one allocated a set amount of skill points across their entire roster and then also programmed their own playbook -- it was the first game I?d ever seen where you could literally diagram your own plays and once one of the kids in the dorm cracked the copy protect on the disk, it spread like wildfire across our dorm. We?d have league nights every Wednesday and Saturday...the divisions were the actual floors of the dorm and home field advantage meant you were playing the game on your computer system. Lots of good times and beer consumed over three years in that league. Lots of nostalgia seeing these little top-down dots scrambling around.