OT - Advice on tabletop football games

[blackandgold]

Hello all,
If you were going to introduce a teenager to a tabletop football game, which one would you recommend? I'm guessing it should be one that is basic enough to get started, but then be able to get more complex as they play more.
I have played almost all of the baseball games available, but have only ever played Strat-O-Matic football, and I'm not sure if it's the best option.
Thanks in advance for any help.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

APBA has stepped up their game and it is very playable though a full season of cards is now very expensive.

They are about to release the 2015 NFL and top 12 or so college teams. The basic game is affordable at around $35.00 which I think gets you last year's Super Bowl teams and the top two college teams. The complete NFL card set is now $135.00! They have an abbreviated version of limited rosters but by all accounts it does not work well.

In my opinion APBA is much easier to play than Strat but the cost is getting tough. There are a few other choices and I have heard that a game called Second Season available at PLAAY.Com is pretty good and affordable. I think the team ratings and players are listed on a sheet with no individual play cards.

I think that perhaps the best game of all-time may have been Sports Action CFL football issued off and on from 1973-87. Really good but pretty obscure even for CFL fans.

Not much help her but I hope it gives you a couple of options to check out.

[tcornett]

Second vote for APBA, if I remember correctly, you can start fairly basic, then get more complicated. If you want to start with this, let me know, I could probably dig up my game and cards, if free works for you, they are yours. The teams aren't current, probably 10 or so years old.

Let me know if you are interested, and where in PA are you located? I am in central PA.

EDIT: I found a complete set of cards for the 2003 season, may have more, I can dig further if you are interested..

Tim

[blackandgold]

Second vote for APBA, if I remember correctly, you can start fairly basic, then get more complicated. If you want to start with this, let me know, I could probably dig up my game and cards, if free works for you, they are yours. The teams aren't current, probably 10 or so years old.

Let me know if you are interested, and where in PA are you located? I am in central PA.

EDIT: I found a complete set of cards for the 2003 season, may have more, I can dig further if you are interested..

Tim

Tim and Mike, thanks so much for the input!
Tim,
That sounds great, I really appreciate the offer, and will take them.
I have lived in central PA my whole life, and currently live in DuBois.

[tcornett]

Sounds good, PM me your address, and I will figure out how to send this to you on Tuesday.

Tim

[FourStrikes]

vintage 1960's-1970's era "Electric Football" games...there's something oddly cool about 'directing' the players using that crappy plastic little wheel-thingy to make the player pieces "do" what you want them to, and that sh!tty little pencil-point sized foam 'football' that would get vacuumed up whenever it was booted from the playing surface onto the carpet (never - EVER - to be seen again) has an unmistakable charm of its own, as does the cardboard stadium backdrop that had to be assembled/propped up to make the setting somewhat "realistic"

p.s. - I'm an unapologetic 50-something, and those were the freakin' days!

DS

[PM770]

I'm a huge supporter of Strat-O-Matic. It can be as basic or as detailed as you want it to be.

The only problem for Football is that the retro seasons released through the game company only include 6 select teams for the board game. The computer game has them all.