Sports Gaming Digest (04-12-99) Greetings Sports Gamers! I'm a little more scattered than usual this week following a recent move, so I'll leave the commentary to others this week. In case anyone needs to send me something in the mail, my address is 5907 San Jose Avenue, Richmond CA 94804. Regards, Jim Gordon jgordon@library.berkeley.edu http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/2125 Pawtucket or Bust! ********************** From: "J. Woodson & DJ"Subject: Referencing Paydirt Defenses - (to Mark W. 4/5/99) I have come up with a way to play Paydirt SOLO. I won't go into it now, but I like to pick three most likely plays to defend and come up with the best play against those three, and keep in mind down and distance when doing so. Impossible with bad defenses, but go for the slow down and let the offense make a mistake whenever possible. As a player, I tend to be "bend but don't break" on defense. I value teams that can QT because of the increase in fumbling and desperation it causes. Defenses with "minus" boxes on lots of passing defense rolls are good against the bad teams and can't stop Archie Manning or Joe Montana. I have '80, '85, '86, '87 and '88 charts. I want '83 and '84, then through '92. I have made an '86 "Average Team" chart that is a lot of fun. In solo efforts, NO ONE has beat the '85 Bears. In OTB games, the '85 Chargers have the comeback game to beat all(24-0 half, won 27-30) over the '85 Jets, and I abandoned an '87 Denver versus '87 New Orleans(overrated but fun) at 41-0 halftime. Typical solo game is 20-17 and not 34-31 range. Best solo effort witnessed against the Bears was a 19-14 loss by the 11-5 '85 Rams! I have played in a full-on league with the 1979 charts and broke spreads often with '79 49ers(Go Wendell Tyler!) [Actually, Wendell was with the Rams in 1979. He joined the Niners in '83--JCG] and Green Bay(any years they can get 25 yards on a Bomb easily they're never out). Note I suck with overcats and glide with underdogs. Best solo games come from teams 7-9 to 10-6. Gotta have some EXCITEMENT on blown calls defensively to be enjoyable. Most 4-12 teams leave the ball on the ground too often. Hope this helps. Help get me some charts and I can help you get the games to play the way you like them. Woody the Paydirt Monster ************************ From: "Art Butterfield" Hi Jim, I thought I would remind Paydirt players that a few of us have found that playing online using a chat service like ICQ or AOL Instant Messenger is a viable way to get games played. The games take a little longer because there are the inevitable disconnects and any dialog you have must be typed. We have found that you can play a game in anywhere from 3-4 hours, we often will play a game over two evenings. You must of course trust each other with the dice rolls, but I have found that Paydirt players of our generation are usually very trustworthy. I would invite members who are interested to visit Chris Carl's web site dedicated to getting players together and keeping stats on games played. The site is: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dome/9910/IPCA/ipcamain.html I'm sure I speak for the members of the IPCA when I say we look forward to others who would like to play. Art_Butterfield@msn.com ************************ From: Michael Hopcroft Jim, As you mentioned the Bay Area, I noticed that there are quite a few fellow list members in the Portland, Oregon mmetro area and wonder whether a bunch of us guys could get together sometime. [Sounds like a great idea. Anyone in the greater Portland, OR area should contact Mike Hopcroft and get together. You can become charter members in the Pacific Northwest Sports Gamers Association. Good luck, and let me know what happens.--JCG] On the fictional player leagues mentioned -- changing the names seems a waste of god cards. This is, of course, pre-photocopier, much less pree-PC. But it should be interesting. Reminds me of something I did with Title Bout in the late '70s. All-Star replay posted a set of rules for "role-playing" in which you would ruoll up a fighter and try to fight their way up the ranks in their chosen divisionn. I had a great deal of fun with that, making a fighter version of myself and climbing up the welterweight ranks. At about the same time, TSR published a game in Dragon magazine called Ringside with that very goal in mind. And Avalon Hill's Startegy series, basketball especially, was great for pure fantasy. Boy am I glad I have all three of them. The mention of March Madness brought back some god meories of an old friend I haven't heard from in a long time. His name was Al Peterson and I was in a SP Basketball league with him. The only thing worse than losing to him was beating him. (He was a constant complainer). He was also a collector of games and would play just anbout anything in the off-season. We once ended up playing a game of SOM football that ran four hours with only a few scores. I should note that the touchdown I scopred in that game was probably illegal under Strat's artifical play-calling limitations. I am looking for ASR articles. Photocopies will do just fine givenn the rarity of ASR issues. If it were possible to buy the entire run of the magazine, I'd do it, but I know better. Annyway, I'm looking for the following items: The All-Time All-Stars article and roster. [It's on the SGD website. http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/2125/sibbatas.html --JCG] The Pennannt Race preview complete with 1951 teams, and the 1908 teams later in the run. The Basketball Startegy quick-game. Role-Playing in Title Bout, both articles The Title Bout mini-game and conversion article David LeSuer's alternative rating systems for Statis-Pro Baseball. LeSuer was the sort of writer I'd love to see writing for HCA -- a man who knew the math an d was always coming up with something new. Maybe someday I can design a game with someone that knowledgable. I'm also wondering if anyone has a copy of SPI Football. This was back when SPI was trying to diversify before TSR swallowed everything up in a disturbing parallel to what happened to Avalon Hill twenty years later. It came with the 1958 season, was a simple game to play, and came with a play-bvy-play form that I would gladly use with any other football game I'd own. Again, I'd settle for photocopies. Finally, chedk out HCA at http://fly.to/homecoachadvantage. I need the numbers and the support, and could use writers and articles from all of you board-savvy types. Michael Hopcroft ************************ From: Scott Shacter Do you or does anyone in the group know of any analysis and preferably any websites that discuss the relative effects of differeing fielding ratings and power ratings in diamond mind baseball? scott shacter shacter@aplaw.com ************************ From: "Mike D Kenny" I have also caught the fever of March Madness and have started the 1998 College basketball season for the 2nd time as the first time I had to reformat windows and lost everything. Anyway the last four nights I have played a game 3 of 4 games were decided by 1 point! In the first game I was Iowa; Ryan Bowen had a big game he hit a clutch three and then hit the game winner at the buzzer to beat Michigan St. (Mateen Cleaves fouled out early in the 2nd half) Game 2 I chose Sw Missouri St. vs Missouri this time I came up short with the upset losing by one in Norman. Game 3 Georgetown vs Syracuse I was the Hoyas it was a good game Syracuse turned it over a ton as I pressed them alot and we escaped The 'cuse with a 1 point overtime victory. Then last night I was Tennesse trying to upset the 7-0 Kentucky championship well the homecourt advantage payed off and we upset the Cats 74-70 that Kentucky team is relentless but Tennesse is a team that matches up good against them. The Kentucky team will not win the championship if I have anything to do with it as I like to play the 'cats with alot teams to try and play the giant killer. I have seen a few people asking about College basketball games. I have no problem recomending Lance Haffners Courtside College basketball. It has every team and then some!! like Hawaii-Hilo, AK-Anchorage in my other season I got beat by Hawaii-Hilo with Ga Tech by one point on the big island I think it had something to do with the altitude or something. This game was updated recently which includes new lingo, a conference schedule generator which is a Godsend. Also a Poll to see where the teams stand nationally as well as league leaders and standings and also Mvp list for each conference cool huh? These games are alot like a board game but its on a computer there are no graphics which doesnt bother me in the least. Anyway there are many offensive and defensive strategies available more than enough and the game plays very easily. There is the option for fouling at the end even the computer will foul. Anyway I seen Lance Haffner is receiving the digest. I was wondering what or if anything new is in the works for lhgames for any of the current games any new versions?? what about the resurrection of Tko boxing I liked that game but unfortunately I got rid of my Commodore 64 which was a big mistake. Thanks and God Bless. ************************ From: "Bruce Coleman" Dear Jim, I would like to know if anybody has a Slapshot card game from Avalon Hill available for purchase. It was the most entertaining card game for baseball road trips ever, and I need to acquire one. Also, I am looking for any Statis Pro baseball card sets from the years 1978, 1982, 1986, all years after 1992, and all years prior to 1958, 1959-60, and 1963-1978. [To my knowledge, SP Baseball cards were produced for the following years: 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, Great Teams (10 teams), 1912 World Series, 1955 World Series, 1978 Japan World Series, Great Pennant Races (1950 AL, 1964 NL, 1967 AL). Classic Statis Pro Baseball 1961. All Star Replay magazine listed ratings for several great teams (1906 Cubs, 1927 Yankees, 1936 Yankees, 1943 Cardinals, 1953 Yankees, 1976 Reds) --JCG] Thanks bcoleman@pubaffairs.umsmed.edu Bruce Coleman ************************ From: "Hall, Marc (CAP, ITS, US)" Subject: Looking for Ernie Banks! This is a bit of an odd request, but it can't hurt to try! If anyone out there would be willing to part with an old Banks Chicago Cubs statis pro card between 1955 & 1971 ( Ernie's playing years ). I know not every year was made & I'm don't care what year is offered. I have seen some full seasons on Ebay ( rare & pricey ), but I'm really only looking for this specific player. Please contact me via E-mail marc.hall@gecits.ge.com Thanks for the space & keep up the good work! ************************ From: Eno29367@aol.com Subject: Board Games Jim: ALWAYS look forward to your weekly e-mails of the SGD...it's fantastic!! Was wondering if you or anyone has heard of a hockey game called "The World's Greatest Hockey Game". I believe it may have been produced in Canada. I ordered it in 1979, which included cards for the '78-'79 season. The game was quick, fun, and easy to play -- three good characteristics!! It was also statistically accurate. I kick myself for not having kept it..what was I thinking?? Anyway, any idea what I'm talking about?? I remember I saw it advertised in The Hockey News (perhaps I should contact them about getting back issues somehow and searching the classifieds!!). Just wondering..... By the way, I saw Statis-Pro Hockey advertised on ebay, and it went for $71.00!! I have played innumerable solitaire replays of all four major sports, with many, many games (from APBA to SOM to Statis-Pro to PTP, you name it!!), along with my own personal variations/fine tuning of the rules. I usually pilot one team thru a season. Keep rolling those dice!! Greg Eno Warren, MI ************************ From: richard.l.andrews@exgate.tek.com Subject: Fastbreak Basketball Card Sets Jim: Love SGD! I am a devoted fan of Jim Mickey's Fast Break Basketball, I have nearly every card set except the 1984-85 and 1985-86 which I believe was the last set he produced. Is there anyone out there who has these sets and is willing to sell them. Rick A ************************ From: dja1@iscp.bellcore.com (Dave Arlington) Subject: Avalon Hill rumors >From a gaming club I'm in, I saw a retailer's newsletter (and this is the ONLY place I've seen this rumor, so take it with a grain of salt) that mentions that Avalon Hill/Hasbro will be reprinting and re-releasing some Avalon Hill games this summer. The bad news as far as sports gamers go, is that despite some 'general interest' (read, they're not wargames) games like 1830 are being reprinted/re-released, there was not one sports game on the list of 30 or 40 games I saw. [This is about what I would expect.--JCG] Dave ---------------------- Dave Arlington Telcordia Technologies ISCP AIN Development RRC 4A-365 732-699-4941 dja1@iscp.bellcore.com ---------------------- ************************ From: VSIGames@aol.com Subject: Varsity GridIron - 1999 Edition Dear Members: I wanted to inform those on the Sport Gaming Digest that the 1999 Edition of Varsity GridIron is now available. I also want to acknowledge those Digest members who purchased the game last year that your business is very much appreciated. Hopefully, everyone found the game to be both realistic and enjoyable to play. For those who aren't familiar with Varsity GridIron, I thought I would give a quick overview of what the game is all about. Varsity GridIron is the realistic table top board game of college football. Its ease of play, control over the flow of the game and ability to be updated yearly cannot be matched. You are able to replay all of the bowl games, create a true championship tournament or play your favorite team's schedule. There are practically endless combinations of match-ups to be played, all of which are under your control. Through the use of Time / Action Cards, team sheets and yardage cards, every run, pass and special teams play is determined quickly and realistically. Players are rated individually, team's defenses have a role in almost every sequence and home field advantage is built into the game. Varsity GridIron even accounts for those unusual plays like injuries or tipped passes with the use of Broken Play charts. The 1999 Edition brochures are now available, which further describes the features of Varsity GridIron. This year, we are offering up to 75 teams from the 1998 college football season. In addition, there are also team sheets available from the 1995-1997 seasons. For those who are interested in more information and would like a Varsity GridIron brochure, please contact us at your convenience: Varsity Sports Industries 6612 Mineral Point Road Madison, WI 53705 Toll-free: (888) 326-7217 E-Mail: vsigames@aol.com Please mention the Sports Gaming Digest when you request a brochure. Sincerely, Varsity Sports Industries Gregory D. Gordon General Manager ****************** From: RehlDeal@aol.com Subject: ProFootball'97 Dear Sir, I would like to recieve some information over ProFootball'97 as to whether it is any good as a computer game? [Perhaps one of you computer game enthusiasts can lend an opinion.-JCG] RehlDeal ********************** From: aismike@iol.it Subject: SI Paydirt Dear Jim, as the resident expert, a question for you : - a friend of mine has the Sports Illustrated edition of Paydirt (long, flat box, with a '73 copyright on box ('74 one on the rules), which he want to sell (you'll see it soon on eBay, together with '72, '73 and '74 Statis-Pro baseball games, pre Avalon Hill !!!); my question is : which year are the 26 Pro football teams based on ? There's no indication on team charts themselves .... [The Sports illustrated Pro Football team charts for the 1969, 1970 and 1971 seasons were produced on multi-color sheets approximately 8.5"x11". The name of the game was changed to Paydirt and the 1972 season charts were produced as two-color 8.5"x5" sheets. Those same 1972 season charts were basically retreaded the next year as full-size sheets with only minor changes to reflect some rules changes. Specifically, the "1973" charts have OFF 10 yard penalties instead of OFF 15 penalties, and the field goal ranges were reduced 10 yards to account for the movement of the goalposts back to the end line. Those "1973" charts did not reflect original research even though they were marketed as the "1973" season. It sounds like your friend has the "1973" charts, which are virtually the same as the 1972 season. Hope that helps.--JCG] Thanks in advance. Best wishes, Michele Montagni e-mail: Michele.Montagni@MailHome.com ****************** From: Svs2@aol.com Subject: Re: WTB Long Ball I am looking to buy; the Long Ball Baseball board game, in good to very good playable condition, game must be complete. Looking for the 1979 edition, this game does not contain individual cards for both the pitchers and batters, use approximately 20 different pitcher and batter cards. Steve stvans@hotmail.com ******************* From: JohnBench5@aol.com Hello there sportsgamers. I still have the following items that I am interested in trading. They are as follows: Paydirt with 1979 charts along with copies of the 70 and 90 charts. Bowl Bound with Team set III Title Bout Statis Pro Baseball with 1978 and 1985 seasons Statis Pro Football with 1980, 1986, and 1989 seasons. Superstar Baseball Numerous APBA Baseball and Football seasons I am looking for the following. Any Football, Baseball, or Hockey game that I don't have. If you have one, please let me know and we'll work something out. Face-off Hockey- I might even trade 2 for 1 to get this game. Strat Hockey seasons from 1977-78 to 1986-87 Thanks John ****************** From: Roger Subject: My first time and Strat thoughts I began playing sports board games in the early 1980's. I loved sports but had no outlet for my fantasies. I was just 12 when I discovered Statis-Pro Baseball in a local hobby store in Maryland. When I got home I opened the game and to my suprise there laying in the box were many of my heroes. My attention turned to my favorite team the Baltimore Orioles. The cards were based on the 1983 season so I got to play with the World Champions. I still have the game and play it from time to time. When the age of computers arrived I stopped playing sports board games. Micro League Baseball was my passion. I didn't have to do alot of work and still played with my favorite players. Now I could play through an entire season. It still took a long time because early computer games were not that advanced. Then when Earl Weaver baseball came along I was in heaven. That game even allowed you to build your own ballparks visually. I can not figure out why none of the game companies have ever put that option into their games. Well needless to say for many years there was something misssing in my gaming enjoyment and that was the roll of the dice and the ability to hold players in my hand. In the early 90's I bought every sports board game I could get my hands on. This included all of the Strat-O-Matic games, All of the APBA games except basketball, Pursue The Pennant, and ASG Baseball. I have also added Face Off Hockey, National Pro Hockey, Negamco Hockey, Pro Table Games Hockey, Big League Baseball Manager, Dynasty League Baseball, All of the Statis-Pro Games, Negamco Pro Basketball, and Paydirt to my collection. This also includes too many season sets to mention. Sorry they are not for sale or trade. I love my games. My first time was only a few weeks ago. We were having a family get together and I asked my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law if they wanted to play strat-o-matic baseball. They had heard me speak of the game before and were interested. We all are around 30 years of age and the family thought we were crazy. This would be my first face to face game after all these years. Game one was against my brother-in-law. He picked the 1987 Cardinals so I decided to be the 1987 Twins. The game wasn't even close as Viola shut down the Cardinals for 5-0 victory. Next was my cousin-in-law and he wanted the 1987 Royals. We live just outside of Kansas City so that explains his choice. The 87 Royals did have George Brett, Bo Jackson, and some decent pitching. I had just received the 1998 Strat cards so I had to play one game with the 1998 Cardinals. The game was close for six innings. Willie Wilson hit a homerun in the 1st. I had a bad game rolling the dice for McGwire. Every time he was at bat the result came of the pitcher's card. He tripled in the 1st and scored a run. I broke the game open with 2 runs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings for a 7-1 victory. The games were not as exciting as I hoped but I do believe they enjoyed playing and we might do it again sometime. My final thoughts are on the new computer version of Strat-o-matic baseball. It is everything I have wanted in a baseball game. Not becasue it is perfect but becasue I can truly play the board game on the computer. With the card view image the game cards are on the screen. I roll the dice and input the results and the computer shuffles the cards and does everything else. I can never go back to playing the game without this option. Without the dice I feel like the computer is determining artificial results. With the dice I truly believe anything can happen. I wish every board game had a straight computer game conversion something like an aide de campe that exists for war games. In the second game of my 1964 Dodgers replay Koufax had a no-hitter through 8 and 1/3 innings. Every dice roll was laced with tension. I have never had a no-hitter playing any versions of strat-o-matic baseball. Thank you Strat for making my gaming dreams come true. Now just do the same thing with hockey and football. The two utility disks are a nice start. Sorry for this long post but I have been saving up some thoughts for too long. Roger Burriss ROGERALLENSS@CCTR.UMKC.EDU ******************** From: ROHANMAN@ix.netcom.com Jim, I was looking through your Sports Gaming Digest archives and I found some card formulas that I've been looking for (i.e., Negamco Hockey - coincidently, I was talking to someone out at Big League Game Company requesting a catalog recently, and they said that they would e-mail me a text document with the products available and that company was setting up a web site with online ordering. I haven't receive any e-mail and I don't know if the site is up, but I also read somewhere online that the company was looking to sell off their complete line of games and inventory. Big League Game Company was good for picking up an old game or two that's been out of print. My e-mail is basically two purpose...one...is how do I go about getting a subscription [You just signed yourself up merely by asking. Welcome.--JCG] and two...a quick thanks and to talk about the sharing of information on card formulas, gaming ideas, etc. I'm a firm believer in the free sharing of ideas. I've created an Excel 97 spreadsheet that creates Ethan Allen All-Star Baseball Game Discs that I would like to share with anyone who's interested. All you need to do is enter some basic stats (the spreadsheet 'holds' up to 20 players - printing 4 discs to a page), get some 110 lb 8.5x11 card stock from Staples (or your favorite office product supplier), and you can print out some good looking (and accurate) player discs. If any one is interested, I'll be happy to e-mail them out a copy of the worksheet. If someone has a web site and can post it, even better. I also created programs to create Strat-o-matic Baseball cards from the Bruce Bundy formulas that appeared in StratFan a few years back. I created 19th Century and early 1900's cards (i.e., NL 1903 & 1905) that I wanted to replay and were missing from the SOM library. I was going to share this program a few year ago, but I heard that SOM Game Company has sued people trying to sell "home" created cards. I wouldn't have done it for profit but I still dropped the idea. I am currently working on a program that creates APBA Hockey Cards based on the formulas from an article in the current APBA Journal. The formula logic converted nicely, but the article had incomplete formulas for Penalties (some basic concepts were there but more study was required). If you know if anyone has looked into APBA Hockey Card making formulas, please let me know. (BTW, I also would like to do the same with SOM Hockey). Thanks, Chris Rohan ********************* From: "I. Baly" Dear Jim: I have been reviewing some of the archived issues of the SGD for ideas on developing a basketball game. I understand that you have tabulated all of the data from the FAC cards from the SP basketball game. This information would be very helpful in my endeavor. Can you e-mail me this info? I am interested in the results off of the FAC for the pre-92and post-92 version of the game. [I'm not sure if I saved the raw data for the pre-92 system but there is an article on the SGD website with the conversion to dice method. See: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/2125/spbk2d8.html You can extrapolate approximate data from that, and I'll dig through my files to see what I saved. For the 1992- system, I have the raw data in a file and I'll send it to you.-JCG] Additionally, I would appreciate if you (or one of your readers) could post the results of the Fast Break charts listed on the board game. Also, were there other play charts on the game board itself? [I might have the Fast Break chart results in a file, I'll check. And I'll make a list of everything else on the game board.] Lastly, I would appreciate it if you and/or your readers could post rule modfications that you or they have devised to make this game more realistic. [Check the SGD wesbite for the following: STATIS-PRO BASKETBALL VARIANT from: "Dennis D. Nicholson" http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/2125/spbkrule.html] Thanks for running this great web page! Isi Baly ibaly@earthlink.net ************************ END DIGEST (04-12-99)
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