As a sports gaming enthusiast, one of the forums I often visit online is Table Top Sports (http://forums.delphiforums.com/tabletopsports). I found a post about a game called Solitaire Football. Back in January of 2012 someone posted asking if anyone had heard of the game. A short discussion ensued and then died out a few days later. A year later, Mike Keely, the creator of the game found the thread. Although he hasn't really done anything with the game since the late 90s, he still had collection of old seasons. Several people asked for information and what might be available to purchase. Since I had never heard of this game myself, I corresponded with Mr. Keely via e-mail and ordered the 1992 season along with some great teams. I received my copy of the game a few days ago and immediately delved into it. 

It's definitely a no frills game. There's no fancy color printing or die-cut cards. Everything is DIY in that department. It reminded me a little of Kerstetter's Football (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12805/kerstetters-football). While Kerstetter's definitely had slicker packaging, Solitaire Football seems to have deeper game play -- at least that's my impression after my first limited outing with it. Gameplay is driven by FACs rather than dice.

I decided to pit the '58 Colts against the '58 Giants as my learning game. I played one quarter. It was slow going at first, as I often had to stop and refer back to the rules, but toward the end of the quarter things were speeding up.

The '58 Giants received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out. Johnny U tested the Giants' secondary early. On the first play from scrimmage, he hooked up with Raymond Berry for 18 yards. Two plays later Lenny Moore turned a short pass from Unitas into a 38 yard gain. Unfortunately, a holding call brought that back, and the Colts were forced to punt. 

Starting from the New York 36, Frank Gifford broke through the line into the Colts' secondary for 19 yards. Despite the good gain, the drive stalled at the Colts' 38, and Pat Summerall missed the field goal try.  Taking the ball at their own 20, the Colts launched a 14-play drive that was capped by a 6-yard TD pass from Unitas to Jim Mutscheller. The Giants' front four put good pressure on Unitas when he dropped back into the pocket to pass, but each time he was able to evade the pass rush and scramble for yardage. 

The Giants took the kickoff and have driven from their own 18 to the Baltimore 25, where they are looking at a 3rd and 8. That's where I'll pick it up again, maybe sometime this weekend.

Looking at first quarter stats, things look reasonable.


Colts -- 7;  Giants -- 0
Scoring: Mutscheller, 6 pass from Unitas (Myhra kick)

TEAM STATS
                   Colts       Giants
First Downs            8            3
Rushes-Yards       11-51        12-64
Passing Yards         41           26
Passes             3-5-0        2-3-0
Sacks-Yards Lost     0-0          0-0
Return Yards           3           26
Fumbles-Lost         0-0          0-0
Penalties-Yards     2-30          1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Colts Rushing        ATT  YDS  LNG  TD
Alan Ameche            4   21    7   0
Johnny Unitas          3   13    5   0
Lenny Moore            3   13    7   0
L.G. DuPre             1    4    4   0

Colts Passing        ATT  COM  YDS  LNG  TD  INT
Johnny Unitas          5    3   41   18   1    0

Colts Receiving      REC  YDS  LNG   TD
Raymond Berry          2   35   18    0
Jim Mutscheller        1    6    6    1

Giants Rushing       ATT  YDS  LNG   TD
Frank Gifford          4   39   19    0
Alex Webster           3   11    6    0
Mel Triplett           4   10    6    0
Phil King              1    4    4    0

Colts Passing        ATT  COM  YDS  LNG  TD  INT
Charley Conerly        3    2   26   19   0    0

Colts Receiving      REC  YDS  LNG   TD
Bob Schnelker          1   19   19    0
Frank Gifford          1    7    7    0

All-in-all, I'm having fun with this one so far and I'm glad I stumbled across this lost gem! Based on the buzz generated by the Table Top Sports forum for this game, I wonder if Mr. Keely might be tempted to add more seasons to the collection? If he wants a professional redesign of his game, I know someone who does good work inexpensively. *cough* me *cough* :)