<PERSON> at the moment is an unknown name in the board game world. He's designed several excellent miniature game rule-sets including Havoc: Tactical Miniature Warfare, The Battlefield, and Rogue Planet. When I heard he was entering the board game world my eyebrows arched skyward like my 75 pound horse of a dog hearing the word "walk". When I discovered it was an 8-bit American Football game I was left dumbfounded, like my 75 pound horse of a dog trying to apply the Pythagorean Theorem to an obtuse triangle.
But this is <PERSON>, right? Havoc won my heart as soon as I realized you could club a dude with a Giant and send the target's body into a line of infantry like a missile loosed from a <PERSON>-sized crossbow. You haven't lived until you've <PERSON> a Knight down the fairway into a formation of spearmen.
Glory, bit by bit
It's easy to slip into hyperbole when you get emotionally invested in a game and the experience it provides; Lord knows I can become emotionally invested. Such it's hard for me to ascribe the word brilliant to Techno Bowl and actually command the respect that adjective deserves. But I'll try.
HUT! HUT!
While Techno Bowl's heart lies in its activation system (don't worry, we'll get there), it's brain certainly persists in the programming of those activations via "building the play". Each team consists of seven or eight players, depending on the mode, and each player is represented on your bench with two identical cards. Before building your free-form offensive/defensive formation you must program five cards in a stack. This is identical to the order system used in the fantastic Queen's Gambit or Star Wars: Risk. The beauty here is that you begin with control and a semblance of a plan, at least until the tanker full of chaos drives right through your offensive line and rolls your all-star Quarterback.
Like most of this design, the system is nuanced and deeper than it initially appears. When you simultaneously reveal cards to activate, the player with the higher first digit number, who is considered to be quicker, will go first. These players may have been slotted into a rough position on the field - Center, QB, Wide Receiver - yet there are no true restrictions and you can hike the ball to a lumbering ogre or even line up nearly your entire team in the back field. This freedom bolsters creativity while it also lifts any requirement of football knowledge. 118
It's fantastic and works seamlessly to promote enjoyment by placing control in the hands of the players.
HIKE!
That play worked so beautifully in your head. When you throw it into the fast paced realm of an NFL Blitz and Techmo Bowl inspired old school gridiron everything can go pear-shaped in a hurry.
The activation system of Techno Bowl is where the beef's at. When you trigger a player he can move or perform a half move as well as an action. The number of squares you can move is equivalent to the player's number in the first digit on their jersey which is clearly visible on their counter. This becomes more interesting as you exit threatened spaces surrounding players, having to pay additional movement points to fight through the pack. This system of threatening and slowing down nearby players adds a great deal to the formation building as you attempt to clog lanes and throw up walls of linebacker flesh for your opponents to bounce off. It promotes natural strategy native to the sport as you keep coverage tight and collapse around the ball.
Actions consist of block, tackle, and throw. The dice-based system used is influenced by the fantastic Apocalypse World RPG where you sum two six-siders. Modifiers exist due to a difference in player ability as well as supporting teammates and threatening nearby opponents. Modifiers can swing at a maximum of three in each direction and this keeps results tight and easily calculated without eschewing their natural dramatic tension.
The game will ship with tokens, but print 'n play "pixel blocks" will be available to fashion beautiful 3D bonecrushers
Player abilities are brilliantly represented by their jersey number. As hinted at earlier, higher numbers can move farther and are more agile but will have negative modifiers when trying to tackle or block the heftier lower numbered players. Additionally you can throw or lateral the ball a number of spaces equal to twice the number in the first digit on your jersey. This has a very Battleball-esque feel where the giants on the field hit hard but lumber about and the slick jukeing gazelles cover ground at insane speeds but eat it quickly if confronted.
After calculating your modifiers and committing to your act of aggression you chuck the dice and hopefully fist pump. A result of six or below will feel like <PERSON> slamming into your ribs at full speed. 237