Sports Dice Football

Who doesn’t love watching America’s favorite real-time strategy and dexterity game? In Sports Dice Football, roll dice to make big plays and crush your opponent into dust. It’s a race to 21 points for victory.

Sports Dice Football is the latest game in the Sports Dice series designed Andy Geremia and published by Fun Wiz Games (an imprint of FoxMind Games).

Setup

Flip the Power Chip. The team that wins the coin toss decides whether to start as Offense or Defense and takes the corresponding set of dice.

Next, place the field board in the center of the table with the down marker near the down track. Each team selects either a red or blue scoring token and places it by the scoring track. Lastly, the Offensive player places the football token on their 25-yard line.

Gameplay

No turns, rounds, or downtime! Both teams simultaneously roll dice, and the symbol that appears most on each team’s dice is their play. For teams of more than one player, split up the dice.

Offense Dice Plays

10: Gain 10 yards. Move the football token 10-yards on the field. But if all six dice show 10’s, it’s an automatic touchdown; score seven points!

20: Gain 20 yards. Move the football token 20-yards.

FG (Field Goal): If the football is past the 50-yard line, Offense scores a three-point field goal. Otherwise, Offense moves the football to the 50-yard line and starts a new set of downs.

TD: Touchdown! Score seven points.

Defense Dice Plays

NG (No Gain): the Offensive team is stopped and no gain on the field is made. If six NG’s are rolled, it’s an automatic Touchdown for Defense.

S (Sack): The quarterback is sacked, move the football back 10 yards.

TO (Turn Over): The Defense creates a turnover at the spot of the football. The two teams swap dice.

P6 (Pick Six): Defense intercepts the ball and returns it for a touchdown. Score seven points.

Breaking Ties

If there’s ever a tie between the rolls of both teams, the player with the power chip can choose to break the tie in their favor. Once used, flip it over and pass to the opposing team.

Let’s Go!

The Offensive team has four downs to make progress on the field. If the team crosses the fifty yard line, they get a new set of downs. After four downs, teams switch dice and continue play.

On fourth down, the Offense has one of three options:

1. Go for it on fourth down and try to get a first down or a touchdown.
2. Punt the ball. Offense rolls and adds 10’s and 20’s together, then moves the football token accordingly. The opposing team will catch the ball and start their own Offensive drive. A punt fake can occur when the Offense rolls six 10’s, taking the ball to the endzone for a touchdown. Same goes for the Defense; if six No Gains are rolled, they return the punt for a touchdown of their own.
3. Try for a Field Goal. Offense rolls and again sums the 10’s and 20’s. Get a total that’s at least the distance to the back of the endzone, and score three points. If the Defense team rolls six No Gain, the kick is blocked and returned for a touchdown. However, if the Offense rolls six 10’s, they are successful in a fake field goal attempt and run it in for a touchdown.

Safeties happen if multiple sacks push the football back into the Offense’s endzone. In this case, the Defense scores two points and gets the ball on the 25-yard line to begin their Offensive drive.

Anytime a Touchdown, Field Goal or a Safety are scored, the non-scoring team begins a new drive on their 25-yard line.

Impressions

Sports Dice Football succeeds at simulating the excitement of American Football. Dice rolls keep you at the edge of your seat, hoping for a big play with each roll. Successfully score a touchdown? Show off your best touchdown dance as your opponent hangs their head. As head coach, your toughest decision is when to use the power chip to your advantage.

Most games wrap in under 15 minutes and players will instantly want rematches. In the short time I’ve had Sports Dice Football, there have been some epic plays on fourth down and equally disappointing defeats at 21-0. The luck of the dice make for high replay value. There is no team branding in the game, so you’re free to get creative and name teams; Unicorns versus T-Rexes is a favorite in our house.

I love the chunky, easy-to-read dice, although smaller children might struggle with rolling six at a time. But you could always team up and let each player roll three dice for family-friendly gameplay.

What I love best about Sports Dice Football is that it plays in real-time; there are no commercial breaks or risqué half-time shows. The best roll makes the play. Rules are simple, making it appealing for new players. If you run into a situation not covered by the rules, apply real football rules. Extensive knowledge of football isn’t necessary to play.

I have no doubt Sports Dice Football will score a touchdown on your table!

Highlights

• Fast gameplay, tons of replayability
• Perfectly captures the excitement of a real football game
• Totally portable; great for taking to the pub while watching football
• Makes for a great gift for a football fan

Find Sports Dice Football on Amazon or at your friendly local game store.

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The Family Gamers were provided a copy of the Sports Dice Football for this review.

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