-=-=-=-=-=-
As for how it works, it's like this (from memory):
* Move players onto the field.
* Click on players and plot move squares in advance.
* Use the right-click player menu to select special rolls ("Make a Dodge roll," "Make a Pass roll," etc.)
* Click the opponent's turn marker when you're done with your turn.
* Zip the game file and send it to your opponent.
Oh, and I nearly forgot the most important part:
* Use the dialog box to make inane comments!
Note, if you put a ! in front of a comment made in the dialog box this will appear in the upper left hand corner in a game special window when the game is loaded ... this is handy for keeping track of Get the Ref! or other such game events that are not automatically tracked.
Unfortunately, the game has no documentation. Here's how you do the simple actions:
1. MOVE: Click the player and plot out your path by left-clicking on the desired squares. "Free" squares appear in white. Squares that require dodge rolls appear in gray. GFI squares appear in yellow. GFI squares you have to dodge to are orange. Dark Red means you cannot make it to this square. If the player is currently on the ground, plot the move out normally. The player will start with square 4.
To move without any required rolls, simply grab the player and drag him to his new location. To make a dodge roll, right-click the player BEFORE taking the dodge square and select "Make a Dodge roll." A pop-up window will show your character at the center of a tackle zone diagram. Each square in the diagram contains a number indicating the number of enemy TZs on that square. Select the desired square relative to your player and click "Make Dodge."
To make a GFI roll, TAKE the square, then right-click and select "Make a Go For It roll."
If you need to GFI to get to the square with the ball, TAKE the square with the ball and CLOSE the Pickup window WITHOUT rolling. Make the GFI roll. If you succeed, right click and make the Pickup roll.
2. BLOCK. Click the player and then drag him over an adjacent opponent. You have to handle pushbacks and such yourself. The tool will let you know how many dice the block will be in the comment box ... if you didn't realize it was that many return the mouse to your player to not block. If you fail to knock your opponent down, you will be asked if you want to reroll if you can. If you don't want to you can either, say Yes or hit Enter.
3. BLITZ. A combination of Move and Block. Pretty simple: Announce that you're blitzing with Player X BEFORE you select the player (as rolls like Bonehead are made as soon as you select the player and you need to declare before the roll), plot out the necessary moves, then drag him onto his opponent for the block. If you need to GFI to throw the block, right-click when you're standing next to the opponent and select "Make a Go For It roll."
4. PASS. This one is a little tricky, only because of a right-click "Show/Hide Passing Ranges" option. Basically, announce your Pass action in the dialog box, take a Move action as normal, then right-click the player and select "Make A Pass roll." You'll be prompted to pick a square. A dialog box will show up and if there's a player on the other end, he'll be asked to catch the ball. If anyone can intercept, the game will roll for that before the Pass window pops up as per the current rules.
5. HAND-OFF. Declare and move the player normally. When you get adjacent to the intended recipient, right-click the RECIPIENT and select "Make A Catch roll." Be sure to click the "Accurate Pass" option in the pop-up window.
6. FOUL. Announce your Foul action, move the player normally, then drag-and-drop onto the intended target. The game uses the current LRB version of IGMEOY and will announce whether the fouler has been sent off. Currently the game will automatically argue the call. If the fouler is ejected, right-click the fouler and select "Send Off" from the menu.
Ok. A few other general things it would help to know:
* ARMOR ROLLS. Click on the player who has been knocked down and then click on the box that looks like an M with two dice. This box is above the 6th and 7th turns of the Red team (on the left). A dialog box will appear with the player's AV. Select all relevant options (Mighty Blow, etc.) and click OK. The game will then roll AV (and INJ if necessary) and echo this information to the dialog box.
NOTE: If you just executed a Block, the game is smart enough to save the options that apply to the player who just knocked down the target. So if Varag knocks down an Amazon, Mighty Blow will already be selected when you open the AV box. If you Skull out a block, do not use the AV button. Right Click on the player and select the AV/Inj option.
* INJURY ROLLS. As noted, the game automates INJ rolls that follow broken AV rolls. If you push a player into the crowd, simply click the button to the right of the AV button (looks like two dice atop a box). If a player is pushed into the crowd and only stunned, right-click the player and select "Reserves" from the menu.
* KNOCKDOWNS AND INJURIES. To change a player's status, right-click and select the appropriate result.
* FINISHED ACTIONS. If a player has moved this turn, his number will be SMALLER than usual. This includes players who have gone from Stunned to Prone (right-click the stunned player and select Prone from the menu).
* SPECIAL SKILLS. By right clicking on a player you can find automated options for Hypnotic Gaze, Leap, Scatter Movement (Ball and Chain players), and Throw TeamMate.
* LOST TZs. When you fail a Bonehead, Really Stupid, or get successfully Hypnotic Gazed, the game will automatically black out your player number which means the player has lost his tackle zone. Bonehead and Really Stupid players should automatically reset when you succeed at the next roll, but if you need to restore a lost TZ, right click and you'll see an option for this.
* SPPs. To give SPPs to a player, highlight the player and select the desired SPP award from the Star Player Points menu at the top of the screen.
* TOUCHDOWNS. When a player scores a TD, select Touchdown from the Star Player Points menu. The game will automatically award a TD to that player AND increase the score counter by 1 for that team.
* TEAM RE-ROLLS. Some pop-up windows (Dodge, GFI) give you the option to use a Team Re-roll on a failed roll. To use a re-roll in this case, click the Use Team Re-roll button. The application will use the TRR and decrease the team's re-roll counter by 1.
To use a TRR on a Block, announce that you will re-roll the result, RIGHT-click the re-roll counter, and then click the appropriate button below the dialog box (Roll 1-die Block, Roll 2-die Block, or Roll 3-die Block).
Here are some handy hints on kick-offs:
* SEQUENCE. The defender sets up his team, zips the file, and mails it to his opponent. He should EITHER place the ball on the field in its target square (right-click any open square and select Place Ball) OR include the location after several blank pages in his e-mail to his opponent. Regardless, you can't see what the offense will do before deciding. (This saves two mailings per kick-off.) The receiving team sets up his offense and rolls on the Kick-off table.
* KICK-OFF TABLE. To roll on the Kick-off table, make sure the ball is placed, and click once on the foot icon located in the top row of buttons. The application will announce the results of the Kick-off table in the dialog box at the bottom of the screen and apply them if it can. Certain rolls like Blitz and Quick Snap have to be manually applied along with the final scatter.
Remember that the order is roll SCATTER, Roll RESULT, Apply Result, Final Scatter or Catch as the ball then lands.
* SETTING UP AFTER A TOUCHDOWN. The team that scores should credit the scoring player with a TD and then select "Prepare for Next Kick-off" from the Special Action menu. The application will handle any necessary KO and Regenerate rolls.
Finally, here are some words about saving and loading games:
* SAVING A GAME. To save a game, select Save Game from the File menu. The game is saved as a .BBM file.
* SENDING A GAME. E-mail programs are very harsh on .BBM files. Before sending a game to your opponent, be sure to ZIP the file.
* LOADING A GAME. Unzip the .ZIP file and extract the .BBM file. Open up the application and select "Load A Saved Game" from the initial menu.
NOTE: You should load a game from SCRATCH. Do NOT load a game when you have another game open, as it has been known to cause serious irregularities that affect game play.
* THE GAME LOG. The PBeM tool comes with a game log that shows the results of all rolls, plotted moves, etc. These handy shortcuts will allow you to cycle back and forth through the log:
F2: Go back one turn.
F3: Go back one move.
F4: Go forward one move.
F5: Go forward one turn.
NOTE: I'm working from memory here, so I may have these COMPLETELY wrong. Just use the options under the Log menu. They include the list of shortcuts.
* REWINDING. This part is VERY important. You should not "replay" any portions of the game by "going back" through the log and trying to roll for a different result. If you do, the game will prompt you to delete the history log from this point. Click CANCEL to cancel that action, then make sure you are at the very end of the log file before continuing the game.
NOTE: Sometimes you will make a mistake during game play that will be discovered by you or your opponent in the next turn. In that case, you MUST go back and "replay" the game from that point. You should never do this without your opponent's consent, and should comment on this in the dialog box so that the commissioner or independent verifier (usually Tom Anders) understands why you did this. The commissioner/verifier can review a full version of the game log that WILL reveal this sort of thing, even if neither you nor your opponent can see it. You have been warned!
