In The Interest Of Time ...

"Time keeps on slippin' slippin' ... into the future ..." -- "Fly Like An Eagle" by Steve Miller Band

One of the toughest things to replicate in a tabletop football game is the timing of plays.  If you keep it simple (which is what many gamers want), you end up with game-end and quarter-end situations that seem forced; there's usually just one play left, period, when we've all seen games where there's two plays' worth of plays in that short amount of time.

For the outdoor game, I'm hoping to come up with a simplified, but realistic, timing system that isn't tied to plays that are "worth" some multiple of five, ten, or fifteen seconds.  So, I ran a query on my play-by-play database and came up with some interesting numbers ...

KICKOFF RETURNS
With the kickoff and return, here's the "breakdown" of how long it takes to run a kickoff and the ensuing return:

Returns of 31 yards or less:  6 seconds
Returns of 32-48 yards:  7 seconds
Returns of 49-65 yards:  8 seconds
Returns of 66-82 yards:  9 seconds
Returns of 83-99 yards:  10 seconds
Returns of 100 yards or more:  11 seconds

PASSING
Completed passes in no-huddle offense .... normal huddle offense

Deep left/right: 12 seconds ... 15 seconds
Deep middle: 16 seconds ... 18 seconds
Short left/right:  18 seconds ... 22 seconds
Short middle:  19 seconds ... 23 seconds

PUNT RETURNS
Fair catch ... 8 seconds
Returns of 9 yards or less:  11 seconds
Returns of 10-17 yards:  12 seconds
Returns of 18-25 yards:  13 seconds
Returns of 26-34 yards:  14 seconds
Returns of 35-45 yards:  15 seconds
Returns of 46-56 yards:  16 seconds
Returns of 57-67 yards:  17 seconds
Returns of 68-78 yards:  18 seconds
Returns of 79-89 yards:  19 seconds
Returns of 90 yards or more:  20 seconds

Field goal attempts:  4 seconds
On-side kickoff:  3 seconds
Running play, normal huddle:  34 seconds
Running play, no-huddle:  30 seconds

All of these can be further split.  For example:

PASSING, NORMAL HUDDLE
Incomplete:  9 seconds
Complete:  31 seconds

PASSING, NO HUDDLE
Incomplete:  8 seconds
Complete:  25 seconds

We can also determine the timing of intercepted pass plays and their returns, fumbles and those returns, field goals by distance, etc.  We can look at the timing of plays in the two-minute windows, as well as the timing of plays right after a timeout or right before a timeout.

Lots of things to look at as I try to incorporate as much about the real game as I can into the tabletop version without slowing things down without purpose.  What do you think?  Use the comments below to share your thoughts and ideas ...

Let's Start With A Contest!

OK, you've come this far ... linking to the blog, maybe even reading the opening post.

So, let's potentially reward you for that by opening up the floor for a "name the game" contest ... if your suggestion is chosen, you'll win a free PDF copy of the game upon its release.

Your task is simple ...

What should the name of this game be?  Keep in mind that the original design, "Wall 2 Wall", gave a pretty fair description of the indoor game ... it's literally played between the walls of a hockey rink, from one end to the other.  The name also alludes to the artificial surface, also known as the "carpet", where one usually buys "wall-to-wall carpeting".

So, the name of this game doesn't have to be "Something 2 Something" ... but the name should evoke images of outdoor football.  One name that I have already put forth eons ago for a pro football game of my own design is "Frozen Tundra Football" ... so anyone suggesting that can't win the prize, since it's already been suggested by me.

Post your suggestions in the comments section ... if I choose the name from the suggestions, all ties for the suggestion will be broken by the person who FIRST suggested the title.

Please also note that I am not bound to choose a title from this contest if none of the suggestions appeal to me ...