It's All About Strategy



Gridiron Master was a game that was of high interest to me from the first time I saw it here on the geek. I'm a huge fan of chess and I really like football so it sounded like a perfect fit. I've been looking for a Strategy-heavy football game for a while and I think I've found the one. Unlike some of the dice and chart-fest football games out there this one is much more about planning and strategy. There is very little chart and dice usage in Gridiron Master.

Components



The components are very impressive. A solid wood board, solid wood scoreboard and player benches and multi-colored plastic helmets(as your men), football dice, charts and a coin. The board is about 2 feet by 1 foot with holes drilled for the pieces to fit in. Very cool idea so that you can leave it setup between sessions if you or your opponents are Analysis Paralysis types. The Finish on the board is beautiful and of high quality. There are 4 charts; two for each player. One chart gives formation examples and the other has the charts for kickoffs/punts/fumbles/returns. These charts of a very high-quality with a nice laminate; they should hold up well. The board has a hand-crafted feel to it and is gorgeous. My only minor complaint is the shades of red and blue are similar so it might be hard for the color blind to differentiate.

Very to notch components overall!


Rules

Book- The book has forty small pages. Although, all the rules could be condensed to about six. There is a page with diagrams of each pieces movement(same as chess) and pages dedicated to the different components and setup. Everything else is pictures and chapter headings and reminders etc. No more actual rules than a light eurogame. It's printed on regular(not glossy) paper.

Clarity- - There a few concepts that could use some specific examples/explanations. The rules are pretty simple but the interactions can lead to some complex situations that aren't specifically mentioned in the rules. Overall it only took a few possessions to get everything sorted, though. The game is also very well supported by one of the designers here on the geek. So there are some clarifications in the rules sections and an example in the Files section. Most of the rules are there in the book; you just have to make a leap occasionally. After a few possessions everything should fall into place.

How's it work?

I won't go over all the rules here but I'll give you a run down of how it works and how much I like it. It is very much a chess-football hybrid. The pieces move exactly the same as in chess and have the same limitations(pawns can move backwards). You get to pick your starting pieces(with some restrictions) so they aren't on the board in the same quantity as Chess. Pawns are linemen, the king is the QB, the queen is a receiver/slot-back etc. You could have 3 rooks and one bishop or 1 bishop 2 rooks and a knight or various other combinations. The pieces have about he same strength, though I have a hunch that knights may be slightly better than bishops, depending on the situation-time will tell. A typical possession would go something like this:

1. Offense sets up a formation. There are a few rules: you must have 5 linemen, quarterback lines up under center or in shotgun etc. Just like a football game. I really like this; when you set up your formation you get that cool coach feeling. Like you just drew up a play diagram. However, you could really agonize over the setup decisions so I would recommend a timer if you're prone to A.P.

2. Defense does the same with a few rules. There is a chart with examples of offensive and defensive formations, although I had more fun designing my own.

3. The offense can send up to 2 pieces in motion. Defense can then respond in kind.

4. There is a snap and then the players take turns making moves like in chess. There are rules governing which pieces you can block, rush and tackle. For example, you can't make a move to tackle an offensive player in the offensive backfield without first making a move to get on or behind the offensive line of scrimmage. This makes it feel more like football because you don't have these massive swooping moves that remove players from the field. You have to maneuver and block the holes.

5. The offensive player can either run or pass and the mechanics are pretty simple. Hand-offs can be made to any player within 1 hole of the ball. Passes are made to a player in a straight line-diagonally, forward or latterally-from the player with the ball. Any player can make a pass- but the QB throws about twice the distance. You can try to set up flea-flickers, screens, etc. The offense has 4 plays to move ten yards-just like football.

6. Offense can also punt and attempt field goals. This is where those little football-shaped dice and charts come in. The results seem to play out fairly realistically and this is pretty much the only part of the game where luck comes in.

7. The recommended game time is 20 total offensive possessions(5 per quarter). Although you may want to play to less if you find that it takes to long for you. The winner is the team with the higher score at the end of play. It comes with a really cool little wooden scoreboard to keep track of the score, downs, yard-line, and the like.


Strategy and Tactics

Well this is a deep game so I'm still figuring these out. The initial formation is important so I'm glad that they do include examples because some of my home-made ones have shown some weakness. It seems very important for each player-but especially the defense- to be aggressive. The defense does not have time to try and and set up an impenetrable position. They have to put immediate pressure on the offense because once the receivers move out or the queen/halfback gets the ball things can explode fast. The queen/halfback is especially dangerous because of it's range of movement; the defense must always have an eye on it. Offense must also be aggressive because once the defense is in the backfield with the ball the play is usually close to over. Offensive pieces can't block backward so it's important to keep going forward. I've found that pass plays take quite bit more work to pull off, though they can be spectacular when they work out. Just be careful, interceptions can be devastating. So I try not to chase the big plays too often and just keep "moving the chains".

There is plenty of depth in strategy here so you could spend a long time thinking out the moves. If you want it to play out more realistically, instituting time limits will really help. That way there will be plenty of mistakes. Just like real football, defensive mistakes lead to offensive fireworks and vice versa. I think most people will find this harder to analyze and look-ahead than chess. The board is bigger and harder to read-ahead on and some of the differences, like Line of Scrimmage rules, make it much different than chess. You can't just take out a piece whenever you wish. For example, you can't tackle and remove ,or "rush" ,a receiver that on the defensive side of the board without the ball unless the ball is on or beyond the line of scrimmage. Same goes for offense, they can't block down-field until the ball crosses the line of scrimmage. This may be counter-intuitive for the chess player; two queens can be a space apart in the defensive backfield but they can't touch each other until the ball crosses the Line of Scrimmage. That took me a while to get used to but I like it; those type of rules give the game it's football flavor and makes it play less chess-like.

Theme

As I mentioned, the game is abstract but what's amazing is that is does "feel" like football. The Chess mechanics integrate very well into the football theme. You get a sense of a play unfolding. The line weakens, receivers go out, blockers head down field, you must pass or run, the defense must position itself and "plug the holes" in the position. This is not a statistical replay of a football game. It is a game of perfect information with a small amount of luck,(exception: fumbles, kickoffs, returns) yet I do have a sense of playing an abstract eye-in-the-sky game of football. Much more thematic than you would expect from a game that incorporates chess mechanics. That said, it is not totally realistic, of course-the pieces move like chessmen- and might be open to some gamey tactics like having the tailback run back and forth in the offensive backfield. But it has enough of a football feel for me because I'm not that interested in statistical replays or total realism.

Luck vs. Strategy

Luck is very limited in this game. There are some dice rolls on kickoffs and returns but they seem to even out over the course of a game. There might be an occasional fumble but that will be pretty rare. There is a huge amount of Strategic and tactical depth in GM. Not only do you have to come up with a formation that will give you a good start but you also have all the tactical and strategic thinking that goes on as the plays unfold. This game is deep, heavy, whichever word you like to use. It will burn your brain and can lead to some serious AP if you let it. I love the depth here, this is not a luck-based dice-fest or an out-guess you opponent rock-paper-scissors type deal. It's all in the play and unless there is a freak fumble(1% chance) or kick return you have nothing outside your control to blame for your loss . The better player should win 95% of the time; there's just enough luck to make freak occurrences happen. I really like that. However, if you don't appreciate chess-like, look ahead analysis in your games you might have trouble with this one. You can spend a lot of time analyzing moves and looking at your opponents move possibilities. The decision tree is very large.

Comparisons to Chess -For a game that incorporates all the movement mechanics of chess it really plays differently. In chess, the loss of a single piece without compensation is usually the end of the game with equal players. In GM you don't have to worry quite as much it seems. Momentum seems the bigger issue; if your opponent wants to waste time picking off your pieces without a solid goal in mind, there's a good chance you will burn him down-field. After the end of each play you get all your pieces back so the loss of one piece(even a very powerful one) is not as catastrophic as in chess. In Chess, if you lose your queen without compensation, game over, in GM you might still make a gain or at the very least be able to get back to the Line of Scrimmage and try again 2nd down.

Handicapping- Since this is a game where the better player will nearly always win, you may want to handicap the better player. This should be easier than in chess. I think you could probably limit the better player to using one weak formation and that would be a very effective handicap. You could also force the better player to use a extra bishops instead of rooks etc.

PBEM- This game would be perfect for PBEM or correspondence. I hope it catches on; it would be great to see an on-line implementation.

Who's it for?

If you like chess and football this would be a no-brainer. It's different enough from chess to feel like a completely different game and you do get a sense of a football game going on. You will like it.
Football gamers-If you're looking for something different from the dice and chart intensive football games and want to concentrate on planning and strategy(in an abstract way) it would be a game to look into.
Abstract fans- If you like abstracts -especially chess and chess-like games this will probably be of interest, although at least a passing interest in football will make it better for you.
Football/Sports fans-This is my favorite sports game. I like it's depth and that there is next-to-no luck, if that sounds interesting you'll probably like it. Just keep in mind that it is abstracted so you don't get a statistical replay type of experience. And although it plays differently, it is still very closely related to chess.
For other gamers-You will pretty much know if this sounds interesting. If you don't like chess don't let that put you off. Despite the fact that the pieces move the same, the game feels very different and it is actual a pretty nice hybrid. I found it harder to analyze and look-ahead than chess. The edition of a timer could keep it lighter too. If a Chess-football hybrid sound good to you, you will like it. If you liked chess but found it too hard to get into this will scratch the same itch without the burden of opening theory, endgame theory, etc. and all the other burdensome studying that can make chess seem like too much work.

Conclusions
An absolutely beautiful game that I really enjoyed. It could use a few more examples in the rule-book and a couple more explanations. It is also not a fast game. Expect to invest some time or break it up into sessions or maybe use a timer. Despite those minor complaints, I found it a deep, fun strategy game with a football theme.

A solid 8.5/10- Very good game, I like to play. Probably I'll suggest it and will never turn down a game.



(In the interest of openness, I'd like to mention that this review was written after receiving a review copy from the good folks at Gridiron Master. It didn't change my feelings--it's a really cool game--but I wanted to mention it anyway.)

excellent review my man! ive just added this to my christmas list.
now heres to hopen that the misses actually uses it to shop from this year!

Very good review. This is a beautiful game physically, attracts a lot of curiosity from passers-by and even causes "real" football fans to look more favorably upon the notion of board games.

I love playing the thing, setting up plays, watching the action unfold--I'd like sometime to take a stop-action series of photos then put them together and watch the play "move"--

--despite the fact that, in more than fourteen hours of play, no one has stopped the offense.

In fact it has never taken more than two downs to make ten yards.

Even when my QB was scrambling to evade pursuit thirty yards behind the LOS until a receiver finally got free for, first, a catch, and then a TD.

After twelve hours of play, I intro'd a brand-new player to the game. Gave him the offense. He scored in three plays.

I'm not stupid. I'm not the most brilliant chess player in the world by any means. I usually don't take more than thirty seconds to a minute to make a move on either side of the ball.

I've played solo, and with three other people who are probably brighter than I am. We couldn't stop the offense even when both of us were pointing out defensive moves. The best we've done is a couple of stops for no gains or a limited of five yards forward.

We've tried 4-3, 3-4, 5-2, short-yardage D, eight DBs, everything but machine guns, and still the O rolls.

There must be an answer, but we haven't found it. No one has rolled double-0s for a fumble yet, and no one has ever punted.

We're considering "house rules" to give the defense a bigger advantage, and I also have to revisit the BGG entry to see if there are any designer updates or tactical tips.

Even so, I can't stop playing this thing! It's like eating peanuts. One more, one more, one more . . .

Someday, we're going to stick that ball carrier.

Thats funny, I've not run into that problem. I might be missing a key offensive strategy. But I've found that if the defense is aggressive
in getting into the backfield and really attacking the quarterback and slot back they can put up quite a fight. I've also found that if the queen can really go on the attack in the backfield(while respecting and planning for receivers) the offense will have it's hands full.

I kind of assumed that the defense actually had a bit of an advantage and thats why the rules force the "D" to have at least 1 bishop. If you use a 3-4 setup you strong pieces far outnumber the offense's(who must have 5 linemen). Out of curiosity, when you play, does the defense really go on the attack or do they just try to adjust? As I mentioned in my article I've found aggression to be the most important aspect of defense. A chess-like strategy of slowly building a position does not seem to works as well-for me anyway.

We should start a strategy forum on this subject! I'd like to see how other people are playing.

Hi Someguy,

So far we've been pretty aggressive with D-line play while trying to cover against a pass receiver breakout. Early-on we were playing off the wide receivers a bit and letting them get established downfield, then we'd have to play catchup and somebody could usually get open--it was that way on the play I mentioned where the QB was pressured back thirty yards.

After reading some stuff by the designers about putting more pressure on up front and stuffing the receivers at the line, we tried blocking pass routes right at the D-line row, which compels receivers to maneuver, sometimes in their own backfield, to get a path downfield.

This allowed D-linemen to put more of a rush on; we also took to bumping off the tight end with a lineman at the start to reduce the number of available receivers downfield.

In spite of this, it has always been possible either for the QB to thread between D-linemen, or to hand off, or to bull ahead for a minimum five-yard gain when the QB keeps.

When the QB hands off, he turns into another O-lineman, capable of taking down a 300-pound nose guard and creating more avenues for the ball carrier to advance--especially when that ball carrier is the feature back (queen). The silver Safety often can't just run in to contain him because a receiver/rook has the potential to get around somebody and go downfield.

We often put the feature back in motion and shift to either overstack on the strong side or compel the defense to adjust weak-side. This is particularly effective out of the shotgun with the silver back one row back; there's also the option to stop him adjacent to the QB and either take a handoff or a direct snap. When he gets the ball, look out, especially while he retains the option to Pass. He can scramble around 'til the defense about has a heart attack while teammates block for him and create running or passing angles.

With the exception of one declared Pass by a brand-new Player on his second down of possession which could have been intercepted by one of my outside linebackers (I pointed this out to him; he thought the LB was a back--red color confusion) I haven't yet seen a pass play fail when the ball is actually thrown.

Still working on a solution--but it seems to me that this is part of the game's fascination for me. I just keep wanting to play it--and with the good games I have waiting for attention, that's saying something.

Interesting. I've usually had the most success when I get the queen/strong safety into the O backfield right away to put immediate pressure on the QB and halfback. However, I still need to play more; it's a very deep game and new strategies keep popping up. I'll have to try some of those things you mentioned and see how it works out.