Tom Vasel
United States
Homestead
Unspecified
Top 100 Games of all Time
Dice Tower Convention, July 2012!!!!
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I can't conceive of why people would enjoy this game.
That's not a good way to start out talking about a game, but it's true. Quick Count Football (Spelman Media, 2007 - Jeff Spelman) is a small card game that claims to be a "fast paced and strategic football card game."
Well, they got the first part right - it's fast paced, but unfortunately not strategic in the slightest. Players are simply playing a counting game with cards, hoping to draw lucky combinations. They then score these combinations using football points which supposedly adds theme to the game.
Playing the game is quite simple, using a deck of fifty-four cards - most labeled as "Run", "Pass", or "Catch", with a number from 5 to 75 on them.
Each player draws three cards to start the game.
You draw one card at the beginning of your turn from either the deck or the top of the discard pile.
If you have a run card, you may play it and draw again.
If you have a pass and catch card that match exactly, you may play them and draw again.
Otherwise your turn is over, and you discard a card.
When playing cards, you must reach 100 exactly to score a touchdown. This gives the player seven points. Cards are saved up until halftime, at which point players reshuffle and start over. At the end of the game, the player with the largest score wins.
There is one field goal card (which allows a player to score three points as long as they have accumulated 70 yards), and one penalty card which basically cancels a card last played by the opponent.
Run cards are obvious. You draw them, and play them. Pass cards you can keep, hoping to get the matching card, or discard, hoping to get a different card. You can make a super long pass (i.e 60 yards), and still wait a dreadfully long time to get the last yardage you need.
In essence, the game isn't about football, but is really players using cards to count to 100 exactly. This mechanic is largely influenced by luck - as to which cards you draw. Obviously you won't discard a card that your opponent will use, but since a player is never sure what the opponent has in their hand, it's pretty much a crapshoot.
OK, you argue, but the theme isn't that important - don't you play a lot of games that have a pasted-on theme? The answer is yes, I do - I even enjoy some great games (Through the Desert) with a very thin theme. And those games I enjoy tremendously - despite the theme - because of the tremendous mechanics. As a game (taking the theme completely out of the picture), Quick Count is one of the worst I've ever played.
But what about adding the theme in? Can the American football theme of Quick Count salvage the less-than-mediocre play? For me, this game never comes close to feeling like football.
Aside: I don't think I need to have played in a football league to know this. Any more than I need to have been a corporate head to enjoy a financial game, a railroad baron to enjoy a rails game, or a warrior to enjoy a fantasy game. I've played enough pick-up football and watched it to know what I (and I'm sure most people) want in a (American)football game.
Football is a back-and-forth affair. About holding your opponent from driving down the field so that you start your drive with good yardage. About trying to get close enough to kick a field goal instead of punting. About attempting to force a fumble so that you have the ball with good field position.
This isn't about any of those things. In Quick Count, players are essentially playing two different games. Both are trying to get to the number 100. Didn't do it this turn? Maybe next! Both players can have 95 yards at the same time, which just doesn't make sense. There is no tension, no line of scrimmage, just two piles of cards being counted. The only interaction comes from the penalty card, or from not discarding a 15 yard catch card when your opponent's pile totals 85. There are no downs, no point-after-touchdowns, no defense/offense choices, nothing that makes Football what it is! You could make a very few minor changes and have another sports game (if you were tolerant enough).
Comparatively, Pizza Box Football is a game that I love, because it feels like a fun football game in a short time. But I recognize at the same time that it is a VERY simplified version of the game; there are a lot of little things that are left out to keep the game from being a super-simulation that takes hours to play. And that's fine, I don't mind all the extra stuff left out as long as FOOTBALL is still there. And it is. From two-point conversions to different styles of defense to interceptions to onside kicks. It's great, and it plays out fairly accurately (aside from Super Bowl 42, apparently).
Quick Count is a small card game in a small box, with minimal artwork and theme, bland cards and two cards of rules. Yes, it's simple and cheap. But since when has that become a selling point for a game? I can pick up a deck of cards for cheaper, and honestly - have a lot more fun with it.
I don't say this to disparage those who enjoy Quick Count Football. If you enjoy the game - good for you! But I find absolute zero redeeming qualities in this game, in components, gameplay, or theming.
For me, it comes down to personal experience. When playing Quick Count, I sat in a game, watching as my opponent flipped over Run after Run card, while I constantly drew Catch and Pass cards that didn't match. When I finally matched a "60 Catch" with a "60 Pass", it then took me the rest of the game to get the other forty points.
Then, a few days later, I was playing Pizza Box Football and was literally screaming with excitement as my long pass was intercepted at a critical moment in a game. The exhilaration from the second game means that it has a prominent location in my collection. The yawn-inducing numbness the first game produces the opposite effect. Both games feature luck, but one makes me feel like I'm coaching a football team in a fun way with some decent choices.
And you know what? It's not Quick Count.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com
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I have not played this game. That said, it seems like instead of comparing it to Pizza Box Football, perhaps Harry's Grand Slam Baseball might be a better point of comparison.
You enjoyed that game, if I remember correctly.
My guess, from reading the review and hearing you and Sam go back and forth, is that Harry's Grand Slam Baseball allows the other player to play defense--which makes a huge difference. Other thoughts?
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Stephen Schaefer
United States
Columbus
Ohio
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Based on the description alone, I'm inclined to agree with Tom. This game doesn't sound like it has anything to do with football. There seems to be no interaction between the players in the game. A team essentially never has to drive a full 100 yards down the field. Taking away defense and taking away field position leaves you with basically no reason to have multiple players at the table, and no reason to pretend this game has anything to do with football.
I contrast this game with Lost Cities, criticized by some as being "multiplayer solitaire", but at least in Lost Cities, you don't have to get to EXACTLY 20, and there are enough cards that you can have a positive score on a set without collecting all the cards. You have the capacity to collecting a winning set over the course of an entire round, and there is strategic value in what cards you discard onto the center board and what cards you draw from those discard piles. It seems with this game you either have 100, or you don't. And if you don't, oh well.
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