Electric Football Play Count Rules

The Lion's Den was all a buzz last PM with the sound of electric football.  Many first were accomplished in this evening of play.

I have a new rules set that I have never played before.  They have been in existence since the begining of the hobby but I have never actually played an opponent in a game using counted plays as the game clock for the game.  We started our playtest at 32 plays is the game limit and each coach had two time outs that could extend a quarter, half, or game.

The image above shows the Titans of New York '61 versus the Los Angeles Chargers.  The Chargers team has seen field time at an Arrowhead stadium tailgate but the Titans were making a debut.  

Here the "firsts" are numerous.  First time players for electric football.  First time visit from Caroline, Timmy's fiance. First time the two teams have been played.

The Denver Uglies (Broncos) 1961, versus the Oakland Rainders 1961.  Both of these teams saw their debut game in a learning experiment end in a 0-0 tie.

Another first over in the AFL Eastern division was the field being used for the first time was a thrift store find on 23rd street.  Think I just coined a name for the field.  "23rd Street Stadium."

The play count idea for a game clock is as old as electric football itself.  The twist I put on the count was using playing cards.  The face cards were used to call a penalty on the team who's suit was drawn. Red was visitors and black cards denote home team.  Jack was a 5 yarder, Queen was for 10. and the King card was a 15 yard penalty.  This system produces a pretty equitable spread of chance for each team and when we are only using 32 cards from the deck you could have a penalty sparse game.

The time required to play by play count was higher than I expected and we ended this game at the end of the third quarter with a 14 - 14 tie.

Jon Mark, the veteran general had kind remarks for the play style.  There was time to analyze plays and comment on the play between snaps.  There was not the hustle and shuffle of pieces to get to the next play.  The rules need some clarification and I am working on that today.

Looking for the end zone...

Thanks for looking in and if you leave a comment or question we always try and answer.