Stats:
No. of players: 1 – 2
Amount of time to play: 8-10 minutes, 30-40 minutes, 60-75 minutes (depending on the game option played)
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time:  10 min

Description of Pizza Box Football Rules:

Pizza Box Football is a 2-player strategy game/football simulator (you can even play it solo). You control your teams offensive and defensive play calling. Can you out-smart your opponent on the gridiron?

You secretly call defensive plays based on what color dice you choose. You can defend against the Run, Short Pass or Long Pass. The player on offense calls a play out loud. Your options are a Run, Short Pass or Long Pass. The defender shows the dice he has and rolls them. Based on the roll and the offense’s play selection the defender either has an advantage or disadvantage. The higher the roll the better the chance the offense is disrupted. You may even get a turnover. The lower the roll the more the defense helps the offense. The offense then rolls three six-sided dice. The roll may get added to or subtracted from based on the defense’s results. Each player has a chart that shows how many yards are gained or lost based on the type of offensive play called and how high the offense’s roll is after accounting for the defense’s results adjustments.

The board stays right in the box and has holes and pegs to mark the score, down, current yard, first down distance and number of plays run. There is even a time tracking mechanic for those who want that much realism and play the Professional Full Game option (see below).

There are four different Game Options Red Zone Shootout, Backyard Brawl, Smashmouth Full Game and Professional Full Game. Red Zone Shootout is quick and similar to college overtime rules. Backyard Brawl is longer and lasts for six rounds (each round gives each player one series/drive) the player who scores the most wins. Smashmouth Full Game is a full four quarters of football with 30 plays per quarter complete with punts, kickoffs, field goals and extra points. Professional Full Game is similar to Smashmouth but adds time-tracking instead of play-tracking to the mix.

A Quick Review of Pizza Box Football:

Let me preface this by saying I love football. I must say I really enjoy this game. It has a rock-paper-scissors element to it that feels balanced and realistic. It is easy to teach and the amount of time and strategy involved can be adjusted by the different game options. It can be a bit disheartening when no matter how well you execute on defense a high roll by the offensive player can still grant him a first down, but real football happens that way too.

I also must mention I bought the expansion for this game and think it adds so much more meat to the strategy and fun to the gameplay. Look for a review of the expansion soon!

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 3 out of 6