Computer Gamer
1st February 1987Headcoach
It's almost impossible to mention Addictive Games without thinking of Football Manager, this incredibly simple yet addictive game captured the problems facing a manager. It isn't surprsing that Addictive has adapted such a successful system to American Football to produce Headcoach.
Replace teams like Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins and you have a similar game in which you face the familiar problems of team selection, player trading (instead of the transfer market) and injuries.
Before each match you receive a scouting report on your opponents that detail their passing, running and line plunging (short yardage) skills both on offence and defence. You then choose your offence, defence and kicker to take them on.
Comparing the two sets of figures reveals your strengths and weaknesses that you can exploit during the match. You don't get to play the game but an unspecified part of it measured by a time bar in which you must call the plays (run, pass, lunge plunge or field goal attempt) that your on-screen team then carries out.
If you're on top of your league after a twelve game season (shortened because the game only features 24 of the NFL's 28 teams to make the fixture list easier) then you qualify for the play-offs, championship games and the Super Bowl itself.
A season usually takes about two hours to play and is followed by the end of season college draft where the teams take turns to pick the best of the new players. Since the teams that lost the most games during the season get first pick you can be sure that every season will be different.