Episode 169: Sitting Down With ... Arthur Franz of Breakaway Football!

Arthur Franz, creator of Breakaway Football, discusses his love for football and how it inspired him to create a tabletop football game. He shares his experience as a football coach and how it influenced his game design. The game aims to provide a realistic and enjoyable football experience in a shorter playtime. Each team in the game is based on a real football team, with their own unique playbooks and special abilities. The game allows players to simulate matchups between different teams from different eras, creating intriguing 'what if' scenarios. In this part of the conversation, Arthur Franz IV discusses the teams he has created for Breakaway Football, a tabletop football game. He mentions that he has created representative teams for most of the 32 franchises, with a few exceptions. He talks about the unique abilities and characteristics of some of the teams, such as the Dome Patrol defense of the Saints and the offensive struggles of the 2008 Cardinals. He also discusses the concept of breakaways in the game, where the relationship between the play type and the defense determines the outcome of a play. He explains how offensive and defensive breakaways work and how they add excitement to the game. Additionally, he mentions the development of a solo mode for the game, which allows players to play against an AI opponent. Breakaway Football is a tabletop game that captures the experience of being a head coach. It features a unique play-calling system and a solo mode with a spy mechanic. The spy mechanic allows the AI to cheat in plain sight, balancing the decision quality and preventing players from relying on their best plays. The game also includes a team creator that allows players to recreate their favorite teams. The creator reverse-engineered the decisions made to create the franchises and standardized the playbook valuations. The game has a small footprint and quick setup time. The creators are also working on a dynasty mode expansion that will allow for persistent change season over season. Links Uplink Underground Games: https://uplinkunderground.com/board-games/ Uplink Underground on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uplinkundergroundgames9259