The name of our league is SHAFT RETRO.

Strat-O-Matic

Home Field

Advantage

Football

Trust

gone RETRO

General:

This is an online computer football league run during the offseason using the most current version of the game (Version 2.1c) and stock teams from 1990. In future offseasons I plan on using whatever past season Strat-O-Matic releases between 1982 and 1997. I also would consider doing 1978 or 1979 if they are released. Rookies as well as veterans of Version 1 are welcome to join. The most important requirement for this league is a commitment from each individual coach to arrange and play one online game per week according to our schedule. The second most important requirement is that you communicate with me and your opponent on a timely basis. If you are going on vacation or have other situations arise that prevent you from meeting deadlines you must let me know so that we can find a substitute for that week or arrange to play your game early. If you don't communicate and you fall behind I will be forced to remove you from the league and find a replacement.

I am going to run this league my way, it will NOT be a democracy. If that is a problem for anyone, too bad. I don't mean to sound like a hard arse, but my experience so far has been that the leagues that are run as a dictatorship work a lot better than the ones that are run more democratically.

Don't be intimidated by my statements above. I want everyone, including myself, to have fun and enjoy this.

This document is currently functioning as our constitution. If you have any ideas, please feel free to email me, but I have pretty much made up my mind on how I will do this.

Core Philosophy:

The basic premise is simplicity. There will be no "PRE" and "POST" file complications. All games will be played as "Local League" games with the home team choosing whatever game options they want. There are two exceptions though. "Player Overusage" must always be turned OFF, and ironically, "Home Field Advantage" must always be turned OFF except in the playoffs. I will be keeping stats in a complex Excel file that I will post to this website weekly in HTML format so everyone can view it.

If you don't know what I am talking about because you have never played before, don't worry. This makes the coaches' lives a lot easier. All you have to do after each game is have the host player send me one small file that the game will generate (the HTML Boxscore file). Also, this format will enable everyone to play half their games every season with whatever options they prefer.

If you want in or want out let me know ASAP by emailing me at: soylentgrn@adelphia.net

Seniority:

If someone drops out, the next coach down on the list has the option of claiming the available team or passing on it. Then the next coach down has the same option, and so on. Once a team is claimed, the claiming coach must release his current team and the process starts over again with the next coach down on the list under the newly released team. These steps will repeat until the end of the list is reached. After that, any coaches on the waiting list will be able to claim the open team based on their seniority.

Auto Save after Each Play:

Always check to make sure this option is turned ON before kickoff of each game.

A note on injuries:

If you play a game with injuries and someone goes down for more than the rest of the game you are allowed to heal them after the game by autoplaying enough "Local League" games until the player is healthy (thank you NSFL for the useful tip). Or, start a Local League game with your team sometime before your next SHAFT RETRO game and go into "View" then "Manger" for your team. Then find the injured player and press the "Heal" button for him.

SHAFT RETRO Regular Season:

The actual 1990 NFL schedule will be used if we have enough coaches for all teams. If not I have alternate scheduling plans ready. The home team chooses the options they want to play with for each game. But, "Player Overusage" must always be turned OFF. And, "Home Field Advantage" must always be turned OFF during the regular season. All other options are determined by the home team including the "Rules Through The Years" options.

If you want 2 point conversions then choose "Use Current Rules". If you do not want 2 point conversions then choose "Use Home Team Rules" or "Use Visiting Team Rules".

SHAFT RETRO Playoffs:

The playoff teams and seedings will be determined as they are in the NFL. The home team chooses the options they want to play with for each game. But, "Player Overusage" must always be turned OFF. All other options are determined by the home team, including the use of the "Home Field Advantage" option.

SHAFT RETRO BOWL:

The SHAFT RETRO Bowl will be played at the end of the SHAFT RETRO Playoffs between the winners of each conference. The following options will be used unless both coaches 100% agree to set things up differently:

[ ] Injuries - NO

[ ] Penalties - NO

[ ] Player Overusage - NO (never turn this on)

[X] QB End Run Limits - YES

[X] Running Back Fatigue - YES

[ ] Home Field Advantage - NO (The SHAFT RETRO Bowl Should be neutral)

[X] Linebacker Run Containment - YES

[X} Strict boardgame adherence - YES

[ ] Do not allow exceeding longest run - NO

[ ] Do not allow exceeding longest reception - NO

Rules Through The Years - Use Home Team Rules (prevents 2 point conversions from being attempted)

RETRO Foxboro Bowl:

Even if you have a bad team, you can still make the overachievers' playoffs. All you need to do is finish with more wins than your team did in the real NFL and also not qualify for the regular playoffs. Everyone who qualifies will participate in the RETRO Foxboro Bowl tournament playoffs. Home field advantage will be determined by the amount of games won greater than that team's actual NFL games won. The tiebreakers will be head-to-head game(s) followed by the team with the worse actual NFL record. Net points greater than actual NFL net points will be used as the last tiebreaker if necessary. Seeding in the RETRO Foxboro Bowl tournament will disregard conference. Home field advantage will apply to all games in the Foxboro Bowl tournament, even the title game. The only option that must be turned OFF is "Player Overusage". Everything else is up to the home team, including the "Home Field Advantage" option.

Next Season:

  1. At some point close to the start of next season we will determine which coaches are returning and, of the returning coaches, which ones want to keep their current franchise.
  2. Returning coaches that keep their current franchise will be moved to the top of the seniority list.
  3. Returning coaches that want a different franchise must release their current team and will be temporarily removed from the list. They will then be immediately added back on the list in reverse order of finish based on the prior SHAFT RETRO season.
  4. The returning coaches that wanted a different franchise will then draft a new team from the available teams based on their new seniority. In other words, if you want a new team and you had the worst record of the coaches that want a new team then you will get first pick of the available teams.
  5. New coaches will then claim the remaining teams on a first come first serve basis.

Disclaimer:

This is my current plan for the league and I intend on following it. But, I reserve the right to change anything and everything at any point in time. Circumstances change, unforeseen problems arise, philosophies migrate, etc. I will do what I can to keep this fun for everyone, including myself. If we have coaches that I perceive are causing problems, and/or not communicating, and/or repeatedly missing deadlines, I will kick them out of the league. On the other hand, if you realize that you cannot commit to keeping this enjoyable for everyone by staying current, then, by all means, let me know that you want out. I will hold no animosity towards anyone who tells me they want out in a timely manner. Don't get several games behind and disappear. If you need help let me know sooner rather than later. I want everyone to make an effort to be flexible to accommodate the different schedules and time zones that we all have. Above all, enjoy the game, even if this league turns out to be not for you.