INTRODUCTION There's a lot more to football than X's and O's. You haven't really experienced football until you've been down on the field, with and outside linebacker headed straight for you and nobody blocking him. There's a word for that experience, The word is pain. You haven't felt the real excitement of football until you've run the perfect pass pattern, broken free near the end zone, and caught the winning touchdown pass. There's a reward for that kind of performance, The reward is victory. You haven't seen real computer football until you've seen GFL Championship Football. It has what no other computer football program has in-the-helmet perspective to put you down on the field, where the action is. BRIEFING Football-American style. It's a game that requires guts, fitness, strategy, agility and most importantly teamwork. You haven't experienced american football until you've been down on the field with a massive outside backliner headed straight for you and nobody blocking him. This player's guide won't teach you the rules of american football, but it will give you enough information to help you develop the strategies and skills to make you play like a pro. - You can become the on field star in GFL Championship Footbal. You may choose to play by yourself against a crack computer team. - Select any team in the league, from top to bottom. Or choose to play against a friend in a real battle of skill and strategy. This player's guide gives you all of the vital information you'll need, so keep it with your kit! SELECTING YOUR GAME Once the program has loaded into your computer, you may choose from several gameplay options: Choose these options carefully, using the on-screen prompts as a guide. Commodore 64/128 owners should insert a joystick into port 1 for a 1 player game, and a second joystick into port 2 for a two player game. 1 or 2 player game The first screen allows you to choose a one player game (against a computer team opponent) or a two player game (against a human opponent). Push joystick 1 forward or backward to move the footballs so they rest next to your choice. And then press the joystick button to confirm that selection. 4 or 7 minutes periods Next, you must select the length of each of the game's four periods: 4 or 7 minutes. A GFL Championship Football chalkboard will be displayed with a football and the numbers ' 4 and 7 upon it. Move the football so that it rests beside the number of minutes you require each period length to be: Move the football be pressing the joystick in port 1 forward and backward. Once the football is beside your choice, press the firebutton on the joystick/keyboard. Drafting A Team Whether you're playing against the computer or a friend, you and your opponent must now select your teams. You can choose from among 28 teams divided into four divisions: West, East, North and South - all ranked in eight categories according in the skills of their players and coach. The division names now appear in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Notice at the bottom of the screen the words CANCEL or CONTINUE. You can move the joystick forward and back to make selections from this screen using the football as your marker, and the fire-button to register your selection, as on previous screens. Each play follows a three step process during the GFL Championship Football draft: 1. Player one begins by selecting the division required (move joystick 1 forward or back to position the football and press the fire-button to register that selection). 2. Player one now selects their team from the chosen division in a simular manner. (See also the team ranking section below) 3. Player one moves joystick 1 forward or backward to move the football to either the CANCEL or CONTINUE options at the bottom of the screen, and pressing the fire-button when the footballs are beside the desired option. If CANCEL is selected, player one can alter all of the selections already made (and will repeat 1-3). If CONTINUE is chosen all of the selections made will now be registered, and the game will continue. If a one player game has been selected earlier, player one now repeats stages 1-3 above using joystick 1 to draft the computer's team, and hence choose the opposition to be played against. If a two player game has been selected earlier, player two now repeats stages 1-3 above but using joystick 2. Team Ranking Also highlighted during the team draft are the team's ranking in each of eight skill categories: Quarterback (QB) Running Back (RB) Offensive Line (OL) Receivers (RC) Defensive Line (DL) Linebackers (LB) Defensive Back (DB) Coach (CH) The rankings are based on a 1 to 3 point system, with 3 the highest and 1 the lowest. The computer uses these rankings while manipulating players during GFL Football games. RULEBOOK SUMMARY Gamestar GFL Footbal is played between two teams: in this case either 1 player -v- the computer, or 1 player -v- another player. Just as in the real sport, each team's objective is to score more points than the other team. Points are scored from Touchdowns, 'Extra' Points, and Field Goals. Most of the rules you must follow are identical to those in the sport. For instance, while on offense (attacking), you have four plays (or moves) in which you must try to advance 10 yards and get a first down. If you fail, you turn the ball over to your opponent, who then becomes the team on offense. The computer will automatically referee the game, and switch teams between offense and defense accordingly. A play is over when your ball carrier is successfully tackled, runs out of bounds, or drops a pass. You score 6 points for a touchdown, 3 points for a field goal and 1 for a point after a touchdown (pat). Other rules apply strictly to GFL Championship Football. For example, once your team is at the line of scrimmage, you can't pass after calling a running play, or can you run after calling a passing play or run a pass route into the end zone. Similarly, you can't 'fake' a punt or field goal. Once your team is lined up in a kicking position, you'll have to kick the ball away. You still have plenty of opportunity to outsmart your opponent, however. PLAY SELECTION Having made your team selections, you are now ready for the big game. GFL Championship Football is played in two distinct modes - scoreboard and game - between which the screen will turn green to alert you to the mode change. Quite simply, you decide which moves (or 'play') you wish your team to make in scoreboard mode, and then play your chosen strategy in game mode. The scoreboard displays all of the information you'd find at any american football stadium: * The names of the teams (in their respective colours. * The score. * The number of timeouts each team has left. * The down and yards to go for a touchdown (use this number to figure out what yardline you're on. * The current quarter (you'll play 4) * The game time clock (quarters can be 4 or 7 minutes long). * A 30 second play-selection clock. The scoreboard also contains two play selection list: on the left-hand side are the offensive (attacking) plays, and on the right-hand side are the defensive plays. Each play (name) in each list represents a different specific movement of your team once you are in game mode, and obvious you must try to use the correct move at the relevant time-selecting a move in this way is known as 'calling a play' The colour of each play selection list indicates which team is offensive or defensive at that time respectively, and will alter during the game. Player one can call any of the plays listed in BLUE, player two can call any of the plays shown in RED. Selecting the proper play is the defensive coach's only strategic weapon, forgetting to pick a defensive set in time could be the difference between winning and losing. Getting caught in the wrong defense often means giving up a big gain or any easy touchdown. To see all of the play choice available to you, push the joystick forward or backward. As you do, the play choices will scroll past. The one in the middle of the list at any time will be highlighted white - you should ensure that your intended play is the highlighted item. In a two player game, you'll both have 30 seconds in scorebaord mode to select your next play. In a one player game, your time allowed to select a defensive play reduces with each time period, which adds to the difficulty of the game and speeds up play. When in game mode, the scoreboard will disappear and you will see the on-field viewpoint of a specific team player, just as if you were that player on the field!