INTRODUCTION Dear MISL Franchise Applicant. The Major Indoor Soccer League is deligted to inform you that your application for a new MISL franchise has been approved by the League Office. The addition of your franchise brings the total number of teams in the MISL to 12 - six Eastern Division and six Western Division teams. Your team will start out as the weakest team in the Eastern Division. If you make it to the post-season playoffs and win your Division Title, you will then play the best team from the stronger Western Division for the coveted MISL Championship Trophy. While congratulations are in order, I should mention that the task of acquiring talent for your new franchise will be difficult, at best. Undoubtedly, it will take you several seasons before all of the pieces fit together. To work your way up through the league to become the Number One team may seem like an impossible task at present. However, we're confident that with your superior abilities as an owner/general manager, head coach, and plater, your new organization will flourish. Congratulations, Office of the Commissioner OVERVIEW Welcome to the Major Indoor Soccer League, better known as the MISL. Headers, bicycle kicks, passes, dribbling, injuries - MISL Soccer contains all the action, realism and excitement of indoor soccer. Play midfielder or goalkeeper. Play against another player, against a computer controlled team, or have the computer play against itself. You also can have two players play against the computer, where one plater controls a team's midfielder and the other player controls the same team's goalkeeper. Make your own coaching decisions or let the computer be your coach. Compete in regular league play or practice games. In regular season play; your team starts as the worst of the six teams in the MISL Eastern Division. At the end of regular season play, the best four teams in each division participate in their division playoffs. If you win your division title you'll proceed to the final playoff round and battle the Western Division champion for the MISL Championship Trophy. Even if you don't win the League Championship, your playoff ranking will be recorded in your team history for each of nine seasons play. The challenge of MISL Soccer doesn't stop on the field. You also have the opportunity to act as your team's Owner, General Manager and Head Coach. You make the trades, recruit young player, conduct training camps, make substittions, and call strategies. Make good decisions and you could build up a dynasty as you climb through the ranks. Make the wrong moves, and your team may play like and expansion franchise forever. Every season will consist of five home games and six road games. The schedule is arranged so that all of your home games are played against teams in your division, while all road games are played against teams from the Western Division. All road games will be played out by the computer, but will not be viewed because of a "TV blackout". When you select PLAY SOCCER and the next game is against a team from the Western Division, the message 'YOUR TEAM IS ON THE ROAD, THIS GAME IS BEING PLAYED IN: (opponent's city). RESULTS WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER THE GAME" will appear on the screen. This home awat feature makes it important for the General Manager to build a well-balanced team, since road games will be played against teams from the stronger Western Division. A skillful Coach who calls the right plays and has built up a strong midfielder and goalkeeper may have a greater advantage when playing at home. However, if the rest of the team is not balanced in both SKILL and AGE at all playing positions, they will have real trouble winning games on the road. Only by mastering all three aspects of the game - Player, Coach, and General Manager - can you hope to win the Championship MISL Soccer puts you in complete control of the sport of indoor soccer. Your Options as a Player Choose to control either the midfielder or the goalkeeper of your team from the Game Setup Screen that appears after you select PLAY NEXT GAME from the Main Menu. Choose the computer as your opponent, play against a friend, or play two against the computer. (You can also elect to have the computer play against itself.) As your team's midfielder, shoot, pass, and perform headers and bicycle kicks. You also have a 'turbo boost' option to run faster than usual, but use it wisely, or you'll wear your player out. When you play as the goalkeeper, make spectacular saves while your computer-controlled teammates try to keep the opposition out of your face. Read the section entitled "HOW TO CONTROL YOUR MIDFIELDER AND GOALKEEPER" in the enclosed reference bookler for details about player control and techniques. Your Options as an Owner/General Manager As owner and general manager of a new franchise, you are responsible for improving your club to make it more competitive with established league members. Should you go with a team of establish but aging veterans, or replace the older players and start to rebuild? If you don't acquire better players and develop the players you have, you stand very little chance of moving up through the division or winning the MISL Championship Trophy. Your team probably will slump and gain a reputation as the leagues "doormat". Three methods to improve your team are available to you. You can recruit (create) new young player, trade players, and send your team to special training camps to improve their overall skills. Select RECRUIT A PLAYER, A PLAYER TRADE, or IMPROVE TEAM from the Main Menu to reach menu options for recruiting, player trades, and training camp. See the section of this manual entitled "IMPROVING A TEAM THROUGH RECRUITMENT, TRADES, AND TRAINING CAMPS" for details. You may also name your team when you select "START NEW LEAGUE" from the Main Menu. See "Start New League" in "THE MAIN MENU" section of this manual for more information. Your Options as a Coach As head coach, you can establish your lineup, make substitutions for tied or injured players (you must substitute for injured players) during a game, and decide offensive and defensive strategies to use against your opponent. Or, at your option, the computer can handle substitutions and strategy selection for you. Select SET UP TEAM from the Main Menu before a game to make lineup and roster changes. During a game, you can send in substitutes and make strategy decisions from the Coaching Screen that appears during any break in the action. See "Set Up Team" in the section entitled "THE MAIN MENU" for details. Also, see the section entitled "COACHING STRATEGY SELECTION AND SUBSTITUTION". To get the big picture from start to finish, begin by reading the next section. THE MAIN MENU The Main Menu offers several choices, all of which are discussed individually later in this manual. You also can save a team from the Main Manu. See the enclosed reference booklet for specifics about saving a team and about how to make selections from the Main Menu, as well as the other menus in the game, if you need help. The top half of the Main Menu displays the current league standings, which show the won, loss, and games behind ("W", "L", and "GB" on the screen) records for every team in the league. The first-place team in each division appears at the top of the column for that division. The last-place teams appear at the bottom of each column. Your expansion franchise, the DESIGNSTAR team, is the last-place team in the weaker Eastern Division. (You can change the name of your team when you choose START NEW LEAGUE from the Main Menu.) The options displayed on the bottom half of the Main Menu are split into two sections, under the headings "VIEW" and "TRY". A description of each option follows. The League Status When you select THE LEAGUE STATUS from the Main Menu, you'll see some general information about your soccer franchise. The display tells you how many trading points you have available for player recruitment, player trades, or training camp, as well as the number of games that constitute a single season (always 11). It also shows the number of games needed to win each round of the playoffs (you may change these when you select START NEW LEAUGE), the number of games played so far during the current regular season, and the number of rounds played so far during the current seasons playoffs. To exit THE LEAGUE STATUS, press the fire button (or in some versions, the key that serves as the fire button). A Team History If you choose A TEAM HISTORY, you'll be able to view a record of your team's performance over the last nine seasons. The years will be numbered 1 through 9 down the left side of the screen when you begin. After nine seasons have been completed the yaers will scroll up, the top one being lost forever and the bottom one moving up to make room the next. The display will subsequently show years 2 through 10, 3 through 11, etc. This process continues for each new season played. The statistical categories tracked include won and loss records ("W" and "L"), winning percentage ("PCT"), games behind ("GB"), calculated by subtracting a team's number of wins from that of the first place team; goals for and against ("GF" and "GA"), division position ("DIV"), and round reached in the Championship Playoffs ("PL"). When a team makes the playoffs, this figure starts at four and decreases by one for every round the team advance. An asterisk indicates that the team won the Championship that year, a zero means the team didn't make the playoffs. The last statistic given is the team's overall rating relative to all of the other teams in the league ("RATE"). In addition, the cumulative total (or average) for each statistical category is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Totals are given for wins, losses, goals "for" and "against". Averages are given for winning percentage, games behind, division position, round reached in the playoffs, and overall rating. You can change the display to a different team's history or exit A TEAM HISTORY and return to the Main Menu by following the instructions in the reference booklet. Playoff Tree This screen shows the game-by-game progress of all the teams in the Championship Playoffs. The playoffs begin at the end of the regular season, with the top four teams in each division participating. The first two playoff rounds are intra-divisonal teams play only other teams in their division. Playoff palrings are determined from the final regular season standings. The first-place team plays the fourth-place team from the same division, while the second-place team plays the third-place team from the same division. The winners of this first round then play each other in the second round for the Division Title. The Division Title winners play each other in the third and final round of the playoffs to see who will take home the MISL Championship Trophy (the MISL Trophy Screen appears when your team wins the Championship). The number of games to be played in each round of the playoffs is shown on THE LEAGUE STATUS screen, and may be changed when you select START NEW LEAGUE from the Main Menu. See the section of this manual entitled "Start New League" for the options available. The team with the better record gets the home field advantage for the first game of each playoff round. If more then one game is played in a round, subsequent play alternates between the two home fields. When playoff palrings are unknown, the Playoff Tree will show "XXXXXXXXXXXX" in place of team names. To exit the PLAYOFF TREE and return to the Main Menu, press the fire button (or, in some versions, the key that serves as the fire button). Game Scores The GAME SCORES screen displays the results of the last set of games played. To exit GAME SCORES and return to the Main Menu, press the fire button (or, in some versions, the key that serves as the fire button). League's History This screen displays the total number of wins and loses accumulated by each team over the last nine seasons. Teams are displayed in their respective divisions, the teams with the best overall records are listed first and the teams with the worst records are listed sixth (last in their division). The total number of seasons played is shown below. Press the fire button (or, in some versions , the key that serves as the fire button) to return to the Main Menu. Recruit a Player, A Player Trade, Improve Team See the section in this manual "IMPROVING A TEAM THROUGH RECRUITMENT, TRADES AND TRAINING CAMPS" for more information on these options. Set Up Team In M.I.S.L. Soccer, a starting lineup consists of an uninjured player at each of the six field positions. These positions are: midfielder (MF), left forward (LF), right forward (RF), left defense (LD), right defense (RD), and goalkeeper (GK). In addition to the 6 starters, you carry 14 additional players on your roster. However, when you play a hame, only 10 of those 14 players are available as substitutes during play. Use the SET UP TEAM option to establish your starting lineup and to decide which 10 of the remaining 14 players will be on your "active" roster for the next game. The SET UP TEAM screen shows all 20 players on your team on the left, and the 16 players who are eligable to play on the right. The names of the four players who are not on the active roster appear in a different color than the other 16 players' names on the left side of the screen. In addition, each player's skill points (under the heading "S", age (under the heading "A"), number of games the player will miss due to injury (under the heading "I"), and the player's natural position ( under the heading "P") are displayed on the left side of the screen. To give you a quick assessment of the team's strength, the total skill points (adjusted for players out of their natural positions) and average age of the 16 active members are shown at the bottom right of the screen. The higher the player's skill points, the better the player. The older the player, the more quickly the player tires and the more susceptible the player is to longer injuries. (Ages range from 1" to 36.) Also, when a player plays a position other than his natural position (given on the left side of the screen), the overall effectiveness of that player will be reduced. You can easily tell when a player is injured or out of his natural position. His name appears in a different color than healthy or naturally positioned players on the right side of the screen (see the reference booklet for specific colors). Use this information to help you set up your lineup and to decide which players to include as substitutes. You also should look over your opponent's lineup to help you determine your own lineup. Look at the other team's strengths, weaknesses, player ages and injuries, then rearrange your lineup accordingly to create the best matchups. Creation of good matchups can give you a strategic edge and sometimes can help you make up for a lack of talent. To change your lineup, follow the instructions in the reference booklet to select the name of the first player you wish to change. Then select the name of the player you wish to place in the first player's spot. As soon as you choose the second player's name, the two players will swap lineup positions or roster spots. This method of swapping players from one position or roster spot to another can be used with any of the players on the right side of the screen and the four players who are not on the active roster is indicated on the left side of the screen. If you change your mind about a swap after selecting the first player's name, just select that player's name again to avoid making an unwanted change. Make sure you have ab uninjured player at each position. The computer won't let you start injured players. To see another team's lineup, select VIEW TEAMS and follow the instructions in the reference booklet. When you're done with your lineup, select FINISHED to return to the Main Menu. Start New League After you select START NEW LEAGUE from the Main Menu, you will be given the warning that exercising this option will reset all accumulated records for every team in the league to their default settings (the way they were when you first loaded the program). To return to the Main Menu without resetting the league records, select CANCEL. If you wish to proceed, select OK. (NOTE: Once these options are set, you will not be able to change them from game to game.) You will then be asked for a team name. Once a team name has been entered, five more options appear: "CLOCK SPEED PER GAME", "NUMBER OF GAMES NEEDED TO WIN PLAYOFF" - "ROUND ONE", "ROUND TWO", and "ROUND THREE", and "FINISHED". The "CLOCK SPEED" option lets you decide how fast the game clock will run in league games, from 1X (real time) to 10X (ten times faster than real time). The next three options let you choose the number of games that will be played in each round of the playoffs. Playoff rounds may consist of one game (1), the best two out of three (2), or the best three out of five games (3). A different number of games may be chosen for each round. When you have made all your choices, select FINISHED to return to the Main Menu. Play Next Game When you choose PLAY NEXT GAME, the Game Setup Screen appears. From the Game Setup Screen you can establish some rules and conditions under which the game will be played. Each choice is described below (see the reference booklet for instructions about how to make menu selections). "DETAILS": The clock speed setting you chose in START NEW LEAGUE (from 1X to 10X) is shown, and may not be changed for league games. In practice game, you may change this setting to any speed from 1 to 15 times faster than real time (1X to 15X). If you set the game clock faster than real time, the pace of the action won't be any faster than normal; however, players will fatigue and recuperate proportionally faster as you shorten the length of the game. The names of the next two teams to play are displayed above pictures of each midfielder wearing the team's colour. In a practice game, you may choose any two teams you wish - you may even choose to play against yourself! In a league game, your team will always appear on the left and the next opposing team in the schedule (arranged each season by the computer) will appear on the right. You may also choose colors for each team. The midfielder appears in the color shown while his teammates appear in a lighter shade (so that you can tell them apart). Both goalkeepers always wear black. "CONTROL": Depending on how you set the control options, you may choose a one-player game against the computer, a two-player game in which you and a friend play against the computer, or a game in which the computer controls both teams. (In PRACTICE mode, you and a friend may choose opposing teams and compete head to head.) In a one-player game against the computer, you may choose to control either your team's midfielder or goalkeeper: the computer will control the other position. You may also choose to act as your team's coach; if you let the computer act as your coach, you will have no input about offensive and defensive strategies, substitutions, or time outs. The opposing team is controlled entirely by the computer. In a two player game against the computer, one player may control the team's midfielder while the other may control its goalkeeper. Either player or the computer can act as the team's coach. The opposing team is controlled entirely by the computer. In a head-to-head, two-player practice game, each player decideds which position to play on his or her team (the computer will control the other position), and whether or not to act as coach. To view a game without participating, select the computer to control all functions on both teams. Results from a computer-controlled game will count in the league standings if the LEAGUE option, described below, is in effect. If you just wish to view a "demo" game, make sure you select the PRACTICE option. "RULES": Choose tp play either LEAGUE or a PRACTICE game. (When you select LEAGUE, the program checks all options and changes any that are illegally set.) In a practice game, you may decide whether or not penalties will be called. If you select YES for the "PENALTIES" option, the practice game will execute exactly like a league game except that the records will not be tallied by the league. If you select NO for the "PENALTIES" option, no penalties, fouls, or three-line violations will be called. Play will stop only after a goal, a delay of game, interference, an injury a time out call, or the end of a quarter or game. Results from practice games are not tallied in the league standings. "START": Select CANCEL to return to the Main Menu. Select PLAY SOCCER when you have made all your choices from the Game Setup Screen. (If the program detects an error in your starting lineup, the PLAY SOCCER option will be replaced with the SET UP TEAM option. If this occurs, select SET UP TEAM and adjust your lineup.) In a few moments the playing field will appear, and the game will begin. Eac game consists of four 15-minute quarters, for a total of 60 minutes (actual playing time will depend on the "clock speed" setting). The teams switch sides after every quarter. The name of each team and the number of goals each has scored is shown at the top of the screen (your team will be on the left), along with the time remaining and the quarter. Each team's actual power rating (the combined AP ratings of the players on the field), current offensive and defensive strategies, indicator bar, foul count, and penalty clock also appear. Whenever play is stopped, the reason for stopping will be displayed at the top of the screen and the Coaching Screen will appear in place of the playing field. See the reference booklet ("HOW TO CONTROL YOUR MIDFIELDER AND GOALKEEPER") for details on maneuvering your player, see the section in this manual entitled "COACHING: STRATEGY SELECTION AND SUBSTITUTION" for details on the Coaching Screen. When a game ends the final score is displayed, and you then are returned to the Main Menu. IMPROVING A TEAM THROUGH RECRUITMENT, TRADES, AND TRAINING CAMPS The MISL administrators and the owners of the existing franchises recognize the need to maintain a competitive league. Toward this end, the Leauge Office has worked out a system of trading points used by all franchises to improve their teams. Trading points are of great value to you, because every time your recruit a player, attempt to trade for a player or send your team to training camp, it costs you trading points. New franchises are allotted 25o trading points. At the end of a season, additional trading points are awarded to each team on a proportional basis accorcding to the team's overall rating for that season. (A team's overall rating after a season can be seen when you select A TEAM HISTORY from the Main Menu.) Each team gets trading points equal to 100 times their overall rating. The better a team's rating at season's end, the fewer trading points the team receives. The last place team receives 1200 trading points while the MISL Champions get only 100 trading points. You can stockpile up to 9999 trading points, or you can spend trading points before each season as you see fit. Each team has its own strategy for using trading points, a good General Manager should be aware of his opponent's decisions. To see how many trading points your team has, select THE LEAGUE STATUS from the Main Menu. Use your trading points wisely. You'll need to take a close look at your own players' skills to decide where you need the most help before making player transactions that cost you precious trading points. A good starting point for the evaluation of players is the Player Trade Screen that appears when you select A PLAYER TRADE from the Main Menu. Every player has skill points to indicate their ability level. The skill points appear next to each player's name on the Player Trade Screen under the headinh "S". The higher the number of skill points, the better the player's skills. Skill points range from 0 to 99. The skill points incorporate several factors, such as a player's top running speed, showing accuracy; shot quality, and defensive ability. All players' skill points improve each season as players develop through training camps. However, a player's effectiveness declines as he gets older and nears the end of his career, even if his skill ratings are high. Keep a player's age in mind when you access your team. During a game, older players fatigue much faster and are more susceptible to longer injury than younger players. Players can miss up to eight games with injury; but younger players are less likely to miss a high number of games when injured. As general manager, you must make the tough decisions to retire an older player or try to trade him to another team. The players' ages are listed on the Player Trade Screen under the heading "A". Ages range from 17 to 36 and increase by one year at the start of each new season. When a player reaches age 36, he may remain on your roster in subsequent seasons, but his age continues to be given as 36. You must replace the player, through recruitment of a rookie or a trade, in order to drop the veteran from your roster. By contrast, older players on opposing teams are eventually "retired" by the computer starting at age 30. Now that you have an awareness of trading points and player skill points, check out the three methods to improve your team. Recruit a Player: Getting Help from New, Young Players You can put as many new players on your roster as you can afford. New players cost you trading points and, in addition, come at the expense of players who are currently on your roster. All new players that you recruit are healthy 17 year olds. A new player costs, in trading points, four times his total skill points. For example, if you bring up a rookie whose skill points total 25, 100 trading points will be deducted from your trading point total. Because of his inexperience, a new player's maximum skill points cannot exceed 50. Perhaps the hardest decision to make when bringing up a new player is whose place he will take on the roster. Rosters have a fixed number of players (20), so when a new onr comes, an old one must go. Sometimes, youth must be saved, and as general manager, you have to push an aging veteran or a player who hasn't shown much development off the roster to make room. It's a tough business. When you select RECRUIT A PLAYER from the Main Menu, your team's current roster appears. (See the reference booklet to learn the mechanics of making selections on the Recruit a Player Screen.) You must select the player who will be removed from the roster. If you want to give the player a new name, select NAME and type in the name that you want to give the new player (up to eight characters) and press RETURN (or Enter). You can keep the old name if you want. Next, select SKILL and then set the new player's skill points (see the reference booklet). Your computer regulates the number of skill points. Remember that the skill points that you assign to the new player can't exceed 50, and that you must pay four times the player's total skill points in trading points. After you assign skill points, select POSITION and then select the new player's natural position. You need to select a position only if it differs from the position of the player you removed from the roster. The available positions are midfielder, left forward, right forward, left defense, right defense, and goalkeeper. These options may be selected in any order, and may be changed as often as you wish prior to exiting the Recruit a Player Screen. When you're finished, select OK to return to the Main Menu, or select CANCEL if you change your mind and decide not to go through with the recruitment. If you select OK, the new player appears in the old player's roster spot and the cost of your new player is deducted automatically from your trading point total. If you select CANCEL, your original player is restored to your roster without any cost to you. A Player Trade: Wheeling and Dealing With Other Teams Trading is a great way to improve your team in a hurry, but it can be quite costly as it comes with no guarantees. The MISL administration wants to ensure that the league maintains competitive balance among its members to keep fans interested. As a result, the MISL arbitrates all trade offers. You can't make a trade without league approval. In addition, the League Office changes an arbitration fee. The arbitration fee charged is 10% of your total trading points to a maximum of 100 trading points. The minimum arbitration fee is 10 trading points. The arbitration fee is non-refundable, even if the trade is denied by the league. To initiate a trade, first select A PLAYER TRADE from the Main Menu. The Player Trade Screen appears, which gives you the option to TRY TRADE, VIEW TEAMS, or RETURN. The player Trade Screen shows your team roster on the left half of the screen and the roster of your next opponent on the right half of the screen. In addition, the skill points, age, injury status, and position of each player appears next to each player's name. The average age and cumulative skill points of each team displayed is shown also. The cumulative skill points and average age give you a good idea of how well your team stacks up with the rest of the league. Decide who to trade from your roster and whom you want in return. You can view the rosters of all of the other teams in the league to find a player who interests you. To do so, select VIEW TEAMS from the Player Trade Screen and follow the directions in the reference booklet to change the display from one team to another. When you are ready to trade, make sure that the roster of the team that you want to trade with appears on the right side of your screen. Select TRY TRADE. The arbitration fee that will be charged by the League Office for considering the trade appears on the screen, along with OK and CANCEL prompts. Select CANCEL if you change your mind about the trade and don't want to spend the cost of the arbitration fee. To proceed with the trade offer, select OK. Now, select the player from your roster that you wish to trade. Next, select the player that you want from the other team. Now, type in the number of additional trading points that you wish to add as an enticement and press RETURN (or Enter). You can enter "0" if you don't think additiobal trading poins are necessary to make the trade more acceptable to the league and to the other team. However, the more you offer, the more likely it is that the trade will go through. The trick is to offer enough without offering too many. The MISL administration will consider your offer. The administration takes into account the age and skill ratings of the two players, as well as injuries, playing position, the player's importance to his present team and any extra trading points that you have offered. The MISL monitors your offer carefully, and "serious" offers have a better chance to go through. Remember, the arbitration fee is deducted whether the trade is approved or not. If the trade is allowed, a message to that effect appears on the screen and the two players switch teams. Any trading points included in your offer will be deducted from your total and given to the other team, which will use the trading points immediately for general improvement (training camp). If the trade is not allowed, an on-screen message informs you that the offer has been rejected. After a trade attempt, follow the instructions in the reference booklet to continue the program. Select RETURN from the Player Trade Screen when you're ready to go back to the Main Menu. Improve Team: Sending a Team to Training Camp Through general improvement, you can improve your entire team by sending them to training camp. At training camp, the skill points of each player on your roster will improve. The degree to which each player improves depends on how much you, as owner of the team, spend on the quality and duration of the camp. You can send your players to training camp only once each season, and you can spend anywhere from 1 to 300 trading points for each camp. (To leave the screen without having to go through training camp, enter "0" trading points or simply press RETURN.) Remember, as a new franchise owner you have only 250 trading points to work with, and your other team improvement options, trades and player recruiting, don't come cheaply. Consider all of your options before you spend. There are pros and cons to using general improvement. On the positive side, all players improve somewhat at training camp, even if you do not see an immediate improvement in their skill points. Also, general improvement involves no risk. All trading points allocated for improvement are guaranteed to produce good results. On the negative side, it will take many seasons and lots of trading points to build up your weakest players. Trading may get you better players right away. Also, only a slight priority is given at training camp to improving your weakest players. For the most part, strong and weak players improve equally at camp. When you select IMPROVE TEAM from the Main Menu, you'll be asked how many trading points that you want to allocate to your team's improvement. Type the number of trading points that you want to speed (0-300) and press RETURN (or Enter). The message "TRAINING CAMP COMPLETE" appears on the screen when the team breaks camp. Follow the instructions in the reference booklet to return to the Main Menu when training camp is over. COACHING: STRATEGY SELECTION AND SUBSTITUTION To put yourself in the coach's seat, make sure before the game starts that you have made the appropriate CONTROL selection from the Game Setup Screen (see "Play Next Game" in "THE MAIN MENU" section for details.) Before a game starts and whenever there is a break in the action during a game, you are given the opportunity to take over the coaching reins of your team, unless you have selected the computer to act as your team's coach (in which case the computer handles substitution and strategy selection for you). Play stops after a goal, a penalty or foul, an injury, interference, a delay of game, a time out, a three-line violation, and the end of a quarter or game. When play stops, the Coaching Screen appears. From the Coaching Screen, you can substitute players to replace tired or injuried players. In addition, you can select your offensive and defensive strategies. When the Coaching Screen appears, first select your offensive strategy: PICK OFFENSIVE PLAY will be highlighted on your team's side of the Coaching Screen to remind you to make the offensive strategy selection. You have three choices: SHOOT, PASS, or MIX. (See the reference booklet for details about the mechanics of making choices on the Coaching Screen.) Each offensive strategy option is discussed under the heading "Strategy Selection" later in this section. After you select the offensive strategy, you need to selecta defensive strategy: PICK DEFENSIVE PLAY will be highlighted on your team's side of the Coaching Screen when the computer awaits your defensive strategy choice. You have four defensive options: DEFEND 1, DEFEND 2, COVER 1, and COVER 2. Each defensive strategy option is discussed under the heading 'Strategy Selection' later in this section. Next, you're given the opportunity to make lineup substitutions (SUBSTITUTIONS will be highlighted on your team's side of the Coaching Screen.) Be forewarned that no substitutions will be allowed if play was stopped because of interference, delay of game, a foul, or a three-line violation! Select NO if you want to return to the game without making any substitutions. If you select YES, your lineup appears, and you can make a substitutions or change players' positions. The actual power rating ("AP"), maximum power rating ("MP"), and position ("PO") of each player on your team is displayed. The actual power rating indicates how tired a player is and whether the player is playing out of position. Compare a player's actual power rating with his maximum power rating. The further apart the two ratings are, the more tired the player may be. Tired players do not perform well! In the case of players out of their natural position, you'll find that players' actual power ratings are reduced on a percentage basis, depending on their natural positions and the position you've moved them to. For example, a midfielder moved to left forward retains "5% of this effectiveness. However, if you move the midfielder to goalie, a less similar position, he retains only 25% of his effectivenss. Experiment! After you've made a substitution, the Coaching Screen reappears, and again you are given the opportunity to make more substitutions. You can cancel a substitution by selecting the same player twice. When you've made all the substitutions you want, select NO on the Coaching Screen to return to the game. Strategy Selection Choose among three offensive strategies: SHOOT: This is a good strategy when your team is behind or if you prefer an aggressive offense. All players will try to get off a lot of shots from up close, and even from out at midfield. The closer players get to the goal, the more likely a shot will be taken. This strategy often results in good rebound shot possibilities for your midfielder. It also can reduce the responsibilities of a weak midfielder. Overall, SHOOT is a good strategy to get off the most shots in the least amount of time. PASS: This strategy draws lots of passes to your midfielder. The midfielder can keep teammates in the flow by passing the ball as well. This teamwork ultimately will result in working the ball downfield while keeping the defensive offbalance. The PASS strategy allows your midfielder to take more control of the offense. It's a good strategy to use when you have a high quality midfielder. It can be used effectively to set up for an insurance goal when you have a lead, or to help kill the clock as a defensive move. MIX: In most situations, this is the most appropriate strategy. It results in a well-balanced combination of passing and shooting. You also have your choice among four defensive strategies: DEFEND 1: This is a good, conservative defense. DEFEND 1 is a good choice when you want to "sit on a lead" and kill the clock while playing it safe. This strategy keeps your players from over-committing themselves. They will play back and will be in a better position to prevent breakaways and open shots. DEFEND 1 is a zone defensive in which your players "play the man" rather than "play the ball". DEFEND 2: This strategy is similar to, but not quite so conservative as, DEFEND 1. It's a zone defensive, but your defenders will play both the man and the ball. DEFEND 2 is a more aggressive, slightly riskier version of DEFEND 1. COVER 1: If you have to play "catch-up", this is a good strategy. Your teammates will take risks in order to get the ball. They will "shadow" the opposition, bumping and harassing opposing players at every opportunity. On the negative side, the increased bumping will cause more penalty calls. Also, your team becomes vulnerable to a fast break by the opponent. It's tough for lower-skilled players to keep up in this type of defense. When you use COVER 1, your players will play the man and not the ball. COVER 2: This strategy is similar to COVER 1, but even more aggressive. Your team will play both the man and the ball. This is the most aggressive, not to mention the most risky, defensive strategy available to you. Subsitution As head coach, you should monitor your players' fatigue and replace a tired player with a fresh substitute. Also, you'll have to send in a substitute whenever one of your players is injuried. Your team is made up of players of varying abilities and ages. The longer a player stays on the field, the more tired the player is likely to get (especially older players). You can tell how tired a players is by his "AP" (actual power) rating, which appears when you select YES while SUBSTITUTIONS is highlighted on the Coaching Screen. The first time a player takes the field, the player's "AP" rating equals that player's "MP" (maximum power) rating (unless he's playing outs of his natural position). As the player tires, the "AP" rating drops. The longer a player rests on the bench after coming off the field, the more the player recuperates. ABOUT YOUR PLAYERS You establish control of the midfielder and goalkeeper from the Game Setup Screen. Follow the instructions given under the heading "CONTROL" in the play "Play Next Game" section of this manual. Step by step instructions that tell you how to control your midfielder or goalkeeper are given in the reference booklet, but there are a few things you should be aware of first that have to do with the responsiveness of your players. The skill points, age, playing position, and, in the case of midfielders, forwards, and defensemen, actual power ("AP") rating (found on the Substitution Screen) each affect your player's effectiveness on the field. For example, a highly rated, young midfielder who isn't tired runs faster, and shoots more accurately than a lowly rated, older midfielder who has been on the field for too long a period. Defensively, your midfielder's ability to knock down balls in the air is affected by skill points and fatigue level. When you play midfielder, you may notice that your player is extremely sluggish and simply can't keep up with the action. This player is either tired, not very skilled, or both. The importance of building up your team, establishing your lineup, and substitution durinng a league game is never more plainly demonstrated than when your player moves at a snail's pace up and down the field. Goalkeeper's skill points affect his reaction time. His skill points and age effect his quickness in moving around the goalkeeper's box. His age affects how long it takes him to recover from one save and prepare for another. A goalkeeper will not fatigue during a game. SOME RULES AND REGULATIONS The following paragraphs provide information about some of the rules and regulations of soccer as it is played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. FREE KICK: When contach occurs between opposing players, the referee may decide that the contact was either a delibrate "obstruction", a "dangerous play", or some other infraction on the part of the player who made the contact. If this occurs, the team not guilty of the infraction gets possession of the ball at the location of the infraction. All other players back away from the location, allowing the midfielder plenty of room to pass or shoot the ball. INTERFERENCE: When a goalkeeper has the ball the opposinh midfielder must give the goalkeeper plenty of room to throw the ball back into play. (The opposing midfielder should be no closer to the goalkeeper than the goalkeeper's own midfielder.) If Interference is called, the goalkeeper's team is awarded a free kick when play resumes. DELAY OF GAME: When a goalkeeper holds the ball too long (and there is no interference by the opposing midfielder), a delay of game is called by the referee and a free kick is awarded to the opposition. PENALTIES/FOULS: Every time players bump each other there is a possibility that a penalty or a foul will be called. Minor infractions will result in a foul, and the foul count will be incremented by one. If the foul count reaches six in any one quarter, the player responsible for the sixth foul must go to the penalty box for two minutes, and the foul count is reset to zero. Serious infractions may result in an immediate penalty, causing the player at fault to serve two minutes in the penalty box. The faster the game clock, the more likely it is that an infraction will be called as a penalty instead of a foul (since it would be difficult to accumulate six fouls in an accelerated game). If the game clock is running faster than normal the penalty time will be adjusted accordingly up to 4 times normal speed. THREE-LINE VIOLATION: A three-line violation is called against players who pass (or shoot) the ball across three lines in the air towards the opponent's goal without touching another player between the outermost lines. The opposing team is awarded a free kick, to be taken from the center point of the first line that the ball crossed. TIME-OUTS: Each team is allowed one time out per quarter. A coach may call a time out if one of his or her players has possession of the ball. See the reference booklet for specific instructions on how to call a time out. The Coaching Screen appears when a time out is called. When play resumes, the team whose coach called the time out will get a free kick (to be taken from the location of the ball when the time out was called). SUDDEN DEATH: There are no ties in MISL Soccer - every game must have a winner. If a game's score is still tied at the end of the regulation 60 minutes of play, 15 minute "Sudden Death" overtime periods will be played until one team scores a goal. FORFEIT: If you exit the program during a league game (by turning off your computer), you forfeit the game and it counts as a loss for your team in the league standings. Your opponent is credited with the victory, and no goals will be recorded in your team's statistics. In addition, you lose 109 trading points for each forfeit from the total trading points your team receives at the end of the season. (In other words, you can't deliberately forfeit game after game just to build up trading points). There is no way to escape a game once it has started, so be carefulk to double check your choices on the Game Setup Screen before you select PLAY SOCCER.