Gameplay

Each player chooses a team that represents an actual NFL team from a specific season

Season (sports)

In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

. For each team and each season, a Team Chart designed to reflect that team's strengths and weaknesses during that season is used to direct gameplay. Each "play" of the game consists of the players secretly choosing a type of play

Play from scrimmage

A play from scrimmage is the activity of the games of Canadian football and American football during which one team tries to advance the ball or to score, and the other team tries to stop them or take the ball away. Once a play is over, and before the next play starts, the football is considered...

 (run, short pass, long pass, etc.), rolling dice, and consulting the Team Charts to determine the result of the play.

History

The game was originally published by Time Warner under the name "Sports Illustrated Pro Football". Avalon Hill

Avalon Hill

Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...

 later bought the game and renamed it Paydirt, marketing it with a college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 version of the game called Bowl Bound

Bowl Bound

Bowl Bound was a board game originally marketed in 1973 by Baltimore-based Avalon Hill. Bowl Bound was marketed with an endorsement by Sports Illustrated....

. Avalon Hill hired Dr. Thomas R. Nicely, a statistician, to redevelop the mathematics of the gameplay.

Avalon Hill published Paydirt until 1995, but some enthusaists have published Team Charts for subsequent seasons.

Sources

• http://www.datadrivenfootball.com/ - Team Charts for current NFL teams and freeware PC versions of Paydirt and BowlBound
• - Second generation paydirt charts and lots of free downloads
• Paydirt and Bowl Bound at britishempire.co.uk
• Post-1989 Team Charts
• http://www.nascarmodelkits.com/boardgames.html - Learn more about the history of these great football games.