The Action Box?

[childslovegame]

Guys,

Could someone please explain in details how to play with the Action Box? How many dice are used? What do colors or numbers on the dice mean? How offend is the Action Box used during a game? Thanks!

Smitty
BMEFA

[GUTTMANN]

I would also like this information please.
Thanks!!
Mike

...ff.com and look for the TSO Rules.

[Reginald Rutledge]

I remember about 10 years ago on another site writing on this topic of "The Box" to an audience of negativity and discord. I thought then that "EFLers" were slow to change and why waste my time. At that time, I thought I would be gone from the game and many coaches would be missing out on something that could enhance their league for many years to come. So I will take the time here to explain this subject one last time in hopes that this information will be archived for all that may want to have a league where elements of reality become more attainable.

My first experience with "The Box" came about 16 years ago when I met Roddy Garcia. This was one of the early groundbreakers in the game of miniature football. I remembered he'd ask if I would visit him in Houston to play against his Vikings. I did so mainly because I liked Roddy but also, because he bought a Metrodome from me and had filled the stadium completely with people. I thought "WOW, how realistic could you get". So Roddy and myself began to go over rules when he said, "Reg, I do things like have injuries, penalties, and fumbles". I thought, "How in the hell does a plastic figure get penalties or holding or a fumble?" He then reminded me of a game many of us use to play called "Strat-o-matic" and "Paydirt". He reminded me of these 3 concepts that were used to keep a kids interest. I thought to myself, brilliant idea! So that must be said as I think it is important to give credit where it is due.

When I introduced this concept to the DFW League back in 1995, they were not immediately beholding to it. My league was like most leagues, stuck in the 20th Century on everything. I was one who always wanted the advancement of the game! So I essentially force-fed the league on this concept. Now, they act like they've been playing this all their life. Later on, the ACEFL would impact enhancements to the rules.

I remember in the late 90's, there was a discussion about the Colts and some team had played in the first perfect game, no penalties, fumbles and injuries. But throughout time, any football game that you watch, has some type of action that has happen, whether it's a fumble, penalty, or injury. These types of actions bring intrigue and excitement to the game of football. It can have a drastic impact on the course of a game and the fortunes of a team's season. Because this potentially can be felt on every play from scrimmage, my vision saw that possibility in miniature football on every play. But I also knew, this must be done quickly and with great efficiency.

A concept like this also distinguishes veterans from rookies. In the NFL, most expansion teams are more error-prone, turnover prone, and go through more players than well-established teams. At the beginning of a season, they struggle more and become progressively better by year's end (for the most part). In miniature football, we create this relationship by allowing the coaches to request the shake of "The Box" at their own discretion. For the most part, veterans know when to shake it and rookies tend to forget. As the season goes alone, they sharpen their MF skills because like in reality,
O-key-Dokes are harder to pull off on a rookie because he then has become of age.

Another part of this concept that we love to talk about in the DFW League is the impact of injuries. One of the great things we love to talk about is how an injury will impact our team. For instance, I can be talking with Michael Robertson about how Marion Barber, III pulled a groin and will be out for 6 weeks! Wow, what a devastating blow for the Cowboys. But this is where you finally get to use those reserves that many MF's never use in the game! I now have to show faith in a guy who has never had to make plays for me.

Another scenario may impact the course of a championship game. For instance, your starting OLB may get injured for the rest of the game. He goes down in the 1st Quarter. You send out your second-teamer who gets hurt in the thrird quarter. But you can only carry 54 on your roster and you never planned for your top 2 backers to go out with injuries! What do you do? Championships can be lost on key injuries. This is one I know because I lost to Michael Robertson because an OLB who averaged 3 sacks/game got hurt early.

In a playoff game, a coach lost his starting QB with a major injury in the opening moments of the game. I knew he had never practiced much with his second-stringer. So like any good coach, I stacked the line by putting 8 in the box and I had cover corners who were quite reliable. I knew whenever he went back to pass, he had no faith in that QB, just like in reality. I sat there patiently for him to make his throws to finally give up the ghost. By game's end, he went 4-22 passing and lost to me 42-6. The game was the NFC Championship that I played against Michael Robertson. The next year, Mike had acquired a competent back-up and third-stringer that he felt he could win a championship with. From that point forward, Mike would win 4 straight titles and go down as one of the legendary coaches in DFW history.

The excitement that comes out of the DFW is genuine. One of the things I remember Corey "Mr. National" Johnson telling me is that he regretted that he did not get the chance to "Shake the Box". But imagine going for your first Super Bowl and you battle back in the waning moments to go ahead 34-28. Then the other team has 48 seconds to go 83 yards to go back on top to win? Great scenario, huh? This happens here a lot! This happened in one Super Bowl between Mike Robertson and Oscar Woodard. Robertson fought back to take the lead and Oscar Woodard went 83 yards and at the end, his Yancey Thigpen caught a pass (in heavy coverage) from Steve McNair in the corner of the endzone. This was a 33 yard toss with DBs touching Thigpen and Oscar having a small window to throw into (with Raymond James Stadium surrounding us). Oscar makes the throw as the pass clock counts down to the roar of 30 coaches! Incredible drama! This could not be written any better! Michael knew he had only one chance to sop the onslaught. He asked Oscar to "Shake it Up"! The Box came up 6-6, with a 1 for the team, and a combination of 5/8 on the two 12 sided dice. Michael immediately erupted in joy because he knew that said "Pass interference, on the offense" and it told us the player was the "Wide receiver". Mike erupted in unadulterated joy! Everyone there was in a state of pandemonium! Mike would have to stop Oscar one last time in the drive but the emotional pendulum had definitely swung in Michael's favor.

I have lost 2 Super Bowls by having a runner stripped of the ball while going in on a 70 plus yard romp at the end of the game. It becomes deja vu! But you live with it and die with it. But it is fun, actually the lifesource of the excitement in the DFW League.

Take another scenario where you may have a drive rolling and as you are about to score, you have a holding penalty! What a bummer! How do you handle the emotional turmoil that something like this will put on you? The great coaches play through it and the others think about that penalty the rest of the game. This is symbolic of what happens in the NFL.

"The Box" can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It all depends on how often you use it to your advantage. I always tell people always use "The Box" when it works against you. "The Box" can be in play on every down. It can be shaken only one time in a possession and twice in the course of a change of possession.

But "The Box" concepts do not work well if your league is not governed by timers. We play with the aid of the 35/45 second clock. We use a 20 second pass clock. Our kick-offs are governed by the clock and a certain combination of dice which determines where the kick is at and the time it takes to get down on coverage. I would not suggest "The Box" to leagues that do not use clocks because games could stretch for meaningless hours. A regular DFW football game last 3 hours and we get anywhere from 90-110 plays (based on the experience of the official). But "The Box" is that part of football you really can not account for in MF called luck. Sometimes you have good luck with no injuries or bad luck with a fumble occurring when you least expected. Whenever any of our coaches in the DFW are watching real football such as high school, college, or pro, we always relate the injuries, penalties, and fumbles to "The Box". Just like in reality, these occurrences don't happen on every play but the potential for them to happen on every play is there. So like in reality, "The Box" can be shaken on every play. Whether something happens depends on the combination of the 2-6 sided dice. If Doubles are shown, whether it's a 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, some type of action has happened! That's when the coaches energy level rises. In the DFW League, the offense is the one who governs "The Box". The defense can request a shake or the offense request a shake. Personally, I let the official shake it up for me. I have no time to stop concentrating on the task at hand to turn my head away to see what "The Box" says. If something happens, they will tell me!

In all there are 2 6-sided dice which tells you whether something happens. Then there is a middle one 6-sided die used to determine if it is on the offense or defense. There is a third compartment of "The Box" that has 2-12 sided dice, 1-multiple of 10 sided dice (00, 10, 20,...80, 90), and 1 10-sided (0, 1, 2,3,4,...,9) dice. All of these dice work in conjunction with one another to give the different scenarios.

What I would suggest is that you go to:

http://www.footballfigures.com/My_Ho...s/Page138.html

and click on the Texas Shootout Rules pdf file. There is a section detailing Injuries, Penalties, and fumbles. It will show you the charts that we use. Charts have been updated to include some things that the ACEFL brought regarding kick-offs and more defined injuries. Also, we have amended combinations such as adding a 2-2 for dropped passes. Guys here throw so well that Don Hudson, one of our champions, thought to bring the drop pass concept into the league.

But this is a subject near and dear to our hearts in the DFW. Without the concept of clocks, you are wasting your time. You do not get the type of excitement that you saw Beenut going through in claiming his first TSO championship. Beenut was drenched in sweat by the half. The intensity of the game and dealing with "The Box" were things which made this championship for him very special. Many people in the past pushed this concept off as ridiculuous! Some reading this still probably think it is. But ask yourself, is your league dying or growing? This is one way to grow a league and bring in an exciting element to the game. "The Box" does not discriminate. It does not play favorites. It does not create one rule and then change it for your convenience to win. I have heard of guys who play by a certain rule set. The rules always work for them. But when the other team uses the rules and they work against the former, that person then says that is not the right ruling. That's how you destroy interest in the league and in the game. "The Box" does just the opposite. No coach knows going in whether he's going to have an injury, penalty, or fumble in playing a game. We can not account for that. We know its a part of the game so we make sure our teams are ready to play, inspite of those type actions. The similarities to real football is true to life.

I will stop here. If you have other questions, I have no problem in answering them. I just know that on any given day, with the aid of "The Box", a great coach can lose to an average coach. That is the beauty of "The Box"

[Reginald Rutledge]

There's no greater feeling than dealing with "The Box" in Raymond James Stadium before 30 of your peers. Shown in the picture above is the day Oscar Woodard lost his second Super Bowl to Michael Robertson on a "pass interference" infraction by the shake of "The Box"!

It is the lifesource of the DFW League! It's easier to implement with guys who are coming back to the game than guys who think their style is "the one" and they are not subject to any type of advancement or change in methods.

Reg

[Anthony D Burgess]

If I understanding what your saying,...............The dice tells you what took place on that play.

So if the runner never actualy fummbled the ball on the play, the dice might say he did. If there was actualy no off sides, the dice might say it was, if ther was no actual holding, then the dice might say it was. Is this correct?

Some how I would rather see the actual event take place as opposed to having a call placed on me that didn't actualy take place. Like the coach forgeting to do something, or he puts a man in the neutral zone and gets flaged for it. I can see that. Or a coach not getting his player set up befor the play clock goes off (45sec) delay of game.

I do understand the concept of injuries.

But I can see how some coaches would like that

[Reginald Rutledge]

Anthony,

One thing we do take into account is that we can not simulate everything that is real. No matter what any of us think as far as keeping it real is, this just can not be done.

Let's take the fumble for instance:
Over the years, it became apparent that if we really place the ball in the arm of the running back, the chances of it coming out during the course of a game was slim and none. For many years, my friend in Michigan (Jim Jackson) use to put the ball in his runner's arm to no avail. Fumbles never occurred. So then he would put a ball in a player's arm and make it fit loosely. However, that would be for teams he did not want to see win. For his Lions, Barry Sanders always held onto the ball snuggly. That gave one team an unfair advantage to create or cause a fumble. The purpose behind the Box creates great excitement for members of the league.

By shaking "The Box" to simulate a fumble, it
(1) expedites play; meaning there is no unnecessary time loss in mounting a ball in the player's arm to see him run with it. You loses approximately 10-20 plays over a 3 hour window by steadily having to put a ball in the players arm and taking it out and putting it in someone else's arm, and (2) it creates equality in the probabilities (random) that a team may have such a turnover occur.

For penalties:
We do have our customary offsides and things of that nature. But to us, a little more intrigue is added when you have a pass interference call on a safety or a clip on a linemen (even if you don't see it on the field). In our eyes, officials don't see half the underhanded infractions that should be called during a play. The feelings here is that we understand these are little plastic figures and they can not physically chop block on a team but that is an element of football that needs to be shown. I guess the great part about it is that it shows who can weather the storm of calls going against them.

In every aspect of miniature football, guys do things to try to simulate what they think real football is. We are no different from any others. Our counter arguments are similar to yours in that we want to see the acutal event take place. Things such as the physical re-orientation of players after a catch is something we have a hard time comprehending. Guys spend all summer in their respective training camps teaching certain players to run a certain way. Some leagues only want straight fast running players. We want guys who specialize in doing specific functions. So if for instance, I pass to my receiver. In the DFW, I know that this guys runs right to left for 70 yards and he should score. But in other leagues, after the catch, the coach assist the player and aim him towards the end zone to score. That's a concept we can not understand because it goes back to "Why even spend time working on a team in training camp if all you have to have is fast straight running bases". However, there certainly no disrespect to what those leagues do. In their minds, this is what works for them.

Similarly, these penalties/infractions is what works for these guys here. I think a lot of it is that the coaches here in the DFW league are so confident in their abilities to overcome those obstacles and they know it's a part of football. They know it can also happen to the other team so they shrug it off and try to make something happening.

I think your question Anthony was a question many guys have asked about this style. They always ask, "Aren't you mad that happened to you?" My response is usually , "H E L L Yeah!" But I also know I can overcome that problem and the team that wins the title is the one that can overcome obstacles the best.

Great question AB and I hope I answered it. If not, give me more.

Reg

[Anthony D Burgess]

Thanks Reg, I thought as much but was not sure. There is a logical reason for what you do and that I can understand that.

It would appear that you and I are on the same page with the direction we are headed.

What we do hear is that there is a high percentage of fumbles that place when an arm, helmet, or other body appendage is touching the ball in real life, as it is when the board is turned off.

The result is anyone on your team can cause a fumble. As far as penalties , the pressure of the actual game plays causes errors/penalties by placing pressure on the coaches in a stressful environment.

Like you I stand in agreement with you that the elements of football need to be utilized and not pushed aside.

I have never played your style but I understand the concept of it, and how your bringing true football elements to the game to create a real game experience. This should be one of the focus pointsfor playing in this hobby.

[Reginald Rutledge]

AB,

You know I have always told you to push the envelope in getting people to become aware of the different styles of play.

I think whether its the MPFL, the TSO, Strategy Divider, Miggle, or NHFL style, these styles offer elements of reality that people in that environment have become comfortable with.

I don't profess to be a very smart person. Not even an intellect. What I do profess is to know that these guys here in the DFW League have had 15 years of enjoyment. We've planted the seeds of this style, cultivated it, and grown the league to the point that now, when I walk away from the game, the ruleset is so ingrained in their minds that it's second nature.

I think all styles are great and when you can encourage others to try your rules, that's also good but for me, I've got my hands full teaching coaches here how to weather the storm. Anyone else outside of these guys who want to learn is always a blessing and nothing else!

Reginald

[Reginald Rutledge]

One of my coaches in the DFW League was talking with me yesterday as I was traveling. He had just gotten his first win in more than 5 seasons. He had walked away from the game for personal reasons and now he was back. You could hear the excitement in his voice.

The first thing he said when he answered the call, "I love that dang Box, Reg!" He then proceed to explain to me how "The Box" got to both him and his opponent. He spoke of the intrigue of thinking you're sailing high and then you shake it up and the rug comes from under you.

He said that crucial turnovers such as fumbles negated both him and his opponent. For the next 20 minutes, he discussed the love affair he had with "The Box". Hopefully, I can get him to come on here and chime in.

Reginald