1st & Goal Review
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.6
App Reviewed on: iPad 2
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From the depths of high school stereotypes come 2 distinct groups: jocks and nerds. These unfortunate social constructs and their classic enmity would seem to indicate that people either roll dice or throw balls, with no common ground to be found. But along comes 1st & Goal, a digital adaptation of a board game and a unique - some might say impossible - juxtaposition of genres. It's a dice-chucking board game about football. Those flavors may seem distinct, almost un-mixable, like cleats and pocket protectors (though no one in history has ever worn a pocket-protector un-ironically). However, 1st & Goal attempts to fuse the tactical elements of football with board game mechanics and delivery, creating something that lives in both the gym and the library.
The game's visuals are nicely presented, retaining their fundamental 'board gaminess' while adding smooth rolling animations for the dice and cartoonish graphics to show the result of each play. Audio is fairly minimal, with the sound of the crowd frequently the only accompaniment to your game. 1st & Goal features lots of team options as well as the opportunity to design your own team logo, and there are many expansions available for purchase to bring in new teams that will offer different balances of offense and defense plays. It’s a genuinely clever way of making an unorthodox combination work.
In short, 1st & Goal is a board gamer’s football game as well as a football fan's board game, and it's well worth a look.