The tabletop boardgaming life of the RockyMountainNavy hacienda has been in a bit of a funk this past year. Between myself going back to work something like 120%, full-time employment for Middle RMN Boy, and high school senior year and part-time work for Youngest RMN Boy, there is very little time for family boardgaming in the house. Further, the flavor of gaming has changed with even less three-player opportunities. Sensing this, I started looking at more two-player boardgames. One that I recently brought into the collection is 1st & Roll from R&R Games (2018). It’s been a winner!
Sporting Games
Although I have a few sports games in my collection, finding one that feels “real” is tough. We have had moderate success in auto racing games with Pitch Car (very light and fun) to Formula D (love the different gear dice!) to Supercharged (card-based simple flavor and fun). The RMN Boys are football fans at heart, and finding a good football game was tougher. We have a well used copy of Battleball which is more toy than sport.
A “Real” Football Game
What impresses me the most about 1st & Roll is just how “real” it plays. The game starts with a Kickoff using the Kick Die. Then, the offensive player picks either a pass, run, or pass/run play (each is a different color die) and the defensive player picks a defense (pass, pass/run, run). The die are compared and if the colors are different the offensive die is rolled and the ball advanced. If they are the same color there is a dice-off. Then a Clock die is thrown which moves the clock or can lead to a Turnover. There are breakaway plays and extra yardage. There is a chance of penalties. You can punt or do an onsides kick or a long bomb or a Hail Mary or kick a Field Goal or even fumble the ball. In other words, it plays not so different from a real football game, but on a small board and with just a few dice.
Equipment Manager
Another element of 1st & Roll that I like is the game components. In particular, I’m talking about the magnetic board. Yup, the board has a thin metal layer inside and the football and down marker and clock are magnetic. Other markers are small magnets. This makes the game not-so-safe for little kids, but then again, they should be playing flag football at that younger age anyway, right?
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Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
Sure beats Electric Football!