Backyard Football
Company: Humongous Entertainment
Estimated Price: $19.99
http://www.humongous.com

Ok, I admit it, I am not a football fan, but I found this game to be fun. When the window opens and I clicked on Autoplay I was asked to register. Always remember to register. It only takes a few moments. I was soon entering the clubhouse. I had many choices there: The Single Game; Hall of Fame; Season Play; and the JrSN. I picked the Single Game, but I want to tell you a little about each one. The Hall of Fame has trophies on display and team names on each. These are like the Rose Bowl and Hula Bowl of Backyard football. Season Play allows you to play 14 games against other teams. The last one, JrSN (Junior Sports Network), is the online version and is not available for Macintosh users :- ( In the Single Game I first set all my options, picked my team and members, and went onto the field. I did not use any of the other functions that are offered.

The other functions are easy to use and are just a click away. Changes are made at the Team Bench. Here you can change game options, Practice football, change your strategy, check statistics or schedule, and Play football. In Make Play you can change your plays or create your own. In Practice you have a chance to practice before playing a real game. (I should have gone there first.) Backyard Football has built into the program "areas" that help you keep track of your team's statistics, schedule, standings, and league leaders just like in real football.

What you get
Backyard Football comes with a CD-ROM and Pacific football trading cards, and when you register you get a free subscription to the Humongous Gazette and have a chance to win a Humongous Library.

Requirements and Installation
Backyard Football requires Mac OS 7.5.3 or greater, a 133 Mhz PowerPC, 32 MB RAM, and at least a 4x-speed CD-ROM drive. After clicking "Play" the first time, a few support files are installed on the hard drive. Also at the first launch of the program (if necessary) it will check to make sure that CD speed is up to requirements. (It's a dual platform CD-ROM)

Summary
I would recommend this program to all of you with children between the ages of 5 to 10. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the commands and the plays. I could understand all the computer talk and it was very easy. I could not understand things like "Fumbles Lost" or "Receptions" or why I had to have an offensive play and defensive play. Couldn't I just run to wherever the ball is? Come on, is this a "guy" thing?

I have only one complaint with the program. Children are buying this with the expectation of playing online. Please do not get this game expecting to use the Junior Sports Network. You CANNOT access this with the Macintosh. I have contacted Humongous about this and was told that they could not get the Macintosh site working by the release date but did not want to hold up releasing the game. They are working on the problem and we can hope that it is solved very soon! BUT if your child loves football, your child will love this game.

Children can still access http://www.jrsn.com for hints, news, and other fun things!

To award a mice rating to this game I have to take into account both the disappointment I have heard from those children that can not get online, and the fun children have had playing the game without competing online. I have to give Backyard Football

MacMice Rating: 3

Lyn Price
lyn@mymac.com