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Backyard Football FAQ
Created By: MetsRule
Contact: [email protected]
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- Table of Contents -

I. Introduction
II. Controls
       A. Game Options
III. The Clubhouse
       A. Hall of Fame
       B. Single Player
       C. Season Play
       D. Junior Sports Network
       E. Meet the Players
IV. Play calling
V. Copyright Information
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Section I. - Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my Backyard Football FAQ.  I would like to thank
you for taking the time to read this guide and I hope that you find it
informative.  If you're looking for help in a specific section of the
game, you can use the table of contents to find your way around.  If
you're still having trouble finding something you can press CTRL + F on
your keyboard to search a specific word or phrase.

Backyard Football is a great game for children that are new to the
sport of football.  Backyard Football isn't as complex as other sports
series, such as the Madden NFL series or the NFL Blitz series.  This
game is recommended for people ages 5-10, but is a fun game for an
older gamer to relax and play because of the games' easy to use
controls.

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Section II. - Controls

While setting your controls before a game, I would recommend using the
"keyboard" selection instead of using your computer's mouse, which is
set as the default option.  It is much easier to control your players
by using the arrow keys instead of the mouse.  While using the mouse to
control your players it is very easy to make mistakes by clicking the
wrong place on the field.

Arrow keys - Move players
Shift key (while kicking) - Start meter
Shift key (on offense) - Pass the ball

In-Game Help - Press F1
Pause/Unpause Game - Spacebar
Skip Scene - Press escape (Esc)

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A. Game Options
----------------------

In this section I'll recommend you what options you should choose while
playing the game.

Setup:

Difficulty: Hard
Auto kick: Off
Weather: Random
Weather effects: On

Game Controls:

Control: Keyboard

Sound Options:

Play by play: On
Color commentary: On
Music: On
Player chatter: On
Ambient sound: On
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Section III. - The Clubhouse

The Clubhouse is the main screen you will see while playing Backyard
Football.  This is the screen that appears when you first start the
game.  While you're in "The Clubhouse", you will be able to choose from
the following options: The Hall of Fame, Single Game, Season Play,
Junior Sports Network, Cards and football.

----------------------
A. Hall of Fame
----------------------

While looking at the Hall of Fame screen you will be able to find all
of the trophies you have earned throughout your time playing Backyard
Football.  You will also be able to see the past winners of the Super
Colossal Cereal Bowl.

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B. Single Player Mode
----------------------

In the Single Game mode you will need to choose a difficulty level and
a stadium to play at.  I would recommend using that "hard" setting,
because it gives the gamer more of a challenge against their opponent.
Some of the fields that you can play at are Dmitri Dome, Phillips
Phield, Sandy Flats, Playground Commons, and Dirt Yards.  If you want
to play on a normal field that is similar to the fields professional
players play on, I would choose Dmitri Dome.

After that, you have the option of creating a new team, using your team
from season mode, or letting the computer generate a completely random
team for you.  I'll walk you through creating your own team.

While creating your own team, you want to make sure you choose a player
that can fill the need of multiple positions.  Since you can only
choose seven players to have on your team you will be faced with a
challenge to find a quality player for every position.

When drafting your players you should always make sure you get a good
quarterback.  I would recommend drafting John Elway with your first
choice.  Since there are one minute quarters for each game you will
need to put points up on the scoreboard fast.  Your team will need a
great quarterback like John Elway to do this.

With your next pick in the draft you should draft a wide receiver.  I
would draft Jerry Rice, if he's still available.  Jerry will be a
valuable addition because he has an amazing catching ability and rarely
drops a pass.  Rice can also play cornerback when he's not on the
offensive side of the ball.

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C. Season Play
----------------------

Season Play is the main mode in Backyard Football and you will probably
play most of your games here.  The first thing you do during season
play is create a team and choose your colors.  Make sure you choose
your team name and colors wisely, though.  You will not be given a
chance to change these after this point of your coaching career.  The
only way to get a new team would be to start over and create a new
coach name.

After that you will be able to choose your players.  This is different
from the way you draft players in Single Player mode, though.  During
season play you can choose any player you want without having to worry
which player the CPU will pick.  I would draft the players with the
most skill points because they can most likely get the job done at any
position.

After you are finished choosing the players for your team you will be
brought to your team's main page.  Here you will find a team photo,
team statistics, league standings, a schedule, and a place to set your
lineup.  The first thing you should do is take a look at your lineup.
You can do this by clicking on the "strategy" button that has a
chalkboard.  Sometimes the computer will put your players in wacky
positions, so make sure they're the way you want before you start,  If
you're unsure what skills a certain player has, you can go to the "meet
the players" page to view their abilities.

Another place you can visit from your team's page is the practice
facilities.  During practice you can get to learn the game.

You can also take a look at your team's schedule from here.  You can
also take a look some of the other team's schedules.  Each team will
play a scheduled fourteen games during the regular season.

After you play a few games, you may want to take a look at the League
Records book.  While looking at the league records book you will be
able to see the stats of some of the leagues' top players.  Sometimes
you will see a few players from your teeam on that list and they will
be in bold.  It's a great accomplishment to have one of your players
leading the league in one of those categories.  It's not a big deal if
you don't have one of those top players, though.  All that matters is
that your team is winning.

Another option you have is to look at the past time of your team.  You
can do this by looking at the team trophy case.  In the team trophy
case you can see the amount of wins and losses you have throughout your
entire career as a coach.  You can also see all of the trophies you won
and your career winning percentage.  Another stat you can see is how
many points your team has give up and how many points your team has
scored throughout your entire coaching career.

If your team plays very well they may qualify for the playoffs.  You'll
have to win the division and the conference to reach the ultimate goal,
the Super Colossal Cereal Bowl.  The Super Colossal Cereal Bowl is the
championship game.  It is equivalent to what the Super Bowl is in the
National Football League (NFL).

----------------------
D. Junior Sports Network
----------------------

The Junior Sports Network is an online community set up by Humungous
Entertainment, the creator of Backyard Football.  You can play on the
Junior Sports Network by registering your game.  This will allow you to
play against other players around the world.  To my current knowledge,
the Junior Sports Network no longer works.

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E. Meet the Players
----------------------
In this section I will break down each player by giving them a certain
"skills" score.  The players with a higher skills score should be high
on your draft list.  The overall ranking system is out of one hundred
points. The overall rating is a system created by me to determine how
good a player is overall. The higher the player's rating is the better
the player is.  The overall system is out of one hundred points, and
the other stats are out of five points.


Pablo Sanchez

Overall: 96
Throwing: 4
Catching: 4
Running: 4
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Pablo Sanchez is a very great all-around player.  He is very fast and
he can also pass the ball well.  Sanchez would make a great
quarterback, runningback, or wide receiver.  He may not play as well as
you expect him to sometimes, though.  Pablo is very short and can miss
out on big plays sometimes.

Jerry Rice

Overall: 93
Throwing: 2
Catching: 4
Running: 4
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver of all-time.  He is extremely
fast and will catch almost every pass throw towards him.  I would
definitely get Rice and have him as my number one wide receiver because
he will change the way the game is played.

Brett Favre

Overall: 91
Throwing: 4
Catching: 4
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Brett Favre is a great player to have on your team.  Brett is a good
quarterback and he also plays pretty well on the defensive line when
you're on defense.  Favre can also be used at wide receiver, but I
wouldn't rely on him as a number one receiver.

Randall Cunningham

Overall: 91
Throwing: 4
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 3

Randall Cunningham is a balanced player that has skills in every
attribute.  You can use Cunningham at almost any position, but I would
recommend him at quarterback.  The only position I wouldn't use
Cunningham at is runningback.

John Elway

Overall: 91
Throwing: 4
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 1

John Elway is meant to be a quarterback for your team.  He isn't that
good at other positions, but he is definitely the best quarterback in
the game.  Elway does a good job finding the open receiver and he is a
good quarterback on the run.  If the poscket begins to collapse, there
will always be the option to run with Elway at quarterback.

Steve Young

Overall: 90
Throwing: 4
Catching: 3
Running: 4
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Steve Young is a good quarterback and is probably one of the top five
in Backyard Football.  If you don't want to have Steve Young as your
quarterback, I would pick him up as a wide receiver.  Steve has a
combination of speed and the ability to catch, which will make it tough
for defenses to stop him.

Barry Sanders

Overall: 90
Throwing: 3
Catching: 4
Running: 4
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Barry Sanders is a very athletic kid that makes an amazing runningback.
Barry is the best runningback in Backyard Football and should be a part
of your team.  Barry can run the ball for big gains and is also a
threat as a receiver out of the backfield.

Jocinda Smith

Overall: 88
Throwing: 4
Catching: 3
Running: 2
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 3
Jocinda Smith is an above-average quarterback and a fantastic offensive
lineman.  Jocinda should play both the offensive line and the defensive
line.

Reese Worthington

Overall: 87
Throwing: 3
Catching: 4
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 4

Reese Worthington should be used as a kicker for your team.
Worthington can kick the ball really far and give your opponents bad
field position.

Dan Marino

Overall: 87
Throwing: 4
Catching: 2
Running: 1
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Dan Marino should only be used as a quarterback for your team.  He is a
talented quarterback, but that's all he has.  If Marino gets pressure
when he's standing back at quarterback, he probably won't be able to
scramble to get out of trouble and will likely be sacked.

Drew Bledsoe

Overall: 85
Throwing: 4
Catching: 3
Running: 2
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 1

Drew Bledsoe is an awesome quarterback, but his grandma can probably
beat him in a race.  Drew will definitely earn him nickname "Drew
Deadslow" while playing for your team.

Dmitri Petrovich

Overall: 85
Throwing: 3
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 4

Dmitri Petrovich should be used as an offensive lineman and a kicker.
His strongest attributes are blocking and kicking, which are the
perfect skills for an offensive lineman and kicker.  Petrovich won't do
much for your team besides that.

Dante Robinson

Overall: 84
Throwing: 4
Catching: 2
Running: 4
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Dante Robinson makes a good scrambling quarterback.  He's pretty small,
so Robinson might not be able to see over the offensive line well.
Robinson can also be used as a wide receiver, although his catching
ability is only sub-par.

Lisa Crocket

Overall: 83
Throwing: 2
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 3

Lisa Crocket can be used as an offensive lineman, defensive lineman,
and a kicker.  Crocket is a good blocker and she has the speed to make
the blocks downfield.

Vicky Kawaguchi

Overall: 82
Throwing: 3
Catching: 4
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 3

Vicky Kawaguchi has the skills to be a decent wide receiver.  Kawaguchi
is great at bringing in the ball and has good speed.  The only thing
you should be worried about is Vicky Kawaguchi's height.  She is very
small, which will make it easier for cornerbacks to jump over her and
intercept the ball.

Kiesha Phillips

Overall: 82
Throwing: 3
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 3

Kiesha Phillips should be used as both an offensive lineman and a
defensive lineman.  She has great blocking skills and her size should
be able to give her more blocking power.

Annie Fraizer
Overall: 81
Throwing: 2
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 4

Annie Fraizer should be used as a kicker, if you decide to draft her.
Fraizer has a powerful leg that will give opponents bad field position.
Annie is also a very good field goal kicker, which will come in handy
if you can't finish off a drive with a touchdown.

Mikey Thomas

Overall: 80
Throwing: 4
Catching: 3
Running: 1
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 3

Mikey Thomas should be used as an offensive lineman.  Thomas is a good
blocker and should keep your quarterback safe.  Mikey can also be used
as your team's backup quarterback.  He's a great passer, but he is very
slow compared to the other quarterbacks around the league.

Ricky Johnson

Overall: 77
Throwing: 2
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 4

Ricky Johnson will make a great kicker for your team.  He can make some
long kicks and get down the field fast to make the tackle on the other
team's kick returner.

Pete Wheeler

Overall: 76
Throwing: 3
Catching: 2
Running: 4
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Peter Wheeler is extremely fast and would make an excellent kick
returner for your team.  You could also use Pete as a runningback and
run trick plays with him throwing the ball, since he has fairly good
passing skills.

Stephanie Morgan

Overall: 75
Throwing: 3
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 1

Stephanie Morgan makes a good cornerback and a good wide receiver.  She
has good catching ability and has the speed to get past opposing
quarterbacks.

Tony Delvecchio

Overall: 74
Throwing: 4
Catching: 2
Running: 2
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 2

Tony Delvecchio can be used as a quarterback or an offensive lineman.
I would prefer using Delvecchio as an offensive lineman, though.  Tony
Delvecchio probably isn't even one of the top ten quarterbacks in
Backyard Football.

Sidney Webber

Overall: 74
Throwing: 3
Catching: 3
Running: 2
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Sidney Webber should be used as a backup quarterback.  She has decent
passing skills, but isn't among one of the top passers.  Sidney is also
pretty slow, so you may want to use her on the defensive line on
defense.

Ashley Webber

Overall: 74
Throwing: 3
Catching: 3
Running: 2
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Ashley's skills are just like her sister, Sidney.  Ashley can also play
quarterback.  If you draft one of these twins you may want to draft the
other.  These two play even better when they're together.

Sally Dobbs

Overall: 73
Throwing: 4
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Sally Dobbs should be used as a quarterback.  She has great passing
skills and can pull the ball down and rush for a touchdown by herself.
She is also tall, which helps her see her wide receivers better.

Ernie Steele

Overall: 72
Throwing: 3
Catching: 4
Running: 2
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Ernie Steele doesn't really have the talent to be a starter for your
team in the Backyard Football League.  Ernie is great at catching the
ball, but can't run fast enough to get by defenders.

Achmed Khan

Overall: 72
Throwing: 2
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 3

Achmed Khan should be used as a linebacker.  Achmed is known to pack a
big hit on receivers.  He is quick to get to the ball, which is
important for all linebackers.

Kenny Kawaguchi

Overall: 71
Throwing: 2
Catching: 3
Running: 3
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 3

Kenny Kawaguchi will be a good kicker, for most teams in the Backyard
Football League.  His skill rating for kicking is a three, but there
are still some kickers with a rating of four.  I would only take Kenny
Kawaguchi if you have plans to play him at another position, like wide
receiver or runningback.

Kimmy Eckman

Overall: 68
Throwing: 3
Catching: 1
Running: 1
Blocking: 4
Kicking: 3

Kimmy Eckman should be used as an offensive lineman.  She has good
blocking skills, despite her size.  Kimmy is also slow and has problems
catching the ball, so I wouldn't use her as a wide receiver.  The only
position besides offensive lineman that Kimmy Eckamn can play is
kicker.  Kimmy has a pretty good leg and can kick some long field goals
for your team.

Marky Dubois

Overall: 67
Throwing: 3
Catching: 3
Running: 1
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 2

Marky Dubois should be used as a backup quarterback, if you even decide
to pick him up.  I wouldn't recommend picking Marky for your team, but
if you do he should be a backup quarterback.  He has decent passing
skills, but is very slow compared to some of the other quarterbacks
around the Backyard Football League.

Amir Khan

Overall: 67
Throwing: 2
Catching: 3
Running: 2
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 3

You should only pick up Amir Khan for your team if you plan on using
him as a kicker.  Amir has a skills rating of three in kicking, so he
should do a fairly decent job kicking field goals for your team.

Maria Luna

Overall: 65
Throwing: 1
Catching: 4
Running: 2
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 3

Maria Luna can be used as a kicker or a wide receiver.  She does a good
job at catching the ball, but she is very short.  She may have trouble
making some receptions.  Maria is also good at kicking field goals, so
you should try to pick her up if you need a threat at both of these
positions.

Luanne Lui

Overall: 57
Throwing: 1
Catching: 2
Running: 4
Blocking: 1
Kicking: 3

Luanne Kui is one of the best in the league at kicking off the ball,
but that's about all she's good at.  Luanne can kick the ball off far
and rush down the field quickly to make the tackle.

Billy Jean Blackwood

Overall: 56
Throwing: 3
Catching: 2
Running: 2
Blocking: 2
Kicking: 2

Billy Jean Blackwood is a very balanced player that doesn't really have
any strengths that stand out.  I wouldn't recommend drafting her, but
if you do, I would make her the backup quarterback.  Her best skill is
passing and she may surprise you with her ability to hit the open
receiver.

Gretchen Hasselhoff

Overall: 55
Throwing: 2
Catching: 2
Running: 3
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 1

Gretchen Hasselhof should be used as an offensive lineman.  She has
decent blocking skills and the speed to block for the rusher as he
moves the ball down the field.

Angela Delvecchio

Overall: 52
Throwing: 2
Catching: 1
Running: 1
Blocking: 3
Kicking: 3

Angela Delvecchio should only be used as a kicker.  She has the
strength in her leg to make some field goals, but isn't one of the best
out there.

Jorge Garcia

Overall: 50
Throwing: 3
Catching: 1
Running: 2
Blocking: 1
Kicking: 3

If you choose to draft Jorge Garcia, you should use him as a kicker.
Jorge isn't a really good kicker, but that's the only position he's
capable of playing without making your team look extremely bad.  I
wouldn't recommend drafting Jorge Garcia.

Ronny Dobbs

Overall: 43
Throwing: 3
Catching: 1
Running: 2
Blocking: 1
Kicking: 1

I would try to stay as far way from Ronny Dobbs as possible.  Ronny
does not do well at any position and should be avoided at all costs.
If you can't tell from what I've said so far, I strongly recommend that
you do not draft Ronny Dobbs.

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Section IV. - Play calling

In this section I will recommend you some good plays on offense,
defense, and special teams.  These are good plays that usually work,
but you should remember to always mix up your play calling.  You don't
want to become too predictable.  If you call the same plays repeatedly,
you will begin to turn the ball over more.

Offense:

Super
Kris
Paper Cut
Slices
Lunch Pail
Quick Draw

Defense:

2 Bit Zone
2 Deep 3
Bendy Twins
Chain Link
Superman
Baggy Dog
Ovalteen

Special Teams:

Kickoff 1
Kickoff 4
Kick Return
Kick Return 2

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Section V. - Copyright Information

Copyright 2005 Thomas Barnett

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