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Time to reconsider weight restrictions?


blue32

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I would like to thank Tudor for providing this forum for electric football game players to share their thoughts. I’ve been playing solo for nearly 55 years. I have 32 teams and I use a combination of Tudor, Buzzball and ITZ bases on a Tudor Ultimate field with two motion generators.

My current weight limit for my players is 4 grams. After watching the Georgia / Alabama championship game I'm reconsidering that weight limit. The average weight of the Georgia defensive line was 314 pounds. Refrigerator Perry weighted 335 pounds.

I set up a ratio of player height to player weight. If the average height of players in the NFL is 6'2" or 72 inchs and the average height of an electric football player (with base) is 1 inch then a player who weights 314 pounds for the Georgia Bulldogs should weight 4 pounds, or 1800 grams for electric football.

I'm not advocating 1800 gram players! 🙂 I do believe 12 grams (that's about the weight of three D6 dice) would be more realistic. 

Thank you for reading this post. 

 

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This is very interesting, I've always kind of wondered about what the best weight system would be. I've seen some that are more of a sliding scale than a 1:1 ratio, and I've also seen them be more based on skill level of the player than the actual weight.

I was looking at implementing a sort of "tiered" weight system for my solitaire league, where the first 2 grams are 75 lbs each (and since the standard non-hollow figure weighs around 2.3g it'd make them around 175lbs, so there's your kick returners and slot backs), the next 2 grams are 50lb (so 4g is 250lbs, about the mid point in an all around figure), the next 2 grams are worth 25 (so 6g = 300lbs), and the last 2 grams are worth 20 (so 8g = 340lb, about the largest I've seen both in EF figure weight and real life player size, outside of some super extreme outliers of course). Anything over 8g/340lb would have to be on a case-by-case basis if using real life players, and prohibited if using fictional ones. Your whole team gets a maximum total weight they can use and you have to spread it out strategically, lest you be stuck with 175lb linemen and slapping unweighted bases onto hollow figures. 😆

I'm also doing something similar regarding heights: if Big Men Figures are around 1.35" and Regular (Haiti/Hog Leg/Chicken Leg/etc) Figs are 1.30", then a standard .5" to Yard scale would make them both over 7' tall, and don't even get me started on TTQBs....

Instead, I'm using a 5/8" to Yard scaled field, which makes 1.25" equal 6', the 67 Big Men around 6'6", and the Regular Figures around 6'2". This, any Big Man figure is 6'4" and up, and any Regular figure is 6'3" and below. I kind of wish there was an even shorter figure to use for the 5'6"-5'10" figures, at least one that's easily available anyway.

 

Sorry for the long post, this is just a topic I'm also fascinated with and am glad I'm not alone! 👍

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Regnald Rutledge created a "Cumulative Weight Distribution" system a long time ago. here is the stated rule from his NFLGTS rule set and Rosters for the 1967 Packers and 1985 Bears using this system.

" Weight restriction: There are no weight restrictions but the cumulative weight of the
entire team can not exceed more than 177.50 grams. Only 157.50 grams distributed
among 35 active players may perform during the course of a game. You can have
players weigh as much as you would like but all other players must be able to weigh
under the guidelines of the league. All weight must include the weight of the base as
well."

1967 Green Bay Packers Roster.pdf1985 Chicago Bears.pdfNFLGTSL Rulebook.pdf

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Wow! Many thanks to the National Electric Football Game Museum for that history. 🙂 I believe Regnald's formula definitely adds realism.

I'd like to drill down a little further into weight restrictions. From my experience there are three ways to create strength in an electric football player. 1. Weight, 2. Momentum, and 3. Friction.

Weight or mass. When a 3 gram player is placed in a strength contest against a 6 gram player, the 6 gram player should easily push the lighter player backwards.

Momentum. Momentum is mass times velocity. Velocity is created by the motion generator. Regnald wrote that if a player fell over more than twice the motion generator should be turned down. This seems reasonable, however, unlike weight, there isn't a written velocity restriction. In fact, that's why coaches tweak. Tweaking makes players move as fast as physics will allow.

Hence a 3 gram player can push a 6 gram player backwards by superior momentum.

Friction. Friction occurs when the plastic prongs move against the metal surface of the electric football field. If a player (more precisely the prongs) has a large coefficient of friction, then any force trying to push the player backwards will have to work extra hard. Some bases have very wide prongs which increases friction and makes them difficult to push backwards. Coaches may have noticed this when trying to use their finger to push a player backwards. The player will tip over backwards rather than slide backwards.

Of the three, weight, momentum, and friction, only weight has written regulations. I'd like to see all weight restrictions lifted because, like the case of momentum, physics will step in and set the ceiling. I think we should let coaches find the shape of that ceiling.

Thanks for reading.

 

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All excellent points, one more that I think people forget about is the placement of weight. A heavier figure is not necessarily "better" than a lighter figure; the base weight (and distribution of said weight) is an equal, possibly higher, factor. A heavy figure and light base combo is going to risk toppling over or developing an odd and unpredictable curve to it.

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Absolutely! When I was a kid I stopped using the TTQB because it always fell over. Top heavy!

Also, I've seen a player and base turn consistently left and then I change the player and abruptly the base turns consistently right. Sometimes trying multiple players is the only way to find that one player/base combination that will become the franchise player. 🙂 

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One caveat to unrestricted player weight--no player should be so heavy that he barely moves.  Maybe have a maximum time in a 40-yard dash allowed?

In my league we do not add weight to players at all, and we also use 11-man teams (iron man squads).  Therefore, our O-line figures are also on the D-line (well, at least three or four of them usually).  We spend time trying to find the strongest bases we can for the linemen, but they need to move well since they do double duty.

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Excellent points. 🙂

You are correct, a player that barely moves might be good on defense, but wretched as an offensive lineman. I believe that bases are being made by several companies that are within weight requirements, but barely move, and are considered strong because the bases use friction instead of weight. I'm thinking of single prongs in front and single prongs in back that are the width of the base. An easy way to test friction is to tilt the electric football field and record the angle when static friction becomes kinetic friction.

Iron man squads make sense because once you find a couple really strong and fast players you want them out on the field. Electric football men don't get tired; they get the franchise tag! I cap my rosters at 20 players. Both guards and one tackle play on the defensive line. The center and the fullback are middle linebackers. Fast tailbacks with single-direction bases are also the outside linebackers, or loopers.

This is an interesting subject and I'm glad so many coaches have contributed. 🙂 

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