Once you begin playing APBA games, you just may not be able to stop

By Baron Bedesky

Sports fans crave interaction.

That's where all the fun lies and the memories are born. That's the level at which professional sports are most effective and beneficial.

The interaction comes in various forms and appeals to different people in different ways. Of course, the most traditional form of interaction is attending a game, or at least following a contest on television, radio, or the Internet. Video game simulations have also become popular.

Then there's collecting cards and memorabilia. Purchasing autographs or memorabilia takes things to a different level. Getting an autograph or a broken stick or bat directly from the player is a whole other form of interaction.

It doesn't stop there, either. Pools and fantasy leagues are more popular than ever. We follow our favourite players and teams but sometimes that's not enough to quench the thirst. We have to build our own franchises and compete with our friends depending on the cumulative performances of the athletes we have selected.

Suddenly, we are no longer bystanders. We take on responsibility for managing our personal teams. If that team succeeds, we've earned the right to crow about it. If we fail, we hang our heads and take it very personally.

Sports is exciting and all fans want to play a larger role. Badly.

That's what makes the idea of tabletop sports games so special. Whether you merely sit down for a few games with your family, or you take part in a formal league with a group of friends and a regular schedule, you are in charge. You make the lineups, the substitutions, and even the trades. At the same time, the randomness of real-life competition is preserved through the use of dice. Put the two together and you generate circumstances remarkably similar to an actual game.

For nearly 50 years, one of the leading products in the market has been produced by a company called APBA, or "App-bah" as most people refer to it. At the risk of oversimplification, the game involves two dice, individual player cards with number sequences (no photos) that correspond to the dice, and charts that dictate results based on the number sequences on the cards.

If you have never played a tabletop sports game before, the first thing you need to know is how much fun and how addictive it can be.

The second thing to remember is the games are not complicated or difficult to play. After a brief learning curve, you should be able to finish a game in 30-60 minutes. Some experts can polish off an entire APBA baseball game in 10 minutes or less.

Make no mistake. After being around for nearly five decades, there are more than a few APBA experts.

"We've got 1,200 APBA leagues right now in North America and each league has about eight people so that gives us about 10,000 active players," says Bill Bordegon, President of The APBA Division of AbleSoft, Inc. "We've got about 25,000 APBA players that are fanatics on our current list and in total, we've got 150,000 people that communicate with us and buy our products on a regular basis. The base is larger than you think."

That's remarkable considering APBA games have never been available in retail stores. All that is about to change, however.

"The game had always been sold directly through mail order," says Bordegon, "and now we're going into hobby stores and selling it to hobby distributors to hobby dealers which is a great place to be. Anybody that's in a hobby store would most likely enjoy playing APBA."

After years of low-key marketing efforts and a tremendous reliance on faithful grass-roots support, APBA games are on the cusp of the 21st century limelight. If all goes according to plan, not only will whole new generations be exposed to the game, but older generations will become familiar with it as well. The potential for growth, in what is viewed as a largely untapped market, draws comparisons to the card boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"We did a lot of focus groups," explains Bordegon, "including groups of current APBA players and people who already have a lot of passion for the game, and then we did focus groups with people who enjoy games and are sports fans but have never played APBA.

"What we brought out were examples of things we could do to that were good ideas to improve the basic graphics of the game, and the organization of the materials of the game. So what we are coming out with is a combination of what current APBA players say are great ideas and what new users think are great ideas in terms of its graphics and the presentation."

You'll notice one thing Bordegon does not mention is any hint of overhauling or even tinkering with the mechanics of the game itself.

He maintains it is difficult to improve on near-perfection. Any attempt would be akin to tampering with the rules of the sport itself.

"The history of the game and its heritage is something that's so important to the equity of the company," he says. "A lot has to do with people being amazed by the accuracy of the game. When you think that you're rolling a pair of dice, matching the numbers on a card, then going to a play chart, and then you have players who say 'I've played the whole 1962 season and I came within nine per cent of accuracy on the real-life results,' that's pretty phenomenal. The fantasy play has a lot more credibility and is a lot more fun because it's something that probably could have happened."

Accuracy has always been something APBA fans can vouch for. If  you play enough APBA baseball games, for example, the real-life batting or home run leaders, as well as pitching aces will emerge as stars in your tabletop league as well. Any game that does not provide that kind of accuracy will eventually lose its appeal.

APBA has never lost its appeal. It merely needed a higher profile; heavier exposure in a market that is more consumed with professional sports than ever before. The foundation has been in place for years.

Bordegon firmly believes now is the time to build on it.

"That's all APBA has needed is some exposure and a contemporary look to the product. We've kept all the tradition and game mechanics have always been superior. It didn't need any enhancements at all.

"The real strength of APBA is its equity. The people that have played APBA have such a passion for that game. You talk to anybody that's ever played, even if they're still not playing, they think so fondly of the years they played the game.

"We were in a meeting recently with one of our financial guys and he played for about 10-15 years straight with his son. He talks about it like it's something he did yesterday and something that was so important to him and his relationship with his son."

That's another thing about APBA. You can play the game with someone from your family. You can play with friends or co-workers. You can form leagues and meet new people with the same passion. And you can play the game by yourself. You don't need an opponent in the same room. The game is flexible and enjoyable on so many levels.

In an effort to ease future generations into the joys of APBA games, the company is introducing simpler versions of the game designed for young players. A "Superstars" version has been created so kids as young as age four can begin playing. That's complimented by an "All-Star" version which maintains a relatively low price point and uses abbreviated rules so players can begin a game within as little as three to five minutes. The player-cards incorporate all who appeared in the most recent All-Star game for that league. Those products eventually lead to the traditional deluxe game.

There are many other plans in place for the future of APBA.

"The online version is still in development and it will probably be next year before we're ready for the online game," says Bordegon. "The game will eventually be at three platforms. There will be the traditional game with the cards, there will be a PC format, and then there will be the online format."

Then there is all the work being poured into the APBA website which is designed to encourage communication between APBA enthusiasts from around the globe. Bordegon says that project is approximately 30 per cent complete.

Look for the newest APBA baseball game to become available in September, the football game in October, and the hockey and basketball games in November.

You can also be assured that even bigger plans are in store for the future in an effort to effectively market a game that has long been a proven winner. For now, however, the people at APBA remain convinced that all you need to do is try the game once and you will become a fan for life.

Hundreds of thousands of customers from the past 50 years will vouch for that.