4th & Inches

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4th & Inches is an American football computer game by Accolade. It was released for the Commodore 64 (1987), Apple II (1988), DOS (1988) and Amiga (1988).^[1] It was designed by Accolade co-founder, Bob Whitehead, who also programmed the original Commodore 64 version (additional versions were ported by Sculptured Software, with Craig Conder (Amiga) and John Motter (DOS) doing the programming).^[1]^[2]

[edit] Description

Like other sports games by Bob Whitehead, 4th & Inches was hailed upon release, combining the action of previous titles, with the new feature of strategy.^[2]

For the first time in a computer football game, players could choose from a number of plays. The player starts by designating a formation and then selecting one of five plays, based on the formation. These plays included a great number of offensive strategies, including draws, curls, sweeps and long bombs, among others. Defensive tactics equally were varied, the player being able to choose a defensive tactic based on what they thought the opponent would attempt.

The game required the player to select a position to control before the play began, but were not able to switch control during the action.^[2]

4 & Inches followed another very successful title for Accolade (and also designed and programmed by Whitehead), a baseball game, Hardball. Many of the graphics and, especially, sound effects were borrowed from that game for this one.

[edit] Legacy

Unlike the very successful Hardball, Accolade did not make 4th & Inches into a series. Accolade followed this game with the Unnecessary Roughness series, designed and programmed by Gene Smith.