Since I was quite young, I have always had a football-based hobby. For many years, I played Subbuteo to quite a high level, eventually becoming British Champion in the over 35 age group. That all turned a bit sour and I gave up playing the tournament circuit, but that left me with a lot of time on my hands! Luckily, I had already found PBM games and that time was filled with ease.

A few years ago, I lost my job, and after a short while, found myself in a new work environment, where I still work to this day. My boss at that time was a keen PBM manager and through him I got involved with REF. After a short time on the waiting list, I took over Nunthorpe Battlewagons, renaming them Houston WHAP. For a while, I was happy with this game alone, but the monthly deadlines meant that for long periods, I was doing nothing at all. So I looked for further challenges. I went onto several waiting lists, but the second game that I started was when I took over Maiden England in Catenaccio! Again the monthly deadline was frustrating and this is when I discovered the first of the commercial games that I played.

Pure Fantasy Football was a weekly game, and was just what I needed! I started playing as Partick Thistle and enjoyed success with them before moving on to Parma and Benfica. I had only one problem with this game, the average age of the managers. After a while, I decided to try Tough At The Top. I took on Fulham and won promotion in my first season. I ditched Pure Fantasy Football at this time, but it still has fond memories for me.

While all this was going on, I also tried many other games. Some I have stuck with, others have fallen by the wayside. I was looking for a new game, away from football, but still sports based. While on this quest, I started other football games. 90 minutes provided me with Potasch United for a while and Superliga gave me Broadway Melody. But along came new games with new sports. Hey Jagr is an ice hockey game that I tried for a while, but did not really get into. The same can be said for View From The Scorebox, a cricket game. World Fantasy Rugby was a great game to play but it too was passed over. Nuclear War is actually a card game that has been adapted for PBM play and I still play that one.

Then along came Thing (Priorytown Settlers), and Astro (Partick Thistle) which I am just starting. Recently a new football game called Oddball has started and I took on Brazylz. From there my games portfolio exploded into what it is today!

I did look at Logical Soccer, another commercial game, but decided against that game as I think it has a short 'play life'. The same can be said for Mystify and Freedom soccer games. I did start my own game, based on tennis called In't'net, which did not catch on. I also tried to run Grand Slam, another tennis game which also failed. Next I will try to run a football game!

I suppose that one day I might like to drop back into one of the abandoned games, when I have more time so spare and more cash than sense!