“If only I had one more game...” — a sentiment that is shared by countless ex-football players. Some have their seasons cut early due to injury, others a heart crushing playoff loss, and to those who are lucky, a championship. Little can be done to patch the hole that football leaves in a player’s heart, but some things work better than others. “Retro Bowl,” designed and coded by Desmond Read, is a free eight-bit football simulation game that connects people to the game they love, is cheap, and, last but not least, is fun.

There are millions of football fans nationwide, but there are few opportunities past high school to engage in the sport past watching it. “Retro Bowl,” playable on Android and Apple, acts as a connection between football fans and engaging in the sport itself. You get the benefits of being a leader, striving for success, and the hardships of losses. The player feels connected to the sport without the physical risks of playing on the grid-iron.

“Retro Bowl” is free, no matter where one wants to download it from. The only barrier to playing “Retro Bowl” is the internet connectivity needed to download the game. This feature allows the game to be played by anyone, anywhere. Are you in the woods alone with no signal? “Retro Bowl” can help keep you company. Are you broke as a joke and want to distract yourself from your poverty? “Retro Bowl” is great at concealing such thoughts.

What is the most important factor for a game to be considered good? I say it is the game’s ability to be fun for the player. If it’s not fun, then why play it? “Retro Bowl” is incredibly fun and interesting. You can start off as a coach for your favorite team, or build up a franchise that is specific to you. These rolls don’t change the playstyle, but they do change how one decides to treat his or her franchise. Does he or she dump a team to climb the rankings, or stick with a struggling program to achieve greatness?

Once you start playing, you don’t want to stop as there is non-stop action with new players being traded, cut from the team, and retiring. At the end of each season, the player has the ability to play in the in-game championship, the “Retro-Bowl” — the equivalent to the Super Bowl. Here, the player gets to have fun by showing off all of the hard work put in throughout the season and showing who’s boss.

Due to its ability to connect football players to the game they love, its low entry cost, and how fun it is to play, “Retro Bowl” gets an A+ in my book. Some may never play football for the rest of their lives, but “Retro Bowl” is the closest one can get to living out his or her football dreams.