The rules:
Teams are chosen randomly. Just look away from the screen and mash the controller for a while. The pairing will be reversed for the next game. The advantage here is that the randomness can create some rough combinations, which in turn cause more drinking.
Playbooks may not be altered. That�s right, when you pick the Minnesota Vikings, you get saddled with ass-clown talent AND a terrible playbook. Again, lopsided matchups beget drinking.
General Drinking Rules: Best played with beer, though mixed drinks can be substituted with a shot replacing the full beer. A sip is obviously variable depending on whether you nip, slurp, gulp, or glug the beer. Those taking weenie sips can, when necessary and appropriate, be mocked. Calling someone a sally here is quite effective. In an ideal world, 12 sips would consume a can of beer; in reality, the range is somewhere closer to 15-20. The full beer penalties, on the other hand, are absolute. They must be taken out of a fresh, new can (ideally poured into a glass for easier chuggability) and pounded immediately.
The drinking penalties below may seem somewhat complex at first glance. Don't worry--they really aren't. The bulk of them penalize you for poor play--being scored on, missing field goals, punting, turning the ball over, and the like. In addition, there are full-beer penalties that come about as a result of rare occurences--safeties, returns for touchdowns, etcetera. If you feel the penalties are too timid or draconian, bump up or down as you like.
THE PENALTIES
Three sips for:
� punting on fourth down
� a turnover
� a missed field goal
� when your opponent solo tackles you with his kicker
Five sips for:
� every touchdown scored against you
� losing the game
Six sips for:
� skipping through the coin flip/kicker introduction or the halftime show (note: either of these penalties can be self-imposed if you have not been drinking, an especially subtle diss on your opponent)
� having your opponent recover an onside kick
� throwing an interception caught by a human-controlled opponent
� throwing an interception which prompts a cut scene
� punting on first, second, or third down
� having a field goal attempt blocked
Full beer penalties:
� a safety
� an interception or fumble return for a touchdown (note that if an offensive player fumbles and the ball is recovered by another offensive player and returned, this does not prompt a full beer penalty)
� any end zone to end zone passing touchdown (the ball must leave the QB ine on end zone and LAND in the other; passes caught on the 20 yard line and ran in do not count)
� if a player scores a TD but fumbles in the end zone, the person SCORING the touchdown must pound a full beer (his opponent must drink the usual five sips for being scored on)
� a missed/blocked extra point
� an interception by a human-controlled player which results in a cut scene
� a shutout
� any loser of an overtime game
� if an overtime game ends in a tie, both players must pound a full beer
Note that if a play results in two potential drinking penalties for one player, the lesser of penalties is merged into the greater and not consumed. For example, if Player 1 returns a fumble for a touchdown, Player 2 technically has two drinking penalties: five sips for a touchdown and a full beer for the fumble return. The five sips are merged into the full beer, and Player 2 need only drink a full beer. Similarly, a full beer is the maximum penalty. So, if Player 1 wins an overtime game by throwing an end zone to end zone pass, Player 2 need only drink a full beer, not two.
