Retro Football Boss

Great start to a game full of potential. This is the distant cousin of two great text sims, the original Championship Manager and OOTP Baseball. Using a historical database to recreate seasons from 1888 to 1998 this game creates endless challenges. Want to know what it is like to have a team with Best, Law and Charlton? Or extend Liverpool's 70's, 80's heydey into the 90's? It's all here. Yes there are bugbears, (User interface, scouting) which over time will improve but stick with it. I remember CM and OOTP started slowly and they are giants now. Immerse yourself, when I took over Leeds Utd in 1980, I could almost smell the beer on my players breaths as they trotted out of the tunnel, I could smell the linament on the creaky knees of Revie's old boys, Paul Madeley and Trevor Cherry and enjoyed the skills of Brian Flynn and Arthur Graham. Good start, lots of detail and scope to change and improve!

I have been waiting for this since Championship Manager 01/02

I love the idea of this ambitious game, plus it has the look and feel of vintage Champ Man 01/02. However, as it currently stands and bearing in mind it is Early Access, I can't recommend the game. The UI is fiddly and hard to use, there are plenty of bugs and the game is just too unstable to be fun.

The idea for the game is fantastic and reminds me of the early Championship Manager games . You can hunt down young players before they are famous, scout them and change history. A little dissapointed that the game continues to crash on me and I have only managed a few games into my first season. Started another game and got a little further but it doesnt run smootly. If this issue is resolved i dont see why anybody who enjoys football management games wouldnt be interested in this. I can recommed the game as others may not have the same issues as myself. Its an early access game so dont expect the finished article.

Great idea, full of charm and with a lot of potential, alas it was not adequately supported and now the game is dead, with too many bugs. I try to play with mixed results and growing frustration, then I asked for a refund. Sad.

Developer seems to have lost interest - great concept; decent execution

What a shame. A game that has sadly been abandoned by the developer that had potential to be a fascinating insight into the early years of English football that would allow you to change the course of history. After starting a game in the first season as Aston Villa, I managed to get through about seven seasons before a major bug struck and would not allow me to progress. The game is absolutely riddled with bugs and menu glitches. The match engine, if you want to call it that, is very reminiscent of Championship Manager 01/02, whilst the transfers took me back to the transfers sequence on Championship Manager '93 on the Amiga. The game is full of the stars of yesteryear, depending where you start. From Steve Bloomer, Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Stan Matthews, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Rodney Marsh, Ricky Villa, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, David Beckham and even Carlton Palmer!!! They're all here. Gathering the information must have been a real labour of love. Also it is pretty odd at times when you see minor Non-League teams hammering League teams in pre-season games, also pray your cup game doesn't go to multiple replays as that will play havoc with the FA Cup and eventually bug out. Another opportunity missed is the inclusion of international football. Imagine trying to defend the World Cup with England in 1970, or winning the World Cup with Scotland in 1974. One thing that did sadden me, was that although it did mention the Munich Air Crash of 1958, the players remained part of the squad. Whilst I could be seen to add a dimension of 'What if?' about it, if they were to remain in the game, then do not mention the crash. It is quite good fun trawling through the different squads in different seasons and finding the famous players before they came stars, but it does get a little tedious. For £8.99 its hardly going to break the bank, its ok to play a season or two, but you're forever on tenterhooks waiting for the game to bug out. If you really want this game get it in a sale, normally around a fiver. And get it soon because according to one post on the 'Discussions' page the developer has asked Steam to remove it from sale. The game was also at one appoint available on Apple Store, but has since been taken down. If a games studio picked this up, say someone like Sports Interactive, they could make a classic. After all they did tease us once upon a time! A missed oportunity 3/10 If it worked, could easily be a 7 or 8

Constantly crashes

I have played this game for many years. It's a very basic Football Management game that allows you to manage any team in the English League that ever existed with a team of players that were playing for each club at the time. I've just returned after a while and something isnt right with it now. Playing Preston in 1888. Had 1 player just disappear from my squad. No idea what happened to him. Then after the 1st season my best player Archie Goodall was transfered from Aston Villa to Derby County. Not a Preston Player anymore. So I can only assume that the actual historical transfers are now affecting the game. Never used to. But as it is, the game is unplayable.

Don't be put off by whining reviews. It crashes often BUT it's always saved up to the latest point so it' a minor inconvenience at most. If you liked the original champ manager games, without the endless fluff and bloated spreadsheet style of the expensive FM annual updates, then you should deffo try this game! Also, I LOVE it because you can manage at any point in history, back before the EPL saw commercialism rip the soul out of the game. Bargain.