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GAMECRAFT
Data Boxing Game
1st (1976) Edition
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Gamecraft was one of the
many companies producing
statistical replay games during the 1970's. Their line never garnered
the
attention that Strat-O-Matic or APBA, or even Statis Pro did, but they
were
successful enough to continue making games into the 1980's. Data Boxing
was one of the few Boxing simulations issued by any company. Other than
Title Bout (later modified to become APBA Boxing) I can't think of
another. It's a quick playing little game
and like most Gamecraft games it allows you to choose the level of
complexity with which you are most comfortable. Along with
boxer ratings for the most recent season, each game included ratings
for some
of the All Time Greats in boxing history. The exact boxers included
varies depending on the edition. I
have been putting together a list of the boxers that are included with
each edition and so far I have catalogued the 1976 and 1977 editions.
There is some discrepancy between what it says in the instructions and
what I have found in going through the games I have on hand. But I
matched 2 games of the same edition page by page and verified they had
the exact same cards so I have to conclude the breakdown in the
instructions is inaccurate.
I believe this particular
copy is the first edition. The only date on the copyright page is 1976
and the "current" boxers all seem to be from that year. One nice thing
about this edition is that there are nearly 100 carded boxers. In most
of the editions you only get a handful of boxers printed on perforated
cardstock. The rest are printed on standard paper and you need to cut
them out of the sheets with scissors.
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The game set is
overall
in VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT condition. I
have
inventoried and inspected the
booklet and all the boxers have been accounted for, as have all the
rule sheets and other items necessary to play the game. Some of the boxers have been cut out but they
are all here. A few have suffered tanning, some have light creases, but
on the whole good shape. The rest of the game parts similar condition.
A few light creases or minor areas of soiling, but no tears, no writing
and no major stains. I would grade
the game 6-7 on a 10 scale (see condition guide below).
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The binder is in EXCELLENT
condition, as is the cover. No tears or writing on the cover. No cracks
in the binding. I would grade it 8
on a 10
scale (see condition guide below).
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Do you know that sinking feeling when you are in
the middle of
replaying a
season or sequence of games only to find that the card for one of the
key
players is missing? Well I have thoroughly
inventoried this set and
compared it to the roster list so you can be assured that you
won't get
that feeling while playing with this set. I am not of the
opinion
that a simple card count
will do. The sets often came with missing or
duplicate cards from the
factory, and who knows what the original owner may have done with them
in the course of playing with them.... Be sure to ask
your card seller if they have in fact verified
that the card set is complete by comparing it to the
original roster
list.
I have also carefully inspected each and every
card in order to determine the condition grade I have given to this
set. I do
not feel that a cursory flipping through of the cards is adequate to
determine the condition of a set - it is too easy to miss
something.
Once again -
I would suggest asking your
card seller to verify that they have done a
careful inspection of the condition of all the cards in the set
before putting their grade on it.
CONDITION GUIDE:
MINT
(10): I
will only
give this grade
to brand new, unused items. NEAR MINT (9):
Shows virtually no use. Seldom if ever played.
Cards
will have at worst some dented corners from shuffling around in the
box. Perhaps some very light handling creases to the
instructions
or other minor flaws with the game parts. Boxes will have
only
the slightest hint of shelf wear. EXCELLENT (7-8):
The game has seen some use but it was obviously taken care of
well. Cards may have denting to the corners, perhaps
a few
may have
light stains or other very light handling wear, but the vast
majority will be close to flawless. Game parts
might have
some light handling creases or other signs of
careful use. Board might have just a hint of color loss or
dented
corners. Boxes will have light rubbing to the artwork or
perhaps
some minor dishing or a very light stain. VERY GOOD (5-6):
The game was not especially well cared for, but it still has
fared pretty well. Cards will have dented corners and
perhaps
some may have rubber band wear to the edges. A few cards
(less
than 10%) may have handling creases, yellowing to the
edges
(a few may be yellowed on the faces), or light stains.
Perhaps a
couple may have writing or some dried rubber band residue (this will be
noted). All card results will be fully readable.
Other game
parts will show obvious use but nothing will be torn, badly
stained or have any serious damage. Box may have
some
rubbing, light staining, dishing, 1 or 2 neatly split corners,
minor writing and/or a few pieces of tape. No major
structural
damage and artwork will still be generally attractive. GOOD (3-4):
Obviously no care was taken with the game but it is still perfectly
playable. Cards will show moderate to heavy use and many will be
yellowed, stained, creased, written on or have rubber band
residue. A couple may be torn and taped back together.
All
card results will be fully readable. Other game parts show
considerable use but the game is complete with all parts in
usable
condition. Box may have staining, writing, split
corners,
dishing and/or other structural damage but it will be intact and still
usable. POOR
(1-2):
Only suitable to fill a space in your collection.
Cards are
heavily worn and some are badly damaged. Game will be missing
parts (these will be noted). Box will have serious damage and
may
be missing aprons or badly torn.
Copyright 2009 -
Eric Furman (Spooky's Hobby Shop) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED