Popular Video GameStarring NFL Pros AsKids Helps Teach Football (NAPSA)—Manyparents are finding that bad weather doesn’t have to prevent their sports-crazy kids from playing—and learning about—football. A hugely popular and fun video game, featuring pint-sized versions of NFL super- stars, is giving kids the ins and outs of football strategy and gameplay—ontheirlevel. Licensed by the NFL, Backyard Football 2006 is the fourth version of the best selling kid’s football video game ever. It’s good clean fun without the violence and offensive language you'll find in video games for teens or adults. What Backyard Football 2006 does have is gameplaythat is both instructional and crazy (afterall, it is a kids’ game) and a roster of football heroes as children. The gameis sophisticated with- out being complicated. Players pick their team from all 32 NFL teams or 19 whacky Backyard teams, a crazy group of neighbor- hood kids. Then players can customize uniforms, call the plays (or make their own), track statistics, and maketrades. The result is a gam- ing experience packed with action and laughs for kids and often- times their parents. “T like it too,” said one parent. “Not only does the game keep the kids laughing, there’s no violence, it’s racially diverse, and includes their favorite NFL stars. That’s hard to find in a video game today.” Backyard Football even offers enoughgirl players to field an entire team. “Good clean fun” is how one parent describes a new football video game. Surprises, power ups, crazy humor, unlockables, and plenty of control over everything from plays to fields give the game staying power among youngsters ages 5 to 10. Backyard Football 2006 is avail- able for Game Boy Advance, PC, and now for PlayStation 2. It is part of the Backyard Sports brand for kids, a series of sports games (Backyard Skateboarding, Backyard Baseball, Backyard Hockey, and Backyard Basketball) that feature child-version professional sports stars as well as the Backyard Gang. Varying degrees of gameplay make Backyard Sports games easy for young sports fans yet tricky for more advanced players who are continually challenged as they master different levels of difficulty. The games’ kid-friendly, non-violent for- mat and high level of diversity make them especially popular with parents. For more information, go to www.backyardsports.com.
