Football Manager

The purpose of the game is simple. Choose a club and successfully guide it from the depths of the 4th division to the heights of Football League and F. A. Cup glory.
Unfortunately your path is strewn with obstacles. As new manager, at the start of a new season, you inherit a bunch of randomly-skilled players, with random energy levels that belie the effects of the presumed pre-season training process. Your task is further complicated by the fact that there are only twelve of them! However, the club has 100,000 pounds at your disposal for new players and, the game being a relic of the '80's, 100,000 pounds is worth a lot more than it was now.

Therefore, eliminate the worst player from the line-up and proceed to the first game. It is here that one discovers the joys of Football Manager – the highlights sequence! During these powerfully dramatic moments (and I am only half-kidding) little men hardly more than matchstick-like in their appearance go through attacking motions low in their variety but high in their drama – the absence of a game-clock, and therefore the suspense as to whether the current attack will be the final meaningful action of the game, intensifies the fear of (or longing-for) the final whistle.
The player is helpless during these periods – no substitutions or tactical changes are permitted, and eventually a stark black-backgrounded screen confronts him with the reality of the final result.
After the new league table has been displayed, an opportunity may be provided to purchase a player in the transfer market. One may make an offer and, based upon his value and a presumed entropy-assessing function, the offer will be either accepted or refused. If it is refused, the player will be offered again, but at a higher price. One of the quirks of the game, though, is that he still might be possibly obtained by the same offer – or perhaps even a lower one – as was made and refused before.
In an F. A. Cup week though, things are different. As in the old days, unlimited replays, and therefore unlimited gate receipts are possible, so one may prefer a draw to a win initially! However, the ending of a cup run, even in the first round, results in a devastating effect on morale, with consequent deleterious effect on subsequent league performance.
The player therefore proceeds to the end of the season – promotion or relegation, cup glory or humiliation – but here comes the kicker. For the new season all the player skill ratings are randomized, so glory can turn into pain in seconds.
No doubt, this wrecks the game, but apart from that Football Manager is great fun.