Backyard Soccer
Encyclopedia
Backyard Soccer, known in Europe as Junior Sports Football, is a video game in the Backyard Sports franchise, developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Infogrames
. It was first released in 1998 for the Mac
and PC
, was released for the PlayStation in 2001, and the iOS in 2008.
). The tournament is split into four tables of four teams apiece. If your team finishes in the top two in your table, it will be placed in an eight team bracket of all top two finishers. If your team can win the three games, it will be presented the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups. Regardless of the tournament outcome, your team will be placed back in the Premier Division for another chance at the Cup.
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
. It was first released in 1998 for the Mac
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
and PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, was released for the PlayStation in 2001, and the iOS in 2008.
Synopsis
You start by picking a team and its players. Your team begins in "B" Division, the lowest level. If your team is in the top four by midseason, it will be invited to the Off-The-Wall Indoor Invitational. The indoor tournament consists of 8 teams, four from the BSL (Backyard Soccer League) and four exclusive indoor teams. The invitational is available in all three divisions. If your team finishes the season in the top two, it will advance to the "A" Division, the second highest level. If your team finishes in the top two, it will advance to the Premier Division (also known as the Premiership). However if you finish in the bottom two of the Premier or A Divisions, you will be relegated to the next lowest division. If your team wins the Premier Division, it will be invited to represent the United States in the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament (a spoof of the FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
). The tournament is split into four tables of four teams apiece. If your team finishes in the top two in your table, it will be placed in an eight team bracket of all top two finishers. If your team can win the three games, it will be presented the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups. Regardless of the tournament outcome, your team will be placed back in the Premier Division for another chance at the Cup.
Teams
At the start of the season, you must choose your team name and its colors. You choose two parts to your team name, firstly, what your team name is, and secondly, a descriptive word before that.Choices
| Descriptive Word | Team Name |
| Blue | Bombers |
| Red | Rockets |
| Crazy | Hornets |
| White | Boots |
| Green | Giants |
| Little | Wombats |
| Mighty | Melonheads |
| Super-Duper | All-stars |
| Humongous | Monsters |
| Junior | Fishes |
B Division
After you have chosen you team, your team starts in B Division. This is the lowest division of the BSL. If you come in the top two of the eight teams you will go up to A Division.A Division
A Division is in the middle of the BSL. If you come in the top two of the eight teams, you will go up to P Division or the Premier Division. If you come in the bottom two, you will be relegated back down to the B Division.P Division
P Division is the highest league in the BSL. If you come in the bottom two of this division you will be relegated down to A Division. If you come in first you will represent the United States in The Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament.Off-The-Wall Indoor Invitational
The Off-The-Wall Indoor Invitational is an indoor soccer competition. Half way through each season the four top teams are selected to enter this competition. There are another 5 teams which you play. There is not much difference between this competition and normal games. The field is the same size and same amount of players play, but there are no throw-ins, if the ball goes over the wall it will result in a "kick-in". Three victories will earn you the trophy. This competition is available in all leagues.- Rug Burners
- Turf Mowers
- Carpet Sweepers
- Hat Tricksters
- Abominable Cherry Pickers
Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Tournament
If you win the P Division your team will be in this tournament. There are four groups of four teams each. In each group, the teams play against each other once. After those games, 1st and 2nd place will then enter the elimination part of the tournament. You then must win two games and then the Final to win the Cup.Teams in the Cup
- Goal-Scoring Gauchos (Argentina national football teamArgentina national football teamThe Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
) - Las Ocho Maracas (Mexico national football teamMexico national football teamThe Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
) - Los Toritos (Spain national football teamSpain national football teamThe Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
) - North Polars (Canada national football teamCanada men's national soccer teamThe Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
) - Dandy Lion Cubs (Cameroon national football teamCameroon national football teamThe Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
) - Cagey Bees (Russia national football teamRussia national football teamThe Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
) (a play on the KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, Soviet Russia's secret service agency) - Festive Piranhas (Brazil national football teamBrazil national football teamThe Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
) - Brick Wallabies (Australia national football team)
- Whirling Windmills (Netherlands national football teamNetherlands national football teamThe Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
) - Crusty Baguettes (France national football teamFrance national football teamThe France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
) - Feisty Tigers (South Korean national football team)
- Flying Zeppelins (Germany national football teamGermany national football teamThe Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
) - Magical Dragons (England national football teamEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
) - Dancing Papagayos (Colombia national football teamColombia national football teamThe Colombian national football team represents Colombia in international football competitions and is controlled by the Colombian Football Federation. It is a member of the CONMEBOL...
) - Origami Tsunamis (Japan national football teamJapan national football teamThe Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
) - Garlicky Gladiators (Italy national football teamItaly national football teamThe Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
) - Pot O'Goals (Republic of Ireland national football teamRepublic of Ireland national football teamThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
) - Fancy Pandas (China national football teamChina national football teamThe China PR national football team is the national association football team of the People's Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association...
) - Red-Hot Llamas (Peru national football teamPeru national football teamThe Peru national football team, known as 'el equipo inca', represents Peru in international football competition and is managed by the Peruvian Football Federation . The team competes against the other nine members of FIFA's CONMEBOL conference, which encompasses the countries of South America...
) - Funky Pharaohs (Egypt national football team)
Power-ups
There are several power-ups that a team can use. To activate a power-up, the player has to click on the opponents goal.- Cannon—The player launches a fast and powerful shot
- Underground—The ball goes underground and pops up in a random place.
- Bowling Ball—The ball transforms into a giant bowling ballBowling ballA bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...
knocking over any opposing players. - Tracer—The ball is controlled using the cursor. The player clicks where he or she wants the ball to go.
Trivia
- This is the first game in the Backyard Sports series where you can see the players in their common appearances, which is different than Backyard BaseballBackyard BaseballBackyard Baseball is a series of children's games for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, iOS, and the PC. It is the original game in the Backyard Sports series. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It is one of...
. - Backyard Soccer 2004 was the last in the Backyard Soccer Series.