Fourth Phase

Fourth Phase is a football game where you call the plays and that's it. No joysticks, no button mashing. The defense lines up, you pick up to five plays from your hand, and you decide what order they run in. The order matters more than you'd think. Run the ball a couple of times and the play-action pass behind it gets a lot better. Put the same five plays in a different order and the same series can be worth a lot more points. The game shows you a forecast before you snap it, so you can move things around and watch the number change. Beat the points target and you win the matchup. Between games you head to the Coach's Office and spend what you earned on new plays, upgrades for the ones you like, and staff. Then you choose how risky to make the next game: an easier target, or a harder one that pays more. A season is four games ending in a championship, and if you lose once it's over.…