Bank Shot Basketball offers a realistic, enjoyable simulation of the game of basketball by focusing on the result of each possession. To play Bank Shot Basketball, you will use the included Action cards, the Fast Break cards, two six-sided dice, two ten-sided dice, player cards and team cards. You first determine which offensive and defensive players are involved in resolving the possession. In most cases it will be the offensive player against the defensive player at the same position on the opposing team; however, there will be several instances where the offensive player will match-up against a player at a different position. This happens a lot in real basketball and is seamlessly replicated on the tabletop using Bank Shot Basketball. While one player (the one on Offense or Defense) will control the possession result by using their Offense or Defense section of their card, both cards are usually checked to find the final result of the possession.
The game has three “game modes”. The first is the regular game where you have five players on the game board for each team and play the game as it is normally played in real life by subbing players in and out of the game. A “simulation” mode eliminates the need for substitutions by laying out 10 players for each team on the game board. The Action cards determine which player from the 10 will be used to resolve the current possession. This will result in some instances where a sub is chosen within the first minute of a game, but otherwise the 10 player simulation mode works well and reduces the amount of time it takes to play the game since there is no stopping for substitutions. The third game mode eliminates the player cards altogether and uses a single team card for each team to determine the results of the possession. In general most games can be played in 35 to 75 minutes depending on the level of stat keeping and mode of play. The first few games may take longer as you learn the game.
A sample of the player cards is shown in each season’s product listing and the Quick Start Guide and College Rules are linked below. Additional details about the game and play examples will be added to this over the next few weeks.
Bank Shot Basketball Quick Start GuideBank Shot Basketball College Rules