From FIFA to Fast Action Cards: How a German Sports Fan Built a Database for 6,800 Tabletop Games

From FIFA to Fast Action Cards: How a German Sports Fan Built a Database for 6,800 Tabletop Games

I'm Uli, I'm from Germany, and if you'd told me three years ago that I'd be running a database for tabletop sports games, I would have laughed. But here we are. Let me tell you how this happened.

Growing Up in Board Game Country (But Playing FIFA)

Germany is board game country. Walk into any household here and you'll find Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, or Ticket to Ride on a shelf somewhere. Board games are just part of the culture. But growing up as a sports fan, my gaming life was digital. It started with FIFA, moved on to NBA games and eventually Madden. As I got older, the management sims took over: Football Manager, Front Office Football, OOTP Baseball. Hundreds of hours spent in spreadsheets, scouting players, tweaking rosters.

Tabletop sports games? Not even on my radar.

The Strat-O-Matic Rabbit Hole

About three years ago, YouTube's algorithm did something useful for once. It surfaced a video about Strat-O-Matic Baseball. I don't remember the exact video, but I remember the feeling: someone rolling dice, looking up results on cards, and somehow recreating an entire baseball season on their kitchen table. As someone who already loved the intersection of sports and statistics, I was immediately hooked.

I ordered Strat-O-Matic Baseball for $170 — shipped all the way to Germany — and spent way too many hours rolling through games. But of course, one game wasn't enough. YouTube led me deeper down the rabbit hole (a big thank you to Dave Gardner and others for their content), and that's when I discovered the whole print-and-play world. Payoff Pitch. Pro Solitary Football. Classic Football. Fast Drive Football. Game after game, each with its own take on simulating sports with nothing but cards, dice, and charts.

I was hooked. Completely.

"There Should Be a Database for This"

As my collection of games grew, I started looking for new titles on BoardGameGeek. And while BGG is an incredible resource, searching specifically for tabletop sports games felt... clunky. You can't easily filter by sport, year, or the kind of simulation you're looking for. Everything is buried in generic categories and mechanics that don't quite fit our niche.

So I did what any data-minded person would do: I scraped the BGG data for sports games and built myself a spreadsheet to get a better overview. Sports, years, game types — finally, some structure.

Then I came across a discussion on the Sports Simulation Central Discord server that changed everything. People were talking about how there's no real centralized database for tabletop sports games — and especially not for games that aren't even listed on BGG. Think about it: how many games only exist as a mention in a Facebook group? How many are discussed in Delphi forums that barely anyone visits anymore? How many small print-and-play releases just disappear because nobody catalogs them?

That's when the idea clicked: why not take the data I already had and build an actual, public database? One where anyone can browse, search, and filter — and most importantly, one where the community can submit games that BGG doesn't cover. A place where no game gets lost.

Building the Archive

So I built it. The Tabletop Sports Games Archive now has over 6,800 games catalogued, all searchable by sport, game type, designer, year, and more. The foundation is BGG data (used with their official approval), but the real value will come from the community adding what's missing.

You know that obscure sport dice game your uncle plays that nobody's ever heard of? It belongs here. That indie football sim someone posted in a Facebook group five years ago? It belongs here. Every game matters, and every game deserves to not be forgotten.

The FDF Companion App (or: What Happens When You Wait for BGG Approval)

Here's a fun side story. After building the site, I needed to wait for BGG to officially approve my use of their data. And that approval process took... a while.

During that waiting period, I was playing a lot of Fast Drive Football. If you know FDF, you know it's a fantastic drive-by-drive football simulation — quick, fun, and surprisingly deep. But like a lot of tabletop games, it involves filling out a paper scoresheet by hand.

After one too many sessions of scribbling numbers on printed sheets, I thought: why not build a little web companion for this? Something like what the Pro Football Helper does, but for FDF. Open a browser tab, pick your teams, and track the game digitally.

That's how the FDF Companion App was born. It features a digital scoresheet, team selection, and runs entirely in your browser — just put your tablet or laptop next to the game table and go. You can find it at tabletopsportsarchive.com/fdf.

And it made me realize: companion apps like this could be a great way to bring people to the archive. A useful tool that serves the community AND introduces them to the bigger database. Win-win.

What's Next

This is just the beginning. The archive is live, the FDF companion is ready, and there's a lot more planned. Maybe more companion apps for other games. Blog posts about the history and stories behind the games we love. Stats and insights from the database. And most importantly: your contributions.

If you know a game that's not in the archive yet — submit it. If you've played a game and have thoughts — leave a review. If you just want to browse and discover something new — go explore.

This is a community project, built by a fan, for fans. Let's make sure no tabletop sports game is ever forgotten.

Happy gaming! 🎲

— Uli