Retro Bowl College Football — Play Free Online

Retro Bowl College Football is the college edition of New Star Games' Retro Bowl American football series; on Poki it is listed as Retro Bowl College and dates from November 2023. You take over a college program and do two jobs at once: run the team off the field through menus, and play the matches yourself on the field.

How to play

Menus and passing are handled with the mouse. In a match you aim and release passes with the cursor, move your player with W and S, and dive with A or D. Phones and tablets are supported as well as desktop browsers.

On the management side you set the roster, spend money on facilities and deal with the stream of decisions the game hands you between games. Achievements cover the on-field side too: field goals from 25, 50 and 60 yards, one-point and two-point conversions, kickoff returns of 25, 50 and 75 yards, a touchdown scored by the quarterback, and a field goal that "doinks" off the post.

What makes the college version different

• Real school names. The college list in the game files holds 106 programs, from Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame to Boise State, Harvard and Wyoming.
• Recruiting from a Scholarship Fund. Instead of signing free agents, you admit a freshman class each year. Other colleges chase the same prospects, and every recruit you take shrinks the pool. The fund is topped up by annual alumni endowments and by donations from players who leave for the pros, and Coaching Credits spent at the Athletics Office raise its upper limit.
• Grades matter. Each player has a GPA tied to a major and minor. Low grades can get a player suspended or even force him out of football, and study requests ("can I skip training for my test?") trade practice time against GPA.
• Bye weeks and dilemmas. During a bye you choose between options such as academic tutoring, media interviews, a scholarship fundraiser or extra work with your coaches. Freshmen also get into campus trouble that you either fine or ignore.
• The Pro Draft. When the season ends, seniors and some juniors declare for the draft. A junior can be encouraged to leave early, which brings double the donation to the fund, or kept for his senior year.
• Bowl games and subdivisions. Achievements include winning any bowl game, topping a division or conference and winning the major or minor subdivision.

Tips

• Keep an eye on GPA during the season. A star who gets suspended for grades cannot help you on the field, so the study options are often worth the lost training.
• Think before you push a junior into the draft. The extra money helps recruiting, but you lose the player a year early.
• Remember that the admissions pool is shared with rival schools. If a prospect matters to you, recruit him early rather than waiting.
• Upgrading the stadium and the training facilities both count toward achievements, so they are worth planning into your budget.