I consider arena football a cross between football and hockey. You move a soccer game indoors, and it’s faster-paced. Same thing happens with football. But because the game’s high-contact, you get the “impact” of a hockey game. Only the walls don’t go all the way up. And if a pass goes out of bounds, a fan is the lucky owner of a football. Plus, sometimes catches are attempted over the wall. I respect this kind of flip-over effort. And I don’t care who you are; watching grown men slam each other into a (padded) wall is always exciting. Unlike stadium football, you’re sitting close enough to appreciate how hard the hits are.

The field itself is half the length (50 yards instead of 100) of a stadium football field, and about half the width (at 85 feet instead of 150). The game has 15-minute quarters and a 15-minute halftime. The clock doesn’t stop except for in the final minute of play, aside from things like timeouts, injuries or change of possession. And teams are allowed a 35-second play clock between the end of the previous play and the start of the next one. This is all an attempt to make the game move quickly and be more exciting.

The walls on the field are about waist-high. Teams sit behind the end zone, leaving prime seating for the fans. The first row even holds the first down markers. Players will even talk to fans and give high fives after big plays. Kids seemed to have a great time, especially those sitting right up close to the action. And some over-zealous adults who got a hold of a cowbell seemed to have equally as much fun.

Seating is a little tight unless you sit in one of their “lodge boxes” at the top of the stadium. The boxes have four seats a piece, more leg room, and access to extra amenities such as hors d’oeurves, a private bar and a separate entrance. Even though the box seating is at the top of the arena, everything’s so close that you still get a good view of the game.

If you’re like us and sit in the cheap seats, you can probably find seats for your group with enough room to stretch your legs to the next row or move around when an impromptu dance party breaks out. Hey, you can’t blast fun music between every play (after giving us beer) and not expect there to be dancing!

We bought our tickets at the box office the night of the game, but you can also buy online. When I looked, there appeared to be a fee of $2.50 associated with each ticket, which we didn’t pay the night of the game. There is also a parking fee ($5 per car), which we also didn’t have to pay. But we arrived after the game started, so that might be why. Tickets range from $5 to $15. The box seat prices weren’t listed, but my brother-in-law said they paid $30 for theirs.

The game starts at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Hartman Arena (in Park City, located at I-135 and 77th Street North).

(Image Credit)

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Guest post by Dustin Deckard

Let’s face it – everybody likes games. I do, you do, your mom on Facebook does (Farmville, much?). But just because you don’t have an Xbox 360, a PS3 or a mammoth computer system doesn’t mean you’re limited to crappy Facebook games (Farmville, much?) and more Wii Sports. Here’s a few computer games that will run on just about everything (even your netbook or ancient office computer!) and won’t cost you a penny. Plus, they have the added advantage of being good, as well as all having some original element that I think makes them some of the best games I’ve played all year, even though they’re just Flash games.

Afflux – A physics-based puzzle game featuring a cat that shoots laser beams out of his eyes when you piss him off. That’s really all you need to know, but I suppose I could elaborate a bit more: The objective of the game is to guide raindrops into a room through a window and make sure they find their way into the soil of a potted plant. You guide their path with fans, jet engines, books, and crossbeams, all while protecting the precious droplets from the various obstacles around the room (see: cat with laser-beam eyes).

A Small Favor – A classic point-and-click adventure game with clever writing, some funny surprises and great all-around style. When you finish the game and are left wanting more (trust me, you’ll want more), fret not! There’s a sequel on the same page, cleverly titled “Another Small Favor.”

Aqualux – While the gameplay is nothing new (stolen straight from the classic game Pipe Dream), Aqualux’s presentation is great. Charming, clean graphics and fun, upbeat music will make the day fly by. Plus, there’s fireworks and a rainbow when you beat a level – and that’s just an unbeatable combination. The online version is technically just a demo, so if you want to play the full version of the game you’ll have to drop $15.

Double Wires – Ever wonder how difficult it must be for Spider-Man to swing around, building to building like he does? Play this game for a few minutes and you might start to get an idea. It’s addictive, mindless and endless – so basically what I’m saying is it’s a perfect Flash game. Click at your own risk.

Sin Mark – Let me warn you right now – this game is not casual in any way. It’s extremely tough, and will probably make you want to pound your mouse to bits. But once you get over the learning curve and really figure out what you’re doing, there’s a highly rewarding game to be played. In Sin Mark, you play as Akahn the monster slayer, pushing back monsters and destroying the gates they come through. Use the trinkets and runes you collect along the way to cast spells that will aid you in your holy, pixelated cleansing of the lands.

What’s your favorite Flash-based time waster? Share your faves in the comments.

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