Recently throughout Camas High School, quite a few students have been playing a mobile football game called Retro Bowl on their phone. It has become increasingly popular over the past few weeks. During lunch, many students’ eyes are glued to their screens, running the offense for a pixelated football team.

The Retro Bowl frenzy has even invaded the classroom, which has affected some teachers throughout CHS as they see more and more students playing the game during class. “It prevents them from learning. We stress that phones shouldn’t be used in class unless it’s for academic purposes,” said Camas science teacher Mrs. Levenick, “but if students finish work early, I don’t have a problem with students being on their phones.” 

The question remains; what makes Retro Bowl so addicting to students? The game, based on the 1987 game Tecmo Bowl, has the player take over as the general manager for a struggling NFL franchise hoping to turn it around and win the championship. The team-management aspect of the game seems to be the most fun part for a lot of the students. “We all love football and in Retro Bowl you manage a team which is really cool,” Camas senior Jackson Knuth said. “It also helps us with our problem solving and decision making because we have to make some choices on dilemmas that don’t involve football.” Knuth added.

The dilemmas that Jackson is referring to occur every in-game week, where the player has to decide between two options that both have consequences. Usually they involve a player getting in trouble off the field, and the user has to pick between pleasing the individual teammate or the team.

Retro Bowl is most popular among athletes, specifically football players. “People just love football. The best feeling is throwing it up to a receiver and Mossing the defense,” said Camas junior and football star Ethan Ouchi. “Retro Bowl gives us that same experience we get during games. It makes you feel like you’re really in it.”

Ethan is not the only one who agrees. Camas senior and football player Conner Murphy has high praise for the game. “Yeah, it’s a super fun game,” said Conner. “I catch myself playing the game too much sometimes. I’d rather be watching film than playing it.”

Like every other trend, the Retro Bowl hype will eventually die down. Students will soon find another game to obsess over. But for now, expect to see students all throughout Camas High School playing on the critically acclaimed app for the near future.