Q:  Fire PowerPro Wrestling?  What Kind of name is that?

A:  My favorite wrestling video game is the Fire ProWrestling series, due mainly to the insane amount of customization that is implemented in it.  You can honestly make any sort of wrestler, real or imaginary, that you can imagine.  One of my favorite overall sports games is Power Pro Baseball, who's art style I completely ripped off for this game, although I like to call it "paying homage."  Thus Fire PowerPro Wrestling is my way of paying respect to two games that played a great part in giving inspiration to this game.

Q:  What kind of game is FPPW?

A:  What FPPW is NOT is a hold-for-hold simulation of a wrestling match.  Rather, it puts each player in the shoes of a regional promoter during a boom of professional wrestling.  It holds itself to no particular time period, rather it is meant to be a system where wrestlers from accross time and promotions can wage epic battles against each other.  The game itself is very metaphorical, representing concepts of the world of professional wrestling rather than concrete examples.

Q:  On a quick side note, the counters for the regions for each promoter look kind of cheap.  What gives?

A:  They're pretty much "place holders" to stand in for now.  With the first expansion, the idea of different regions will play a much bigger role than just identifying players.

Q:  I'm a wrestling fan, but don't have many friends who follow the sport.  Should I bother with this game?

A:  Yes, because I'm a complete egomaniac and want this little pet project of mine to take the world by storm.  Other than that though, I tried to cram enough casual-gamer friendly mechanics and comedy into the game to keep non-wrestling fans interested, while keeping enough respect to the source material and in-jokes so that even the most hardcore wrestling fan will have a fun time playing.

Q:  Iko Zhettebrinski?  Andrew Kennedy?  Laura the Lionhearted?  Who the heck are these people, and why are they in this game?

A:  Iko Zhettebrinski was my ring name when I tried to get a wrestling career going.  Technically I'll still accept any booking right now, but my experience is limited to a promoter who told me how to not kill myself in the ring so I could put his guys over when some schlub didn't show up.  I also have no respect for my own personal safety, so if he ever needed anyone lit on fire or such ilk, I was his guy.  Anyone else that even a mildly interested wrestling fan doesn't recognize, well, that's probably for good reason.  As a sort of "thank you" to a few of my friends who helped me play test the game, I put them in the game.  Also, don't rip on Angelic Allie.  That's my fiance, and she'd have my hide if you made a humerous rude joke about her which I proceeded to laugh my backside off to.  And no, I don't know why anyone would ever want to marry me.

Q:  The game in itself is fine, but I don't like many of the wrestlers you included.

A:  As I alluded to earlier, I plan on making at least one, but hopefully several expansions to this game.  If you find yourself enjoying this game, but wish there were certain wrestlers, match types, famous promos or whatnot included in the game, feel free to contact me at WadeDeadpool@yahoo.com, or post something at tabletop-sports.com.  Also, I should mention that as tabletop-sports.com is the first community I intend to release this game to, I should have noticed that said community is partial to the older eras of wrestling.  As in the initial stages of creating this game it was intended solely for the enjoyment of my close friends and I, and we started watching wrestling at the start of the Monday Night Wars, that era and onward was the time period that I focused almost exclusively upon.  However, as above stated, I am more than happy to include suggested wrestlers, events, and promos in future expansions.  In fact, my father has recently said he'd be interested in learning how to play this game, and he was a big fan of the Von Erichs and Vern Gagne, thus you can rest assured that they will be included in the next expansion.

Q:  What's the best way to print out this game?

A:  I must apologize for the JPG format, but I wanted to make this game universably downloadable.  For those of you who are printing this out and playing, here's some information on the files to help you get on your way.

-All image files are at a resolution of 72 dpi.

-The cards were meant to be the standard 2.5 x 3.5 trading card size.  Thus card sheets that are two high and three wide should be printed out at 7 inches high by 7.5 inches wide.  Card sheets that are two high by four wide should be printed out at 7 inches high by 10 inches wide.  The file with the title counters and regional counters should be 4 inches high by 7 inches wide.  As a side note, I like to print this file out, then attach it to some matting board with rubber cement and then cut them out with an exacto knife to give the counters some substance.  The active scoring chart should be 10 inches high by 5 inches wide.  The card sheets in the "engine" folder should be printed out at 7.5 inches high by 7 inches wide.

-After printing and cutting the cards, I like to put them in those snug, flexible card sleeves with an opaque back and transparent front, with a different color backing for each type of card.  This both protects the cards and makes sure that someone can't go "oh, card such and such has a small nick in one corner, so I'll know that one is coming up."  This is, of course, completely optional.

-Finally, yes, I do apologize for any tears shed by your color ink cartridge.

Q:  Is this game really free?

A:  Yes it is, save either you don't try to claim credit for it or attempt to make a profit from it, as I will take legal action against any individual or entity that does.  Other than that, yes, it's free to download and play, as I am a near penniless wrestling and tabletop gaming nerd who just wants to spread some joy among his bretheren.  If you really want to pay me, donate money to the Red Cross instead.  It would probably put my mind at ease, and would give me some decent karma.  Trust me on this one, not to go all "woe is me" on all of you, but I could use all the good karma I can get.  Plus the Red Cross is one of the few organizations left that is almost universally regarded as noble, regardless of race, creed, color, political association, gender, sex preference, religion, hair length, whether you prefer dining up luncheon at an hour later than socially acceptable, or any such arbitrary classification.  Heck, I'll even thank a blood donor even if they're wearing a Mets hat.  Trust me, coming from me, that should mean a lot.  Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now.  If you're getting a free game, I hope you can tolerate a few sentences with good intentions behind them.

Q:  How can you tell which wrestler is better than another?

A:  The wrestlers are designed to be equal to one another, each with their own certain strengths and weaknesses.  However, half the time during playtesting Finlay had epic title reigns, so who knows.  Maybe the more Irish a card is the better it is.

Q:  Is there a solo play version of this game?

A:  Not yet.  The game was primarily designed for a group of friends (at least three is optimal, but two-player games are also possible.)  Solo play isn't a big priority for me, but if demand for it presents itself, then I'll be more than willing to oblige.

Q:  I don't like [insert any particular rule].  Can I change/ignore/emphasize it?

A:  By all means!  While I did extensive playtesting to make sure that the game was the best it could possibly be, by definition the game is slanted to be more enjoyable to me and my group.  If subtle rule tweaks or changes make the game more enjoyable to you and your group, then by all means feel free to play the game in a way that you enjoy.  As I've said before, I often frequent tabletop-sports.com, so if you have a house rule that you and your group enjoys, by all means post it there!  The whole purpose of my making this game was to create fun, enjoyable times between friends, and nothing would please me more for it to be the able to do the same for you and yours.

Q:  While reading the instructions or the text on cards, I've noticed several gramatical errors.  Are those mistakes or am I just misreading something?

A:  This answer is actually somewhat, well I don't want to say "complicated," but that may be the best way to describe it.  If you ask anybody that I've had any sort of substantive communication with, they will tell you that I am possibly the most stringent, if you excuse the term, "grammar nazi" they have ever come in contact with.  This is most likely due to one of the two mental ailments that will come up in this conversation, a serious, though not quite severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, more commonly referred to by the acronym of OCD.  For those that had the same viewing habbits as I did a decade or so ago, imagine the vampires in the X-Files episode "Bad Blood," only substitute picking up sunflower seeds and untying shoelaces with the proper use of a semicolon and making sure there are two spaces after ever sentence-ending period.  I honestly can not keep myself from becoming at least a tiny bit angry when seeing a text message that reads "c u soon hun" with absolutely no punctuation.  However, the way I design and create the components for this or any other game are, for the most part, from the Henry Ford assembly line school of thought.  Thus I will have ten or so cards up in photoshop at any one time, adding text to one, then another, then another.  This is most likely due to my sever case of Attention Defeceit Disorder, more commonly referred to as the acronym ADD.  My mind would be hopping from one thing to the next, often leading to me getting ahead of myself and mucking something up.  Thus while in my quick read-overs and edit-checks everything seemed correct to me in my head, more than likely there's some mucked up language in the documentation or components of this game.  More than likely good common sense and a person with reasonable logic abilities should be able to figure out the intent of what a certain rule or card text was meant to "truly say."  Even though I realize that I am becoming something of a broken record, I feel it would be prudent to mention that I welcome any questions or comments in my e-mail inbox, the content of which can be filled by sending a message to the address of WadeDeadpool@yahoo.com; contact of the question or comment variety can also be established by posting on the boards of tabletop-sports.com.  I have failed to mention, obvious though it may seem due to my e-mail, that my username on tabletop-sports.com is WadeDeadpool.  Also, for those of you who obtained this game at boardgamegeek.com, as that is the second community I intend to send this game to, my user name remains the same:  WadeDeadpool.

Q:  Someone will ask it at some point, so let's try to diffuse the situation now.  Why did you include Chris Benoit in this game?

A:  I do realize that some people cringe at even the mention of Chris Benoit, and if you do not wish to have his likeness in your game, simply just discard his card.  However, to get back on my tiny soapbox, I do not feel that there is nearly enough evidence to convict Chris Benoit of the actions attributed to him.  Also, while I do admit that the allegations against Chris Benoit are almost universally regarded as inexcusable, if I removed every wrestler that did something that someone might find wrong, distasteful, or inexcusable, then the only wrestler that would be left in this game would be Tommy Dreamer.

On a personal note, I will admit that I am more than a bit biased in this situation, as the first wrestling match I ever saw was a Benoit victory.  Also, the first headlock I was ever put in was by Chris Benoit at an autograph signing.  I met him during his time in this world on several occaisions, and while I wouldn't have the gall to say that our connection was anything more than him viewing me as that fan that liked him a bit too much, I can not truly believe that the man I talked to could have done the things that he is accused of.

With all that said, I must repeat that if you do not want his likeness in the game, you are more than capable of taking his card, setting it on fire, shredding it, or committing any other such destructive act.  As far as using Chris Benoit in the examples in the rules, it was mearly by chance that his and Kane's card were the top two on the pile sitting beside me as I typed up the rules.

Q:  Wow, the answers to the last three questions could be put together to form a tiny novella.  Could you try not to bore me to death with any future answers?

A:  Yup.

Q:  Are you angered that as you type this, the Braves are being shut out for the second straight game?

A:  Yes, and shut up.

Q:  Chris Jericho and Vladimir have the same rating in technical skill.  What's up with that?

A:  The ratings are not meant to have their values compared from one wrestler to another.  Rather, having a high value in a particular skill indicates that said wrestler relies more heavily on that skill than on a skill of a lower value.  This means that this wrestler focuses and specializes primarily on one aspect of his overall abilities.  Thus while Kozlov and Jericho have the same value for technical skill, it does not mean that they are equals in the art of technical wrestling.  Rather, it is meant to show that Kozlov and Jericho focus roughly the same amount of effort of their overall match strategies.  This was done in the interest of keeping all the wrestlers roughly equal, so that a player need not be forced to pass on using their favorite wrestler due to that wrestler being easily destroyed by other wrestlers.  Also, it is to keep me from giving Tommy Dreamer a value of nine for every possible statistic.

Q:  You REALLY miss the old ECW, don't you?

A:  Yes, why do you ask?

Q:  Is it true that you want Tommy Dreamer to sign your forearm so you can run to a tattoo artist and have them go over it so Tommy's signature is permanent?

A:  Absolutely, and I believe that every human being and animal kept as a pet should go through this process.  A Balls Mahoney, Sabu, or Alex Shelley tattoo will also be acceptable.  And yes, I realize that Alex Shelley wasn't in the old ECW, but damnit, if he was born a decade earlier, he would have fit right in.

Q:  Would you leave your future wife for Tommy Dreamer if he ever turned gay for some reason?

A:  I refuse to answer this question for fear that Allie might actually read this file.

Q:  You seem to be arbitrarilly extending this Q & A to increase the size of this file, so you can feel like your e-phallus is larger.  Can we just end this?

A:  Fine.  Just two more questions.

Q:  Fair enough.  This game is really fun, entertaining, and interesting.  How did you ever come up with game all by yourself?

A:  As much as I wish I could answer that by simply saying "because I'm awesome and have almost as much skill as the almighty Tommy Dreamer," I can not.  Honestly, this game was inspired by a play-by-e-mail or play-by-snail-mail system designed by a man named Jeff Berry.  The name of this system was BlitzMatch.  To be fully truthful, the combat system for the supershow matches was almost completely ripped from the BlitzMatch system.  During the creation of this game, I both sought and received the blessing of Mr. Berry to continue my work that was derived from his work on his BlitzMatch system.  Thus, Mr. Berry deserves just as much, if not more, credit for the creation of this game.  Mr. Berry's home site is at the address of http://www.panix.com/~nexus/ with his official posting of the BlitzMatch rules at the address of http://www.panix.com/~nexus/vcw/blitzmatch2.  While I do not feel comfortable with posting Mr. Berry's e-mail address without his specific, direct desire for me to so, I do recall that he is readily available to be contacted through means specified on the above shown web address.  Again, I can not overstate the fact that without Jeff Berry's BlitzMatch rules set, there would be no Fire PowerPro Wrestling.  I apologize for going back on my answer pertaining to not answering questions in the form of tiny novellas, but I can not give enough credit to Jeff Berry's work on BlitzMatch in the formation of this game.

Q:  Are there any last things you would like to say that don't fit into any of these other questions, even though you wrote them?

A:  First, I would like to thank my wonderfully beautiful, talented, loving, patient and understanding bride to be Alexandra, who puts up with my bullcrap for some reason.  Also my friends that none of you know, but I would feel guilty not mentioning due to the time they volunteered their time and advice to help playtest and form this game into the best possible finished product it could possibly be.  Thus Rob, Davey, Allie again, Andy, Laura, Mallory, Justin, Mike and Jess, if you ever read this file for some reason, my heartfelt thanks go out to you.  Also, I would like to send my thanks to the community over at tabletop-sports.com for giving suckers like me a tiny-yet-phenomenal place to talk about our obsessions to play with with scraps of paper and roll dice because we apparently have nothing better to do with our time.  Finally, I want to extend one last thanks to Jeff Berry for letting me use his BlitzMatch system to help form this game.