Back in 2020 we had to postpone this event due to well-known circumstances. But after 4 years of waiting, we are finally going to make your dream come true. Now you can become a goal scoring superstar hero at the Sensible World of Soccer - Varia Cup 2024!
Sensible World of Soccer (SWOS) is a classic football game from the 90s, initially for Amiga and DOS. Varia will be host to a Pro cup and an Amateur cup - anyone can join and play (literally; in contrast with modern football simulators you only need a joystick with one button!) Although the last official release of the game was in 96 (not counting the terrible 3d attempts that became the downfall of Sensible Software), Sensible Soccer never went away thanks to its highly addictive gameplay and vast database of teams from around the world, creating possibilities to become champion infinite. SWOS has become part of the gaming canon as stated by Stanford University, amongst games as Tetris and Super Mario Bros 3. The Royal Mail celebrated its part in British video game history by releasing a Sensible Stamp in 2020.
A strong community (check out www.sensiblesoccer.de) made sure the ball kept on rolling, with ways to play against each other online, rankings, updated team databases as well as hosting events, including the annual Sensible Days: the World Cup where players decide who's best. With the introduction of SWOS2020 it became possible to run the game straight from your Windows-desktop, without using DOS- or Amiga-emulators. You can even switch live between DOS and Amiga-gameplay (a big difference between the two!), and choose for a beautiful wide screen mode on UltraHD resolutions. Since 2023, it's even possible to play online, with various leagues (including the Dutch Eredivisie) popping up.
We will play the cup either on original Amiga-set ups or through SWOS2020 (and possibly even a separate cup for PC players). Joysticks will be provided (Suzo's The Arcade for insiders, made in Rotterdam!) but you can also bring your own. Both experienced and unexperienced players are welcome, just come by between 12:00 and 13:00. Depending on the number of competitors we'll either split up the group in Pro and Amateur players, or we'll do a qualifying round. At the end of the day: both cup winners will win a prize!
Date: Saturday, 2nd of March
Entry: Donation
Timetable (depending on amount of players participating)
- 12:00 - 13:00 / Warming-up
- 13:00 / Start of Pro and Amateur Cup
- +/- 17:30 / Dinner time
- 19:00 / Awards ceremony
- 20:00/21:00 / Closing down
Come and play some classic footie with us at VARIA - be sure to come in time (between 12:00 and 13:00). Or join us for a beer during the afternoon and enjoy some Amiga-tunes provided to you by local legend DJ Newk! If you want to practice beforehand, you can download the game through below links. For more info on the event, write to sebatosh@gmail.com.
Useful Links
- The 2020 version of the game -> https://www.sensiblesoccer.de/swos-2020
- Why is this game still so good? -> https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vdq479/*why-i-adore-sensible-soccer-gamings-friendliest-football-sim-407
- The making of Sensible Soccer -> https://readonlymemory.vg/the-making-of-sensible-soccer/
- Intro of SWOS 96/97 -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eBqIXjj4a8