Inside The Game #2
The 1st installment of “Inside The Game” where we took a look back at Every Sport Golf can be found HERE
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what “Back B4 Dinner” is you should do that first HERE and make sure you watch the episode (on the left) before reading further! Thanks :)
Inside The Game allows us to take a look back at our original outdoor games. Giving insight into what inspired the creation of the game, while also sharing bonus behind the scenes stories you won't find anywhere else! Now lets take it back to our second episode and go Inside The Game of..
35
What inspired this game ?
Tyler : Back when I was growing up, basketball was always a game my friends and I would play. Everyone had a basketball hoop and ball at their place. Typically if we had enough players we’d jump into 3 on 3. But having six friends available was always tough. When that was the case we’d play either of the following; Horse, 21, Knockout, or Around The World. And sometimes that would be more fun than just a classic game because they were quick mini-games with replay value.
Because Brandon and I shared similar backstories we knew we wanted to create a unique basketball game early into Back B4 Dinner. One that would rival the games listed above and maybe someday be the basketball mini-game for this next generation of kids.
What makes this basketball game better than the classics ?
Tyler : Well it’s far superior. Period. 😂 Anyway we added scoring zones by basically reconstructing the court. Some day those tape lines will be permanent on basketball courts around the country. Can you imagine? In those first 3 scoring zones, point value rises as you get further away from the hoop. But for me, that 4th zone is the magic element of the game. I love how the 4th zone is not concrete and can be moved at the start of each game to a new spot on the court. It allows you to challenge your friends to make a one-of-a-kind shot for the highest total of points.
Brandon : Another thing that makes it better in my opinion is that scoring zones don’t have to be so rigid or set in stone. We used tape on the court to clearly identify the zones for filming and for easy comprehension of the rules for our viewers, but when this game was originally created in my brother’s backyard, we didn’t lay down any tape. We just said, “okay, that area is 1 point, behind that crack is 2 points, behind the AC unit is 3 points and that spot wayyyy over there is 6 points”. So, this can literally be played anywhere. All you need is a hoop. You can even switch up the scoring zones in between rounds to keep it fresh and challenging. However, if you want to lay down some tape or chalk and use those as your official scoring zones the whole time, that’s a lot of fun and will keep you challenged too. The point is, this game has a lot of flexibility. Basketball coaches can even use this as a fun way to improve shooting from certain spots on the court.
Is their strategy involved in this game ?
Brandon : Definitely! And this is also one of the elements that sets it apart from other games. One of the rules of the game is that players cannot shoot from the same zone two turns in a row. This rule is in place so that players can’t just shoot 1’s or short 2’s all game and make every shot, or find their sweet spot and just shoot from there the whole game. As the game goes on and a player gets closer to 35, they have to start doing the math in their head and plan their shot selection accordingly as they cannot go over 35, because if they do they go back down to 21. The same strategizing applies because of the “swish equals double the points” rule. If a player has 32 points and is shooting from the 3-point scoring zone to try to win the game, they better make sure they don’t swish it or they’ll go over 35 and subsequently go back down to 21. It can be hard to absolutely make sure you don’t swish a shot so that player might want to choose to shoot a 1-pointer and just inch closer to 35 instead of risk going over. It also depends on how many points your opponents have. If one them also has 32 or 33 points, you might want to risk the 3-point shot to win it right there. Because if you don’t, your opponent could make a shot next to win it. Will you risk a harder shot to secure the win?
So, as you can see there can be many situations in this game where strategy is involved, which makes it that much more challenging and fun!
What was the filming process like for this game ?
Tyler : What’s interesting is neither of us were in a single video shot together during the game. Well besides our famous rock paper scissors showdown. It’s challenging sometimes when it’s just the two of us filming a game. When filming I prefer to keep the camera moving instead of justing throwing it up on a tripod. This can also help keep the audience engaged when they’re watching. For this game, it was easier to get the job done with just the two of us. As the gameplay dictates to take turns shooting one basketball, we are able to hand off the camera for each shot. This allowed us to frame each other perfectly while also challenging each other to film better shots than the ones before. I really love how it came out in the end.
#of takes it took for Brandon to drill the shot in the INTRO ?
Tyler : Do you know what was really funny about that? Making the shot at the end was not a priority for us. Delivering the lines on the introduction of the rules was the only goal. And we had to do about four to five takes until Brandon delivered those lines without a fumble. When the ball went in at the end we couldn’t believe it… that he remembered all his lines!
Brandon : But was I feeling myself a little after making that shot? Yes, yes I was. I was honestly so shocked that I made it through all my lines AND also made the shot all in one continuous take that after the ball went in I kind of forgot what I was supposed to do next or if I even had a plan for after I made the shot haha! But it all worked out. I may or may not have tried about 25 times in a row to make that shot later in the day… and missed every time.
Did you guys play any games off-camera just for fun?
Brandon : Tyler and I played about 6 or 7 rounds of this game off-camera. If our audience ever questions if we actually play our games for fun, we definitely do. We’re usually at these parks for hours because aside from the time it takes to film, we also thoroughly enjoy playing these games. We only create games that we would play ourselves even if we didn’t have this company or channel. These games only ever make it to the screen because we played them for hours and made sure we loved them and had a strong feeling that others would love them too.
Can this game be played with more than 2 people?
Brandon : Yes! It can be played with multiple people or even teams of 2. That’s why it’s great to play at home with friends or even on your basketball team as a fun light-hearted way to end practice.
Where does this game rank in your Collection ?
Tyler : It’s always tough to rank our own games. Similar to how a parent can not have a favorite child. But because the game can’t hear me… top 3! I’d put it right there with Beach See-Ball and Bubble Ball.
Brandon : I agree. It’s hard to choose a favorite, because I love them all. It’s like choosing between all of the New England sports franchises, you just can’t. They all epitomize excellence and have produced some of the greatest athletes in their respective sports that it’s so hard to choose one over the other. Is it the Patriots with their 20-year run of dominance in the NFL and 6 Super Bowl rings? Is it the Bruins with their 6 Stanley Cups and who also happen to be on a record-setting regular season pace as we speak? Is it the Red Sox with their 9 World Series wins despite enduring the worst and longest curse in professional sports history? Or is it the Celtics and their record-holding 17 NBA titles? All I know is it’s not the 76ers (jk Tyler).
But I digress. All I can say is this one is definitely towards the top of my list.
Tell us the Blooper stories!
Tyler : Well, remember when I told you how great Brandon was at shooting that shot from behind the basketball net in our intro (picture to the right). We HAD to show that off in the game. I’m about to spoil some movie magic here… but not every shot in the game was made on the first attempt 😳 We did script this game out to make sure we had every zone and bonus accounted for. So yeah… probably took Brandon 9 tries before making this one. I’ll give him some credit though because I never attempted that shot in the game.
Was Tyler’s swing and miss planned during his celebration?
Brandon : Nope, it absolutely was not. That was a 100% authentic attempt at kicking the bouncing basketball and a complete swing and miss. And it made me so happy. I was genuinely holding back extreme laughter while filming that because I didn’t want to ruin the shot. It was so hard to keep that laughter in!
Any final comments on “35” ?
Brandon : We really hope you enjoy this game we created for you and if it gets you outside and active, even if only for an hour, we’ve done what we set out to do. Please let us know in the comments below if you had fun playing the game and follow us @BackB4Dinner on your favorite social platform for updates.
Tyler : Who doesn’t love getting mail? I set up an easy form for you to write to us. We promise to read and respond to your letter.
And Brandon, Boston may have had an amazing last decade in Sports BUT Philadelphia has arrived and will be a force for the foreseeable future. World Series & Super Bowl appearances in the same year! And I know you won’t believe me but this is the year the Sixers knock off the Celtics and finally reach the finals :)
For 35, I can’t wait for winter to be over on the east coast. This will be the first game I play when it warms up. It’s time to teach the kids to move on from the been there done that HORSE basketball game and play the new school 35!
