Griff grabbed a chair, sat down at the lounge table, where some of his team were gathered around an Apple II computer -- playing the first release of John Madden Football. Running back Gerry Sun handed Griff the games' 30 page Offense Playbook. There was a buzz around the table as -- so that Coach McGuire could see how it worked from the beginning -- the men of the IC Chips began a new game.

In this early version, because use of NFL teams was not yet licensed, the teams were Madden Home and Madden Visitor. Friendly arguments regarding menu choices were heard around the table:
Field conditions:
hot or cold and windy
rain or snow.
On Saturday, Huygens would play in the Sacramento Valley. "Hot," said Caesar Jose.

On the screen, the field was green; the play was slow. Unlike earlier football games, for this game, Madden had insisted on 11 players. The resultant complexity meant that the game took years to develop, but there it was, playing on a computer screen in The Huygens Tech Lounge. Holding a football, a wild Madden emerged dramatically on the lurid cover of the game box.

"There is a story that in 1982 Madden spent two days on the train with Electronic Arts Founder Trip Hawkins," Griff said to his players. "On that train, Madden handed Hawkins the 1980 Raiders playbook."