Unlike today's video games that provide the plays for you, back then you had to painstakingly put each little magnetic man in place, probing for weaknesses.
University of Hawaii defensive coordinator Don Lindsey and offensive counterpart Guy Benjamin put away their electric football games years ago, but the schemes are still with them.
Their job this weekend is to put a game plan in place that will keep Boston College off balance on defense and bogged down on offense. It's a formidable task.
"We think we can get them into some formations that take advantage of what they try to do defensively," Benjamin said. "But it all comes down to execution.
"We might have the right play called at just the right time, but if our guys don't pull it off, it won't really matter. Formations are one thing, personnel is another."
The Rainbows definitely have the slower and smaller magnetic men when compared to the Eagles of the Big East. That puts extra pressure on the coordinators, who are trying to find ways to combat these shortcomings.
For Benjamin, he will be facing a 46 defense made famous by Buddy Ryan and the Chicago Bears. Sometimes, there will be four men on the line of scrimmage, other times six, maybe as many as eight.
"You can burn them in it, but you have to find the hot receiver right away," UH starting quarterback Glenn Freitas said.
In the West Coast offense, all the pressure lands squarely on the shoulder pads of the quarterback. It's up to him to make the right read, audible at the line of scrimmage when necessary and be sure it all happens without delay of game or motion penalties.
"That's one reason we're running a stripped-down version of the West Coast offense," Benjamin said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they blitzed on every down until we make them pay for it.
"So you have to plan for that. You have to keep it basic until everyone knows instinctively what to do. That takes time. And we're not there yet."
Lindsey sings a similar song.
"Do you realize that 17 of our top 22 defensive players don't have a snap of Division I experience?" Lindsey said.
"It's not an excuse. It's a fact."
That being the case, the veteran defensive coordinator wants to hold any judgment on what his unit will be like until after this weekend's game with the Eagles.
He knows Boston College is going to line up and try to run right down his throat behind a massive offensive front. The Eagles will use anywhere from one to three tight ends out of a single-back formation.
Much like the Washington Redskins, they'll run the counter trey until you creep in to stop it, then try to bust one deep with play-action passes.
"When they have three tight ends, one lines up in the backfield as a fullback," Lindsey said. "They use I-formation plays, but it's not really the I-formation.
"Sometimes he comes in motion and blocks on the linebacker or traps on a lineman. Other times they'll bring in two wide receivers, even three.
"The receivers will sometimes line up in the slot or have that guy come in motion out of the fullback spot in the I. They give you a lot of looks."
This is something Benjamin wants to do as soon as the offense grows accustomed to the basic package now in place.
"The problems Boston College poses have forced us to work on basic and simple things," Benjamin said. "If we had faced a more vanilla defense in our first game, we'd be able to open up the playbook and be more exotic.
"We can't worry about scheming them because we're not sophisticated enough. Let me put it this way. If we don't pass-block effectively, we won't get across the 50."