Thanks for the suggestion, but I thought about it; current reviews deem the Z Play powerful enough and that the main differences between the Z Force and Z Play are 1) higher screen resolution and 2) Shatterproof.
But Z Play is only about $408, while the Force is almost double the price at $720. I'm happy with 1080p and (certainly the Z Play will have better battery life than the Force because of this and less power hungry SOC) and I'm ok not having Shatterproof.
If only the new Nexuses are available now...
that works. I assumed price also came into Play (pun intended) with your decision. Good luck!