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5/12/01
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Dan
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» Game Design Dictionary |
When free agency comes up, the fantasy football gamer knows that
research and luck both come into play. We research depth charts
and web reports to sniff out the sleeper who is about to take a
starting role. Luck occurs in injury that changes some scrubby backbencher
into the next Kurt Warner. So that is all there is to free agency?
Lets look at it from a design point of view.
Think of free agency as a mechanism. It serves as one of the three
gateways for turning over the roster. In fact more roster spots
are changed due to free agency than are through trades (please spare
me the exceptions, this is an overview). How many replacements and
how quickly they are acquired are the controls you impose in the
design.
As a mechanism, it adjusts the value of drafting. If you can turn
the roster over three times in a season, then the skills to win
are focused more on who pays attention to rapidly unfolding events.
With a decision to restrict free agency access, you will make the
conditions of the draft (location in the dreaded "zip",
unforeseen injuries, bad luck, and incomplete intelligence) take
an enlarged importance of who will be standing at the end.
I know I hear the cat calls already about skill over luck. Given
the unknown factors of injuries, coaching moods and individual player
attitudes, sometimes you don't know if the guy you have just drafted
will be the toast of the league or leading the 10 o'clock crime
reports. If you allow only half or less roster turnover through
free agency, a bad draft will cripple a team all year long. This
is not necessarily a bad thing. It is something you should consider.
Free agency systems can also be expanded into waiver wire systems.
I will address this more in exotics. How you allow free agency access
branches along three paths: Reverse Standings; Bidding Systems;
and First Come, First Serve. I strongly suggest the Reverse Standings
version unless there is a specific design goal you are trying to
accomplish. For example, if you use an Auction Drafting System,
then the method of free agent access should mirror this with a bidding
system. If you are playing a local league with a bunch of high-energy
owners, you may want to consider the first come method.
Reverse Standings best qualities are that the free agent time is
firmly establish with deadlines for entering selections and receiving
results. I have set these up for Thursday nights of any week without
a Thursday game. In that case, it reverts to the Wednesday night.
You can also just nail down Wednesday night as Free Agent Night
and not have to weave with the schedule. Sometimes simpler is better.
Free agent bidding systems are not directly linked with auction
draft systems. You can have a Random draft and still use a bidding
system for free agency. I would strongly suggest that if you have
an auction draft system that you use a bidding system for free agency,
but I have seen some leagues (especially if they are not Retention
Leagues) only use Auction and then Reverse Standings free agency.
Here is one suggestion. Each team has 20 points to spend for free
agency. Each week, an owner will submit a list of free agents and
how much to bid on each player. The total in bids can not exceed
the amount of points the owner has remaining. The Commish uses a
Double Blind system for his own free agent moves. At the appointed
time, the Assembly gathers (if local) and the orders are process.
No chance of re-bids and the highest bid takes the free agent. This
system works out a lot better if all owners are local or at least
on line together and the group could allow competitive bidding.
Tinker around with this if you like the idea and check back with
my version on the 2nd rules set.
First come systems can create a lot of excitement. An almost feeding
frenzy grasps some owners as they follow Internet rumors. This brings
us to considerations of time management. You may desire to design
a game that allows rapid roster changes or allows those who have
good access to news and rumors to be rewarded for their efforts.
This is not a bad thing. It does potentially create a time vacuum
and you need to decide if you want to support it.
All of these systems can be modified with limits on the number of
free agents that can be acquired. Unlimited access will eat deep
into you time as excited members rush to beat out the other owners.
Another modified version of the Double Blind System needs to be
set up for Commish's free agent moves.
How many free agent moves allowed in a season is the "churn
factor" you should now consider. Unlimited free agent access
will allow rapid change. Allowing only one change per week will
make recovery from the conditions of the draft almost impossible.
If you want a league that stresses draft preparation more, reduce
the amount of free agent access. If you want a more wide open roster
changing system that rewards people who pay attention to the NFL
reports, then open up free agent access. Just keep it in perspective
with the overall design of the league.
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