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5/25/01
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Dan
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» Game Design Dictionary |
We all know the 3 paths to move players through rosters are the
draft, free agency and trades. Begin to think of them as related.
These tools will shape major portions of your game designs.
The draft sets the roster size for the regular season. Small leagues
and roster sizes leave a rich free agent pool. The more teams and/or
the larger the roster size, the more the talent pool is drained.
As the drain increases, we begin to see a shift in the environment
toward one where trades will become a necessity. This will require
more rule and design emphasis on trades.
Remember the earlier warning about bias? Well, here comes a Dan
Sezing load of it. This is my free agent formula when playing with
designs. It is a work in progress so I offer it in rough form.
There are 2.5 fantasy "stars" per team. Currently there are 31 teams
(pre Houston Texans). That means a 77.5 (80 w/Houston) benchmark.
Now, take the number of teams in the league and multiply that by
the standard roster size. Divide this total league roster size by
the benchmark and the larger the results, the deeper in the talent
pool you must look for free agents.
Let’s look at some basic values of the average league designs and
see how the numbers play along side an average number of players
needed from each NFL team roster to fill the entire league...
| L E
A G U E D E S I G N - F R E E A G E N T
C O M P A R I S O N |
| League Size |
Roster Size |
FAV |
Avg # of Players per NFL
Team Needed to Fill League |
|
8 teams |
14
players |
1.45 |
3.61 |
|
8 teams |
20
players |
2.06 |
5.16 |
|
8 teams |
24
players |
2.48 |
6.19 |
|
8 teams |
30
players |
3.10 |
7.74 (7.74 Bengals?) |
|
10 teams |
12
players |
1.55 |
3.87 |
|
10 teams |
16
players |
2.06 |
5.16 (matches
8/20)) |
|
10 teams |
20
players |
2.58 |
6.45 |
|
10 teams |
24
players |
3.10 |
7.74 (matches
8/30) |
|
12 teams |
12
players |
1.86 |
4.65 |
|
12 teams |
16
players |
2.48 |
6.19 (matches
8/24) |
|
12 teams |
18
players |
2.79 |
6.97 |
|
12 teams |
22
players |
3.41 |
8.52 (8.52 Cardinals?) |
|
14 teams |
10
players |
1.81 |
4.52 |
|
14 teams |
14
players |
2.53 |
6.32 |
|
14 teams |
18
players |
3.25 |
8.13 |
|
14 teams |
20
players |
3.61 |
9.03 (9.03 Browns) |
|
16 teams |
10
players |
2.06 |
5.16 (matches
8/20) |
|
16 teams |
12
players |
2.48 |
6.19 (matches
8/24) |
|
16 teams |
16
players |
3.30 |
8.26 |
|
16 teams |
20
players |
4.13 |
10.32 (10 Falcons?) |
|
I am also tinkering with a formula on how the total number of teams
in the league impact the numbers. See the 16/10 league equals the
8/20 format in raw numbers but consider that the last person in
the 16 league would just be getting their FIRST crack at free agents
as the 8th member of the 8/20 league was getting their SECOND pick.
That should also be included. Maybe you can help in defining how
to include this variable...?
Rolling Craps Game
Great for 8 team Redraft league. The object is a very busy free
agent game with emphasis on high personal involvement, communication
and Internet access. Local preferred but Global could adapt if all
Assembly could be online at the same time.
Draft 12 players 2 weeks before the first game in a Random format.
On the Wednesday of NFL weeks 1 through 14, a Reverse Standing free
agent and waiver wire group meeting is held. Each team cuts 6 players
with list submitted and released to all (group emails will work).
Waiver access is run in reverse standing order with top down picks
in free agency sacrificed to claim a waived player. Each team will
churn half of its roster each week.
Talk about flow. This design insures that the free agent pool will
be rich! The mandatory forced cuts sets the Free Agent Value to
(8 teams X 6 roster size = 48) / 77.5 (80 w/Houston) = 0.62, an
extremely low value. With so much free agent activity, you will
not have much need for trading. Trade rules should focus on an early
end after the games of NFL week 7. My slight discouragement of Global
on this design concentrates on the difficulty of getting such a
level of commitment even from a Local league.
Let's review the effect of the design:
- Reward managers who pay attention and work their teams
- Create a mini (6 round) draft every week
- Reduce the impact of the initial draft with its "zip" order
- Force constant roster movement
- Create a very rich free agent pool (FAV 0.62)
- Depresses pressure to trade.
Montfort Street Fantasy Football League (8, 10, 12 owner
league)
This is a low maintenance pencil and paper league. It can easily
be designed as Local or Global. Draft 20 players in a Random format.
Each week allow the cutting of team roster down to 17 players. A
Reverse Standings free agent meeting is held. All players cut this
week are not available until next week's meeting. This meeting is
held each week through the Championship Game (NFL Week 16). At the
rate of 3 players a week, it would take 7 weeks to churn the roster.
In reality, even with an 8 team league, the free agent pool will
not be very deep (8 teams X 20 = 160 players (value 2.06)/12 teams
X 20 = 240 players (FAV 3.10)).
Stop. This is the time to see values in action. Once the value exceeds
the 2.3s, the free agent pool starts to dry up rapidly. Trading
will become more important. In this design, we do not want that.
To counter the impact of more teams, we need to reduce roster size.
What size would you set the rosters if you wanted to maintain a
low 2 rating in a 12-team format?
We want to set up a game with good opportunities to capitalize on
hot news tips and reward efforts in background research. Keep the
FAV in the 2.3's or lower. Add some light trade restrictions like
one per week and cut out trades after NFL Week 8.
A review of this design:
- Draft preparation is important
- Some good free agent talent available (FAV 2.3's)
- Moderate free agent access (3 rounds)
- Light trade restrictions
- Orderly design for low maintenance
Cyber Brats League (12-team league with 6 players retained)
A 12 round yearly draft is held the weekend before the first NFL
regular season game. Through the fantasy regular season, each team
can cut up to two players per week and then grab free agents in
Reverse Standing (FAV 2.79). Because it is a keeper's league, free
agency ends with the regular season. teams that advance into the
playoffs (as well as the non-playoff) can neither trade nor select
free agents.
Once you start a Retention League, design construction must consider
the different "seasons" and how they effect the flow of players.
The most logical divisions are: Regular; Playoff; Off Season; and
Draft. Your design will have to accommodate them all. teams may
trade players during any season but the playoffs. Free agency access
is granted only during the regular season. Roster cuts are made
during the off-season.
A review of this design:
- 6 player keeper format
- Low free agent access (2 rounds)
- Low FAV level (2.79)
- Trades are important
- Rules define year round phases of activity
The Addicts Football League
This is a 12-team dynasty league with large variable sized rosters
(20 minimum, 30 maximum). An Auction Draft is held with a salary
cap. Escalator Clauses will be applied to retained and traded players.
No free agency. A mid season cut and auction is held. Trades become
the major mechanism to transfer players between rosters. In the
off season, teams may trade and cut players at will. By the draft
deadline, all teams will be forced to cut players (20 or less) and
to remain under the salary cap.
As you can see, much of the rules set focuses on the manipulation
of the cap. Along with the central theme, Money dominates all phases
of this league: high entry fees; transaction fees; penalty fines;
and lots of opportunities to win prize money.
A review of this design:
- Dynasty format (large roster retention)
- Auction used to acquire all players not on another roster
- Salary cap features escalator clauses
- Trades are vital for success
- No free agency
- Entry and transaction fees
- High volume of low value pay outs
These are just a few of the possibilities. It is the easy choice
to just clone the one-of-a-million leagues out there. Realize that
things can be tuned to the taste of the Assembly. Make your own
game. Be unique. I hear good ideas all the time. Come and share
yours on the boards. See
you there!
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