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5/12/01
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Dan
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» Game Design Dictionary |
Trading is one of the most exciting aspects of fantasy football.
While we thing we "know" that QB Stone Cold can score
every week, it is the calculation of what true value is that fills
our message boards with bazaar-like flavors. Most good leagues will
have one or two characters that are the catalyst for more of the
activity. These owners are the source of a lot of fun and excitement.
The trick is to give them enough freedom to enjoy their obsession
while not bogging your life down with an endless stream of voice
mails, emails and the occasional knock on the door after 10pm. Trading
rules can be modified (only during the off-season) with minimal
impact in Keeper or Dynasty leagues so keep that in mind when the
Assembly wants to spice things up a bit.
Trade approval systems are also important but at this point lets
keep the focus on the flow of players through our rosters. The draft
creates the initial set we have to work with. In lotto systems,
luck has some play in who you have access to. Injuries and real
NFL team politics can also have your golden boy riding the pine
for periods of time. We can set free agency as a constant gateway
for turnover. Trades are more of the wildcard in designing the flow.
You can make the rules to encourage or discourage a trading environment.
Real story: Running a Redraft Weighted Random Distance Bonus 10
team league with no restrictions on trades other than one team could
not trade back a player to the same team acquired from. Short terms,
no direct swapping of players. Allen was an owner who worked on
the same floor/office as myself and a few other members of the Assembly.
He got on a trading jag that basically ran three weeks long. He
would be working on or completing at least one trade every day.
For a couple of weeks it was fun in a sense of getting caught up
in the speculation and bidding. Then it got to be a problem at work.
Be careful.
Trade approval and deadlines should be clearly defined in the rules
set. Phrase it in terms of the schedule instead of putting a specific
date. That way the rule stays in effect consistently instead of
having to edit the document each year.
Trade rules run from no limits, at any time of the year to allowing
only X number of trades per team per season. Most systems, if they
place anything but an end date restriction to trading, will have
a weekly limit on trades.
The point we must always consider is time management. I suggest
restrictions on trades. A relatively neutral rule is one trade per
team per week. You must also specify the exact time that trading
and/or free agency end. I generally prefer a Monday midnight on
the 9th or 10th week of the NFL season as the last deadline for
submitting trades. Many leagues stop trading after the 8th week.
The reason to impose a trade deadline at all is to prevent collusion.
Some leagues are set up for teams to coalesce into super team and
scrubs. This is a tactic of some Big Money Leagues. Not all are
set up like this, far from it, but it is something to watch out
for. If you are recruited solo into this fish tank, then you are
there just to put money in the kitty. It's true.
» The
Time Constraint
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