Have you ever dreamt of becoming a manager of your football team? Choose who’s playing and who will get to the bench because of the performance in the last game? To get the budget, make transfers, compete with other players, who are more successful in the club management? Any of that is probable at different Fantasy Simulation games. We’ll tell you about their rules on the example of one of the most popular of these types of pastimes: Fantasy Premier League.
How to start your team?
To start playing Fantasy Football, you’ll need to pick the players for your team: 15 in general. It must consist of 2 goalies, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and three forwards. You might analyze the team’s performance here.
The game will grant you £100 million to succeed. Every player has their price: for example, the footballer with the highest cost in the league is Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, 12.8. Currently, he’s also the most successful; thanks to 83 points he managed to earn.
At first, it appears like an unachievable job to acquire fifteen players for 100 points. But that’s the fun part: staying within your budget while picking the players who will add the most value and points to your club.
How players earn points
Different actions help you score various numbers of points. For instance, a player that plays less than 60 minutes will get you one point, while a player that plays 61 minutes or more will get you two points.
Scoring goals is awarded according to positions: if a goalkeeper or defender scores, the club receives six points, a midfielder gets five points, and a striker gets four points. Players get three points for assists.
Your club can also get bonus points for good defensive play, i.e. if you get a clean sheet. The goalkeeper and each defender earn four points, and each midfielder receives one point. If the goalkeeper kicks a penalty, you’ll get as many as five points.
However, don’t forget about the penalty points: a missed penalty by the same goalkeeper is minus 2 points. For every two missed goals, every goalkeeper and defender in your starting line-up loses one point. Yellow and red cards are also harmful. The former will lose 1 point each and the latter 3 points.
Important details
To have a better idea of how to pick your players, it is worth paying attention to some basic details in preparation for the new football season and to understand the peculiarities of the fantasy leagues:
- You can apply 11 players in each match using any real-life formation, just like in a real game.
- Don’t forget to choose a captain and vice-captain: the captain gets twice the points. If he plays zero minutes, the vice-captain will take over.
- Prioritize substitutions: when one of your essential players misses a match (doesn’t play a single minute), the first player in the priority list who fits the position (defender, midfielder or striker) will step in his place.
Why is fantasy so interesting?
Players worldwide are attracted to the genre because they can feel like they own a top club with an (almost) unlimited budget and participate in competitive leagues with friends.