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Times' Play The Game - 2007/08

A forum for news and comment on The Times' Play The Game fantasy football game.
jimmyrep
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Post by jimmyrep »

Haven't quite mastered the forum etiquette yet either :)

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12345678
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Post by 12345678 »

dazedandconfused wrote:
mikeg13 wrote:Early days but am starting to get a little understanding of the game now , thanks to our kind helper. Hope they sort out the game dates though, as they have Afc/Fulham game as on Saturday when it should be on the Sunday and the postponed games due to champ league are still shown
Send feedback to them on this, it's an important omission that could destroy some peoples enjoyment of the game by mucking up their planing for their lineups.

:?
the times seem to muck up their game every year even when it is simple, so the added complications and zero prizemoney are hardly likely to get people banging on their door begging to be let in.

don't moan if anyone comes on to tell you i told you so when they start their annual blundering festivities :x

andy

Krispy
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Post by Krispy »

The 38 plays is where this game will be lost or won. Its not Rooney that can be played 38 times but the forward position on your team sheet. The skill is changing your line up according to fixtures without using up too many of the 38 slots. Players that can operate in more than one position are of more use here.

If we take the first weekend's fixtures for example:

1 Bijoux Sat = 19 / Sun = 1
2 Don't Call Me Babel Sat = 16 / Sun = 4
3 Jimmys Jewels 3 Sat = 12 / Sun = 8
4 Magflyers Sat = 7 / Sun = 13
5 Pyrford Power Sat = 15 / Sun = 5
6 Sky Blue Penguins Sat = 13 / Sun = 7
7 The Hand Of Dodd Sat = 11 / Sun = 9
8 Y'all be bad Sat = 16 / Sun = 4
9 browny's rudeboys Sat = 8 / Sun = 12
10 superpretzels Sat = 11 / Sun = 9

Note: These figures are based on club and do not reflect the likelyhood of actually playing

Magfliers and Browny have the best chance of scoring highly on Sunday (and therefore picking up 10/9 points for the league) as they have the most players available ... however their choices are restricted on Sat. Bijoux appears to have drawn the short straw for Sunday's fixtures despite having Ronaldo, however should have plenty of options for Sat.

What I was hinting at earlier was that it makes sense tactically to swap out Saturday's players for Sunday's ... especially if they miss the mid week fixture (Liverpool, Arsenal, Blackburn, West Ham, Newcastle, Villa). If you play TFF (my first year) then you will be familiar with the concept of 2-0's / 3-0's ect

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Post by mikeg13 »

dazedandconfused wrote:
Send feedback to them on this, it's an important omission that could destroy some peoples enjoyment of the game by mucking up their planing for their lineups.

:?
Have done will post when/if get reply. Do hope they get it right as it looks to have good possibilities, expect a few teething problems for a first that this seems to be, but being a Times run game its fingers crossed :lol:

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Post by mikeg13 »

Its been partly corrected the Afc/Fulham game now moved but the other problem still seems to be same i.e. Afc/Newcastle game shown for 15th :cry:

wez
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Post by wez »

"What I was hinting at earlier was that it makes sense tactically to swap out Saturday's players for Sunday's ... especially if they miss the mid week fixture (Liverpool, Arsenal, Blackburn, West Ham, Newcastle, Villa). If you play TFF (my first year) then you will be familiar with the concept of 2-0's / 3-0's ect"


my understanding is if u do this just to get games under your belt, you could restrict your chances later on, as you will have used up extra space of your 38 allocation.

eg why bring in birmingham players on sunday (this week anyway) wait untill they get an easier game. I believe the trick is not to burn up to many of your 532 scoring positions.


please correct me if i am miles of the mark :lol:

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

jimmyrep wrote:[The subs score just like the 11 in your starting lineup, there are 38 plays for each of the subs positions just like the 11 starting positions, 553 as you said.]

I don't understand this, I thought that the subs were only used if one of the 11 doesn't play.

Also, can a defender sub with position CB be used to replace a RB in the main 11 who does not play??
[/quote]

Your active line up is 11 + 3 subs and these all score points. Essentially you have a 14 man team. Your 6 bench players do not score points and are there for you to move into a relevant active slot as and when you want to.

You can only use players in slots they are eligible for, some players have multiple eligibilty which increases their value as it gives you more flexibilty. For example Gary Neville is only eligible at RB so can only be used in the RB slot. The only exception to this is the three sub slots which are GK/DEF, MID, FOR so a RB, CB or LB can be used in the GK/DEF slot for instance.

:?

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paulks
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Post by paulks »

The games that aren't been played midweek still have to be played some stage so if they potentially present better scoring opportunities than your "spare" options on the Sunday then it is better to keep the allocations up your sleeve and have them still there when the rearranged games come round.

What interests me is that I can't see where they are going to be showing the stats on how many of the 38 uses you have used - surely we don't have to keep our own records for every position??

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

12345678 wrote:
dazedandconfused wrote:
mikeg13 wrote:Early days but am starting to get a little understanding of the game now , thanks to our kind helper. Hope they sort out the game dates though, as they have Afc/Fulham game as on Saturday when it should be on the Sunday and the postponed games due to champ league are still shown
Send feedback to them on this, it's an important omission that could destroy some peoples enjoyment of the game by mucking up their planing for their lineups.

:?
the times seem to muck up their game every year even when it is simple, so the added complications and zero prizemoney are hardly likely to get people banging on their door begging to be let in.

don't moan if anyone comes on to tell you i told you so when they start their annual blundering festivities :x

andy
Andy

I admit I'm biased because I'm used to roto style games playing fantasy baseball and NFL. I've had difficulty persuading people to play fantasy football games because they have regarded them as too simple and boring, it hasn't stopped me playing them but to keep my interest I've had to join multiple games (20 last year). The Times game has galvinised a lot of people I know to play this game and I had no problem setting up two 10 leagues.

People often don't like change and I'm sure much of the negative comment is simply down to the the lack of familiarity with this type of game. I'm an optimist and I believe that the majority of people who give this a go will thoroughly enjoy it and will want more.

ed :?

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

paulks wrote:What interests me is that I can't see where they are going to be showing the stats on how many of the 38 uses you have used - surely we don't have to keep our own records for every position??
Agree that this is not yet apparent, hopefully it will be once the first matches are played.

:?

Krispy
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Post by Krispy »

This game really is complicated! :lol:

The point I was trying to make was that, assuming you have a reasonable mix of players, tactically you have to choose between focusing on Saturday or Sunday. Each game day, all ten teams get ranked 1-10 for a variety of categories and this score added to a cumulative total. Its not really an option for me but Magfliers or Browny have a numerical advantage when preparing for Sunday's fixtures and so should theoretically get a better score. With the other eight teams focusing on Saturday then there's more chance of ending up lower down the rankings. The thing to bear in mind is that all scores are relative to the other teams in the league. You can of course burn up your "38 slots" and play for both ... or just try to find a balance to start with. The other thing I mentioned was the teams missing midweek. I could replace Alonso with Harper and get three games for nothing :roll: Liverpool don't play again until the 19th while Reading have games on 12th, 15th, 18th.

Something to think about :idea: Most fantasy sports have a tactical element to them and this will be no different.

Ofcourse with the rules being so complicated, perhaps the best option for now is to play it "safe" until tactial opportunities become clear :P

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

Scoring

This is the best description on The Times site of the scoring system http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 139529.ece .

Maybe this will throw a spanner in the works of everyone's understanding of how the scoring works but I'll throw it into the ring and then duck the flak. In a 10 team league with 10 Scoring categories the maximum number of points that you can ever have is 100 points. This can only occur if you are leading every category at any given time.

Looking at one category for example, CS. Lets say out of your keeper, 4 defenders and the GK/DEF player you get 3 clean sheets on saturday, your total in that scoring category will then be 3. If no other team has as many then your points total for that category will be 10. Then on Sunday you don't have any players playing in those slots but another team gets 4 clean sheets on Sunday, that team will now be leading that category and so will have 10 points for that category and your point total will go down to 9 as you are now second assuming no other team has as many as 3 CS over the two days.

This is repeated across all ten categories so that at any given point in a season you will have between 1 and 10 points for each depending on your position in each scoring category.

I have a feeling this is as clear as mud :(

If anyone is still struggling with this and they have IM (msn, yahoo or aim) then pm me and I guarantee I can make it crystal clear.

:?

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paulks
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Post by paulks »

So the aim of the game is to find a squad which is well balanced across all the scoring categories.

In many of the traditional FL games you would have a big lead if your strikers scored twice as many as anybody else's strikers - in this game that might only be worth one point more.

INteresting.

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

paulks wrote:So the aim of the game is to find a squad which is well balanced across all the scoring categories.

In many of the traditional FL games you would have a big lead if your strikers scored twice as many as anybody else's strikers - in this game that might only be worth one point more.

INteresting.
You are correct in saying that scoring twice as many goals as the second highest will only give you one point more. If you are winning a category by a huge margin then obviously you have some strength to deal from and you should consider making a trade for a player that can help you gain in other categories. However you do have to bear in mind that you are not only trading away goals but also other attacking stats. I think generally this is where 2 for 2 deals are best eg a downgrade at forward plus an upgrade at say CB unless you have someone on your bench who would replace the forward you lose in a 1 for 1 deal who can maintain your position in the other attacking stats.

:?

jimmyrep
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Post by jimmyrep »

krispdafunk, if you replace Alonso with Harper as described, you will use up 3 of your 38 hits for that midfield position. the 3 hits might be better saved for Alonso.

Correct me if I am mistaken of course...

Hey guys, not much transfer activity going on in fiso league, thought it would be buzzing, it's the best part of the game :shock:

Oh and some advise, don't enter four teams in the times, as it can mess with your head :lol:

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Post by Krispy »

jimmyrep wrote:krispdafunk, if you replace Alonso with Harper as described, you will use up 3 of your 38 hits for that midfield position. the 3 hits might be better saved for Alonso.

Correct me if I am mistaken of course...
Alonso :arrow: Harper = 1x use of CM position

The way I understand it, each Play refers to a change in the active line up rather than the number of games played in each position

So Alonso :arrow: Harper :arrow: Alonso would eat up 2x plays

The reason I'm considering using up a couple so early is to take advantage / avoid losing out as a result of the shortened game week. Rest assured Alonso et al will be back in place when the fixtures catch up :wink:
JimmyRep wrote:Hey guys, not much transfer activity going on in fiso league, thought it would be buzzing, it's the best part of the game :shock:
Absolutely :lol: Jimmy and I have set the ball rolling ... waiting for a few more juicy offers. No harm in asking, no offence taken on refusal. I've sent a few PM's although I appreciate the time factor for those managing teams in other games
JimmyRep wrote:Oh and some advise, don't enter four teams in the times, as it can mess with your head :lol:
Good luck ... one is hard enough :lol:

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Post by dazedandconfused »

krispdafunk wrote:The way I understand it, each Play refers to a change in the active line up rather than the number of games played in each position
From one of my earlier posts:-

MAXIMUM PLAYS would be better described as Maximum game appearances. What this means is that you can only have 38 player game appearances over the season for each 14 scoring positions. Taking another extreme example say Man U play every saturday and Blackburn every sunday, you cannot play Ronaldo in LM every saturday and then move Bentley into the LM slot for every sunday game as this would result in 76 plays for the LM slot. A PLAY or game appearance is therefore only when you have a player in a slot and he plays in a game for which you score points. You can mess around with your formation as much as you like before and between games.

:?

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Post by Krispy »

Crap, that changes everything :x Cheers D&C'd ... back to the drawing board

On reflection, perhaps the best tactic is to align each Play with a home fixture / easy opposition.

Alonso :arrow: Kapo (Birmingham) would avoid Chelsea's trip to Anfield with two home fixtures against Sunderland and West Ham

Edit: Ok ... another thought's come to mind :roll:
You can mess around with your formation as much as you like before and between games
Tactically you can "save" Plays by deliberately fielding players with no fixture :idea:

wez
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Post by wez »

krispdafunk wrote:Crap, that changes everything :x Cheers D&C'd ... back to the drawing board

On reflection, perhaps the best tactic is to align each Play with a home fixture / easy opposition.

Alonso :arrow: Kapo (Birmingham) would avoid Chelsea's trip to Anfield with two home fixtures against Sunderland and West Ham

Edit: Ok ... another thought's come to mind :roll:
You can mess around with your formation as much as you like before and between games
Tactically you can "save" Plays by deliberately fielding players with no fixture :idea:

thanks, no more confusion (maybe not)

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Post by mikeg13 »

krispdafunk wrote: Tactically you can "save" Plays by deliberately fielding players with no fixture :idea:
That was my take on it so it, seems a good idea to have in your squad at least a couple who will not play at all, preferably those with multi position ability, but its finding out who they are is the skill bit :lol: in my case have no option but to play my LB as only have one and they seem to be in very short supply. Would think those who have played this style of game before have a huge advantage, as sadly did not work that out at first and transferred players that in hindsight should have kept

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Post by dazedandconfused »

mikeg13 wrote:
krispdafunk wrote: Tactically you can "save" Plays by deliberately fielding players with no fixture :idea:
That was my take on it so it, seems a good idea to have in your squad at least a couple who will not play at all, preferably those with multi position ability, but its finding out who they are is the skill bit :lol: in my case have no option but to play my LB as only have one and they seem to be in very short supply. Would think those who have played this style of game before have a huge advantage, as sadly did not work that out at first and transferred players that in hindsight should have kept
This is absolutely right.

Ah that leftside problem, just like the real thing.

Fantasy baseball is much the same, where catcher and 2nd base are very thin positions. This is where live online drafts are such fun as you have to make the decision whether to pick the top players in those positions much higher than their raw stats would justify. If you leave it late then you end up with rubbish but by picking them too early you miss out on the mashers at other positions. This is also why I thought a 10 team league max. would probably be best because at least there would be something in the out of contract player pool.

IMHO this is a proper fantasy game because you have a unique team in your league with it's own specific problems which you have to manage. You do not have the luxury of being able to change a player for any other player of your choice, with only minor salary considerations to worry about. Without wishing to scare the heck out of anyone the next step up in roto games is keeper or dynasty leagues which continue over several years where players have salarys and contracts attached to them with a cap on each of them and you can keep a limited number of players from your squad from year to year.



:?

jimmyrep
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Post by jimmyrep »

I'm still not convinced that a Forward Sub will score points as well as the two main Forwards if they all play on the same day.

Can anyone convince me, with some evidence??

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

jimmyrep wrote:I'm still not convinced that a Forward Sub will score points as well as the two main Forwards if they all play on the same day.

Can anyone convince me, with some evidence??
12. Active Players:

12.1 Although each Team has a squad of 20 players, only 14 players may be Active players at any one time: 4 midfielders, 4 defenders, 2 forwards, one goal keeper, and three substitute positions made up of one forward position, one midfield position and one defender/goalkeeper position.

15. Scoring

15.1 Scoring Events: An entrant will accumulate points based on the performance of the Active players in Premier League Eligible Games according to the following categories. Players who are not assigned as Active players for any Eligible Game will not score points during that Eligible Game.

Hope this helps

:?

Krispy
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Post by Krispy »

Following on from the point raised earlier ...

Can you field an a non starter eg: no fixture, injured, dropped - therefore saving one of your 38 maximum plays? Effectively you can juggle two non players for the Saturday/Sunday fixtures for when two easier games come along? Of course, you then run the risk of not meeting the 38 play target. More food for thought ...

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

krispdafunk wrote:Following on from the point raised earlier ...

Can you field an a non starter eg: no fixture, injured, dropped - therefore saving one of your 38 maximum plays? Effectively you can juggle two non players for the Saturday/Sunday fixtures for when two easier games come along? Of course, you then run the risk of not meeting the 38 play target. More food for thought ...
Yes, it is up to you who you play and when. There is no requirement that just because a player has a game that you have to have him in your active lineup. This is part of managing your team and getting the maximum benefit out of your squad - playing the matchups to your advantage.

:?

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Post by paulks »

I see that some extra players have appeared on the list - I've just picked up Bojinov up front; also noticed Gordon is now on there - haven't found out who else yet - but basically shows that between now and 1st Sep it will be necessary to keep an eye on the out of contract player list.

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Post by mikeg13 »

Sat/Sun games now corrected but midweek games still wrong, did email and had confirmation but so far not been changed

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Post by mikeg13 »

Starting to get a bad feeling about this game, noticed that at least one player Scott Parker is down at wrong club ie Wigan instead of WHU, not sure if any other players are wrong or not, is important as in Parker case he is shown as playing Everton when it should be Man City, know he is injured so not much problem in this case but it could be a disaster if many more basic errors crop up

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Post by crabby »

My allocation is today. Any idea what time it will be? Nothing i can see on our league.

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dazedandconfused
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Post by dazedandconfused »

crabby wrote:My allocation is today. Any idea what time it will be? Nothing i can see on our league.
Don't know about other leagues but mine was 1.00 am on the allocation day.

:?

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