I was provided with a high-quality prototype copy. The final copy may change from what I have.

Ah fantasy football. Every year my social media feed fills up with sports fans excited for the season and geek hobby enthusiasts sardonically pointing out that it’s D&D for jocks. There’s some truth to that idea; fantasy football mirrors many of our favorite board games and can be described with similar mechanics. Designers Daryl Andrew and J.R. Honeycutt realized this and have brought fantasy sports to the tabletop in their Fantasy Fantasy Sports line of games, replacing human athletes with orcs, wizards, and other fantasy staples.

If you’re worried that this game is for fantasy sports fans, don’t worry. It is, but it succeeds as a board game independently. The representation of fantasy football is excellent. From the mechanics, to the art, to the last minute saves and weather related issues that ruin - or save - your fantasy week it’s clear that a lot of care was taken to connect this to its inspiration. However, it doesn’t lean on that to be good. It’s a heads-up drafting game with a casual tournament format and I’d play it even if I had no idea who Tony Romo was or what to do with the waiver wire (actually, I have no idea what a waiver wire really is).

Let’s start with the structure of the game, because that’s what separates it from other drafting games and leads me to want it on my shelf. If I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t like drafting. It’s one of my least favorite gaming mechanisms and when I like a game that has drafting it’s in spite of that mechanism not because of it. Fantasy Fantasy Football alleviates a lot of my issues in two very simple ways: head to head matchups and roster scouting.

A round of Fantasy Fantasy Football represents one month, or 4 weeks, of games. Each of these 4 games is played head to head against a single opponent. Prior to each week, you get about 20 seconds to look at what’s in your opponent’s hand. This is the first major improvement over typical drafting games. During the draft I can focus on my team; there’s enough to keep track of between trying to maintain diversity of position and bye weeks. It isn’t until Katie sits across from me that I need to worry about what she has.

This happens fast and gives you just enough info to start doing some Princess Bride Iocaine Poisoning strategy. A week is just 1 card so you’ve got to choose well. Complicating that choice is the weather. Ultimately you’re just adding up a few stats to see who has the higher number but the action is ripe with tactical decisions. If the forecast is rain during Week 1, you may play a Running Back because they’re going to shine but that will all change when you realize your opponent’s Wizard will blank the stats on your key player. See, after you’ve revealed your players for the week there’s a chance to sling some spells. This is Fantasy Fantasy Football.

These spells can do a lot, from boosting your players to controlling the weather. They’re a fun way to inject some chaos and really bring the heart ache of fantasy football into the game. All the math, statistics, and talking heads won’t save your fantasy team from Ezekiel Elliot having the game of his life and there isn’t much you can do if an opponent’s Wizard wipes away the rain and saves the day for their wide receiver. Far from feeling arbitrary or random, they’re another consideration for roster building and an opportunity for your kicker to actually do something.

At the end of the month there’s an opportunity to improve your team. A number of cards are dealt into the center and players swap out rookies for all-pro players to improve their teams before the start of the next month. The game culminates in a round of playoffs and the “Supergame”. This is, unfortunately, the weakest part of Fantasy Fantasy Footbal. The game plays up to 6 players, but only 3 will participate in the Supergame. The playoffs stick to the month format: Week 1 is between the players in 2nd and 3rd place, Weeks 2 and 3 are the final game. Everyone else gets to watch or refresh their beers. The winner of Week 1 moves on to face the person in 1st; Weeks 2 and 3 are the 1st an 2nd halves of the Supergame with Week 4 available for overtime.

This is a little underwhelming. I get that in real Fantasy Football there are playoff eliminations and things move to single elimination, but not everything needed to be translated to the boardgame. If I’m out of the playoffs in Fantasy Football, I still have the NFL playoffs to watch. Even making it to the Supergame comes down to a single week. Between the weather and magic abilities, you can often lose with no real way to do anything about it. The playoffs do move quickly, but they don’t quite capture the desire to stand around and watch the final match in the same way a Netrunner or Magic tournament might. Luckily, it moves just as quickly as the rest of the game leaving plenty of time to talk trash or demand a rematch

While it takes away from the game just a little, the overall experience is still excellent. Fantasy Fantasy Football is a dynamic tournament in a box, with every game playing out just a little differently. There is a huge variety among card types and statistics with a lot of ways to leverage your roster’s strengths to victory. I love the way you can gradually improve your hand each month, especially the way that lets you build against someone you hope to face in the finals. Games that you can pick up and play this quickly and easily with up to 6 players are rare. If you’re a fan of fantasy sports you really need to check this line of games out. If you aren’t, you still really need to check this line of games out. Maybe these will finally break down the geek/jock divide and eliminate those silly memes every year.

You can check out the Kickstarter campaign at: http://fffootball.net/

Raf Reviews - Fantasy Fantasy Football

Rafael Cordero

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