PlayON Returns To The Scout

We’re delighted to announce that Fantasy Football Scout will be supporting PlayON over the coming season – a weekly Fantasy game which debuted on the site at the tail-end of the last campaign. Many of our community tried the game out at that time and, due to the positive reaction from you and our own enjoyment in playing the game, we’re now supporting the game for the duration of the 2013/14 season.

This will mean some pre-season guides which will outline the deeper strategies of the game next week, with regular weekly articles offering tips for the forthcoming Gameweek. We’ll also be running official Fantasy Football Scout game with prize pools donated by PlayON. There’s also plans for specific PlayON tables for our members, to help give them that extra edge. More on all that to come.

What is PlayON?

The concept of PlayON is beautifully simple, although there is a welcome level of depth underpinning the game; a factor that will appeal to the more seasoned Fantasy manager.

You pick a starting eleven from the Premier League squads, limited by a budget of £100 million. There is no restriction on the number of players you can sign from each club and you must build your squad in a 4-4-2 formation. Easy.

The depth comes in when you start to look at player prices. These vary week to week and are based on an algorithm that measures recent performance and adjusts their price accordingly. With a bit of research and knowledge, then, you can easily spot a bargain to hopefully give you an edge. You can resave your team as many times as you want right up to 2 hours before the first kick-off. It’s your last saved team that gets entered into all your games.

Once your team is built, this can then be used to enter a number of multiplayer games or one-on-one challenges. You can play a free multiplayer game without making a deposit or just challenge another player for fun.

Alternatively, you can play for cash. Entering a multiplayer game for a set stake, you’ll have a chance of wining your share of the pot should you finish high enough in the rankings. Similarly, you can challenge another player one-on-one with a slider used to select the amount at stake. The likes of Robbie Fowler, Gareth Southgate and Opta Joe are all playing the game and are there to be challenged.

Why Should I Play?

Apart from the pricing system giving the knowledgeable Fantasy manager an edge, PlayON’s scoring system plays into the hands of those familiar and comfortable with statistics.

While goals, assists and clean sheets all contribute big points to your players’ totals, you also score points for shots on target, saves, interceptions, clearances and tackles. All the data is gathered from Opta so, those Scout visitors who have access to our Members area will have a real edge when it comes to team selection. Using our tables and player comparison tool, you can quickly begin to unearth some gems when you couple this with the player pricing.

The live matchday page is also worth experiencing. Once the matches kick-off, you can watch a live feed of the match events that effect your team with your points totting up as they roll in, vidiprinter style. The standings in your games are also updated live so you can see how you’re faring and if you’re currently in the money.

The game is also developing communities of players, united under their own club. Simply choose the club you wish to represent. Each week you play your team points get added to your club total. In addition, the top points scorer from each club represents the club in the “League of Titans” the following week. Every 10 weeks, the top two teams in each division are promoted and the bottom 2 teams are relegated. We’ll bring you more on this feature next week.

How Do I Start?

It’s all pretty easy. Register an account at PlayON at www.playon.co.uk. You don’t have to make a deposit as you can play the free multiplayer games without shelling out.

We’ve been set up as Ambassadors in the game along with Fowler, Southgate and OptaJoe. This doesn’t mean we’ll be handing out Ferrero Rocher before the match but it does mean we get a fancy badge and can set up multiplayer games and be challenged for one-on-ones.

There is a “Freebie” game running that all can join and you can find us and challenge our team to a one-on-one game for £1. You can also easily create your own games for you and a group of mates. You’ll also find the Fantasy Football Scout team in the “Ambassadors Game”.

As it is the start of the season, PlayON have an offer for people creating a multiplayer game for their friends – set up a real money game for Gameweek 1 and when 10 people join, PlayON will add a £10 bonus to the pot so everyone benefits.

We’ve also got our own regular Fantasy Football Scout multiplayer game dedicated to our community. That’s just £2 to enter and PlayON are guaranteeing a £500 prize pot in Gameweek 1 – potentially, this offers a fine start to the season for one of our community members. PlayON will also be providing more guarantees and bonuses each month throughout the season – so get involved!

You have to be aged over 18 to play real money games at PlayON and if you do wager some cash, please remember to gamble responsibly.