Every season we see new games launch, new diversions and distractions from the regular Fantasy Football fare. The latest to catch our eye boasts a number of polished bells and whistles but, at its core, is refreshingly old school. A good thing.

In a crowded and competitive market, Dugout FC has gone back to basics to attempt to establish a Fantasy foothold.

Crucially, it’s a draft game – a very different proposition to the standard fare and a format that, only last weekend, was the subject of a notable community article.

As that article stated, there are a growing number of draft games available but, from our first impressions, Dugout FC might just have the edge and deserve our attention.

What is it?

Dugout FC and other draft-based Fantasy games take us back to our Fantasy Football roots; rolling back the years to when we took time to organise an auction and play with a team made up of unique players, dear to our hearts, over the course of the season.

If you fondly remember paying a fortune so that nobody but you would own Premier League goal machines such as Alan Shearer or Thierry Henry, then Dugout FC’s game should provide you with some cosy warm nostalgia.

Having said that, the game is very much up to date, with all manner of technology in play: online matchday hubs for real-time updates and live chat; IOS and Android mobile apps; an Opta stats-based scoring model and the ability to run your draft night and conduct transfers in game are all catered for.

You’ve got the option to to go full old-school and gather a bunch of mates in a pub to take part in the all-important draft in your private league. Or you can log in to the virtual “draft room” and bid against friends or complete strangers by joining a public league. There’s even an option to draw up a shortlist of desired players to take care of your draft, in case you miss out on the night.

Why Should I Play?

Well, it’s free for starters. For that reason alone, we’re struggling to find a catch.

Perhaps more importantly, as we become jaded with competing against fellow managers with template teams, Dugout FC provides an antidote.

There really is nothing quite like the drama and twists of a draft night. The plotting, the intrigue, the tactics, the highs of bagging your star pick and the lows of having to dip into the bin of rejects to complete your squad – it’s fair to say it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with Fantasy Football all those years ago.

Dugout FC takes the faff out of all the draft logistics, whilst claiming to have a unique Opta-based scoring system, taking over 2,000 events of every match into account, which they reckon is one of the best around. We’ll check in on that in a follow-up article.

Once the draft is complete, you’ll compete in a league of ten on a head-to-head basis – with three points for a win and one for a draw.

Each league can have multiple divisions and FC even takes care of the promotion and relegation up and down the ladder at the end of each season.

Your squad will consist of 18 players following the draft, although you can swap out players to pick up free agents from the player pool at any time. You can also enter into negotiations for swap deals with other managers in your division – it’s all taken care of within Dugout FC’s tech.

The game takes this further by generating stories of transfer speculation on behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing in your division.

How Do I Start?

By registering here: https://www.dugoutfc.com. As mentioned, it’s free to join.

You’ll then need to decide whether to join a league or set up your own. If you’ve got an odd number of players wanting to join, Dugout FC will provide a Caretaker Manager to play against one person each week for the three points. The Caretaker Manager scores the average of all other teams in the division for that week.

Once that’s sorted, arranging a time for your draft date and time is the main priority.

And if you want to get involved without signing up as a league chairman, we’ve set up our own Fantasy Football Scout Public League for you to join. Just click this link and request an invite and you’ll be signed up.

It’s first come, first served so the earlier you get involved, the higher the division of our league you’ll be placed in. And yes, before you ask, we’ve already filled the top division with Paul, Jonty, Granville and the rest.

Our default auction date for each division is currently Thursday, August 6, at 9pm UK time.

For more information about Dugout FC, visit their FAQ. We’ve also added a smart little movie they’ve put together, complete with over-enthusiastic narration (see below).

We’ll be following this article up with a more in-depth scan of Dugout FC’s scoring system and strategies next week…