A few of us have been playing Fantasy TeeVee over at this site. (Hey! the Jelaza who’s tied for third on the list of top scorers of the week is the SDMB’s very own Kat! WTG, Jelaza/Kat!)
The season is almost over, and we need to get organized for the next season. We need an even number of players for our league, and I’m guessing Neko, who we tricked into playing a second time, ain’t gonna bite for a third – so we need one or three players. Or more – I’d be happy to start a second league if there’s interest!
Rubystreak, Jelaza – could you chime in here and gush about how much fun this is? Seriously, the three of us are definitely enjoying it – it’s like fantasy football, only with TV shows.
If you’re thinking “well, okay – but I don’t want to go up against people who have been doing this for months” – yeah, there is a learning curve, but I’d be happy to offer a few tips to help you get your feet under you.
And it’s really, really fun. My friends have learned to ask “so how are you doing in Fantasy Teevee,” if not to care about a detailed answer.
If you’re interested, email me at twickster47 at yahoo dot com.
I’ve been playing this game with Jelaza and twickster for two seasons now, and lemme tell ya, it’s quite addictive. You don’t have to watch any of the shows in order to win (I watch very few of the ones I play in the game) and the game site provides enough information to play. If you decide to give it a try, I promise to give you tips and strategy ideas to help you do well, since there are some tricks to the game that help you win.
Check out the link – it’ll do a better job of explaining than I can.
Briefly: each person chooses a certain number of “players” for his or her team. These players are a combination of lead and supporting characters from the shows the league covers, plus what are known as “quirks” (The use of a subtitle on Amazing Race; someone screaming or running on Lost; someone using a cell phone on 24, etc.).
Once you’ve chosen your team (and you can add and drop characters/quirks as you see fit), you set a lineup for the five-night week, choosing four leads, three supporting characters, and two quirks distributed with no more than two players for each night.
Then, the Official Watchers watch the shows, and give points for number of minutes onscreen, number of times the character’s name is used, number of kisses (we’re doing real well with Susan and Mike on Desperate Housewives these days), number of drinks, minus number of times they swear, add a Nielsen bonus for top-rated shows – and voila! You get points!
It is create your own schedule, but it’s more like rotisserie league football-- you pick your characters from a roster of TV shows (picked by the league administrator, me and/or twickster) and quirks and pit them against the characters and quirks your opponent is playing on the same night (you can play 1, 1, or 2 characters/night). Each week you play a different member of your league, until Sweeps.
Scoring: they tally things like the number of minutes your character is onscreen, how many times his name is said, if he drinks, swears, or kisses anyone, and the show’s Nielsen ratings. You get a total number for each of the characters and quirks you play that night, and if your combined total is higher than your opponent’s, you win the night. The person who wins 3 or more of the 5 nights wins the week. During Sweeps, you play against all the players in your league, and can play as many characters as you want per night, not just one, so the strategy is different. The person who has won the most weeks is seeded highest, then second highest, etc. You get a seed bonus added to your nightly score, which can make the difference.
It really is cool and addicting. I got the hang of it pretty quickly, but it’s only really fun if you be sure you give it a little time on Sunday when it’s time to change your weekly schedule. Us competitive types like all the strategizing. twickster is my nemesis!
You could try it for one season and see if you like it…
Yeah, it’s definitely a little odd – I think you have to play to see whether you like it or not. Some people don’t – we had six people in our league the first season, and four the second – and as I said, I think we’re down to three.
(“Nemesis,” indeed, rubystreak – so how come Jelaza’s on the top ten list and we’re not? )
