Let’s be honest: there are only two reasons why you might be searching for this.
- a) You’re vaguely (or not so vaguely) interested in playing FPL.
- b) Your friends and everyone around you are playing it and you have no clue what they are talking about when they throw around words like “wild card” or “bench boost” or “predicted Fantasy EPL lineups” so you want to check the game out.
Okay maybe those aren’t the only ones, but whatever reason you might have, the fact is you are new to the game, and you need help. Well, worry not, for you have come to the right place.
What is FPL?
Fantasy Premier League is the most popular fantasy football game of the English Premier League, boasting incredible player engagement and creative massive discussions worldwide. It has over 8 million players across the globe and is now a staple in modern football culture.
Simply put, the game puts you in the role of a Fantasy manager. You are to make a squad of 15 players from the current Premier League players in the real world. You earn score points for your team based on their performances for their clubs in (real-life) Premier League matches and are ranked against other managers worldwide after every gameweek.
That is probably not the most detailed explanation, so let’s get into the specifics.
Selecting your team
As stated earlier, you can make a 15-man squad out of any of the current Premier League players. You can’t just select any player, however. The FPL rules say you can only select 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards, and you can only choose a maximum of 3 players per club.
The game provides you with a budget of £100 million to make player purchases. Player costs vary depending on their (real-life) past season performances and FPL potential. Their prices also vary depending on their performances and popularity.
Select your players, give your team a name and you are ready to go.
How do you score points?
Points are awarded based on real-life player performances. If your striker scores in real life, you get points in the game. If your goalkeeper gets a clean sheet, you get points in the game. The more your points, the higher your ranking.
You can find the detailed breakdown of all the acquirable points on the official FPL website.
Each gameweek, you are to choose 11 players (out of your initial 15) to make up your lineup. These are the players whose real-life performances would determine how many points you make. Essentially, your lineup is made of players who you predict would perform well in the EPL.
Transfers and substitutions
Substitutions work differently from how they do in the real world. In FPL, substitutions cannot be made during the matches nor can they be made during a gameweek. They are not replacements for underperforming players and are not tools for changing strategy. Rather, they are options made available for times of emergency or for changing a squad before matches.
Transfers on the other hand are a lot similar to the real world. In FPL, you are allowed to make as many transfers as desired, thus changing your predictions by bringing in new EPL players into your lineup. The only caveat is that only the first transfer is free while the others cost 4 points each. This means you need to be strategic and thoughtful about it.
If you do not make a free transfer in a particular gameweek, it will carry over to the next one. If you’re already getting funny ideas about stacking up your free transfers, forget them. You can only stack up two at most (Sorry.)
What are chips?
Chips are one of the most precious items in the game. They can be used at any point during the season and they allow you to do a variety of things.
For example, “Bench Boost” allows your substitute players to earn you points for one week. “Wild Card” allows you to completely change your squad without costing you any points during transfers.
There are other chips like the “Free Hit” and the “Triple Captain”, and many more to be added in future.
All your chips can be used once per season, but the wild card can be used twice, giving you a lot more benefits. More details can be found on the official FPL website.
As you play the game, you will understand things a lot more. But we hope this is enough of an eye-opener. Pay attention to the EPL players, make good predictions as to who would perform well, add them to your lineup, and cross your fingers that you are right.
Welcome to the Fantasy League, dear manager, and good luck with the journey ahead.