How to Play

The idea in thirty seconds

In regular fantasy football you draft a roster in August and spend the season managing it: waivers, trades, bye weeks, and a bench full of players you’ve stopped thinking about. Promethium throws all of that out.

Each matchup is played over one real NFL game. You and one opponent draft from the two rosters in that game, snake style, until each of you has a full lineup of 9: a quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, a tight end, a flex, a kicker and a team defense. When the game kicks off, every catch, carry and field goal scores live. When it ends, whoever has more points wins.

Next week, everything resets: new game, new player pool, new draft. Nothing carries over except your record.

There are only two of everything that matters

Each club has one starting quarterback, one kicker and one defense, so the pool has two of each, and both of you need one. Taking the better quarterback early is rarely wrong, but remember the other one is still on the board, and the snake hands your opponent two picks in a row straight after. Before every pick, check what’s left at the positions where there are only two.

Think in pairs of picks

After the first pick, the order goes two at a time: B, B, A, A. When you’re about to make a double pick, take the player you want most and the player your opponent would take next. When your opponent is about to make one, assume the two best players on the board will be gone, and plan accordingly.

Your defense plays against your own offense

A team defense scores on sacks and turnovers, and gets bonus points for holding the other team to a low score. The other team is in your player pool. If you take the Bills’ defense, you’re partly betting against the Dolphins’ offense, so a lineup full of Dolphins receivers is working against itself. Sometimes that hedge is worth it. Just make it on purpose.

Read the game, not just the players

A likely shootout makes the receivers and both quarterbacks more valuable. A low-scoring game played in bad weather makes the kickers and defenses worth more than usual, and puts more weight on the running back who’ll get the carries late with a lead. Look at how the two teams match up and check the forecast before you draft, the same way you would before setting a season-long lineup.

Use the depth charts

Only players on a club’s depth chart are in the pool, and the order matters more than the name. Our depth charts are built from who actually got the ball: carries, targets and the quarterback who started the club’s latest game. A backup running back who’s taken over the goal-line work can be worth more than a bigger name.

The flex is where drafts are won

Once the obvious starters are gone, the flex spot is a contest over the third-best receiver or the second running back. Whoever has used their earlier picks better gets the more useful one. If you can take a scarce position early and still get a decent flex later, do that.

Check the injury report, then check it again

Ruled-out players are still listed in the draft room. Look for the injury tag before you pick. If someone you drafted is downgraded before kickoff, the injury swap lets you replace him, but your opponent can swap too and good replacements go fast.