RUGBY LEAGUE BREAKOUT

WHAT EMAIL WAS INVENTED FOR

9  GETTING STARTED

9.1  INTRODUCTION   There are two ways to start in the game, by setting up a new team in a new league starting from scratch or by taking over a standby position.

9.2  STANDBY POSITIONS   A standby position is when you take over a team that is playing in a league that is already running. This is the quickest and best way to get started, and even if what you want is a new startup it's still best to play a standby position first so as to get to know the game and how it works. For a standby position you take over the team as it stands, but your starting balance is increased to 50 LPs (if the team has more than that already then it's not changed).

Note: For a standby position, that's all the startup rules. The remainder of this section applies to new leagues setting up from scratch.

9.3  ALLOCATING TEAMS   Teams are allocated as soon as coaches are ready to start, first come first served. If the team you want to play is already allocated then you can't have it (check for a standby place or wait for the next league, if your team preference is very strong). There are no deadlines and no scheduled games until the league is full.

9.4  INITIAL SELECTION   When your team is allocated you should use the "setup sheet" to choose the balance of strengths in your squad. On this form you enter numbers from 0 to 3 in each of ten boxes (any you leave blank will be treated as zero). The higher the number you enter the more strengths you will have allocated in that skill or group of players. Your initial squad will always have a value of 500 LPs.

The values you enter on your setup sheet change only the relative strengths of the different parts of your squad and the skill of your players. Higher skills in one area will be achieved at the cost of lower skills in other areas.

The POWER, SPEED, HANDLING, TACKLING and KICKING boxes emphasise these skills, and FORWARDS, HALFBACKS and BACKS emphasise the strengths of these groups of players, while POTENTIAL will produce lower skills but more potential so that you can add the missing skills later. DEPTH will mean a more balanced squad with more strengths in your reserves.

Example: If you wanted a side with big, powerful forwards to play a simple smash-mouth sort of game, then you might enter POWER 3, TACKLING 3, FORWARDS 3 and leave the others blank. But don't blame me if you end up watching the opposing backs scamper off downfield with your forwards lumbering after them!

9.5  WARMUP GAMES   Warmup games are the only format of game you can play in a league before it is full and ready to start. They're optional, and all they do is give you a chance to look at how your team and the different plays you can run work in practice. Warmup games are completely unrealistic, because what you do in a warmup game is you play against yourself with the same players on both sides. You only play one set of possessions (the second set would be pointless). To play a warmup game simply send in a turnsheet with your instructions.

Note: It doesn't matter that in a warmup game you've got the same players on both sides. This is virtual reality, after all. They even have to tackle themselves.

9.6  REVISED SELECTIONS   Up until the startup notice is issued you can re-make your initial selection. Just send in a new setup sheet and a new squad will be generated. You can't go back to the previous selection, though (there are lots of random values in the initial selection, so even if you make the same choices you won't get the same player details).

9.7  STARTUP NOTICE   When the squad of the last team is the league is filled out the GM will set the first deadline and issue the startup notice with a roundup of all the teams and squads and the fixtures list for the pre-season round.