Pick one sport and 2 to 6 total owners. The commissioner sends one private invite link or code.
← Compete homeFANSTRAND RULESKNOW THE RULES
KNOW THE RULES
BEFORE YOU DRAFT.
Start with either game's four-step guide. Scoring examples and common questions come next; simulations and technical validation stay collapsed unless you want them.
THE PORTFOLIO GAME
IN FOUR STEPS.
StrandStack is a free season-long team portfolio game. There are no wagers, entry fees, or cash-value Team Cards.
A randomized snake draft reverses order each round. Once a team is drafted, it is unavailable to everyone else.
Every owner gets the same Strand Credit budget and must draft the required number of cards, including at least one Favorite, Contender, and Sleeper.
Actual wins, playoff-chance movement, tier upsets, playoff qualification, postseason wins, and the championship earn points. The highest total after the league championship wins.
BALANCED OR
HIGH VARIANCE?
The format changes one scoring rule. It does not decide how many owners or Team Cards your league must use.
Balanced
Every Team Card scores at its normal value. The season rewards the strength and depth of the full portfolio.
Best for a steadier table where no single weekly choice can double a card’s result.High Variance
Lock one Team Card as your Captain each week. Its positive weekly gain earns one matching bonus, while banked points stay unchanged.
Best for groups that want more weekly decisions, bigger upside, and more dramatic movement.CAPTAIN CARD · 2× POSITIVE WEEKLY GAINTHE SCORE FOLLOWS
THE SEASON.
Every real win scores. Contenders and Sleepers receive a small tier premium.
Improving postseason odds add points; falling odds subtract them. Riskier tiers carry larger multipliers.
Beating a team from a stronger tier adds a capped season bonus to the winning Team Card.
Qualification, advancement wins, and the championship add increasingly valuable bonuses.
THE BEAT-THE-LINE GAME
IN FOUR STEPS.
StrandLine is a free football game with no required weekly picks. The Team Cards drafted once become each player's automatic sides for the season.
Standard supports NFL or college football for 2–8 players. NFL-only StrandLine XL and StrandLine XXL support 9–16 and 17–24 players.
A randomized snake draft gives every player the same number of Team Cards. In repeated pools, one player can never hold the same franchise twice.
Fanstrand saves the accepted spread 48 hours before kickoff. A cover earns 1 point, a push earns 0.5, and a miss earns 0.
Most points wins. Ties break by regulation covers, latest-week score, then original draft seed. Your selected format and options cannot change after creation.
THE QUICK
ANSWERS.
Do I make weekly StrandLine picks?+
No. The Team Cards you draft score automatically all season.
Can two StrandStack owners draft the same team?+
No. Every StrandStack Team Card is exclusive inside that league.
What happens on a StrandLine push?+
Each side receives half a point.
Can rules change after creation?+
No. Each league keeps the sport, format, scoring, roster, and approval rules everyone reviewed when it was created.
Can a commissioner edit scores?+
No. Commissioners manage invitations and league actions, not final scores or saved lines.
Where do advanced edge cases live?+
Open the advanced section below for balance samples, saved scoring versions, and validation methodology.
Advanced validation, simulations, and scoring versions +
STRANDSTACK · OPTIONAL DEEP DIVEFORMAT
FORMAT
MONTE CARLO.
Every run draws a new outcome seed against a versioned frozen league-shape design fixture, current v3 scoring profiles, legal portfolios, Captain choices, marketplace moves, and mutually accepted trades. The fixture is design calibration, not observed team results, a historical replay, or a promise of any result. Compare 100, 1,000, or 10,000 seasons.
CLOSE FINALS14.4%FIRST-PLACE TIES0.2%MEDIAN WINNER MARGIN15.8%LATE COMEBACKS21.1%
STRANDLINE · ARCHIVE VALIDATIONREAL LOCKS.
REAL LOCKS.
NO FAIR COINS.
StrandLine resamples only completed games whose accepted multi-source spread was saved 48 hours before kickoff. Odds powered by OddsGuard supplies current named-bookmaker quotes; Fanstrand validates only the captures it actually stored and does not claim historical reconstruction when a lock was missed. Until the archive is large enough, the lab reports insufficient evidence instead of inventing cover outcomes. To experience a made-up weekly slate instead, open the clearly separated invented-line sandbox.
ARCHIVED LOCKS—MINIMUM REQUIRED24OUTCOMES INVENTED0STATUSWAITING
RULES CAN EVOLVE.
YOUR SEASON CANNOT.
Every game stores its complete scoring and roster rules at creation. Later releases apply only to newly created games, while existing leagues keep the version everyone joined.
League-calibrated engagement rules
Calibrates each sport independently and adds weekly duels, limited roster agency, and High Variance Captain Cards.
- League-specific projection, upset, and postseason coefficients
- Contender championship bonus fixed at 75 points
- High Variance games receive a lockable Captain bonus on positive weekly gains
Calibrated launch rules
Reduces compounded Sleeper dominance while preserving the value of finding an upset.
- Contender and Sleeper win premiums reduced to +1 and +2
- Direct tier-upset bonuses capped at 20 points per card per season
- Card-level score receipts required
Original simulation rules
Preserved for any game created under the original +2 / +4 tier premiums and uncapped direct-upset bonuses.
- Historical games continue to grade exactly as created
- No automatic conversion to a newer scoring model