Nyaricus said:
According to the article, it is basically the same as D&D - you move a mini around and use dice to represent how 'good' you just played in a given round.
That's actually not how it works. There is no board, no dice, no miniatures, etc. Basically you "draft" a team of real NFL players, and depending on how they do in the real NFL, you get a certain number of points.
For example, a quarterback throws for 300 yards=10 points, and also throws for 2 touchdowns = 12 points, as well as an interception (-2 points) for a total of 20 points. You add that up with the scores of your running backs, wide receivers, kickers, and defense, and that gives you a score.
This score is compared against the opponent's team that week, and whomever has the highest score wins. Records are kept, and the teams with the best records make the playoffs, after which a league champion is crowned.
It's quite geeky in that I've been to many drafts with players in game jerseys, clutching NFL fantasy draft magazines, with lists of obscure players to aid in the late rounds of the draft. During the year players fancy themselves "owners," propose trades, comb the waiver wire for acquisitions, etc. Their teams have names, they trash talk other owners, examine stats, etc. etc.
I don't have a problem with this at all, mind you, but to praise fantasy football while at the same time trashing D&D is disingenuous and ill-informed. The attitude is that of a jock who never grew up trying to point out that his favorite hobby isn't nerdy, when in fact it is.
