WhatIfSports: Gridiron Dynasty

[Grid Iron]

I checked out WhatifSports the other day and discovered they have a game called Gridiron Dynasty. Here is the website's summary:

Gridiron Dynasty is your chance to work your way to the top of the college football coaching world! You'll first need to find a job and begin recruiting. As if finding the the perfect high school player for your coaching system wasn't difficult enough, you'll have a limited budget and hundreds of other coaches competing with you.

After the recruiting period has ended, you'll coach your team through an entire college football season. Preparing for each opponent, dealing with player issues, administration issues (all while watching your team's national ranking) will really have you earning your paycheck!

At the end of the regular season, unless you win your conference championship, then it will be up to the selection committee to decide whether your team will be playing in the post-season and have a chance to win a National Championship!

After the season, your job continues - graduations, transfers and even players leaving early for the NFL. Plus, based on your success, you may have other schools seeking your coaching services - but only you can decide how best to build your own Gridiron Dynasty!

I found some limited discussion of the game on FOFC Pub, but I didn't find anyone that actually tried it out. So, I ponied up my $10 for a five-week season to see what it's all about.

To start the game, you need to select one of five college football universes or "worlds." I chose the Rockne World because of Knute's history, as well as the fact that it sounds really cool.

You then select a team from any available Division III school. There were 62 teams available when I signed up. I love smash-mouth football, so I wanted a cold-weather school to coach. I finally decided on the University of Wisconsin (Whitewater) Warhawks. Hopefully, I will be able to some day move up to Division I-A!

There isn't a whole lot to talk about yet, as recruiting season doesn't start until February 12.

Stay tuned!

[Icy]

Any update? how does this compare to TCY?

[msugreen]

I am in my 4th season in the Bryant world. I just moved up to Division II Grand Valley State this season after three seasons at Division III Kalamazoo. TCY is a much better overall game than Gridiron Dynasty ... but, GD allows you to interact with the other coaches (which does go a long way towards making this game a good solid alterrnative to TCY). GD was the second Dynasty game from WhatifSports. The first was Hoops Dynasty which is a college basketball game. That game is much better than GD, in my opinion. Further advanced and a lot of better features not currently available in GD. The good thing about WIS is that they are constantly working on their games, so it is just a matter of time before GD matches the enjoyment of HD.

Grid Iron, I read that you only signed up for one season. My advice to you, is take what the game gives you ... if you try to make it more than it is (and it is not TCY) you will get frustrated. Check out the WIS forums for recruiting advice. That is the part of the game with the steepest learning curve.