RapidDraft Review – Rapid Draft is Live and it is Cool

The guys at RapidDraft.com have really pulled off something special. This is the first fantasy game where you can get a real draft experience anytime you want. You sign up, pay $10 for a team, and start drafting immediately against AI-controlled fantasy pros. The site is in Beta now and founder and friend Jeff Thomas (president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association) gave me a code I could pass on to my readers. To get a free Rapid Draft team for the month of May use code: rdbuf511.  I’ve drafted a couple of teams today to familiarize myself with the product.  My review is below.  By the way, grand prize for the inaugural year is $250,000.

RapidDraft.com’s FAQ offers a good short description of the site:

Q: Can you please explain the Rapid Draft concept to me in a few sentences?
A: Absolutely. RapidDraft is the same style of fantasy football you play with your buddies. But, it’s “single-user.” You can draft at any time of day or night. Sign-up and do a live draft against 11 online Fantasy Pros. Then compete for an entire season, just like in your local league. Listen and watch Caitlin explain RapidDraft to you in the videos section.

So, RapidDraft has worked out deals with writers from various high profile sites (like USA Today and FootballGuys.com) to serve as the “Pros.”  Each pro maintains a rankings list on the site.  RapidDraft’s Artificial Intelligence Algorithm uses that rankings list to draft a fantasy team for each pro.  In each draft you will be competing against 11 AI fantasy pros.  Drafting against the pros may seem intimidating, but the player really has a drafting edge since the AI does not always make the best decisions.  Also, the pros take on a different personality displayed through their avatar, which adds a fun and light element to the Rapid Draft experience.  For more information on the game check out RapidDraft TV, in which a hot blonde girl explains the entire site.

The user interface is wonderful.  The RapidDraft team put a lot of time and energy into a visually appealing, easy to use signup process and draft console.  In the sign up process you get to select your own Avatar and Jersey.  Then, in a brilliant move by RapidDraft, you get to select your own draft position.  If you want Adrian Peterson on your team this year no problem – just slot yourself at position 1.  There is no option yet for a Random Draft Position but I suggested to Jeff that he add that option.  You also choose if you want a Rapid Speed Draft or a Warp Speed Draft.  I chose Warp Speed.  Each AI player was given five seconds to choose their player and I was given 3o seconds.  The entire 20 round draft took just under an hour at this setting.  I believe in the Rapid Draft setting the AI gets 30 seconds and you get one minute.

Before going into the actual draft make sure you are familiar with the roster and scoring settings.  You start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K, and 1 DEF.  The bench consists of ten players from any position.  The scoring is pretty standard PPR, but QBs only get 3 points per TD.  This is the same “leveling the field” scoring system that Jeff Thomas has used on his SportsBuff.com site for years.  Once you are familiar with the roster and scoring you are ready to draft.

The draft console, pictured below, is fluid and easy to use.  Your avatar is prominently displayed when it is your turn to draft.  The timer starts ticking and warns you when you have ten seconds left.  Players are organized by a default ranking, but it is highly recommended that you make your own Custom Preset.  You can organize by position or all.  Unfortunately there is not an option to see players already drafted.  I sent in that suggestion as well so maybe they will add it.  Most draft lobbies use dropdown menus to display the crapload of information needed during a fantasy draft.  RapidDraft figured out how to avoid that by making buttons for everything.  You are one click away from any information you may need, which could save a critical second or two as the clock ticks down to zero.  Kudos to the effort on the draft lobby.

So, RapidDraft is cool and it is currently free.  The coupon code rdbuf511 expires at the end of May and it may go all paid after that.  The free accounts are not eligible for the grand prizes.  Just use it as a test run to see if you want to plop down the $10 for a team (or multiple teams).

RapidDraft will someday have weekly game offerings, but right now the focus is on the season long tournament.  Each team you draft plays an 11 week season in the typical fantasy football league format.  The top 40% of finishers from the 11 week season will enter into the grand prize post season tournament.  The post season tournament is very similar to the WCOFF postseason, in which your cumulative point totals in weeks 12-16 decide the champion.  Said champion wins a whopping $250,000!  That is an absurdly lucrative first prize for the inaugural season of a fantasy game.  Some lucky (and skillful) Rapid Drafter is going to get a whole lot wealthier come next February.

That’s all I got.  This is the coolest game to enter the fantasy space since, well, fantasy games came to the internet.  For only $10, why not give it a shot?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under 2009 Fantasy Football Leagues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.