How to Play
A Draft Duel match has two halves: a fast, shared 16-pick draft, then a simulated four-quarter game where you make the coaching calls. Here is everything that happens, using the same rules the game server enforces.
1. Start a match
Create a room
On the home page, type a coach name (2–20 characters) and choose Create private room. You do not need an account or a password — your name is all your opponent will see. Every room is private and holds exactly two coaches.
Invite a friend
Your room has a six-character code (for example 9T3N6N) and an invite link. Use Copy invite link or your phone's share sheet to send it. Your friend can open the link, or type the code into Join room on the home page, enter a name and take the second seat.
Ready up
When both coaches tap I'm ready, the draft starts immediately. A lobby stays open while people are active: it closes after 15 minutes without activity, after 5 minutes with nobody connected, and in any case after 2 hours. If you lose your connection in the lobby, your seat is held for 2 minutes.
Play vs CPU
No opponent? Choose Play vs CPU and a difficulty — Rookie, All-Star or Hall of Fame — then tap Start the draft. The CPU takes the second seat and plays by exactly the same rules: the same coin flip, rolls, roster limits, 15-second pick clock and one timeout, with no hidden rating boosts. Difficulty only changes how well it drafts and coaches. It usually picks within a few seconds and locks in early at coaching breaks, so play resumes as soon as you lock in too. After the final buzzer, Rematch CPU starts a fresh draft at the same difficulty.
2. The snake draft
A coin flip decides who picks first. The draft then runs in snake order — A, B, B, A, A, B, B, A and so on — for 16 picks, so each coach ends with 8 players and neither side keeps the advantage of picking first.
- One shared board. Both coaches watch every roll and every pick live, including the opponent's.
- 15 seconds per pick. Only the coach on the clock can pick.
- No duplicates. Once a player is drafted, he is gone for both coaches for the rest of the match.
- Auto-picks. If time runs out — including when a coach has disconnected — the server drafts the highest-rated player shown and the draft carries on. A full draft therefore never takes longer than 4 minutes.
3. Franchise and decade rolls
Each pick starts with a roll: a random franchise (one of 16) and a random decade — the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s or 2020s. You choose from players who played for that franchise in that decade, so the same star can turn up under several rolls across his career, but he can still only be drafted once.
- You are shown up to 6 eligible players. When more are eligible, a random six is shown.
- Only players who are still available and still fit your roster are offered (see the roster rules below).
- If a roll has nobody you could legally take, the server quietly rolls again — you never get an empty board.
- Some franchise and decade pairs cannot exist, such as Oklahoma City in the 1980s; those simply never come up.
Example
4. Building an eight-player roster
Every player has one listed position: point guard (PG), shooting guard (SG), small forward (SF), power forward (PF) or center (C). Your eight players must fit these limits, and the draft enforces them for you by only offering players who keep your roster legal:
| Group | Positions | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guards | PG, SG | 2 | 4 |
| Forwards | SF, PF | 2 | 4 |
| Centers | C | 1 | 2 |
Example roster
5. Starters, bench and matchups
Your lineup has five slots — PG, SG, SF, PF and C. A player can fill his own position or the one next to it along the chain PG – SG – SF – PF – C. A shooting guard can play PG, SG or SF; a center can play PF or C, but never guard.
The 5 players in your lineup play; the other 3 are your bench. The simulation does not substitute for you, so bench players only play when you move them into the lineup during a coaching window. If you never submit a plan, the game uses your best legal lineup with a balanced offense, man-to-man defense and a balanced pace.
You also set matchups: for each of your five slots, which opponent slot that player guards. Matchups are tied to slots rather than names, so they stay valid when your opponent changes personnel.
6. Offense, defense and pace
Offensive systems
| System | What it does |
|---|---|
| Balanced | Takes what the defense gives. No glaring weakness. |
| Perimeter | Spread the floor and fire threes. Feasts on packed paints. |
| Inside-Out | Pound it inside, kick out for open threes. Punishes small lineups. |
| Pick-and-Roll | Your playmaker and big run screens. Struggles against switching. |
Defensive systems
| System | What it does |
|---|---|
| Man-to-Man | Your matchups decide everything. Solid against the pick-and-roll. |
| Switch Everything | Kills the pick-and-roll, but creates mismatches. |
| Zone | Clogs drives and hides weak defenders. Leaks threes and offensive boards. |
| Protect the Paint | Walls off the rim. Dares them to beat you from deep. |
Pace
| Pace | Effect |
|---|---|
| Slow | Fewer possessions, careful shots, fewer turnovers. |
| Balanced | Standard tempo. |
| Fast | More possessions and early threes, more turnovers. |
Strategy example
7. Coaching windows and timeouts
The game pauses at fixed points so both coaches can make changes:
| Window | Length |
|---|---|
| Pregame | 30 seconds |
| End of the 1st quarter | 20 seconds |
| Halftime | 30 seconds |
| End of the 3rd quarter | 20 seconds |
| Timeout (either coach) | 15 seconds |
In a window you can change your lineup, matchups, offense, defense and pace, guided by a short scouting report on what has happened so far. Press Lock in when you are done; play resumes as soon as both coaches have locked in, or when the window's clock runs out. Both coaches' changes take effect at the same moment.
Timeouts
Each coach has 1 timeout per game, called during live play. It takes effect at the next break in play (the end of the current possession) and opens a 15-second window in which both coaches can adjust. You cannot call one while your opponent's timeout is already pending, and a timeout that never got to take effect — because the quarter ended first — is given back.
8. How the game is simulated
The game is simulated possession by possession by the game server, so both coaches always see the same result. Each player's skills — shooting from three and midrange, finishing inside, playmaking, ball security, rebounding, perimeter and interior defense, steals, blocks and free throws — are derived from his overall rating and position. Your offense, defense, pace and matchups then shape which shots get taken and how often they go in, along with turnovers, rebounds and fouls (including bonus free throws).
A quarter is 12 game minutes and plays out in 45 real seconds. The opening tip decides the first possession; the second and third quarters start with the other team, and the fourth with the team that won the tip. The simulation includes randomness, so the stronger roster usually — but not always — wins.
9. Reading the game screen
- Scoreboard: both coaches' scores, the quarter and game clock, and a dot for each coach's timeout (marked "requested" while one is pending). A scoring run of six points or more is called out, e.g. "8–0 run".
- Live: a scrolling play-by-play with the newest play on top.
- Box score and Team tabs: player and team statistics, updated as the game goes.
- Lineups: who is on the court for each side right now.
10. Results, overtime and winning
After four quarters, the higher score wins. If the game is tied, it goes to a five-minute overtime that starts with a jump ball, and further overtimes are played until there is a winner — there are no ties. There is no coaching window before overtime, so your last plan carries on.
The final screen shows the winner, a quarter-by-quarter score, team totals and both box scores. Box score columns:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MIN | Minutes played |
| PTS | Points |
| REB | Rebounds (offensive + defensive) |
| AST | Assists |
| FG | Field goals made–attempted |
| 3PT | Three-pointers made–attempted |
| FT | Free throws made–attempted |
| STL / BLK | Steals / blocks |
| TO / PF | Turnovers / personal fouls |
From there you can leave, or choose Play again to take the room back to the lobby, where both coaches ready up again for a rematch. If a coach leaves or disconnects during the game, it keeps running with their current lineup and strategy.