I am new to HBD, and I am having trouble choosing a league. I know private leagues do not want newbies, and I understand that. The leagues that are public, some have 10 openings a couple 2 or 3...but the teams are a mess.....How is the best way to choose, or not to choose a league or team.... I know these leagues want to roll and start playing, but in my first season of HBD, what is the best way to go?

Often, you can get a lot about the vibe of a world from the World Chat.

Lively discussion, bickering, crickets, friendly discussion... all can be indicators of the type of experience you can expect from that world.

Also, some private worlds can be accepting to n00bs, so sometimes it doesn't hurt to ask if a world looks like something you'd want to be a part of.

thanks iain....I would love a World with chatting, friendly competition, and no arguing. I will keep my eyes open...thanks for the advice again.

Beware the private world that is "accepting to n00bs".

It's like when Iaiaiaiaian offers kids a ride home from junior high school.

The acceptance of n00bs in worlds is also dependant on the strength/respect of the commish...I joined a private world as a n00b, and it is the best world I belong to (MLB). I found the league was helpful and competitive in a good way.

A lot of uber-competitive worlds don't want n00bs because they want owners with experience and a past history of success to show that you can compete at the highest level. They don't want owners who get frustrated after 3 weeks and abandon their teams, therefore, weakening the world and throwing the competitive balance out of whack.

I am a Philly fan, Phoenix Sun fan, and a Bronco fan too..I have had my share of "lumps" and it is no use getting mad and leaving.....it is just a game! It is rare to have a top team in season 1....you got to learn, and ask questions to find your way of running your team.

There are also plenty of private worlds that are accepting of relative noobies who can offer even a little evidence that they'll stick around for awhile.

You might join a public world for a couple of seasons to get a feel for how things work, then add a private world. Think of it as your own "HBD Spring Training".

thanks blanch..that makes sense.....

another reason for not accepting new owners into private worlds is that there are a handful of people out there that enjoy destroying franchises ... and they use a new ID each time to avoid being discovered

obviously, this isn't a rampant problem, but an owner can cause a lot of destruction in a short amount of time if he was so inclined

98greenc5 I understand that too....... I have read about owners tearing teams, worlds apart from that...no respect from me....I do not like Tankers, or people who destroy worlds for their own fun..... I can understand why private worlds make "rules" on experience

as far as the original question, here are a couple things I would do:

1) check who was been making and advancing in the playoffs for the last several seasons ... is it the same handful of teams, or a revolving list ... the fewer teams that are in the playoff mix, the more likely that the league has had some activity that has messed with the competitive balance ... and you may want to avoid those leagues

2) check who has been in last place the last few seasons ... is it the same teams? ... does the the ownership of the last place teams seem to change a lot? ... in both cases, that is also evidence of a lack of competitive balance in the world

3) look at past standings for the number of astericks by the owner names ... and asterick means a returning owner ... by seeing how many non-asterisks there are, you can get a feel for historic owner turnover ... less is usually better ... it can also help you guess at how long you are going to be waiting for new owners when you roll over next season

Quote: Originally Posted By gbuck39 on 10/27/200998greenc5 I understand that too....... I have read about owners tearing teams, worlds apart from that...no respect from me....I do not like Tankers, or people who destroy worlds for their own fun..... I can understand why private worlds make "rules" on experienc

not for nuthin, and I am in no way implying at all that this is the case with you, but if I was a guy that was trying to get into a veteran world to destroy a team, I'd start a thread like this and make that post that you just made

in other words, unfortunately there is nothing that a new owner can say or do to alleviate the paranoia of letting in a destructive alias

98green all I can do is get into a world, and prove to be a devoted owner like the many that are here.....what is the old saying " actions speak louder than words"

I don't disagree at all ... and I totally understand the frustration from your side

all I'm trying to do is show the other side of the logic so that you can see that the "no n00bs" rule isn't a necessarily a stupid arbitrary stance or an elitist mentality

To echo some of green's sentiments, imagine how a group of owners who have been together for 10+ seasons would feel about taking that chance.

If you can appreciate that, you'll also agree that making your "rookie" mistakes in a serious, established world won't end well, anyway. You'll just be farther behind more quickly. In more "relaxed" worlds, you can recover a bit faster... hell, maybe even be able to have mistakes reversed and save you from yourself.

Food for thought.