Fantasy Sports goes Techy

Fantasy Sports is a growing industry with over 20 million Americans playing nationwide. The recent exponential growth is the result of the relative online ease of starting your own league or team.

Today, fantasy players are looking for quick setups for their leagues or teams. In a society that's watching people's leisure time reduced by nearly 50%, it's vital that online games get straight to the point. So we asked ourselves, what's out there?9

With so many major networks and gaming websites offering similar types of Fantasy Sport games, some of the best ideas are coming from websites that are able to bring a game with a different spin. We recently came across www.FantasySportsStocks.com a couple of weeks ago; a site that takes the basic fantasy sports formula and adds a breath of fresh air.

FantasySportsStocks.com actually created a virtual stock market for sports teams and players. Rather than simply drafting your favorite players and teams, you actually get to buy stock in them! This means that choosing traditional roster lineups is out, and building your own portfolio with carefully hand-picked stocks is in.

The best part of playing Fantasy Sports Stocks was that it's free. Rather than coughing up cash early, you can try the FSS Lite version without payment - you'll be buying your first stock in seconds. As the game progresses and you are looking for more of a challenge, you can easily unlock the FULL version for just $19.99. This will give you access to many features such as joining tournaments, creating custom tournaments, side betting, and getting access to their store.

Chief Editor and Founder Carlo Sicoli spent some time with us last week to discuss the work that the Fantasy Sports Stocks team put into their online game. When asked about how the game started, he said "I was a fantasy sports junkie and I just got tired of playing the same old fantasy game, so I thought junkies needed a twist."

On the creation of FantasySportsStocks.com, Carlo added "the fantasy sports world is changing, and there are plenty of options for users to try. The fun part about creating this game was watching how users reacted to the different ideas and features that were offered. Sometimes, when certain ideas are so new and different...you don't know how people will like them. It's a rush when the feedback that comes back positive!"

Unlike a real stock market that relies strictly on demand and supply, FantasySportsStocks.com uses a sophisticated engine to determine stock values. The stock value is primarily determined by a team or player's performance. If a team wins, their stock rises. If a team loses at home against a division rival, then their stock will plummet. This means that sport-savvy players can closely predict how a stock will perform. They simply choose the winners. The problem we found...is that as it turns out, predicting a winner is not as easy as it sounds.

Edward Reeve has been a renowned tech writer for over 15 years with columns in 5 of the top technology magazines. He writes many articles for Fantasy Sports Stocks.