Online Soccer Simulation

If you are a fan of online sports simulations, you need to give Hattrick a try.  Hattrick is a soccer simulation with users from all over the world.  Hattrick utilizes many of the same features that the best soccer leagues in the world employ: divisions, series, friendlies, players transfers, World Cups, and other fun features.

Divisions and Series

When you join Hattrick and create a team you will be placed in the lowest division in your home country.  The amount of divisions varies per country.  In the United States there are 6 divisions.  Each division contains a set amount of series (or leagues) with each series containing 8 teams.

The top division in Hattrick contains just one series with 8 teams.  The second division contains four teams.  Each successive division holds 4x the number of series as the division above. 

Much like real soccer, there is a promotion and relegation system.  If your team wins its series and finishes in the top half of all series winners you automatically are promoted.  If your team wins its series and finishes in the bottom half of all series winners your play a qualifying match.  If you win the qualifying match you are promoted to the next division.

If you are not in the bottom division and you finish in 7th or 8th place you are automatically relegated.  If you finish 5th or 6th in your series then you play a qualifying match.  If you lose the qualifying match you are relegated to the next division. 

In this soccer simulation the long-term goal is to work your way up to the Division I.  This takes time and it is fun to slowly work your way up the ladder.

Matches

There are several match types that take place.  The matches that are played the most are the matches within the series.  Teams play each other twice, once at home and once on the road.  This creates a 14-game season. 

Your Hattrick team can also play friendlies.  Friendlies are played in the middle of the week against virtually any other team in the world.  You can request a match against any other team owner or you can enter your team in the Friendly Pool and have the soccer simulation automatically schedule your next friendly.  Friendlies are a great way to try new strategies or get your backups some playing time.

Each country also participates in a Cup competition.  The Cup is similar to the FA Cup in England.  It is a tournament to determine the best team in the country.  All teams in the country (except for some at the very bottom of the lowest division) compete in The Cup.  At the beginning of the season the teams are ranked and matched up.  Games are played in the middle of the week in the place of friendlies.  If you win your Cup match you move on.  If not, you are eliminated and can begin scheduling friendlies.

Players

When your team is created you will be given a roster of players.  While one or two of these players may be decent, most will not be very good.  Fortunately, Hattrick has a transfer wire where you can purchase new players.  Players can be bought with money that your team earns through match attendance and selling some of your own players.

In order to move up through the divisions you must train your players to get better and you must purchase better players. 

World Cup

The Hattrick soccer simulation also has national teams that compete in the World Cup.  The national teams are made up of the best players in the country.  The World Cup is played every two seasons and includes qualification rounds, round robin matches, and playoff matches, similar to the real-life World Cup.  The Hattrick World Cup players, managers, and locations are all elected by the users.

Other Features

Hattrick is also a fun soccer simulation because of other features that reflect real-life.  Each team has a youth squad that can produce players.  Also, each team much manage its finances.  You will spend money on player salaries, coaching salaries, arena maintenance and updates, players transfers, etc. 

The teams also have fan clubs.  These fan clubs bring in funds.  If your team plays well more fans will want to join the fan club and you'll make more money.

Summary

Hattrick is an online soccer simulation that is fun but not overly time consuming.  It only takes a half hour of time each week to manage your team, but you can easily spend more time and make your team more competitive. 

Hattrick has a great introduction series for new users that introduce you to how the game is played.  If you are looking for a fun online soccer simulation, give Hattrick a try.