Attention Captains: New Pool Configurations for 2017
In response to captains' feedback, we are making some changes to the configurable options in your pools.
Pool captains will have more flexibility over how they run their pools, and they'll be able to control some of the common gripes such as default picks and hiding picks before kick off.
We are doing away with the Superpool upgrades, which was an all-or-nothing bundle of settings for around £10/R150/AU$15, and replacing it with a menu of features - some of which will be free, and some paid - to allow captains to pick and choose the elements they like.
Here is a list of settings and descriptions:
Rugby Bonus Point Split
Some captains do not like the way that Bonus Points in the Rugby Predictor games are shared between the people that were closest to the result (up to a maximum of 4 people / 0.25pts each). They will now be able to disable the BP split, so that everyone that is closest receives 1 full BP.
Cost: Free
Rugby Bonus Point Range Cap
When we introduced the BP range cap in 2016, the majority of players were happy. The default setting will be that if your pick is more than 15 points away from the actual game margin, you won't win a Bonus Point - even if your pick is the closest in the pool.
However, some people held up the valid argument that 'if you're closest, you're closest' and did not like the change - so to ensure everyone is happy, captains will now be able to disable the BP range cap.
Cost: Free
Default picks
Default picks are an important feature to keep people in the game if they miss the odd pick, as many of us do from time to time. However, default points are not always popular, and captains will now be able to disable them in their pools without buying the full Superpool upgrade.
Previously, captains could pay £10/R150/AU$15 for the upgrade to switch off defaults, but now this option will be available on its own, for a small cost to contribute to the extra dev work to build the option, and the increased overhead of result processing and user support queries.
Cost*: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
*NB. This feature will be offered free for Super Rugby, before 6th February.
Hide picks until Kick-off
With bragging rights and high stakes in some pools, there have been accusations of skulduggery, with people looking at a friends' account to see everyone else's picks before making their own. This dreadful sportsmanship is not in the spirit of Superbru, and now captains will be able to hide all picks until kick-off, regardless of whether they are locked or unlocked.
This option was also part of the more expensive Superpool upgrade, and will now be available at a reduced cost, which contributes to the dev work to build and maintain the feature.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Password protection
Those captains worried about unknown people applying or joining their pools will now be able to password-protect entry.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Widgets
Some people like to display the Superbru pool leaderboard on their own website, blog or forum, and you can do so with these widgets - with a small fee to cover the additional hosting costs associated with serving pages on other websites.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Other settings
There will also be a handful of other settings available, such as the facility to display a leaderboard for groups of rounds (useful for those that run monthly prizes, or divide the long Premier League season into two or three segments); and the ability to start scoring from a round other than Round 1 (useful for captains that miss the start of the season).
Cost: Free
Captain's Admin Pack
This is a new set of features to help pools with certain entry criteria, where the captain has to manage entries, manage the acceptance or rejection of players that do and do not meet the entry criteria by the given deadline, and then distribute rewards.
Captains will be able to stipulate the entry criteria, how to complete entry, how prizes will be awarded, the deadline for entries, plus any other pool rules. Then they will be able to add notes against each player, and set a status for each entrant.
Over time, we will also introduce a rating system for captains, so that people who run their pools properly rise to the top, and those that do not fulfil their prize obligations are marked so that people think twice about participating.
Cost: £15 / R200 / AU$20 / NZ$20 / US$15 / €18
Featured Pools
We know that some people want to attract as many people as possible to their pools, if they have a business and prize to promote, or simply just want to extend the competition beyond their circle of friends. We are making it easier to get your pool noticed on the Pools page, where people go to find pools to join. We may consider putting a cap on the number of Featured Pools per tournament, depending on how popular this becomes.
Cost: £15 / R200 / AU$20 / NZ$20 / US$15 / €18
Timelines
These features will be enabled when we launch the new Superbru site during the week commencing 30th January - have a look at the Launch Plan for more details.
Hopefully pool captains will agree that these new options are useful to further enhance everyone's enjoyment of Superbru, and that where applicable, the pricing is fair.
As always, please let us know if you have any feedback, and good luck for the upcoming tournaments.
Pool captains will have more flexibility over how they run their pools, and they'll be able to control some of the common gripes such as default picks and hiding picks before kick off.
We are doing away with the Superpool upgrades, which was an all-or-nothing bundle of settings for around £10/R150/AU$15, and replacing it with a menu of features - some of which will be free, and some paid - to allow captains to pick and choose the elements they like.
Here is a list of settings and descriptions:
Rugby Bonus Point Split
Some captains do not like the way that Bonus Points in the Rugby Predictor games are shared between the people that were closest to the result (up to a maximum of 4 people / 0.25pts each). They will now be able to disable the BP split, so that everyone that is closest receives 1 full BP.
Cost: Free
Rugby Bonus Point Range Cap
When we introduced the BP range cap in 2016, the majority of players were happy. The default setting will be that if your pick is more than 15 points away from the actual game margin, you won't win a Bonus Point - even if your pick is the closest in the pool.
However, some people held up the valid argument that 'if you're closest, you're closest' and did not like the change - so to ensure everyone is happy, captains will now be able to disable the BP range cap.
Cost: Free
Default picks
Default picks are an important feature to keep people in the game if they miss the odd pick, as many of us do from time to time. However, default points are not always popular, and captains will now be able to disable them in their pools without buying the full Superpool upgrade.
Previously, captains could pay £10/R150/AU$15 for the upgrade to switch off defaults, but now this option will be available on its own, for a small cost to contribute to the extra dev work to build the option, and the increased overhead of result processing and user support queries.
Cost*: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
*NB. This feature will be offered free for Super Rugby, before 6th February.
Hide picks until Kick-off
With bragging rights and high stakes in some pools, there have been accusations of skulduggery, with people looking at a friends' account to see everyone else's picks before making their own. This dreadful sportsmanship is not in the spirit of Superbru, and now captains will be able to hide all picks until kick-off, regardless of whether they are locked or unlocked.
This option was also part of the more expensive Superpool upgrade, and will now be available at a reduced cost, which contributes to the dev work to build and maintain the feature.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Password protection
Those captains worried about unknown people applying or joining their pools will now be able to password-protect entry.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Widgets
Some people like to display the Superbru pool leaderboard on their own website, blog or forum, and you can do so with these widgets - with a small fee to cover the additional hosting costs associated with serving pages on other websites.
Cost: £3 / R50 / AU$5 / NZ$5 / US$4 / €3
Other settings
There will also be a handful of other settings available, such as the facility to display a leaderboard for groups of rounds (useful for those that run monthly prizes, or divide the long Premier League season into two or three segments); and the ability to start scoring from a round other than Round 1 (useful for captains that miss the start of the season).
Cost: Free
Captain's Admin Pack
This is a new set of features to help pools with certain entry criteria, where the captain has to manage entries, manage the acceptance or rejection of players that do and do not meet the entry criteria by the given deadline, and then distribute rewards.
Captains will be able to stipulate the entry criteria, how to complete entry, how prizes will be awarded, the deadline for entries, plus any other pool rules. Then they will be able to add notes against each player, and set a status for each entrant.
Over time, we will also introduce a rating system for captains, so that people who run their pools properly rise to the top, and those that do not fulfil their prize obligations are marked so that people think twice about participating.
Cost: £15 / R200 / AU$20 / NZ$20 / US$15 / €18
Featured Pools
We know that some people want to attract as many people as possible to their pools, if they have a business and prize to promote, or simply just want to extend the competition beyond their circle of friends. We are making it easier to get your pool noticed on the Pools page, where people go to find pools to join. We may consider putting a cap on the number of Featured Pools per tournament, depending on how popular this becomes.
Cost: £15 / R200 / AU$20 / NZ$20 / US$15 / €18
Timelines
These features will be enabled when we launch the new Superbru site during the week commencing 30th January - have a look at the Launch Plan for more details.
Hopefully pool captains will agree that these new options are useful to further enhance everyone's enjoyment of Superbru, and that where applicable, the pricing is fair.
As always, please let us know if you have any feedback, and good luck for the upcoming tournaments.
This will sort out a lot of gripes of the past....thanks Bru for @ last reacting to years of moaning....groaning....and wishing......LOL!!!!
Wrong is equal to no points - not very difficult maths and therefore margin for an incorrect pick should be irrelevant! 12 Jan 17:53