Front Office Football Central - The Cotswolds Football League (Dice United)

Hello again, everyone!

Over the last week or two, I've been thinking about an idea for a dynasty that will combine several of my favorite things: board games, sports, and storytelling.

Three generations of my family love board games. "Game night" has been a favorite activity all my life; there's something wholesome and satsifying about sitting down at the table, alone or with others, and watching a story play out on the game board.

Not long ago, I discovered Dice United. Its creator, Gary Brown, describes the game as "a highlight-driven soccer league simulator." It's a lot of fun.

Among the features Brown has created is a set of instructions for creating and maintaining a fictional league. I've decided to use them to bring a fictional football league to life.

The Cotswolds Football League is a twelve-team league set in the Cotswolds region of Gloucestershire, England. Why the Cotswolds? My family visited there about a decade ago and enjoyed it very much. We've also enjoyed a series of books that take place in Gloucestershire and nearby areas.

I'm envisioning the CFL as a twelve-team, self-contained league. There won't be any promotion or relegation, at least not at first. The league program will, therefore, be a grueling 44-game test, with every team hosting each of its opponents twice.

Most of the clubs are named for real English villages. My daughter had fun helping me pick them; most are very small. Two or three of them are fictional settings taken from stories we've enjoyed. I doubt most of you would be able to tell the difference. :)

I'm currently creating each team's squad list. I'm using my favorite fantasy name generator, and it's doing a good job of creating realistic-sounding English names. I thought this process might seem tedious, but it's actually been quite a bit of fun. I'm already starting to envision some of the players in my mind.

I know fictional leagues aren't everybody's thing, but if you think you might enjoy following the story of the Cotswold League, I invite you to join me. I think I'm going to love bringing it to life, and I hope at least some of you will enjoy reading about it, too.