Hattrick

No not the number of goals I scored playing 5's last night(scored much much more :-) ), but a online foootball management game I've been playing lately. It is a far cry from the detail of Football Manager but has it's own challenge. At a glance it does seem a bit simplisitc and lacking in depth but on the plus side it isn't time consuming at all and there is more to it than initially meets the eye. Although you need a bit of patience as to start with your team is shite to such a degree that even Paddy Kenny's Dunfermline could probably take them just now. Well maybe.

I'm just starting my second full season, still locked in the lowest tier of Scottish football and no realistic chance of promotion this season. Still things are ticking along nicely and depending on who gets relegated down into my division next season I might have a shot then.

The basis of the game involves signing young players and training them and selling them on to make money to build a more rounded team. You can only train in one skill area at a time, so if you choose to train playmaking then whoever you have in goals, up front and in defence won't get the benefit. Winning games is also helpful as it gets the fans interested and as more join you find the money starts to come in and allow you to go from strength to strength.

Well worth a look if you want to kill a few moments here and there at work or wherever.