( Just getting the ball rolling... - BadMrMojo )

There's some good team advancement advice in the In-game Tactics section and Christer has collected the list of most common skill picks on FUMBBL (see below).

Additionally, there are a few things worth noting for pretty much any team.

• You want to keep that FF up to keep the money rolling in and avoid the nastiest of the kick-off results. Always try to get your 2 TDs and CAS in a game... winning also helps. =]

• Front-loading (buying as many positional players as possible to start and skimping on re-rolls and fan factor) is generally a bad idea for a long-term team. If you want your team to join the ranks of the truly great teams on FUMBBL, you have to think ahead.

• Never underestimate the power of KICK! Really. It's generally my first (normal roll) pick on my first skilled lineman on almost any team.

• Take a look at the top teams. Then take a look at who's coaching them. Try to see if they have near-rookie teams and how they're developing them. You can learn a lot by checking them out and perhaps even asking them in chat, if you run into them.

• There are two basic lines of thinking regarding skill development. Homogenous and Specialized. You can either try to get a similar set of skills on as many players as possible (frequently used by elven teams where everyone has Agility skill access and therefore they all try to get Block, Dodge and Sidestep for example) or a more specialized approach (setting up one player to get Pass Block, Tackle and Diving Tackle to cover receivers while another one gets Block, Guard, and Stand Firm to help on the line). Both have their strengths and weaknesses but both reemphasize the importance of planning ahead..

• Distribute your SPPs! 60 SPPs piled onto one single star player gets you 4 skills. That's pretty good, unless that one player gets hit with a rock or fouled into oblivion. Those same 60 SPPs spread over 10 players will give you 10 skills and make your team stronger as a whole. Whenever you have a choice in the matter, look at which player you're going to use to score and try to get someone into position who will benefit most from the SPPs. Try to set up last game's rookie MVP to make an easy completion for his first skill. Don't throw the game trying to micro-manage them but keep it in mind.

• Remember: The Open and the DivX Divisions are non-tournament so don't waste your money on freebooting players, Star Players or Wizards. You do not need to win your next game because you won't end up in first place (by ranking) for some time (except for team rating/strength). However for Halfling Teams freebooting a halfling or two to put on the LoS, can be a good idea if you can spare the cash.

• Christer generously compiled a list of the most popular skill choices for each position on each team on both a regular roll or a double. Remember, this is just the most popular picks; it's worth noting that not all of these are good picks (just popular ones) but it makes for an excellent start. (Note that this list is out of date, as it refers to an edition where Big Guys had access to General skills.)

• There's always a mob of excellent coaches in chat who can help you out. If you're not sure, just pop in and ask whether you should take the +MA or tackle (for example). You can always count on finding someone who has bought the RR and will tell you how that went or whether they wish they would have gotten another blitzer. Just ask.

• Another resource for skill selection is the Skill Selection Survey. This lists the preferred choices of the most experienced and successful teams for each roster.

• A good rule of thumb when picking skills is to pick skills which will be useful, not ones which might be useful. To take an extreme example, if a pass is inaccurate and if it scatters to the right place and if you're passing to the right player, Diving Catch might be a life-saver. However, this circumstance is extremely rare. Compare with Block. Virtually all players expect to make and receive several blocks during the course of a game and the Block skill could affect every single one of these. It almost certainly will be useful, and even if not a single POW/Skull is rolled during the game, it will still affect your and your opponent's decision-making. Away from these extremes, however, gauging the line between will and might can take a lot of experience with a team.