How to play Fantasy Reel

Draft upcoming movies, compete with friends, and earn points based on real critic reviews. The manager with the highest-scoring roster wins!

What is Fantasy Reel?

Fantasy Reel works just like fantasy sports, but for films! Instead of drafting athletes, you draft upcoming movies. When those movies release and get reviewed by critics, you earn fantasy points based on their scores.

The basic flow

1Join or create a league with friends
2Draft movies you think will be critically acclaimed
3Wait for your movies to release and get reviewed
4Earn fantasy points based on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer
5The manager with the most points at the end wins!

Leagues

A league is a group of managers (players) competing against each other over a movie season. Each league has its own draft, roster settings, and standings.

Creating a league

Set a name and configure draft settings
Choose number of rounds (how many movies each team drafts)
Set a fantasy budget for pickups (optional)
Invite friends via email or share an invite link

Joining a league

Accept an email invitation
Or use a shared invite link
Create your team name
Wait for the league owner to start the draft

League Status: Leagues progress through stages: Setup → Drafting → Active → Completed. Different features are available at each stage.

Drafting

The draft is where you build your roster by selecting movies before they release. Each movie can only be drafted by one team in the league.

Snake draft format

Most leagues use a "snake" draft, where the pick order reverses each round:

Round 1: Team A → Team B → Team C → Team D

Round 2: Team D → Team C → Team B → Team A

Round 3: Team A → Team B → Team C → Team D

This ensures fairness - the team that picks last in round 1 picks first in round 2.

Draft strategy tips

Research directors and studios: Films from acclaimed directors or studios with strong track records tend to review better.
Consider release timing: Movies releasing during awards season (Oct-Dec) often aim for critical acclaim.
Balance risk: Big blockbusters might be safer picks, but indie films can be sleeper hits with high scores.
Watch for delays: Movies can be delayed or moved - check release dates carefully.

Counterpick rounds (optional)

Some leagues enable counterpick rounds after the main draft. A counterpick is a bet against an opponent's movie: you score its points in reverse, so if it flops you gain what it loses - and if it's a hit, you lose what it earns.

Scoring system

Fantasy points come from a single number: the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. The baseline is 60% - RT's own “Fresh” line. Fresh movies earn points, rotten movies cost you points, and each league chooses whether points above 90% count double.

How points are calculated

60%+ - Fresh

+1 point for each point above 60, all the way to 100%

Above 90% - Double points (league option)

Leagues that turn on double points pay 2 points for each point above 90 instead of 1. The commissioner sets it for each season, and it locks once the draft is over.

Below 60% - Rotten

-1 point for each point below 60. Below 50%, the losses taper off - each 10 points deeper costs half as much - bottoming out near -20 points.

Example scores

The 90% Club+36 pts

RT 96%

+36 (36 points above the 60% line)

Default: every point counts once

Double points above 90%+42 pts

RT 96%, in a league with double points on

+30 (30 points above the 60% line, up to 90%)

+12 (2 x 6 points above 90)

Certified Crowd-Pleaser+24 pts

RT 84%

+24 (24 points above the 60% line)

Right at the Line0 pts

RT 60%

Exactly at the Fresh baseline

Rotten-16 pts

RT 35%

-15 at 40%, tapering below

Losses cap out near -20

Counterpick on a hit-36 pts

RT 96%, counterpicked

A counterpick loses whatever the movie earns

-42 in a league with double points on

Score Source: Points come from one number, the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. 60% is break-even: above it a movie earns points, below it a movie loses them. Scores update nightly, even before release if critics review early, but a movie's points only count toward your total once it releases - until then its score shows as Pre-release. A movie without a Tomatometer yet shows as Pending.

Pickups & drops

After the draft, you can still acquire new movies through the pickup (waiver) system. Use your fantasy budget to bid on undrafted movies.

Fantasy Budget bidding

Your Fantasy Budget is your currency for pickups. Each league sets a budget amount (e.g., $100) that you can use throughout the season.

Place blind bids on available movies
Highest bid wins the movie when the bidding period closes
Winning bid amount is deducted from your fantasy budget
Budget doesn't reset - spend wisely!

Dropping movies

You can drop movies from your roster to make room for pickups. Dropped movies become available for other teams to claim. Consider dropping movies that:

Have been indefinitely delayed
Already released with poor scores
You need to free up roster space

Trading

Trade movies with other managers to improve your roster. Both parties must agree for a trade to go through.

Proposing a trade

Select movies from your roster to offer
Select movies you want in return
Send the proposal to the other manager

Responding to trades

Accept: Trade executes immediately
Reject: Trade is cancelled
Counter: Modify and send back

League Owner Veto: League owners can veto trades that appear unfair or collusive. Use this power responsibly!

Ready to play?

Create a league and invite your friends, or join an existing league to start drafting movies!

Start a league Sign in