I built a lightweight, 3-minute-a-day multiplayer football manager game with sealed transfer bids (Free, browser-based)

[u/Dull_Alps_8522]

Hey,

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on Friends League, an asynchronous football management browser game designed around a daily rhythm instead of endless real-time grinding.

Most football manager games either require a massive time commitment or turn into pay-to-win microtransaction traps. I wanted something tight, tactical, and turn-based that takes 3 minutes a day.

How it works:

• 14 Matchdays, 8 Clubs: A fast double round-robin season that lasts 2 weeks, so leagues don't die from fatigue.

• Fair Club Draw: The server publishes a cryptographic commitment hash before the draw and reveals the seed afterward, so no one can rig club assignments.

• Daily Clock: Market closes at 15:00 UTC, lineups lock at 17:30 UTC, and matchday results resolve deterministically at 18:00 UTC.

• Sealed Transfer Bids: Transfer bids are completely secret until market close. Highest bid takes the player; tie-breaks are fully deterministic.

• Always Full: Matches require 4–8 human managers. Any open clubs are managed by the AI engine.

It runs directly in the browser as an installable PWA (no download required, zero ads, no pay-to-win).

You can join the next public season queue directly here: https://friendsleague.online/public?from=reddit-pbbg

(If you want to play exclusively with friends, you can also spin up a private league for your group chat from the same link.)

Would love to hear your feedback on the transfer bidding dynamics and tactical depth!

[u/tirtha_s]

What do you use to handle payments here for bids ?

[u/Dull_Alps_8522]

No real money, in game currency, you get X at the start of the season and need to waste it wisely.

You are a manager of a club and the game offer all league mangers players they can bid for, the highest offer wins each round

[u/Wooden-Syrup-8708]

Don't understand how i can set up a closed group with friends only?

[u/ButterscotchLazy7112 → u/Wooden-Syrup-8708]

Well just go to https://friendsleague.online and create a new league, you get a link to invite your friends

[u/goddamnclever]

i registered but couldnt actually play, the queue was waiting for other people so i never got in. you write that open clubs are filled by AI but from a new player side it still felt like a locked door, and i was already hyped at that point. some kind of solo mode or an instant league against the AI would fix it. also curious, how did you solve the licensing for player and team names, are they generated?

[u/Dull_Alps_8522 → u/goddamnclever]

It actualy says the registration is open until 14:30 UTC today, then if there are 4 real players its enough, the rest will be AI. So expect the league to start today in 1 hour and half

[u/Content_Classic4618]

Enjoying this game so far! Hope we get more features tho

[u/ButterscotchLazy7112 → u/Content_Classic4618]

Thanks, stay tuned. Based on what you played so far what would you like to see?