This is still very much a work in progress, but the dev is active and responsive to users on the game’s discord server. However, even with where it’s at, PF provides a solid entry into the genre with a lot of potential.
First and foremost, it’s completely free. The only purchases available as of writing are a few cosmetic options to alter team logos.The game is played entirely through the browser. There’s both a single player option, as well as a number of active and competitive multiplayer leagues, which I highly recommend for the optimal experience as the AI–while decently competitive–is pretty easy to consistently beat once you have the hang of the game.
There’s no graphical representation of the gameplay, which is relatively simple, with players assigned overall scores that are used to determine the success of plays.
Where it shines most is the innovative scouting mechanic for prospective draftees, which is an area I find a lot of sims struggle with capturing. As the GM, each season you must select which scouting group to use, which each have various costs, as well as differences in accuracy. Then each week you can assign a region, as well as specific players within that region, to scout. Using all of your combined scouting profiles on the players you’ll eventually be able to build your big board, but thanks to the uncertainty of questionably accurate reports, it creates a very organic means of introducing ‘hits’ and ‘busts,’ especially when it comes to players from smaller regions, where you may not want to commit as many scouting resources to.
Playbooks are pretty simple, with the only decision making being what percentage of each formation to utilize, given a specific down and distance range.
There isn’t a very robust tutorial or help system at the moment, likely because the game is still in flux with active development, however the discord is an excellent place to go for help, with a large and responsive community.