If you already know how to find opponents to play a game, then you're ready to set up your game.

Finding An Opponent

After you've created your teams and got them approved, you'll want to find someone to play. There are two different ways to go about this. Most coaches use both at once.

Gamefinder

If a coach wants to flag one or more of his teams as looking for a game (shortened to 'LFG') he can use the Gamefinder to do so. This page has a list of all teams, sorted by Division and Team Strength. You can add your teams to this list by clicking the link "add teams" and then ticking the teams you would like to add before clicking OK. Your teams will automatically be removed from the list if you don't visit the Gamefinder page again within half an hour, or if you start a game with any of your teams.

If you see a team that you would like to play, the next step is to contact the team's coach - listed under the Coach column. You can do this by sending them a private message via the site, or by contacting them in IRC. Note that most coaches will not reply to a game offer sent via the site, because this is slow and cumbersome. It is also advisable to use IRC if you put your teams on the Gamefinder so you are easier to contact for other coaches.

Please note, in the Ranked division, there are (some) limitations on the teams you can play against. Briefly, teams must be within 15% of TV of one another, and there are restrictions on the number of times you can play the same coach or team. For details see here.

1. Using the site: You can contact a coach through the site by using your private message inbox and filling in the appropriate information, or by clicking the "send PM" button on the coach's overview page - which is accessible by clicking on the coach's name on the Gamefinder page.
2. Using IRC: If you have an IRC client installed, or if you use the site's chat page, you can contact on-line coaches by joining the appropriate IRC Channel. Double-clicking on the coach's name in the nick list (generally to the right of the chat channel) or typing '/Msg Coachname hello' or '/query Coachname' - where Coachname is the name of the coach you wish to contact - will open a private message window to this coach. You can then make the match offer you had in mind.

bb lfg

If you're on an official Fumbbl IRC Channel then you can use the lfg function on BowlBot to help you look for games. The syntax for queries to BowlBot can be found on BowlBot's help page or that for the IRC channels. BowlBot will automatically put lfg requests for specific divisions into the correct channel.

If you see someone lfg via BowlBot with a team you would like to play against, you can contact them using the methods described above. Conversely, if they see you lfg, they can do the same.

Note that using bb lfg will automatically add your teams to the Gamefinder page!

Please note that sparing a moment to read Ulm's Guide to Gamefinder will save you a lot of stress and aggravation while looking for games.

Now that you've found a game, you can go on to seeing how to start it.

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