Hockey Like None Other: This IS The XHL!
We're excited to bring hockey back into the PLAAY games fictional fold--welcome to the XHL!
Let's start by acknowledging that the XHL's roots are in our previous fictional hockey entities, the World Hockey League (2010-17) and Hockey North America (2018-2020). We've age-progressed the rosters of the last HNA season (2019-20) and have dispersed somewhere around 100 players from that league to this one. Guys like Colt Kelly, Curt Connauton, Nick Concannon, Sheldon John Kea and many others are now suiting up in XHL gear. Of course, there's a bumper crop of new stars to get to know. And because this is a league that has money to burn, there are also a number of well-known names from the real-life hockey world available and willing to make a cash grab and skate for an upstart league. More on that in a moment.
We envision the XHL as an alternate, summertime big-time professional hockey league. The XHL has a splashy, cutting-edge, industrial sort of feel to it. Games are played on black ice. (We considered casting the XHL as a roller hockey league, played in outdoor venues--we'll leave that up to you, roll with it if you want to!) Ice or asphalt, the XHL is hard-hitting, fast-moving, high-intensity hockey. You're gonna love it!
There are twenty teams in the XHL, most of them in (as of 2025) non-hockey cities. NOTE that you don't have to use all twenty teams. The league is designed to be well-balanced, with a strong element of parity, top to bottom. We've rated the players close to the center, and thoughtfully distributed overall qualities and symbols so as level the ice for all clubs. You could literally choose any assortment of teams you desired, any number of them, and have a competitive, exciting, realistic pro hockey league.
As we mentioned before, the set includes (32) players from the established pro league who can be signed to the XHL and placed on any team. Basically, as commissioner of the organization, you can assign these players to whomever you choose. Thus, ANY team in XHL can become an instant championship favorite, with the addition of one or more of these real-life hockey stars! The intent isn't to include ALL the real-life star players in your league. Rather, we want you to be able to beef up a favorite team or teams by adding some celebrity splash. Which makes this card set very high on replayability--you could simply re-distribute the stars and create a completely different competitive situation. The XHL is a true "evergreen" card set, one that will always be fresh and open to new competitive twists.
In conceptualizing the league, I asked a number of hockey table gamers this question: "If you had 20 wealthy owners who wanted to start a new hockey league, deep pockets, money no object--what (if any) innovations would you consider implementing?" Here's what we've come up with...
• Pre-game Shoot-Out: After you've got your players on the ice, it's a quick process to conduct this. You'll use the TOP player in each stack, starting with "1." Goalies get an automatic "SHOOTOUT Save" rating of "1" (or if you prefer, "2") to expedite the process. (Or, maybe there IS no goalie, just a target? It's the XHL after all!) First team to score after the other team MISSES, wins the shoot-out, and gets credit for a WIN if regulation ends in a tie.
• Two Point Goals: We entertained a couple of ideas on how to make this happen. Honestly, it probably works BETTER in a board game than in real hockey! I say that because Major League Lacrosse (outdoor lacrosse) fooled around with a two-point goal a number of years ago and quickly abandoned the idea. They probably found it very difficult to get the balance right--if the shot is too easy to make (like today's 3-pointers in the NBA), then everyone shoots for two. If it's too hard, no one does. But in a board game, we can legislate the percentages! So, here are what I think are a couple of solid ideas for incorporating a two-point goal in the XHL...
> Breakaway Goals: I actually borrowed this idea from the fictional World Indoor Lacrosse League I created more than a decade ago. If you start with the puck in your own zone, maintain possession the entire time, and shoot--from anywhere--and score, it's TWO points. In game terms, you would govern this with a decider die: "bullet," roll for the shot (two points if good); "blank," no shot, possession disrupted. You would CHOOSE to go for two before rolling (If so, the FIRST player in the breakaway PLAY sequence takes the shot). You don't HAVE to "go for two," you can always opt for a one point breakaway chance, passing the puck around, combining the abilities of other players. Either way, you have to choose BEFORE rolling.
> Even-Strength Power Play Goals: When an opposing player takes a penalty, you have the option to allow the opponent to skate full-strength, 5-on-5. If you score during the penalty time, it's TWO points. OR, you can play man-advantage, normal rules, and goals are worth one point. This could be a VERY interesting coaching decision depending on the situation.
> Two Point LINE/ZONE: You can say that shooting beyond the blue line gets two points for a goal. Alternatively, you could say that there's a "green zone," maybe a smaller overall area. Either way, the decision to shoot from long range could be triggered by the STAR or SKILL quality. When a player/team earns a PLAY/SHOT through the STAR or SKILL quality, they have the OPTION to make it a TWO-point shot. In game terms, you would roll a decider die: "bullet," roll for the shot (two points if good); "blank," missed shot, goalie/defense controls. Again, you don't HAVE to "go for two," you can always opt for a one point shot, passing the puck around, combining the abilities of other players. Either way, you have to choose your shot BEFORE rolling.
OPTION: In play-testing, we began to warm to the idea that a goal created from the STAR quality is always a two-pointer, while the SKILL quality remains an option.
• Extra Momentum: You can say that the STAR quality generates momentum the same way the HIT quality does. You can do this whether you use the two-point goal option on STAR or not. This accentuates the play of STAR players, which is something cool, I think, and appropriate of a start-up rival hockey league.
• Revised Rules for MAJOR Penalties: Instead of having a player serve five minutes in the penalty box, with the opportunity for the man-advantage team to score two power play goals, how about THIS idea: ALL penalties are two minutes in length. Minor penalties are same as current pro rules (or, you can implement the two-point option outlined above). On a MAJOR penalty, the penalized team must pull its GOALIE (for two minutes). It's still "man-advantage," but one team has a goalie, the other doesn't. Don't use the "empty net" chart (because it assumes that the man-advantage team has pulled its goalie), just assume zero save stars for those two minutes.
• Revised Rules After Fighting Majors: Similar to the above rule, after a coincidental fighting major, the GOALIES have to go to the bench (the fighting players are sent to the penalty box, replaced on the ice), and teams play 5-on-5 for two minutes, with no goalies--zero SAVE stars. You can say that the goalies return to the ice after the second goal is scored.
This isn't an exhaustive list of ideas, it's just the ideas that we felt had the most upside and merit. Feel free to come up with your own rules, to ignore all of these ideas and make your XHL play with the same rules as the NHL does, or anything in between.
Welcome to OUR brand of hockey, “Hockey Like None Other!” (Using our best Vince McMahon voice)..."Ladies and Gentlemen!...This...IS...the X...H...LLLLLLL!!!"
Coming soon to PLAAY Games!…