A snake draft reverses the pick order every round, so the manager who picks last in one round picks first in the next. An auction draft gives every manager the same virtual budget and lets them bid on each player in turn, so nobody is locked out of a star by pick order. Snake is the default for most leagues because it is simple. Auction is the better test of skill, and it takes longer.
What is a snake draft?
In a snake draft, managers take turns picking players, and every player can sit on only one team. The order runs forward in round one, backward in round two, forward again in round three, and keeps alternating. It is also called a serpentine draft, because the order folds back on itself like a snake.
The reversal exists to fix one problem. In a straight draft where the order never changes, the manager with the first pick gets the first pick in every round, and the manager at the end waits longest every time. The snake evens that out.
How does a snake draft work, with an example?
Take a league of 10 managers. Round one runs 1 to 10. Round two runs 10 to 1. Round three runs 1 to 10 again.
- Manager 1 picks first overall, then waits until pick 20, the last pick of round two. Round three starts with manager 1 again, so they also pick at 21, straight after.
- Manager 10 picks tenth overall and again at 11, then waits until pick 30.
- A manager in the middle (say fifth) picks at 5, 16, 25, 36, and so on. Their waits are shorter and more even.
So the first and last managers each get two picks back to back at a turn, and the cost is a long wait in between. The first spot gets the best player available, and the last spot gets a pair of picks at the turn. A good manager plans around whichever slot they draw.
In a 10 manager league that drafts 15 rounds, that is 150 picks. If your draft room allows 90 seconds a pick, plan for a long evening, and decide in advance what happens when someone is not there when their turn comes.
What is an auction draft?
In an auction draft, there is no pick order. Each manager starts with the same budget (200 in league dollars is a common choice, and league dollars are numbers on a scoreboard, not real money). Managers take turns nominating a player. Everyone bids, and the highest bid takes the player at that price. When the budget is gone or the roster is full, a manager is done.
Most leagues also require each manager to keep enough budget to fill every remaining roster spot, so a manager cannot spend everything on three stars and leave the rest of the roster empty. Check your league’s minimum before you plan around it.
Here is how it plays in a 10 manager league. Manager 3 nominates a star running back. Manager 7 opens the bidding. Others raise it until only two managers are left, and the highest bid wins. Manager 3’s turn then ends, and manager 4 nominates. The nomination order matters, because early nominations spend budget before anyone knows what other players will cost.
What are the pros and cons of each?
| Snake draft | Auction draft | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Predictable. Each pick is a short turn | Longer and less predictable. A bidding war can run for minutes |
| Skill it rewards | Knowing who is available when your turn comes | Valuing players against a budget, and bidding discipline |
| Fairness | Draft position matters, and the snake only partly evens it out | Every manager can bid on any player |
| Learning curve | Almost none | Needs a budget, nominations and a minimum bid explained |
| Worst case | Pick order decides who gets the top player | One manager overspends early and is stuck for the rest of the night |
| Best for | New players, office groups, short evenings | Experienced groups who want a more tactical draft |
Which one suits your group?
Choose a snake draft if your group includes people who are new to fantasy, if you want the draft done in one evening, or if you want people to follow along on a phone while doing something else.
Choose an auction if your group already knows the players well, if you want everyone to get a chance at the best player, and if the whole room will stay for the whole draft. An auction is a poor fit for a group that treats the draft as background noise.
If you cannot decide, run a snake draft this season. It is the format your members will already half understand.
How do you pick the draft order fairly?
Draw it once, in public, and never redraw. In a snake draft the order matters, and the quickest way to start an argument is to let the commissioner choose it.
You can use the free draw generator for this. It shuffles a list of names with a Fisher-Yates shuffle, which gives every arrangement an equal chance, and the link it gives you carries that exact result so nobody can say the draw changed afterward. To get an order from it, paste in your managers and set the number of groups to the number of managers. Each manager lands in a group of their own, and the group letters (A, B, C and so on) are your draft slots. It is a tool for splitting a list into groups, so this is a workaround and not a dedicated draft order feature. Check the result before you share it.
Draw it on the call, share the link at once, and move on.
Which draft style will Fanzava run?
That will be confirmed when fantasy opens. Fantasy on Fanzava is on a waitlist, and nothing is open to players yet, so there is no date to quote. When it opens, it will be a season-long draft league on your own branded hub, with a live draft room and a chat beside the board. A hub admin will start the draft once at least two teams are in, and the draft will run one round for every place in the squad.
The first release is planned for NFL, NHL and MLB draft leagues and a Formula 1 and Supercars garage. There is no fantasy football page yet. Keeper and dynasty rules are not part of that release, so read keeper vs dynasty leagues if your group wants players to carry over.
What can your group play on Fanzava today?
The same people who want a draft usually want an NFL game to follow every week. You can run an NFL pick’em pool on your own branded hub today, with every game locking at its own kickoff and the leaderboard updating itself. The NFL page covers the whole season. Read about fantasy on Fanzava to see where it is headed, and join the waitlist below if you want to hear when it opens. Whatever your group plays for is between you and your members, and the rules where you live apply.
Frequently asked questions
What is a snake draft?
A draft where the pick order reverses every round. In a 10 manager league, round one runs from first to tenth, round two runs from tenth back to first, and so on. It is also called a serpentine draft.
What is an auction draft?
A draft where every manager gets the same virtual budget and players are nominated one at a time. Managers bid, and the highest bid takes the player. Any manager can end up with any player, as long as the budget covers it.
Which is better for a casual office league, snake or auction?
Snake. It needs no budget math, takes a predictable amount of time, and everyone can follow it while doing other things. An auction rewards preparation and suits a group that wants a longer, more tactical night.
How do you decide the draft order fairly?
Draw it once, in front of the group, and do not redraw. The order matters a great deal in a snake draft, so a random draw everyone watched ends the argument before it starts.
Can I run an auction draft on Fanzava?
Not yet. Fantasy on Fanzava is on a waitlist, and which draft formats a league can choose will be confirmed when it opens. There is no opening date to quote.
Does Fanzava run fantasy football today?
No. Fantasy on Fanzava is on a waitlist. NFL draft leagues are planned for its first release, with no date to quote. What runs today for the same group is NFL pick'em, confidence and survivor pools.