Something a bit different this week. I won’t be covering this league detail this season, but it is a league I absolutely love, it kicks off this week, and we now have TWO fantasy games! So it is time to deep dive into all things Top 14! 🇫🇷
So without further ado, let’s dig into La Grande Mêlée and Le P’tit Buro.
Both games allow you to build a fantasy team based on Top 14 players, both reward you for what those players do on the pitch, and both give you the chance to compete against other fantasy managers.
But that’s where the similarities start to fade.
The two games have very different scoring systems, squad mechanics, transfer rules and approaches to substitutes. If you’re used to playing Superbru or other fantasy rugby games, there are a few things you’ll need to get your head around.
So, here’s our fantasy guide to how to play La Grande Mêlée and Le P’tit Buro, including how to build your team, how players score points and the key strategies you’ll need to master.
La Grande Mêlée
Let’s start with La Grande Mêlée, a glorious, slightly crazy game made by the team also behind the Six Nations Fantasy game…
La Grande Mêlée has two game modes:
- Classic
- Mercato
Mercato is the more advanced version and is designed to be played in private leagues, whereas Classic can be played in the general league against everyone else.
For most new players, Classic is the obvious place to start.
Building your La Grande Mêlée team
The game gives every player an initial budget of 210 stars.
You then build your squad while staying within your available budget.
There is a maximum of four players from the same club during the regular season.
That increases to:
- 6 players per club during the Top 14 quarter-finals and semi-finals
- 10 players per club for the Top 14 final
You also have positional limits, with a maximum number of players available at each position:
| Position | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Full-backs | 2 |
| Wingers | 4 |
| Centres | 4 |
| Fly-halves | 2 |
| Scrum-halves | 2 |
| Back row | 6 |
| Second row | 4 |
| Props | 4 |
| Hookers | 2 |
You don’t necessarily need to fill all of those positions, but they determine the maximum number of players you can own at each position.
Your starting XV
Each round, you select your 15 starting players.
You can also put players on your bench.
Players on the bench normally score half of their points.
Your starting XV and bench are then carried forward automatically into the following round, although you can make changes between rounds.
The captain
Every round you can select one of your starting 15 as captain. Your captain scores double points + receives a 20-point bonus. So if your captain scores 40 points normally, they’ll contribute: 40 × 2 + 20 = 100 points
Choosing your captain is therefore one of the most important decisions you make each week.
The Supersub
And then previous players of the Six Nations and Nations Championship fantasy games will know all about this one. The Supersub.
If that player actually starts the real match on the bench and comes onto the pitch, their fantasy points are tripled.
If they’re a starter in the real match, or don’t play at all, their points are instead halved like any other bench player.
That means you’re looking for players who are highly likely to be used as impact substitutes.
A 25-minute cameo from a powerful forward could potentially be worth a lot more than you’d expect.
How does La Grande Mêlée score points?
La Grande Mêlée uses two different categories of points:
Team points
You receive points depending on the result of the player’s real-life team. A home win is worth 6 points, while an away win is worth 8 points. There are also points for draws and deductions for home defeats. You also receive a bonus or penalty of 0.5 points for every point in the final score difference. These team points are adjusted according to how long your player is actually on the pitch. I can’t emphasise enough how big of a factor this is. A player who has a worldie on a losing side could easily score lower than a player who has a very average game put plays the full 80 for a side that has a big win.
Player points
You then get points for what your individual player does during the match.
The scoring includes:
- Tries
- Conversions
- Penalties
- Drop goals
- Missed kicks
- Knock-ons
- Turnovers/jackals
- Breaks
- Defenders beaten
- Tackles
- Missed tackles
- Carries
- Offloads
- Interceptions
- Penalties conceded
- Yellow, orange and red cards
Like the Six Nations, forwards are rewarded more for tries than backs…
A try by a forward = 15 points
A try by a back = 10 points
Likewise, a successful jackal is worth more to a back than a forward, while a line break and defenders beaten are worth more to forwards.
Transfers in La Grande Mêlée
This is one of the game’s most important features. Before the round deadline, you can modify your squad and change your team completely. The normal round deadline is kick-off of the first match of the round. However, La Grande Mêlée gives you another weapon after that deadline. It’s called a last-minute change, and it costs credits.
You start the game with 200 free credits. After the deadline, you can spend those credits to make changes such as:
- Swap a starter with a bench player — 5 credits
- Buy a new player — 5 credits
- Sell a player — 5 credits
- Change your captain — 20 credits
- Change your Supersub — 20 credits
There is an important restriction: the relevant players must not have started their matches yet. This means you can use your credits to react to team announcements and other information during a round. Use them wisely, though. Once those 200 credits are gone, they’re gone unless you earn more through the game’s available mechanisms (or Pay 2 Win… although based on my experience, you’ll never need to do that…).
The Assistant Coach
La Grande Mêlée also has an Assistant Coach option. If one of your starting players doesn’t play at all during the round, the Assistant Coach can automatically replace them with a bench player from the same position who did play. This can provide some valuable protection against late withdrawals.
There is a catch, however. If you activate the Assistant Coach before the round deadline, you lose the ability to make last-minute changes during that round.
Player values
Players’ values aren’t fixed. Their prices rise or fall depending on their performances. They can also lose value when injured or suspended. That means La Grande Mêlée isn’t simply about finding the players who score the most points. There’s an element of buying low and selling high as well. Play the market smart and you’ll eventually not need to worry about budget.
Join me in the Fantasy Rugby Geek league on La Grande Mêlée by going directly here.
Le P’tit Buro
Now let’s turn to the second game. Brand new this season and made by Aymeric Milan (one of the Poneeey Club), Le P’tit Buro takes a pretty unique and cool approach to Fantasy.
The Classic game requires you to build a 17-player squad:
- 15 starters
- 2 substitutes
You have an 11 million budget and can select a maximum of three players from any one club.
The scoring system is very different
This is Le P’tit Buro’s USP. Le P’tit Buro uses a Performance Index. Every player’s performance is rated out of 100, with the calculation based on a large number of Opta statistics.
Crucially, the statistics are weighted differently depending on the player’s position.
So what makes a great fantasy performance for a prop isn’t necessarily the same thing that makes a great performance for a fly-half.
The broad interpretation of the ratings is:
| Performance Index | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 90+ | Exceptional |
| 80–89 | Excellent |
| 70–79 | Solid |
| 50–69 | Average |
| Under 50 | Poor |
A score of around 63 is roughly the median performance.
That means a player doesn’t need to score a try to have an excellent fantasy game.
What does that mean in practice?
A flanker might score extremely well through:
- Tackles
- Carries
- Metres after contact
- Ruck involvement
- Jackals
- Turnovers
- Dominant tackles
A fly-half, meanwhile, can build a big score through:
- Passing
- Kicking
- Kicking metres
- Assists
- Break-assist passes
- Tackles
- Defenders beaten
- 50:22s
Captaincy in Le P’tit Buro
Your captain is selected from your starting XV. Their score is simply doubled. Unlike La Grande Mêlée, there is no additional 20-point captaincy bonus (which is a pretty strange addition on La Grande Mêlée anyway IMO, because every one has a captain…).
The Impact Player
Your two substitutes have another important role.
One can be designated as your Impact Player. If they actually come off the bench during their real match, their fantasy score is doubled. This is different from La Grande Mêlée, where the Supersub’s score is tripled.
Like in La Grande Mêlée, in Le P’tit Buro, your substitutes need to be genuine substitutes in the real match. If a player you’ve put on your fantasy bench is unexpectedly named in the starting XV, their fantasy score is halved.
Most importantly, players must also play at least 10 minutes to receive a Performance Index score. This will make selecting backs risky, take a safe bet on a forward who will likely get a good amount of time off the bench.
Le P’tit Buro’s rolling deadline
Rather than locking your entire team when the first match of the round kicks off, players are locked when their own club’s match begins. So imagine there are matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Once Friday night’s match kicks off, the players from those clubs are locked. But your players from clubs playing on Sunday remain changeable.
Join me in the Fantasy Rugby Geek league on Le P’tit Buro by going here and entering the code 53PH4K.
THE KEY POINTS
| Factor | La Grande Mêlée | Le P’tit Buro |
|---|---|---|
| Squad | 15 + bench | 15 + 2 |
| Budget | 210 stars | £11m |
| Club limit | 4 | 3 |
| Captain | 2× + 20 bonus | 2× |
| Super/Impact player | 3× if substitute plays | 2× if substitute plays |
| Main scoring | Individual actions | Opta-based Performance Index |
| Player prices | Change | Change |
| Initial credits | 200 | — |
| Late changes | Yes, using credits | No cost/limit stated |
| Deadline | First match of round | Each club’s match |
| Assistant Coach | Yes | No |
| Performance minimum | Not stated | 10 minutes |
Advice for new players
If you’re completely new to both games, don’t overcomplicate things initially.
For La Grande Mêlée, concentrate on finding players who combine regular minutes with opportunities to score points. Keep an eye on player values and don’t waste your credits unnecessarily. And most importantly, back players who you think will be on the winning side in their match.
Your Supersub is particularly important, so look for players who are genuine impact substitutes and are likely to get meaningful minutes.
For Le P’tit Buro, forget traditional fantasy rugby thinking.
A player doesn’t need to score a try to be an excellent pick.
Look at the underlying statistics and ask what a player contributes to their team.
A flanker who makes 20 tackles and wins turnovers can be every bit as valuable as a winger who scores a try.
And in both games, team news is king.
Check the starting line-ups before the matches. Know which players are starting, which are on the bench and which aren’t involved (La Grande Mêlée in particular won’t help you with this 😂).
That’s particularly important when you’re choosing your captain and your Supersub/Impact Player.
Two more fantasy rugby games to add to your weekend
The arrival of Le P’tit Buro alongside La Grande Mêlée is great news for fantasy rugby geeks.
They’re both trying to do something slightly different.
La Grande Mêlée feels more like a traditional fantasy manager game, with player trading, fluctuating values, credits and tactical substitutions (and slightly chaotic scoring!).
Le P’tit Buro takes a more data-driven approach, with its Opta-based Performance Index rewarding players for the less obvious things they do on the pitch.
And that means there isn’t necessarily a single “best” game.
If you’re anything like me, the correct answer is simply: Play both.
Because if watching every Top 14 match wasn’t already enough of a commitment, you might as well have a fantasy interest in all of them as well.
A reminder to join my leagues!
Join me in the Fantasy Rugby Geek league on La Grande Mêlée by going directly here.
Join me in the Fantasy Rugby Geek league on Le P’tit Buro by going here and entering the code 53PH4K.
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