GHL: Game Manual -

Welcome:

Welcome to the GHL (Good Hockey League). The GHL is a free online hockey dynasty game. You act as both the owner and general manager of a professional hockey team. You control all the aspects of your hockey team. It is up to you to build a successful team. Sign and trade players, manage detailed finances, control training schedules, and advanced team tactics. You control a team in a league of 19 other teams. The entire season and playoffs are 110 days long. Each team players 19 games at home and 19 games away. If your team is ranked in the top 8 of the league it will proceed to the playoffs.

The GHL is for everyone. From young to old, from experienced to inexperienced hockey fans. If you have questions about the game of hockey or the GHL our community of players will be glad to help you in our Game Forums.

Using the Game Manual:

At the top of each page is a "beginner help" table. This provides quick and useful tips for each page in the game. Click on the "Game Manual" link for a more detailed help for that page. You can also find a "game help" link in the bottom of page that will direct your browser to the help file for that specific page.

The help pages for each page are designed to help you with every aspect of that page. If you still require help you may find it useful to follow the "see also" links at the bottom of each help file.

Using the in-game tooltips:

Throughout the game there are "tooltips" to provide game help or explain abbreviations. Moving your mouse over certain objects will reveal a light yellow box. Tooltips can provide quick and easy help. To use tooltips you will need a compatible browser.

I created a team. Now what? (Getting Started):

If you are new to the GHL this section is designed to help get you started. When you create a team you will be placed in a level 1 difficulty league with 19 other teams (we'll talk about league difficulty ranks in another section). There are many "leagues" throughout the GHL allowing for an unlimited number of players. Each "league" has their own stats and list of free agents. You start with 20 million dollars, 0 players, 0 goalies, and 0 coaches. Your team starts with a small stadium that can hold only 7,500 seats and you don't have much of a fan base for your team.

Step 1 - Sign at least 18 players.

The first step is to sign 18 players. You do this by going to the "Manage Players" section. You can get started by signing players from the bottom table labeled "Free Agent Roster." Free Agents are players who aren't currently signed and are open to any team in the league.

You can use the auto sign feature located in the "beginners" help text at the top. This feature will check your team to see if you have a coach or goalie and then sign free agents until you have 18 players. It will choose the players based on a team salary of 25 million a season. If you haven't signed a goalie or a coach yet, it will project how much of the team salary should be reserved for them.

A more experienced hockey fan would rather sign their own players allowing for the type of team they want. They might want their best scoring line to have expensive, experienced players and let the other lines lack in experience. Try to look for players that are highly skilled at lower salaries.

If this is the first season you have owned a team your salary will be limited to 35 million a season. It is still best to keep your salary at 25 million or lower so that you can make more money.

Step 2 - Sign at least 2 goalies.

The second step is to sign at least 2 goalies from the free agent roster. To play a game your team will need a minimum of 1 starting goalie and 1 backup goalie. In most hockey teams the starting goalie is significantly better than the backup goalie and is played 90% of the time. The goalie is the most important player on the team and they cost more than player respectively. Remember to keep to your budget. Goalies can be signed in the "Manage Goalies" section.

Step 3 - Sign at least 1 coach.

The skill of your coach is very important. If you have a coach with poor training skills your players won't advance as quickly while training. The coach can be signed in the "Manage Coaches" section.

Step 4 - Manage Lines.

Now that you have signed all the players, goalies, and coaches you need to assign them to different positions for their next game. The first step is to assign at least 18 players to the roster. Your team can have more than 18 players but according to the rules of hockey only 18 players can be on the roster during a game. After you have assigned 18 players to your roster you can proceed to assign them to different positions.

Use the "Auto Assign Lines" and your lines will automatically be assigned. The best players for each line will be automatically chosen.

Check out the "Lines" help file for more information about managing lines.

Step 5 - Manage your finances.

In the "Finances" section you can control merchandise and ticket prices. You can also upgrade and downgrade your facilities. It's important to make money and you can increase your maximum money by adjusted the finances just right. Your "Advisors" section will provide useful tips about your prices. Make sure to check with your advisors after each change to the finance section.

Upgrades can maximize your profit, but if you increase a facility too high too fast, it will cost you more than you can make from it. Building upgrades are always useful, but make sure your staff is well equipped to deal with building. Having an understaffed building can cause fan unhappiness. The general rule of thumb is to keep your staff level the same as your building level.

Check out the "Finances" help file for more information about upgrades.

Step 6 - Game Tactics.

In the "Game Tactics" section you can adjust your team's strategy. Make sure to overview this section.

Conclusion:

You can find out about most aspects of the game by just exploring the game manual. If you still have questions you can ask in the Game Forums. Don't forget to support the GHL by taking interest in our sponsors (the advertisements throughout the game keep the game free) and to let your friends and family know.

From BSG Online Games,

Thanks for playing, we hope you have fun,
and many hours of enjoyment from our free games.

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