When I started my studies back in 2002, one of my roommates played Hattrick. He was really excited when he explained the game to me, so I started playing. In the first year of playing, I got an HT-mail from someone who was living nearby. At this moment he is still one of my best friends. We both started playing again when we first stopped playing somewhere in 2008.
What I like about the Hattrick community is that there are real people and you don't just compete against the computers. You play against each other, but you can also help each other in the forum and talk about everything.
A favourite part of Hattrick is when you have an Eureka-moment, when you realize you understand some part of the game better than others. Or when you win something important, like a Cup, or gain promotion to the first division. My current goal is to reach the top-10 in Belgium again and to win a Cup with more of my own youth players.
I love Hattrick because it's simple. It is not taking much time to learn the dynamics, but you can tweak it forever. I love Hattrick because to me it is like Subbuteo or Risk. It is simple to learn but hard to master. It's still exciting to wait for 90 minutes to see the result of a game, four months to see the end of a season. I love Hattrick because it is possible to set goals for several years, to see your team growing up, to learn the names of the players, and to build memories about them.
When I registered, I liked that Hattrick has fantasy names instead of real players. That got me hooked. I also liked that all opponents were people of flesh and blood… and also that they turned out to be really helpful, showing me the steps you need to take as a new user to improve your team. Today, I am a good mentor myself.
I play Hattrick because it’s an addictive game. The game can be enough on its own … But by adding the community part, it borders on perfection!