Rugby Dynasty - Online rugby manager game

Great game. Please add a juniors feature. This would make it the best sports mangager game (out of all sports!).

Wow! This is another level above text based managers. I have seen some awesome tries so far!

Excellent game. I can't stop playing it! It's the best manager game that I've ever played. Being able to watch the 3D games adds a whole new dimension to the experience.

Really enjoying this. It's great being able to analyze my teams match. A full 80 minutes!

An all round awesome game. The 3d viewer easily sets it apart from other on line management games.

Rugby Dynasty is by far the best rugby manager game on the internet. I can honestly say that I'm addicted to it!!

Get more for free. Rugby Dynasty is best sport browser game. Its not only 3D but also sends full game results statistics to your email.

Loving the free games. Great to be able to buy ranked games when you want them and just play the league games when you're feeling skint. Watching the 3D games is of my team is more fun than watching the real thing! Wicked stuff.

Creates the suspense of really managing a sports team. Great game!

I played Blackout for quite a while and heard this is worth checking out. I was playing them both for a while, but RD kinda blew my expectations out of the water. Being able to actually watch my team play a full 80 match in 3D has become more exciting than watching real rugby. I cut the blackout rugby out pretty quick and haven't looked back.

RD has a really friendly forum with lots of helpful people. In fact it's a weirdly nice forum where it can be hard to tell who the game developers are and who are just playing. Good that it's not too obvious about whose paying and whose not, too. If you do start, I recommend going to the game guide and the forum early on cause there's heaps of info and everyones really good at fielding questions and stuff.

Really glad I stumbled upon this game. Don't be put off by the slightly budget looking front page. I heard this being fixed up soon.

I switched over to Rugby Dynasty from Blackout, and I must say, I've been active for almost 2 years now... by far the best game of its sort out there!

A great game. Site revamp due soon, then Rugby Dynasty will be killer!

Just look at those screenshots! Why read text commentary of your game when you can view them in live action ?! This is the best rugby manager by far!

First impressions matter as they say- at first I was impressed from the screenshots it looks good, and the very positive reviews and ratings.

I was therefore very disappointed when I got into the game, to find that your team name is extremely limited to drop-down box options, and you are limited to pre-set logos and kit designs. The interface is just clunky, I couldn’t find any useful help guides. After 5 minutes I was completely underwhelmed- I think the 2D match viewer, and to a further extent the match engine, is the only thing going for this game; it’s impressive, not doubt about it, but everything else is pretty poor- for example the players you are given on sign-up are terrible- I had no forward greater than 100kg, 180cm locks… it was laughable. I shrugged it off at first, thinking I’d be able to sell off loads of deadwood and bring in a hoard of new players… but oh no! There weren’t ANY players on the transfer market, and there were 3 on the free agents. I was even more dismayed when I discovered that there were limits on buying and selling players- you can only buy 3 and sell 3 a season! There are just too many things going on with players as well (who all look the same by the way!)- 18 skills, 6 attributes, not to mention their weight, height etc! It’s just a jumble of numbers to a newbie!

All in all, I won’t be signing in again! Not unless I hear otherwise that it’s been improved, or I am persuaded!

Interesting comments, oldzealand. It's not for everyone, and you raise some good points. I've been playing from the start, so for what it's worth, I'll give you my 2 cents.

I may be wrong on some of the points, but from what I understand they have taken quite a realistic approach. For this reason they opted for drop boxes to stop people from using profanities, but to also avoid team names like 'The wE aRE thE aWESOMists!'and such. Not having real team names in the drop box is maybe something to do with licensing but I'm not sure. Personally, I've grown very attached to my Yuasa Kiwis as it is, and although making real teams like the All Blacks does have novelty factor, I feel easier to get attached to your own original team. That stuff might all just be personal taste though. I was surprised by the dropboxes at first, but I wouldn't change them to something else if I had the option now.

In terms of help guides, I find the Beginners Guide on the front page to be quite useful. I often go back there to clarify things. The forum is probably the best source of information though. Have a flick through it and you'll find a lot of hint and tips. We often get new people in asking questions, and everyone is really good about responding. It's developed as a small but really nice community.

The 2D match viewer and match engine are things that I really like, too. It works on smart phones, so I often use it for watching my games. The 3D ones are where the game really shines. Once you've gotten to know your team a bit, watching the 3D games can be more fun than watching real games on the TV. It doesn't take long to become really fond of the players and the team, and a lot of players manage to build reputations and come up in discussions on the forum. I was pretty amazed the first time a computer generated player (Shaun Harris) actually became a big talking point, and he still gets mentions even though he's retired.

It is a long term game with the idea that you get your team and have to work away at building them up slowly. A real manager wouldn't be able to drop all of their players and buy new ones because players have contracts and there are financial issues. I believe the transfer market was limited in part to discourage people from making multiple accounts, but both the free agents list and the transfer market include more players as you upgrade your scouting facility.

I've been playing for a while, but by no means have the perfect team. Nobody does though, so it means you have to set strategies carefully and choose positions strategically. You might have a guy who is 2m, so you want to play him as a lock, but he's also your fastest guy by a long shot, so you decide to place him on the wing instead. I had a really light forward pack for a long time, but they were all quite quick, so I managed to get by with speed. It takes time, but it takes everyone time. As you might see in the forum, not all of the 18 skills are as important as each other. I tend to look at a few, but the few I choose depend on the position I want them to play.

I won't defend everything, but at the end of the day it's a relatively new game made by two guys from Palmy (including all the 3D and AI), and they're still fixing things up. They take on board suggestions, which people debate, and implement them when they have time.

I check my guys out everyday and the tweak the strategy, or maybe move a player around. I know I come across as a real fanboy, and I am, but I really believe it's worth giving it a good go and reading up on a lot of the information available in the beginners guide and the forum.

If anyone want to correct me, that's cool. That's just my observations and experience. Good luck if you decide to continue playing. Cheers!

The Blackout Rugby page on this site is now asking people to come to the Rugby Dynasty page, pose as other users and post negative reviews.

You can read oldzealands positive reviews of BR as user ‘hellshocker’ by searching his IP on the page (where he openly criticizes others for posting with different usernames under the same IP).

I play BR and Rugby Dynasty and enjoy both games. But I am embarrassed by this conduct as I have noted on their page.I thought I would try and try and bring some balance to oldzealands post as someone who has logged into Rugby Dynasty much more than once.

He does have some valid points, but many are unfair……

-       By my math the team name dropdowns allow for approximately 70,000 unique team names. That’s pretty good. It also means that I don’t have to endure games against the “Silly Pumpkin Girly Heads” or other such named teams that I find ruins the experience for me personally.
-       The kits are limited to about 30 preselects. I would like to see a few more too, but some other Rugby Managers don’t even have kits!-       The match engine and 2D is impressive. Have to agree on this. The 3D is even better.
-       Yes, the players you are given at sign up are not great. One or two were good on my team. That’s how manager games work! You build the team, you don’t get gifted it.
-       180 cm locks? Just choose a taller player! The squad is randomised to begin with so that you have to select the team. If it were selected for you, where is the management??
-       The website is very clunky, no doubt about this. I hope they improve this. It is even clunkier than Blackout (yes that clunky!)  Having said that, it is easier to find your way around than Blackout.-       The beginners guide can be found on the homepage and every single other page of the website. Though I agree newbie info could be made better, the Forums are helpful.
-       The transfer market works differently to Blackout. You are only shown a certain number of players every 24 hours depending on your facility levels. So you probably logged in at the end of the cycle and the ones you were shown had sold. This prevents cheating and we all know that has caused real problems at Blackout.
-       Whilst many of the avatars have a sameness to them, it’s cool that they have them. To say they all look the same is unfair.Yes there are a lot of skills……but that’s Rugby!! In this department Rugby Dynasty is very rich and that’s not for everyone.

The BR page of this site is doing nothing of the sort. It is most likely the actions of one or a small number of childish individuals who seem to glean some pathethic kind of enjoyment from rubbishing one or both games, stooping to the level of impersonating others in an attempt to incriminate them.

I have absolutely no opinion one way or the other regarding rugby dynasty - it is one of the few rugby management games that I have not yet had the pleasure of playing.

A nice thing of Rugby Dynasty, other that the superb 2D and 3D engine, is the fact that you get pre-set logos and kit designs, without having to be a paying premium member, to access such features.

Go Rugby Dynasty!!!

I'd never played nor been tempted to play any online game of any sort but saw an ad in a Facebook sidebar and got drawn in and I love it. It is hard to get started, which for me is a plus as it reflects reality, yes for a newbie the range of statistics for skills and attributes is hard to digest.. but on the other hand if only real players came provided with such statistics! In my first season I won the opening match by pure fluke, then got totally mauled for the next four while I found my way and I did that by paying a lot of attention to what was going on both during play and statistically, then I won the last four league matches and sneaked in to the play-off's on points scored; then ended up winning the play-off final and it didn't happen by chance, it was a lot of careful study and planning and because the RD developers also provide professional services to the real sport I'm sure this is why the game appears complex (like life is) but becomes manageable when you set your mind to being a manager. I can't compare RD to anything else because I've not done anything else but for me the game is as close to reality as you can get, and getting closer with every upgrade they develop and it has my loyalty for sure.

RD has a awesome match engine because of the 3D view and advanced match strategies but blackout rugbys community structure and onsite is far more better.

Don't know how these ratings work. But we all know that Blackout is better than any of these games. I play all now but XV Manager and it is not even close. Dream on guys!

Rugby Dynasty is an awesome game. From the ability to watch your game (FOR FREE) in 2D, instead of just text commentary, to the fact that even Blackout Rugby recently copied zonal strategy system, you cannot go wrong. All players have fictitious player portraits ( yes, this is available to free players!). Other features available to free players is the Hall of fame, the seasonal statistics (for example most points scored in a season, most tries scored, etc). If you are on Android or iPhone, the interface caters perfectly for mobile devices. Really a top notch game!

Easily the best sports manager game I've played (and I've played a lot...). The 3D game viewer puts it way out of the league of other web based indi games and compares well to full commercial ($$) titles. The developers are very responsive to the community and the forum is an anomalously nice place that somehow thrives in the fetid swamp of lulz and flamewars that makes up most of the internet.

Just be aware that this isn't just a cookie cutter game just like every other online manager game. Don't assume everything to work the way it does in other games. There's some unique aspects to the way the game is structured that do two really good things compared with comparable games; 1) make it very hard to abuse multiple accounts (which are permitted if not encouraged) and 2) make it possible for new teams to climb to the top.

If you've played a lot of manager games previously then you must unlearn much of what you have learned. Ask questions and read the beginners guide and new player guide in the forum.

RD is a terrific game. Very easy to get addicted to. Loads of things to keep you occupied. Spend a bit of time at the start to get to know the game, ask questions on the Forums, and read the great wiki guides to the technical aspects of the game. Like any sport, success is not instantaneous. You have to manage your team over time. Do it well and with a little luck you can find yourself rocketing up the seedings. I've played the game since it's inception and am a huge fan. There's something here for everyone if you spend more than a week or two on it.

From having no interest in digital games I've become hooked on RD! It's involving, authentic and original, attended by a wonderful community that correspond by forum and who are genuinely listened to and taken notice of by the developers. I started with one team seeded over 500 places down the table, now they're seeded 92 and this took a lot of work but the promotion system rewards the investment in time and use of the gray matter. Definitely a game for keeps!

Rugby Dynasty is the best rugby manager game that has ever been created. I don't have to tell you about all the features because others have posted about them but I'm sure all these negative posts are from people who have hardly played the game and decided to judge before giving it a chance, or just people trying to steer others away from a great game for whatever reason. I have been playing this game since halfway through season 2 (we are in season 9 now just over a year later), and I can honestly say thay I am so addicted that I log in at least twice a day. The forums are great and the owners are really friendly guys. I would recommend this game to anyone searching for an awesome online rugby manager game because there is nothing out there that even compares to this and I doubt there will be for some time.

Best game ever for all the rugby lovers!!!

Unlike some other similar game you don't need to pay for fully enjoy the game and you can even see your match with a very effective 2D graphics. No comparison with other games only interested to steal your money!!!

I joined Rugby Dynasty after discovering Blackout Rugby is lying about giving free premium membership to users giving good reviews. Its merely a publicity stunt to attract new users to a very mediocre game. But what else do you expect from a game that BLATANTLY stole many of its ideas (ie zonal defense) from Rugby Dynasty? Deceipt and lies.

Fantastic game! Loving the realism, no hidden values or traits. Build a team your way, a Rugby fan’s dream!

I have an RD account for a year and a half. I have account on 4 different rugby manager games, but I am not attached to any of them.
So, my personal and objective opinion could be summarized like this :

The plus side + :
- The 3Dmatches / engine - is great. This is the main feature of the game. It is looks nice and can keep you in front of the monitor.
- The 2D matches - still good for an overall view on the match. Seen it on other games, but on RD the 2D is well realized.
- The game does not need a lot of time - you can easily log in once a month or twice a year (!) - I mean it.
- Diversity of Attributes and Skills.
- Nice community on forum.


The negative side -
- The game interface - poorly designed, very slow, not so intuitive. When you see it, the first action is to leave. It looks like a site from the ‘90s and has the same speed as in the ‘90s.
- You have to pay for your 3D matches, as well as for the 2 D matches of other teams. The price is 1 point / match (1 point is 1 US dollar). It is quite expensive. It is true that you get free points, but not more than 10-12 a year. If you really want to see matches in 3D you have to pay.
- Team management – it is a long and painful process, because of the interface.
- Restrictions on name (you have to choose the name from a list), jersey, logo, etc. The touch of originality in your team is almost inexistent.
- The game is only in English, almost all player have English names.
- There is only one international league, so if you would like to play with players from your country … not so obvious.
- Transfer market almost inexistent – that’s a huge drawback
- The beginners guide is not as detailed as you would like it to be.
- You do not have things to do. I logged in today in the game and I don’t think I will need to log in before the next year. Seriously.


Overall, a game with a great potential, a nice community, some great features, but which it lacks a lot, a lot of things. You do not have things to do, limited actions and an interface which will make you log out instead of playing.

It is true that the interface is dated!

If you don't log in regularly you could miss the chance to scout your each season which is a huge part of the game. This feature may not have been around when you started playing??

Also it is important to log in at least each week otherwise you miss out on Free Agents, which are another big part of the game.

Finally your players may reach max levels of attributes if you don't log in each week.

All in all you can be a serious manager if you log in just once a week or a little less. Which is probably a good thing for most busy people. But log in much less than that and you will probably never have a great side, though like you say you can still take this approach.

Updated website now, so the interface is definitely improved now, It is still the best game out there - and with things set to improve, I can't wait to see where this game goes from here.

The negative side -
- The game interface - poorly designed, very slow, not so intuitive. When you see it, the first action is to leave. It looks like a site from the ‘90s and has the same speed as in the ‘90s.

This comment is wrong, it looks like a game from the modern error and easy to go through the game with not too much detail that confuses you


- Restrictions on name (you have to choose the name from a list), jersey, logo, etc. The touch of originality in your team is almost inexistent.


- The game is only in English, almost all player have English names.

This is also wrong as there are plenty of names world wide as its based on names from nations and yes english names inenglish countries but asian,european,african,spanish names are plenty as well , and you can pay to rename as well

- Transfer market almost inexistent – that’s a huge drawback

Transfer Market you can buy a decent team cheap at the start of your career to move forward

- The beginners guide is not as detailed as you would like it to be.

The Beginners guide is pretty self explanatory as well, you just need read the documentation which isnt that hard to do

- You do not have things to do. I logged in today in the game and I don’t think I will need to log in before the next year. Seriously.

There are plenty of things to do when you start unless you dont want to improve straight away and buy cheap decent players on the transfer market and save cash, or you can buy low skill players straight away and then save even more cash to build a better team in three seasons time

Also when you start you can even make a friendly comp and compete against new managers if you like, you choose the rules and go from there, this can take away the boredom of the league if you play too many computer teams.

Guys, this was such a great game. So sad that its gone. Isn't there some way that it can be revived?