Match: The basics

The basics of the match simulation

In each half, a number of attacks are made, and the midfield decides which team gets each attack. The team with the strongest midfield (the team with the most ball possession) is most likely to get a larger number of attacks.   When a team gets an attack, it is decided what kind of attack it is. Basic attacks consist of attacks through the right wing, left wing, or center, as well as set pieces (free kicks and penalties). The attacking team's attack for that sector will then try to break through the defending team's defense for the corresponding sector.

The basic attacks

In each match a number of basic attacks (as explained above) are made. Some of these attacks are open, and can be taken by either team, and some are exclusive for one team only.

For open attacks, the midfield decides which team gets each attack. Exclusive attacks work in the same fashion, with one exception: If your midfield "wins" one of your opponent's exclusive attacks; you stop the attack - but you don't get it yourself. You can't get your opponent's exclusive chances, and they can't get yours.

Most of the basic attacks are reported in the match report, but ones that don't even come close to scoring opportunities are not reported.  You may also gain additional attacks from "Special Events" and from counter-attacks. These additional attacks are described in the other two match chapters.

Home field advantage

The home team is helped by their fans. Ordinarily you have a larger percentage of possession at home than you would have away.   When both teams playing in the match are from the same region, the game is treated as a rivalry match. In this case, the home team still gets their home field advantage, but the away team also receives a boost about half as big. Games on neutral grounds do not provide any home field advantage bonuses, even when a team is from the same region as the neutral stadium.

Psychology and the coach's mentality

Team spirit, confidence, and team attitude affect how well your team performs. You can read all about how Hattrick simulates these in the "Psychology" chapter.
The coach's mentality (if he's offensive, defensive, or neutral) also plays a part. Read more about this in the "The coach" chapter.

Team rating is the rating you should focus on

After a match has been played, you will get a team rating for each part of the team. These ratings tell you how well different parts of your team performed in the match, and it is these ratings that matter for the actual match calculation.

The match rating denominations (the scale goes from non-existent to divine) are also specified in four sub-levels: very low, low, high, and very high. This way it's easier to know precisely how good your rating is. For example a "very high solid" rating is just a little bit worse than "very low excellent", but a lot better than "very low passable".

Star rating

After a match your players receive a star rating for their performance in the match. The more stars, the better the performance.

Please note that the star rating only rates the individual player performance for his particular position and is useful for comparing different players playing in the same position. It's not an ideal way to measure team strength. To know how your whole team performed (and compare with other teams), look at the team ratings.

Please also be aware that team effects (such as the contribution loss for more than one player in a central position (see basic lineup chapter) is not reflected in the star rating.

A normal case

Simply put, the midfield rating of your team will decide how many scoring opportunities your team has during a match. The other parts of the team (Scoring, Winger, Defense, Goalkeeper) will decide the probability of any attacks leading to goals.

The following table may help you understand what to look for when selecting your team. Please note that this is only an example.  Some skill levels may only mean slight differences in performance, and for other levels the differences might be much larger. Additionally, individual orders (play defensively, for example) or the "crowding penalty" for using two or more players in a central position have not been taken into consideration.

Part of team	Factors (most important first)
Midfield	Playmaking - IM Playmaking - Wingers Playmaking - CDs Playmaking forwards Playmaking wingbacks
Left Attack	Winger - Left W Winger - Left WB Scoring - Forwards Passing- Left IM Passing - Left W Winger- FW Passing- FW Passing - IM
Left Defense	Defending - Left WB Goalkeeping - GK Defending - Left CD Defending - Left W Defending center central defender Defending - GK Defending - Left IM Defending center inner midfielder
Central Attack	Scoring - Forwards Passing- FW Passing - IM Scoring inner midfielders Passing - W
Central Defense	Defending - CD Goalkeeping - GK Defending - IM Defending - WB Defending - GK Defending - W
Right Attack	Winger - Right W Winger - Right WB Scoring - FW Passing - Right IM Passing - Right W Winger- FW Passing- FW Passing - IM
Right Defense	Defending - Right WB Goalkeeping - GK Defending - Right CD Defending - Right W Defending center central defender Defending - GK Defending - Right IM Defending center inner midfielder