As our second ever Fantasy General Election comes to an end, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped make it the best one yet.
We thought we were doing pretty well in 2024, with more than 3,000 people taking part, but we've absolutely smashed that number this time around.
In total, 11,687 people signed up to play the game, which is pretty incredible. But what was even more impressive was the amount of time and effort people put into creating leagues and picking their teams.
As you may know, Fantasy General Election is a passion project, not a money-making enterprise, and so the only thing that really keeps us going is the people who play the game.
Whether you picked your team completely at random, or spent hours upon end pouring over a spreadsheet, I'm really grateful for everyone who got involved and made this year such a success. It really means a lot.
Of course, there's also a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make the game happen.
I don't think it's any coincidence at all that as new people came on board to help out, we had a record-breaking Fantasy General Election year.
And so, in no particular order, I'd like to say a massive thanks to:
Sam Body for her brilliant work improving the look and feel website, which I'm sure you will agree looks fantastic. Sam is an incredible designer, and has done an amazing job transforming this website from something which was - frankly - a bit shit, into something that looks really impressive.
Pat English for his political expertise, helping us to understand the ins and outs of the election. It's no exaggeration to say that Pat is now one of the UK's leading experts on elections, and we're really lucky to have him in the team.
Rob Willie for his enthusiasm and commitment in helping with the technical side of things. It's a bit of a cliche to say that it's the things that happen behind the scenes that are the most important, and the least noticed, but Rob has helped make significant improvements to the way the website works, for which I'm very grateful.
The person who cannot be named. There's one member of our team who we cannot name for professional reasons, but who has been absolutely instrumental in making this year's game a success. They've been a constant source of help, advice and common sense, and Fantasy General Election absolutely couldn't have happened without them.
Keep In Touch
We've all had so much fun putting on this year's Fantasy General Election that we're already thinking about what we can do to make it better next time around.
However, annoyingly, the next general election isn't until 2029.
Barring some sort of Labour Party disaster, we're going to have to wait a while before we can do it all over again.
Nobody really knows what we'll be doing in five years' time, but we're very much hoping to be back - bigger and better - whenever the UK next goes to the polls.
If you'd like to be alerted when we're back up and running, you can follow Fantasy General Election on Twitter.
If you'd like to be alerted when we're back up and running and you're up for some more internet nonsense in the meantime, you can find me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Substack.
Help Support The Game
One last thing before we go.
As I mentioned earlier, Fantasy General Election is very much a passion project.
We don't make any money from the game and, in fact, it's costing us several hundred pounds to run this year.
I appreciate that times are tight at the moment, so there's absolutely no expectation here at all, but if you've enjoyed playing the game this year, and are able to help chuck a few quid towards the running costs, you can do so here.
Thank you so much to everyone who has alreaedy donated - we really, really appreciate it.
Thanks again for playing, and we'll see you back here in 2029.
Cheers,
Tom and the Fantasy General Election team