Learn the Game
How Fantasy Government Works
Fantasy sports for the U.S. Congress. Draft real legislators, earn points for real legislative activity, and compete head to head every week, completely nonpartisan.
Play Free →Four Simple Steps
From Draft Day to Championship
Create or Join a League
Start a private league with friends or join a public one. Choose up to 12 teams, pick your draft date. The Commissioner tier unlocks custom scoring rules and league sizes up to 20 teams.
Draft Your Roster
In a live draft room, take turns picking from all 535 active Senators and Representatives. Build a 10-legislator roster with at least 3 Senators and 5 Representatives. Snake drafts reverse order each round. No party rules. Draft a full bench of one party if you want, or go bipartisan for the Balanced Roster badge. The only thing that scores points is showing up.
Congress Scores Points
Every vote cast, bill sponsored, committee pass, floor amendment, and law signed automatically updates your roster score. Data is pulled directly from Congress.gov within hours of every floor event. No manual entry, ever.
Win Your Season
Weekly head to head matchups build your record through 24 scoring weeks. The top teams advance to a three week playoff: Wildcard, Semifinals, and Championship. The winner is immortalized as Congress Champion. Their playoff point total becomes the target for every team to chase the following year.
🗳️ Election Mode
When Congress goes on Election Recess, free leagues go quiet.
Commissioner leagues never stop competing.
5 weeks. 5 picks. Real election odds.
Every even year, both chambers enter a 5 week Election Recess before Election Day. Congressional scoring goes dark. Election Mode activates for Commissioner leagues on October 5th.
Powered by real Kalshi market odds
We surface only competitive races where no candidate is above 80% favorite. No blowouts. Every pick is a real decision.
Closer races pay more points
Pick a 70%+ favorite correctly: 5 pts. True toss-up: 20 pts. Underdog: 35 pts. Max haul across 5 picks: 175 pts.
Boosts playoff seeding without touching your record
Election Mode points add to your season total only. Your win loss record is sacred. But a big Election Night can flip your seed and change your bracket.
Senate tiebreaker
Submit one integer at pick time: how many Senate seats will Democrats hold? Closest guess wins any Election Mode points tie.
"Free leagues sit out Election Recess. Commissioner leagues are still trash talking through Election Night."
🗳️ Election Mode
Oct 5 – Nov 8 · All 5 picks open
Your 5 Picks — Competitive Races Only
U.S. Senate — Pennsylvania
U.S. Senate — Nevada
U.S. Senate — Arizona
U.S. House — NY-17
U.S. Senate — Ohio
🔢 Tiebreaker · Submit once at pick time
How many Senate seats will Democrats hold after the election?
📈 Projected Election Night Leaderboard
Pro and Commissioner Leagues Only
Election Mode is available on Pro ($7.99/mo) and Commissioner ($14.99/mo) plans. Free leagues sit out Election Recess.
See Pricing →Cancel anytime · Instant access
Season Structure
One Season. One Champion.
Fantasy Government mirrors the real congressional calendar. Scoring pauses automatically during every recess. Every week Congress is in session, your roster is earning points.
Jan 5
Season opens
Jun 29
Summer break 🏖️
Sep 14
Fall weeks return
Oct 4
Standings lock
Oct 5
Election Recess 🗳️
Nov 9
Playoffs begin
Dec 6
Champion crowned 🏆
Joining after the season starts? No problem. Your schedule is built from the current week forward. You play every remaining regular season week and the same three week playoff as everyone else.
Regular Season
January 5 to October 4
Twenty four scoring weeks spread across the full year. Congress earns your points every week it is in session. Recesses pause scoring automatically. Summer break runs late June through mid September with the waiver wire still open. The final regular season week ends October 4 and standings are locked.
📅 Standings lock October 4
🏆 Top teams advance to playoffs
Playoffs
November 9 to December 6
Three weeks of high stakes scoring. Wildcard week sends the top two seeds straight to the semis with a bye. The top seed picks their semifinal opponent. One final week later the championship game crowns the Congress Champion for this Congress year.
📅 Wildcard Nov 9 · Semis Nov 16 · Final Nov 30
🏆 Congress Champion crowned December 6
119th Congress Championship
December 6, 2026
Each year the champion sets a playoff point record. The next year that number sits on the board as the target for every playoff team to chase. Beat it and your name goes in the record books as a Congress Championship holder, the highest honor in Fantasy Government.
📅 Beat the Year 1 champion total
🏆 Immortalized in league history
Season schedule based on the official 119rd Congress legislative calendar (Senate.gov). Subject to change if Congress adjusts its recess schedule.
Complete Scoring System
Every Point Explained
Points are awarded for legislative participation and effectiveness. Political positions, party affiliation, and the content of legislation never factor in.
Vote Cast (Yes or No)
+2Hundreds per week
Vote Present
0Occasional
Missed Vote
−3Penalty
Bill Sponsored
+10Weekly
Bill Cosponsored
+3Very common
Bill Cosponsored (Bi)
+5Cross party
Bill Passes Committee
+15Monthly
Bill Passes Chamber
+25Monthly
Bill Signed Into Law
+50Rare but huge
Amendment Sponsored
+5Occasional
Amendment Adopted
+8Rare
Captain Multiplier 2x
Designate one legislator as your Captain each week. All points they earn are multiplied by 2x. Choose wisely. Picking a legislator with a busy floor schedule can be the difference between winning and losing.
Strategy Guide
Draft Day Tips
Target high volume voters
Senators who miss fewer than 5% of votes are gold. Consistent +2s add up fast over a session.
Prioritize bill sponsors in majority
Legislators in the majority party move more bills through committee. Committee passes (+15) and chamber passes (+25) are where leagues are won.
Mix chambers strategically
House members vote more frequently than Senators. A balanced roster of both optimizes weekly floor vote volume.
Watch committee assignments
Members on powerful committees (Appropriations, Judiciary, Finance) see more bill activity and milestone scoring.
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked
How do I earn points in Fantasy Government? +
Your drafted legislators earn points for real legislative activity: voting Yes or No (+2 pts), sponsoring a bill (+10 pts), a sponsored bill passing committee (+15 pts), a sponsored bill becoming law (+25 pts), cosponsoring bills (+3 pts), sponsoring amendments (+5 pts), and amendments being adopted (+8 pts). Missing a vote costs −1 pt.
Is Fantasy Government partisan or biased? +
No. Fantasy Government is strictly non-partisan. Points are awarded for legislative activity regardless of party, ideology, or the content of legislation. We do not take political positions.
How many legislators can I draft? +
Each team drafts 15 legislators. Every roster must include at least 3 Senators and at least 5 Representatives. Commissioners can adjust total roster size for their league.
How often are scores updated? +
Scores update every 30 minutes. The sync engine pulls the latest votes and bill activity from Congress.gov and posts new score events to your league feed automatically.
Is Fantasy Government free to play? +
Yes — the Free plan lets you join leagues, draft legislators, and track scores. Pro ($7.99/month) adds advanced stats, analytics, and Election Mode access. Commissioner ($14.99/month) adds full league administration tools, custom scoring rules, and Election Mode.
What happens if I join or create a league after the season has started? +
No problem. When a league is created mid-season, the schedule is built from the current week forward. Past weeks are skipped and your roster only earns points from the week your draft is completed. You will play fewer regular season weeks but the same three week playoff runs for everyone. To be eligible for the Congress Championship your league must complete at least 10 regular season weeks.
Can I use Fantasy Government in my classroom? +
Absolutely. Fantasy Government aligns with AP Government & Politics curriculum standards. Educators can request a free classroom account from our For Educators page.
Ready to Draft Your Roster?
Free to play. No credit card required. The 2026 season is already underway.