Build a dynasty.Or get fired trying.
Rafters is a basketball front-office game. Pick a club. Your owner sets the target, twenty-nine rival front offices negotiate back, and the deadline does not wait for you.
Deep enough for the sickos.Pro Simple enough for everyone.Lite
Coming soon to Steam on Mac and Windows PC.
Roman Sterling is 35. Win this year, or start the rebuild.
The game
This is your office.
Ten screens from one season, mid-February. The roster, the board, the match, the books and the club you are building, all in one place.
- Your club, crest and record, on every screen.
- The top of the West, with your club highlighted.
- Your five: the Aviators’ probable starters.
- Your next games, and the latest results around the HBA.
- Your rotation: ratings, positions and roles.
- The starting five, placed on the floor.
- Your system's identity, and how well-drilled the team is.
- The war room: how much of the class your scouts have seen.
- Payroll against the cap, the tax line and the first apron.
- The owner, and the board's confidence in you.
- Three objectives from the board, and how you are tracking.
- The club's market, rivals and money.
- The power board, with every club’s crest.
- The Wire: the league's own paper.
- Its lead story is about your club.
Rafters is set in the Heartvale Basketball Association (HBA), a fictional league of 30 clubs. Screens from a development build; details can change before release.
The league
Thirty clubs. Thirty mascots.
Every club in the HBA has a city, a crest and a mascot. Pick yours when you join the waitlist. Pick your club
The job
Everything a GM answers for.
Pick any club. The league moves around you whether you are ready or not.
- 01Ownership
The owner can fire you.
Your board sets a target before the season. Its confidence moves every week. Lose the room, and you lose the job.
- 02Rival GMs · 29
Twenty-nine rival front offices.
They build to a plan. They counter. They say no.
- 03Draft · Develop
Rookies who become stars.
Draft a nineteen-year-old and watch him grow into your best player.
- 04Fan pulse
Fans who notice.
Lose at home and you hear it. Win, and the building fills up.
Read the full brief
- 05Locker room
Veterans who mentor.
The right veteran makes your rookie better. The wrong one does not.
- 06Best of seven
Playoff series as a story.
Seven games. One roster. Every adjustment is yours.
- 07Season 1 · 2 · 3 · …
No season limit.
Build a dynasty that lasts as long as you do. Or rebuild the one you broke.
Deadline day
Some deals go through. Most do not.
Every call you make runs through the real rulebook, and every rival GM has a plan of their own.
Two ways to play
Run everything. Or make the big calls.
You pick a mode on the new-save screen. Pro starts on the Real CBA cap rules, and Lite starts on the Fixed cap. You can change the cap rules in both modes.
- TradesYouAssistant
- The draftYouAssistant
- Free agencyYouAssistant
- Watch the gamesYouAssistant
- RotationsYouAssistant
- TacticsYouAssistant
- TrainingYouAssistant
- ScoutingYouAssistant
- FinancesYouAssistant
The full rulebook. The cap follows league revenue every summer, and new contracts move with it.
A flat salary cap with one hard apron. Less of the fine print.
The Expansion Class · our tester group
Play it first. Shape it.
Before the Early Access Beta, we sign a small group of testers. You play early builds, report what breaks, and help decide what comes next. Founding members get their name hung in the rafters: a credit in the game itself.
Applications are open. Apply for the Expansion Class, then join our Discord.
You've been signed to a two-way contract.
Welcome to the Rafters Expansion Class.
Press room
Before you take the job.
The front office takes questions.
Q.When does the Early Access Beta open?
We have not set a date yet. The waitlist hears first, by email.
Q.Do I need to know the rulebook?
No. In Lite, your assistant runs the day-to-day and you make the big calls. In Pro, you run everything. You pick when you start a new save.
Q.Is this a real league?
No. Rafters is set in the Heartvale Basketball Association (HBA), a fictional league of 30 clubs. The rules are real: the salary cap, the luxury tax, the aprons and the trade rules.
Q.What is the Expansion Class?
A small group of testers who play early builds before the beta and help shape the game. Founding members get their name in the game's credits. Apply for the Expansion Class.
Q.What does it cost to join the waitlist?
Nothing. The waitlist is free, and you can leave at any time.
Standard waitlist agreement · HBA
The Early Access Beta is coming.
The waitlist gets the first invites. Take the job before someone else does.
Joining the waitlist means we email you Rafters news and your Early Access invite. Unsubscribe at any time. You must be 16 or over. Your club is the one you picked at the top of the page. Privacy policy.
