The Great British Bake Off Fantasy Draft

For the past few years, my wife, brother-in-law, and I have spiced up our viewing of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO). We draft a team of contestants, and the first one of us to lose all their players has to bake a cake for the winner. Intrigued? Let me explain.

Understanding GBBO

Firstly, I'm not a baker, but I'm constantly awed by the contestants on GBBO. It's a BBC show where twelve amateur bakers don't compete for money, endorsements, Vegas shows, or their own TV series. They vie for the title of that season's Greatest British Baker, a branded cake stand, and a bouquet of flowers. Our in-house competition arguably has more at stake. Each episode features three challenges: a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a show-stopper. By the end, one person wins the star baker award, while another is sent home.
If you fancy setting up a similar game with your loved ones, here’s our framework:

The Draft

First, draft your team. We watch the initial challenge of the first episode and pause just before the judges' critique. Draft order is based on recent baking experience: the most recent baker chooses first, and so on. In our game, with three players, my wife gets first pick (she excels at cupcakes), followed by my brother-in-law, with me (a non-baker) last. Using this, our draft order would be:
Pick:

1. My wife
2. Brother-in-law
3. Me
4. Me
5. Brother-in-law
6. My wife
7. My wife
8. Brother-in-law
9. Me
10. Me
11. Brother-in-law
12. My wife

Drafting Strategy

We decided to draft post the first challenge. This helps familiarize us with contestants' names, backgrounds, and initial performances. However, we draft before the judges’ comments, so there's no significant advantage. Other ideas included drafting pre-show or post-critique. During that initial bake, we jot down names, traits, baking styles, and performance intuitions.
Star Bakers = Ingredients
Our reward system isn’t monetary. It's baking-related. Every episode, a top-performing contestant gets the 'star baker' title. We incorporated this: for every star baker on your team, you get an extra cake ingredient. Two star bakers might get you a chocolate cake with almonds and coconut. Without any, you’re looking at a basic chocolate, vanilla, or yellow cake.

How to Win

Each episode sees a contestant leave. Once all your contestants are out, you're the loser and bake the winner's cake. If your team member becomes the Greatest British Baker, you're the champ, and someone else bakes for you. Everyone else simply enjoys a more interactive viewing experience.
Our GBBO fantasy draft adds a layer of excitement to an already fantastic show.

We’ve done this for 3-4 seasons, and I've yet to lose. If you try it, I’m here for advice or to hear about your unique take on GBBO Fantasy!