Knife Fight · Lifecycle
The product tells you when it matters.
A draft clock, a trade review, and The Cut Line do not need a campaign calendar. They need the right interruption and a route back to the action.
If nothing changed, nothing sends.
Channel plan
One state. The right channel.
- The record. Context, recaps, receipts, and a link back.
- SMS
- The opted-in interruption. It replaces push for covered moments.
- Push
- The instant route when SMS is not selected, eligible, or delivered.
- In product
- The source of truth and the place where the next action happens.
Deep linking
The alert and the screen share one route.
Universal Links open the exact league state in the iOS app. Without the app, the same URL opens the same state on the web.
- Draft decision
- /l/…/draft
- Scramble win
- /l/…/team/…
- No successful claim
- /l/…/players
- Commissioner review
- /l/…/settings#commish
- Opt inExplicit consent and a verified US number
- Stay shortOne branded message with one product route
- Stay controllableSTOP, START, and HELP are honored
- Cap frequencyA weekly safety limit prevents runaway sends
01 · Join
Earn attention before asking for it.
A new player needs to understand the format, fill a league, and choose how urgent moments should reach them. Permission comes after the value is clear.
Welcome
- When
- A new account is created
- Job
- Explain the format and point to the first league.
The field is set
- When
- The final seat in a league is claimed
- Job
- Close recruitment and move the commissioner toward the draft.
Choose an instant channel
- When
- An eligible player reaches notification settings
- Job
- Explain the stakes before asking for push permission or verified SMS consent.
Get told the second you're on the clock, and when your team is on the line.
The OS dialog appears only after someone taps Enable.
Text alerts
Time-sensitive league alertsDraft decisions, The Cut Line, Scramble results, and trade action.
Explicit consent, verified number, clear controls. SMS replaces push for covered moments.
02 · Draft
Get every owner into the room.
A scheduled draft has long gaps, then real urgency. Email carries the plan. The chosen instant channel carries the clock.
Pre-bidding is open
- When
- A Knife Fight Draft opens its early sealed board
- Job
- Let owners build a queue before the first player opens.
Draft day and draft start
- When
- The scheduled draft is near, then moves live
- Job
- Bring back owners who joined days or weeks earlier.
Your decision is live
- When
- A slow pick opens or a sealed tie needs a re-bid
- Job
- Turn the current draft state into one clear action.
10 minutes remain
- When
- A slow-draft clock is close to expiring
- Job
- Prevent an autopick without nagging all draft long.
The room changed
- When
- A commissioner pauses, resumes, or rewinds the draft
- Job
- Keep every owner aligned with the state now on screen.
Knife Fight: You're on the clock in Sunday Cut. Round 4, Pick 61 overall. knifefight.io/l/…/draftReply STOP to opt out.
03 · Season
Make the stakes impossible to miss.
The Cut Line is the heartbeat of the product. Lifecycle follows the same state the player sees in the app and stops when that state stops being true.
You're on the line
- When
- A team first enters the cut zone after games are underway
- Job
- Surface the one change that can end a season.
You've been cut
- When
- The scoring week finalizes and the team is eliminated
- Job
- Close the loop and explain what changed.
Scramble result
- When
- A waiver run completes
- Job
- Send each owner to the result that matters to them while the Gallery holds the public receipt.
Weekly cut recap
- When
- The cut and waiver cycle is complete
- Job
- Package the week into a durable league story.
The Last Blade
- When
- The final survivor is crowned
- Job
- End the season with a result worth keeping and sharing.
The send is deduplicated, tied to membership, and rechecked before delivery. Simulations never send paid SMS.
04 · Trade
Tell the right person what happens next.
A trade moves between two owners, a commissioner, and a review clock. Each person gets the next action, not a history lesson.
New offer or counter
- When
- An owner sends or revises a deal
- Job
- Put the live decision in front of the other owner.
Trade rejected
- When
- An owner declines the deal
- Job
- Close the loop for the proposer without reopening a dead action.
Trade to review
- When
- An accepted deal enters the review window
- Job
- Give commissioners the deadline and a direct route to review.
Trade completed
- When
- The review window closes and the deal executes
- Job
- Confirm the result and send both owners to their updated teams.
The copy changes with the recipient. The route changes with the action they own.
The operating rule
Useful beats frequent.
Every message comes from a real product event. Email carries context. SMS or push earns the interruption. Universal Links hand the player back to the exact action, and the product remains the source of truth.
Back to the Knife Fight case study →