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Tricia Jonker can trade war stories with any fantasy football widow. Every Sunday, her former boyfriend slipped into a world dominated by endless discussion of player statistics, obsessive debates over potential trades and references to fantasy points.

"He was all about fantasy football and he kept talking about his players," said Ms. Jonker, who lives in St. Catharines, Ont.

Eventually, she got tired of listening to the intricate play-by-play analysis of a game she didn't understand. But instead of starting a fight, Ms. Jonker decided to start her own fantasy football team.

"I didn't know the difference between a tight end and a wide receiver," she said. "My whole attitude then was 'I enjoy sports, I have no clue about this sport, but if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.' "

Before long, Ms. Jonker understood the ins and outs of football and could trade trash talk with any of the guys in the league. She loved managing her own team in her boyfriend's fantasy league and soon she started beating him.

"I came in second and he came in third," she said. "It was difficult. He wasn't too excited about having me beat him."

Although the relationship didn't last, Ms. Jonker's fantasy sports obsession did.

Over time, she met other women who shared the interest and was inspired three years ago to create a new fantasy league dubbed the Canadian Girls Football League. Ms. Jonker and her friends wanted to avoid creating competitive tension with their boyfriends and husbands, so only women are invited to play.

"It's definitely better that it's an all-girl league since we are all in a relationship," Ms. Jonker said.

In order to cast their net to a wider audience, an increasing number of fantasy sports companies have started offering simpler games that can appeal to a more mainstream audience - one that doesn't have the statistics of every player and team in a league memorized.

The changes have helped attract a growing female fan base, who now represent up to 25 per cent of the North American fantasy sports industry, according to some estimates.

"It's all in fun," said Jeffrey Thomas, president of the U.S.-based Fantasy Sports Trade Association. "Some [women] will do it to say 'Hey, I can beat you,' and it's fun, and it's fun competition and it's fun interaction."

In many ways, women are a perfect target audience to help expand the fantasy sports industry. Many of them who aren't otherwise interested in sports are already exposed to it through their husbands or boyfriends, who usually aren't willing to sacrifice game time for a couples bonding session.

As a result, sports have become a flashpoint for many couples. Women who don't share their partner's interest in the game often balk at the time he spends in front of the TV, while men long to enjoy the game in peace.

But fantasy sports could settle that argument once and for all.

"What the football pool offered was a way for her to begin," said Michael Krause, whose wife, Christa, has played in Ms. Jonker's fantasy football league. "It's not just [that] I feel better about my wife because she understands football - it's that we're actually spending time together."

After joining a fantasy league, many women turn into sports fans overnight and become interested in their partner's once-reviled hobby.

"It's like sharing your interests in anything," said Glenn Gingerich, games administrator at Fantasy Sports Services Inc. "Whatever it is, if you want to connect to somebody you like or are close to, you share their interest."

But that doesn't mean women are content to play by their man's rules.

While some couples co-manage teams, others avoid direct interaction in order to prevent potential arguments, tension and even an unfair competitive advantage.

In Ms. Jonker's all-female league, for instance, men are barred from attending draft night.

Many women also refuse to let their partner make decisions about their teams, according to industry experts.

In many cases, women seek advice from their partners and ask questions about the game, but they want to develop their own strategies to figure out how to win.

For many couples, fantasy leagues have the potential to create arguments, but there are players who say that having their partner involved enhances the experience.

Pamela Lam, who has been a hockey fan most of her life, has been playing in fantasy leagues for the past few years. While she and her husband have been invited to play in leagues together, Ms. Lam, who works in financial services in Toronto, said she often plays with guys from her office. Although she relishes the prospect of "bragging rights with guys" if she wins, Ms. Lam said a big part of the fun is going to NHL games with her husband, debating over players and watching sports highlights together.

"It just makes it so much cooler," Ms. Lam said. "We'll be bickering back and forth. ... It's fun."

But as the women of Ms. Jonker's league have discovered, fantasy sports can also be a female bonding event.

"We're always chatting and sending e-mails back and forth," she said.

And while everyone who played received a prize last year, don't be fooled by the fact it's an all-female league.

"[The rookies] get in very quickly and all of a sudden, they're smack talking and it's their second week playing," Ms. Jonker said. "I think women are competitive ... but that's not an outlet we've been exposed to."