Why I love Blood Bowl

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peo2223
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by peo2223 »

PeteW wrote:+1 to everything.

Most of all love the banter and stories.... My favourite:
Game 9(ish) of 11 at the second Block around the clock, about 3am. Schmee and Pipey sit down to play. (They are brothers.) First action, Schmee's mino hits Pipey's Krox. 2dice. double push. Brendan rather smugly points out that Schmee's mino has frenzy and so now is looking at a half dice. Schmee rolls the dice. Double pow! Schmee stands up and says "In your face!" repeatedly. Classically funny.<3
Yes that was classic...we now refer to any similar roll as "The power of Schmee"

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Heff
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Heff »

I hate the game.
Here is my lovely plan, If only I could pick up the ball!
See that fling, he is going to kill my ball carrying ogre on a three dice uphill block having GFI'd twice in a blizzard
I have you now! get out of THAT (rolls dice) 4+4+5+4+ 3+3+2+2+ score (then to cap it off the guy looks you in the eye and says "skill")
You fool I shall now surf your ball carrying witch! skull, re roll, skull

AAARGGGHHH!

On the up side I have taught several small boys some "interesting" new words!

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Heff...Keeping the Dwarf (and lego) hate alive
If you cannot stall out for an 8 turn drive to score with dwarves then you need to go and play canasta with your dad..if you can find him.
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sann0638
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by sann0638 »

It's true. We have the "heff half hour" on the way home where they ask the meaning of any new words they learned over the weekend.

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Heff
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Heff »

sann0638 wrote:It's true. We have the "heff half hour" on the way home where they ask the meaning of any new words they learned over the weekend.
Think of it as a learning experience for you. I understand there is a new Sannette coming along this year. I say those words in front of little girls too!

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Heff...Keeping the Dwarf (and lego) hate alive
If you cannot stall out for an 8 turn drive to score with dwarves then you need to go and play canasta with your dad..if you can find him.
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sann0638
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by sann0638 »

Probably next year...

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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Babs »

From elsewhere on the interwebs, posted by me:

"Here's my top 10 reasons why Blood Bowl is better than 40K.
10. It doesn't take itself seriously - so you can take it as seriously as you want to (it's written as a parody).
9. It has just as much flavour, but less rulebook flipping.
8. The outlay for the game means you can collect half the total number of teams for about the price of one WH40K army.
7. Far less annoying players who 'beard it up' than 40K
6. You only need to paint 16 miniatures to have a maximum roster that you will never need to add to, ever.
5. Positioning in squares means you don't need to measure, ever. If you feel the need. and start shaking without measuring, then revert to the passing template.
4. There are no official colour schemes in Blood Bowl - paint your team however you want to - liberating. (Of course, if you have withdrawal symptoms, paint your team in a famous team's colours!)
3. The development of your team over time is something that 40K does not offer. Having players grow and develop over time, and others die throughout a league is a key reason Blood Bowl is a great game.
2. The randomness of the game is not overpowering. Strategy still means great coaches win far more often than people who just play without much deep thinking.
1. The 'turnover rule' means you think about every dice roll. It is a much more keen sense of strategic probability than rolling hordes of dice to check for hits then wounds then saves."

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=-) Babs (crotchety old, washed up has-been)
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Jip
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Jip »

Babs, that's an interesting take. My experience with 40k differs from most of these points. I guess it's all relative though (and don't want to derail the thread by talking about 40k!).

10 and 7 on your list seem more meta-based, thankfully those aren't really issues we have where I play.

As for number two - I think bad luck in Blood Bowl is far more punishing than in 40k; if I fail a couple of dice rolls in 40k, I might lose half a unit. Fail a couple of dice rolls in Blood Bowl and 1/11th of my team is off to Valhalla to meet his maker!

Agree with the sentiment though. I play both games and can't resist feeling a little smug when all I need to bring to my local FLGS is twelve minis, whilst the guy on the next table has had to make multiple trips to and from his car to bring Thunderhawks, Landraiders and Imperial Knights to their game... unlucky, chum! :lol:

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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Mystic Force »

Why I love Bloodbowl......

First , during a game I think what makes the game fun is tension. A moment where things hang in the balance, and it can go either way. Bloodbowl has plenty of those moments during a game from the risky last minute pass to score to the suddenly dangerous reroll on a near certainty the moment before.

Secondly this game can be enjoyed at many levels of competitiveness, it doesnt have to be treated seriously, but it can be without people getting a lesser experience.

We have quite the selection of teams that can be played with success and with different styles, not many games I have played, has pulled that off so well.

But the thing that I like about Bloodbowl the best is the interplay between tactics and strategy. The best action for this game is not necessarily the best action for the long term. You might score and win this game, but do you want to risk your Star isolated up the field? Many games that you play do not have the live to fight another day aspect, that feeds in to Bloodbowl apeal to me. This often leads to the whole min-maximg thing. Certainly your horde of chaos chosen are unstoppable, but who is going to screan them when the horses stop to feed....

Having to only paint a small number of miniatures, is awesome. It makes getting other people interested substantialy easier. I always thought "those who shall not be mamed" made a mistake when they eliminated the specialist games, because they act as a gateway drug to their other properties.

I can also teach someone to play bloodbowl in a relatively short period of time.

But tension plus long term development is the reason that Bloodbowl is my favorite game.

Reason: ''
I am a pro "fun" guy.
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by faust_33 »

Mystic Force wrote:First , during a game I think what makes the game fun is tension.
"Anything but a 1....!!"

The Specialist games line hasn't really been a gateway for me. Hero Quest led me to the original Warhammer Quest. Eventually I learned of Blood Bowl. Got interested in Space Hulk, but never really played. The rerelease of Blood Bowl did get me interested in the newest version of Necromunda and I wouldn't be surprised if I check out the newest Warhammer Quest someday. But it pretty much stops there for me. I've never played Warhammer, and really doubt I ever will. I'm just not that interested in building/buying/painting armies or playing war-games in general.

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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by gjnoronh »

I can't say it better then said here already but I'll say I really love BB.

I play a lot of games and have spent fare more time in other mini games in total then BB over the last 30 or so years. But since BB16 my main focus has been by far BB.

BB scratches a very particular itch. You don't get the pageantry of armies of toy soldiers marching across hills or some of the epic fluff related emotive overlay you might see with Xwing or Warhammer Fantasy. You also don't get quite the really jaw dropping centerpiece minis as you would with something with larger toys on the table.

You do however get a really tension (good word choice by others!) wrought gaming system where the truly spectacular (or awful) can happen with just the right series of rolls. 3 die blocks (in either direction), awesome dodges/catches/INT's and other 1-3 dice D6's mechanisms with irremovable pass/fail conditions create some awesome opportunities for the 'cool/unexpected to happen.' Those mechanics, the intentional asymmetry of the teams both reward the risk savvy careful methodical strategic player and the beer and pretzels "I'll make this move because it's funny" player. Not many games allow both those types of players to enjoy head to head match ups against 'the other type." League play just adds another level of emotional investment and tactical challenge to the game.

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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Mystic Force »

[quote="faust_33"The Specialist games line hasn't really been a gateway for me. Hero Quest led me to the original Warhammer Quest. Eventually I learned of Blood Bowl. Got interested in Space Hulk, but never really played. The rerelease of Blood Bowl did get me interested in the newest version of Necromunda and I wouldn't be surprised if I check out the newest Warhammer Quest someday. But it pretty much stops there for me. I've never played Warhammer, and really doubt I ever will. I'm just not that interested in building/buying/painting armies or playing war-games in general.[/quote]

Well not everyone goes on to harder stuff....
gjnoronh wrote:I can't say it better then said here already but I'll say I really love BB.

I play a lot of games and have spent fare more time in other mini games in total then BB over the last 30 or so years. But since BB16 my main focus has been by far BB.

BB scratches a very particular itch. You don't get the pageantry of armies of toy soldiers marching across hills or some of the epic fluff related emotive overlay you might see with Xwing or Warhammer Fantasy. You also don't get quite the really jaw dropping centerpiece minis as you would with something with larger toys on the table.

You do however get a really tension (good word choice by others!) wrought gaming system where the truly spectacular (or awful) can happen with just the right series of rolls. 3 die blocks (in either direction), awesome dodges/catches/INT's and other 1-3 dice D6's mechanisms with irremovable pass/fail conditions create some awesome opportunities for the 'cool/unexpected to happen.' Those mechanics, the intentional asymmetry of the teams both reward the risk savvy careful methodical strategic player and the beer and pretzels "I'll make this move because it's funny" player. Not many games allow both those types of players to enjoy head to head match ups against 'the other type." League play just adds another level of emotional investment and tactical challenge to the game.
I have long thought that tension was the key to fun in any system to me. Yeah its nice to win but a tense loss is better than an easy win in terms of experience and memories.

The turnover rule is definitely the reason each roll is so important. In a game like WFB or 40K you roll a lot of dice at once, so you work on average results for calculating, extreme events are rare, BB works on %chance of success, and even the least mathematically inclined knows dodging on a 2+ is good odds. As mentioned the clear success/failure mechanic it what makes each dice roll important. But like mentioned above its all about risk management. Its a game of luck, but you can work yourself into the position to favor your odds with good play without it ever being predictable.

I went to a WFB tournament where the other guy would have moved all my stuff for me if I had let him, because he knew all the moves I should make, at that point their is a problem with a system...

Plus at the end of the day, if you lose miserably you always have time to set up again and look for vengeance!

Reason: ''
I am a pro "fun" guy.
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Glowworm »

drinking with (in no particular order)

Spaniards
Italians
French
Germans
Americans
Canadians
Swedes
Finns
Danes
Irish
Scots
Welsh
Australians
Dutch
Maltese


apologies if I missed anyone, ill get round to you at the next WC!! :wink:

oh, and rolling dice & stuff......

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sann0638
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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by sann0638 »

English? Racist... ;)

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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by Babs »

Jip wrote:Babs, that's an interesting take. My experience with 40k differs from most of these points.
Point 10 that I make really boils down to how seriously the rules (and background) take themselves. Blood Bowl fluff, inherently, is a spoof, parody and satire. It deliberately is not intended to be serious. A goblin being hurled and lands on his neck, breaking in two, is meant to be humorous (or if the Troll scoffs said goblin, for that matter).

Blood Bowl, as I understand it, was written as a parody of Warhammer. It was intended to poke fun at it's larger, more successful sibling.

Wahrhammer 40K on the other hand, makes Batman look like a dance through the tulips on a spring afternoon. It is dark, sombre and very gritty. The 'lore' takes itself very seriously.
(And I'm not talking Lego Batman either - that is much more Blood Bowl!).

Reason: ''
=-) Babs (crotchety old, washed up has-been)
ex-BBRC member
ex-NAF AUS/NZ Tournament organiser


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Re: Why I love Blood Bowl

Post by DaImp »

glowworm wrote:drinking with (in no particular order)

Spaniards
Italians
French
Germans
Americans
Canadians
Swedes
Finns
Danes
Irish
Scots
Welsh
Australians
Dutch
Maltese


apologies if I missed anyone, ill get round to you at the next WC!! :wink:

oh, and rolling dice & stuff......
You left South Africa off the list... well, just me in particular! That needs to be rectified at the next WC!

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