I love Blood Bowl, and I always have. I spent my college years playing it religiously despite all common sense: impossible to find miniatures, expense of said miniatures, my total lack of any artistic talent or ability, my dislike of tedious work like precision painting, the frustratingly steep learning curve,  and the fact it took hours to complete even a single match. So, naturally, I was excited to hear that a video game based on the property was to be released.

And so it was, and I loved it… despite all common sense: SecuROM DRM, truly embarrassing AI, punishingly repetitive commentators, and a user interface than can only be described as <b>actively hostile</b> to the end user. Of course, only a handful of the team races were released, and I fully expected a trickle of $4.99 DLC teams for the rest of eternity. Perhaps the player base is not large enough to make DLC attractive, or maybe it’s because the Franco-Communist sympathies of developer Cyanide Studios are offended by such blatant profit maximization.  Well, for whatever reason, the Blood Bowl addicts of the world are instead given the “LegendaryEdition,” filling out a good chunk of the remaining Blood Bowl racial roster.

To celebrate this, and perhaps lure some new players into the fold, I have decided to repurpose an old forum post of mine:

absalom’s Playbook
or
How To Play Blood Bowl (Better)

A lot of new players often get discouraged because the dice never seem to go their way. But, what the experienced Blood Bowl player knows is that such appearances are but a cruel illusion. In Blood Bowl, luck does not fail us – we fail it.  What follows is One Man’s Take on how to recruit, play, and build a successful team. It is a brief (for Russian literature) primer on the game mechanics, as well as general advice that will help when building teams, regardless of race or playstyle.

After all, a friend of mine pointed out that  the rule book is 88 pages and not terribly user friendly, so I’ll start with the insultingly basic and hopefully scratch the surface of clever and insightful, allowing you to master the situational.

And so it begins:

THE GOAL: Score more touchdowns than your opponent. Every team has a way of doing so, but all share commonalities.

1. The Players
For the first kickoff, you must field 11 men things. After that, all bets are off. No matter what you’re playing, though, every critter will have four stats, ST and AG speaking on a scale of 1 to 6, and Armor on a scale between 2-12. (But more like 7-9. Movement can get as high as ten for skaven.)
- ST: Strength. Determines the number of dice for blocking. (Dice and Blocking to follow.)
- AG: Agility. Determines a lot of things – dodging, throwing, catching, and ball grabbing. (NOT CODE)
- AV: Armor Value. Determines how likely you are to sustain injury when tackled.
- MV: Movement. Number of squares you can move. Diagonal counts the same as forward or lateral.

2. Dice
This is based on a minis/board game. A Warhammer universe, no less, which means dice rolling, and lots of it. Hopefully you will see the connection between the attributes above and the dice below. Blood Bowl is really the Bell Curve in action. No matter what you are doing, you will be rolling one of two types of dice:
a. Knucklebones
- Run of the mill d6.
- Used for most everything, except blocking.
b. Block Dice
- Non-standard d6
- Each Block Die has TWO “Push Back” and ONE each of “Attacker Down”, “Both Down”, “Defender Down”, “Defender Stumbles”.
– So, a one die block has a 33% chance of pushing back, a 33% chance of getting a knockdown, a 17% chance of falling down, and a 17% chance of a both down.
– More Block dice = Good! Do the math to figure out the percentages if you want, because I’ve largely forgotten how. A two die block has only a 1:36 chance in taking you down alone.

3. Blocking
This is where the rubber, and hopefully your opponent’s face, meet the road. A block is basically an attack. Playing tabletop, figuring out blocks is a time consuming pain in the ass. Luckily, the computer does all that mess for you! Sadly, it does so in a fashion only slightly less obscure than finding out how the Intelligence Budget for the United States is spent. A Blitz is like a block, but you can move before and after, and you only get one.
- When you block someone, you compare your strength with their strength. (It’s not quite so easy as it sounds)
– For every one of your guys also touching the guy you’re blocking, you get an effective +1 to strength. (You’ll notice this because, when you hover your mouse over your target, assisters will light up green with a +1 next to them)
– For every one of their guys touching you when you block, the opponent gets an effective +1 to strength. (You’ll notice this because, when you hover your mouse over your target, enemy assisters will light up yellow with a +1 next to them)
– If one of your guys is touching one of their guys, it negates their assistance. And vice versa (see appendix for examples)
- When all the math is done, if the blocker’s effective strength is EQUAL TO the target’s, ONE block die is rolled.
- . . . if the blocker’s effective strength is MORE THAN the target’s, TWO block dice are rolled.
- . . . if the blocker’s effective strength is TWICE OR MORE than the target’s, THREE block dice are rolled.
- This goes the same for attacking someone stronger than you, which is why you don’t do it except in desperation.
- . . . if the blocker’s strength is LESS THAN the target’s, TWO block dice are rolled and the DEFENDER chooses the result.
- . . . if the blocker’s strength is MORE THAN ONE HALF of the target’s THREE block dice are rolled and the DEFENDER chooses the result.

4. Other Rolls (The Knucklebones)
ONE ALWAYS FAILS. SIX ALWAYS SUCCEEDS.
a. Armor Rolls
- When someone falls down, for whatever reason, they make an ARMOR CHECK. This is a 2d6 check vs. ARMOR VALUE.
- If the roll equals or exceeds your armor value, then something bad happens. That check is also made on 2d6, with a 12 being death, and less severe penalties going down the totals. (Major Injury, KO’d, Stunned, No Effect)
– As any Catan or Craps player can tell you, 7 is the most commonly rolled number, followed by 6/8, then 5/9, etc.
– So, Armor Value 9 or 10 means you’re not going to get hurt much. 7′s will get knocked out or stunned frequently, and 6 needs to retire before he contributes to someone’s SPP by dying. (SPP is Experience, it comes later)

b. Passing! Catching! Hand Off Jobs!
- Passing is fun, but not everyone is good at it. Also, the further you pass, the harder the roll. You will see the required roll pop up when you hover over your pass-target. It will say something like 4+, which means you must roll a 4 or greater (modified).
– Passing is a simple agility check. You will roll a d6, maybe add some modifiers, and see if you pass. All things being equal, A person with a ONE agility can ONLY succeed on a 6, while someone with a FOUR agility can pass on a 3-6.
– If you bone up the check, you drop the ball and TURNOVER.
– If you succeed, you’re still not out of the woods: your receiver still must CATCH the damn thing (another agility check), although he gets a +1 on that roll.
– If the receiver misses, you also TURNOVER
– Interception! If the path of the ball goes over any enemy players, they have a chance to INTERCEPT. It’s a 1 in 6 chance, I do believe, unless they have <i>Long Legs</i>, in which case the odds are 2 in 6.

c. Dodging!
- If you are next to an enemy, they’re not about to ignore you just because its not their turn. Every time you try to move OUT OF a square that puts you next to an enemy causes you to make a DODGE roll. (We call that 1 square radius around each player a TACKLE ZONE)
– This is an agility roll, as described above. For every additional opponent creating a tackle-zone, it’s a -1 on the roll.
– Failure means you eat pitch and TURNOVER.

d. Fouling!
Blood Bowl is a dirty sport, and with only two sets of eyes keeping the match honest, cheating is rampant.
- When someone is down, you can make a FOUL CHECK. (One per turn) It is a straight up armor check, 2d6 vs armor value. +1 modifiers to the roll are given in the same was as block modifiers.
–IE: Allies adjacent to the foulee give a +1 to the check, except for those allies who are themselves adjacent to an enemy. The modifier halos will appear with a hover over.
– If you roll doubles (ie 1 in 6 chance), the ref whistles you off. That player cannot return.

5. Rerolls
- You start each half with however many rerolls your team has. You may use ONE team reroll per turn, and some things (armor rolls, injury rolls) cannot be rerolled.
- Some players have abilities (like throw, catch, sure foot, etc.) that provide rerolls for specific actions. If the player uses his skill reroll and fails, no more rerolls, even if you have some left. ONE reroll per action.
- Rerolls are CHEAP at team creation and EXPENSIVE afterward. Get then early.

6. Team Creation
- Each team starts with 1 million gold pieces. This is enough to put together a slightly understaffed-feeling team, but it will take a match or two before you can build the team you really crave.
- You must buy at least 11 players.
- Fan Factor: This is the only time it can be purchased.

Absalom’s Advice: Blood Bowl is all about persistence and growing a team, but poor choices at creation can hobble your team forever. Most of the games I win in league play come down not to better strategy or tactics in game, but rather the long-term benefits of better team creation and management. Remember, the name of the game is to BUILD, and with all building, one must set a solid foundation.
A. Rerolls. Buy these. Minimum two. I don’t care how many Chaos Warriors that screws you out of. Get TWO. I’ll go into Rerolls a bit more during RISK MANAGEMENT, but suffice it now to say – REROLLS WIN YOU GAMES. Full Stop.
- They’re also cheap at outset. Very cheap. 60k – the average cost of a reroll at start – is less than the cheapest blitzer unit. 120k – the average cost after creation – is MORE than the most expensive blitzer unit.
B. Fan Factor. This is an amazingly overlooked category. Your team’s fan factor will rise and fall with your successes, but it can be purchased at the outset for 10k a point. For persistent or league teams, Fan Factor is what determines how much gold you get after a match, and it also factors into the great majority of KICKOFF EVENTS. So, having a fan factor will not only help your team keep getting the gold, but it will also help keep you on the right side of momentum on the pitch.
– Basically, at the end of each match, both teams make two rolls. One to figure out GATE (gold) and one to figure out FAN FACTOR. The GATE is how many people showed up, and thus how much gold you made. It is determined by adding both teams Fan Factors together and roll some dice. The gold is not divvied up by winners or losers, but rather by fan factor. So, my fan factor 12 team can lose to a fan factor 1 team and walk out with 100,000 gold to my opponents 20k. As a rule of thumb, you can count on getting ~10k gold for every point of fan factor. That’s right, whatever you put into fan factor is almost certain to pay itself off within 2 lost matches, or one victory.
– At the end of each match, both teams roll 3d6 (3-18 possible) and compare it to their fan factor. Some modifiers, for victory, casualties given, touchdowns scored, etc. are appplied.
– . . . if you WON, and the modified roll MEETS OR EXCEEDS your fan factor, it goes up by one. If it is LESS THAN your fan factor, your fan factor is unchanged.
– . . . if you LOST, and the rolls MEETS OR EXCEEDS your fan factor, it stays the same. (Or might even GO UP if your fan factor is low, like 0-2) If it is LESS THAN your fan factor, your fan factor goes down by one.
C. Cheerleaders. Waste of money. They factor into exactly ONE kickoff event, out of twelve, and otherwise serve no purpose.

So, now you have rules and a team. WHAT NOW? Now we play.

Blood Bowl is a game of RISK MANAGEMENT. Each side only has 16 turns to do what needs doing, 8 per half. That’s not a long time. Additionally, nothing can be taken for granted. A bad roll of the die can end your turn on move one, which is bad news. THIS, my friends, is why you need Rerolls. They are not to be relied on, but are rather RISK INSURANCE. Do not use them as tools to pull of very risky maneuvers, but rather as cover when one of your critters fucks up something basic.

Bad rolls are going to hit you. You will lose turns. You will get ATTACKER DOWN on a three die block. Best to cover your ass how you can. How do you do that? Risk Management. Turnovers are killer, and you know they’re lurkin’ in the dark like creepers, just waiting to see the light of day and blow up in your face. Thus:
TAKE ALL ACTIONS IN DECREASING ORDER OF RISK. (or RISK vs. REWARD)
1. Stand up your people before you do anything, even if you’re not going to move them. (Hell, ESPECIALLY if you’re not going to move them).
2. Block simple, then risky. Set up as many of your blocks as you can before taking any, and take ALL 2 dice blocks before 1 dice blocks, and always make red die block your last action.
3. Some High Risk maneuvers should ALWAYS be the last thing you do. Fouls, red die blocks, dodging through 5 squares, whatever.
4. Blitz Early! Blitzes are too powerful to drop, even if it’s just to pancake a gobbo in the open field.

I was going to focus more on rerolls at this point, but if the point has not been yet impressed. . . .

7. Injury

So, you’re finally on the field! Now it’s time to watch your players drop, one by one, from play. Unless you’re playing Dwarf.

When you are knocked down, for whatever reason, you make an armor check, which is a 2d6 check vs your AV. Above fails, below passes. If the armor check fails, there is an injury table that you roll on – again 2d6.

INJURY TABLE
2D6
Result

2-7
Stunned – Leave the player on the field, but turnthem face-down. All face-down players areturned face up at the end of their next team turn,even if a turn-over takes place. Note that a player may not turn face up on the turn they are stunned. Once face-up they may stand up on any subsequent turn using the normal rules.

8-9
KO’D – Take the player off the field and place them in the Dugout in the KO’d Players box. At the next kick-off, before you set up any players, roll for each of your players that have been KO’d. On a roll of 1-3 they must remain in the KO’d box and may not be used, although you may roll again for them at the next kick-off. On a roll of 4-6 you may return the player to the Reserves box and can use them as normal from now on.

10-12
Casualty – Roll a D6 on the Casualty table.

CASUALTY TABLE
1-3
Badly Hurt – Take the player off the field and place them in the Dugout in the Dead & Injured Players box. The player must miss the rest of the game.

4-5
Serious Injury – Take the player off the field and place them in the Dugout in the Dead & Injured Players box. The player must miss the rest of the game. If you are playing a League match, then the player must miss all of the next game as well.

6
Dead! – Take the player off the field and place them in the Dugout in the Dead & Injured Players box. The player won’t be playing Blood Bowl any more unless he is raised to join another team.*

* I’m not sure if Undead have this ability in Legendary edition, but they did in table top.

8. Star Player Points (SPP)

So, you’ve finished a game and maybe did some damage, and maybe have a character with “level up” pending. How did that happen!? Well, even if you played grab-ass in the injury box the whole game, one of your players is going to randomly get tagged MVP and get 5 SPP, so don’t fret, lil’ cowboy.

SPP is like Experience. One player gains enough SPP, they go up a level. Six is the magic number for level one, but the curve gets pretty steep pretty fast. I think you max out at 8th level, but good luck getting past 3 or 4. When you go up a level – like everything – you roll a die. Most times, you’ll only get a good enough roll to get you a skill. If it’s a 10 or better, I think, you can pick +1 to one of two attributes (depending on race and unit type getting the level). Some races can get mutations, which I think you can pick if you roll a 12, or doubles, or something. Extra arms, two heads, stuff like that. You get star player points for doing various things.

+3 SPP for a touchdown
+2 SPP for injuring (red cross) an opponent. (Do not get this for fouls, sadly for my gobbos)
+1 (I think) SPP for completing a pass

Additionally, as I said, each game both sides will get one randomly determined MVP, who gets 5 SPP. If you have mercs, sometimes they will get this bonus and it will piss you off.

9. Friendly Advice

The First: Stay. Off. The. Sideline. If you get pushed out of bounds, it’s an automagic armor roll, even if it’s just a PUSH result on the die. Bad news. Better to be laying down on the sidelines than standing up, and this often one of those exceptions to the “always stand everyone up” rule.

The Second: You don’t get any XP from fouling, even if you don’t kill the guy. So, there is no reason to foul unless it gives some tactical advantage, and fouling just out of spite is kind of a Dick Move. To say nothing of the fact that, if you are playing in a league, all one accomplishes is helping out the next guy down the road who will one day be up against you.

10. Appendix.

I have tried to keep this pretty general – you can work out the different team’s playstyles, but regardless of what you’re playing, the essential mechanics are unchanged.

L= Lizard Man. O= Orc. B = Bliztin’ Lizzy

L
BOOO
L

EX1: Lizard man would get an effect +2 to strength, net. Since his strength total is 4, and he has 2 assisters, it is effectively 6. The two orcs don’t help out because they’re not touching any lizard man.

OOO
L B

EX2: Orc gets an effective +1 to strength, net. The lefthand orc’s assistance is countered by the lizard man in the bottom left. The righthand orc is able to assist the target orc.

OOO
L B L

EX3: Same as above, except the addition of a new lizard man negates the 2nd orc’s assitance, meaning the blitzer and the target get no bonus

OOO
L B LL

EX4: Blitzin’ Lizard at +1. Each Orc will counter ONE other opponent, but the one extra lizard man without a counter adds +1.
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*Such a wonderfully obscure chronological reference point.</small>