Just a few rules Q's

[van der vaart]

Ok, sorry to bother you all again but just a quick question to do with the kick off. How do you guys resolve things? Do you kick the ball, scatter and then do kick off? So that when things such as a blitz happen, the team can pick up the ball etc? Or do you kick the ball, kick-off table and then scatter? So when blitzes etc happen on the kick off table you cant pick up the ball? Thanks!

[Smeborg]

Ok, sorry to bother you all again but just a quick question to do with the kick off. How do you guys resolve things? Do you kick the ball, scatter and then do kick off? So that when things such as a blitz happen, the team can pick up the ball etc? Or do you kick the ball, kick-off table and then scatter? So when blitzes etc happen on the kick off table you cant pick up the ball? Thanks!

Place ball
Scatter the Kick (D6 +D8).
Put ball in appropriate square (but the ball does not land yet).
Apply the Kick and Kick-off Return skills if available.
Roll on Kick-off Table.
Resolve Kick-off Table result.
Ball lands (if it scattered out of the half, Touchback now applies) and may be caught if it lands on a player.
If the ball lands in an empty square (or a player has failed to catch it) it now scatters one square (D8); note that Touchback can still apply if it scatters out of the half.

It is important to note that the ball does not land until after the Kick-off Table result is resolved. So you cannot catch the ball during a Blitz turn, only after the Blitz turn is finished. Sometimes I place the D8 under the ball to help me remember that it has not yet landed.

Hope that helps.

[Darkson]

It is important to note that the ball does not land until after the Kick-off Table result is resolved. So you cannot catch the ball during a Blitz turn, only after the Blitz turn is finished. Sometimes I place the D8 under the ball to help me remember that it has not yet landed.

There used to be one coach here that really struggled with the concept (he just couldn't get his head round it), so in the end he got an old ball and put it on a flying base for kick-offs.

[ace_of_jase]

I dont recall ever seeing this but here's my question......can you block your own players?

[Darkson]

No, at least voluntarily.

Instead of moving, a player may throw a block at an opposing player who is in an adjacent square.

A Ball & Chain can though, if a player on the same side is in the randomly chosen square.

[van der vaart]

Thanks guys! That makes sense now. We were pretty much doing that anyway, so thats good!

[van der vaart]

It started off as just a few rules questions, three pages later...
Anyway, a throwing question this time, im pretty sure you can choose to throw to an empty square. Well what happens when you accurately throw the ball to that empty square? Does it scatter once or three times?

[GalakStarscraper]

It does not scatter.

It bounces one time

Tom

[Darkson]

The player can throw the ball to another player in
his own team (or another player in the opposing team if he really
wants to), or simply to an empty square,

If the ball is dropped or not caught, or the ball bounces to a
square with a Prone or Stunned player, or a player is pushed to
or lands in the ball’s square, or the square where a thrown ball
lands is unoccupied (or is occupied by a Prone or Stunned
player) then it will bounce.

A think another question that could be asked here is "are you bothering to look in the rulebook before you ask these questions?".

[van der vaart]

Thanks Tom and Darkson!

A think another question that could be asked here is "are you bothering to look in the rulebook before you ask these questions?".

Yep! The whole issue with this one was that my opponent didnt believe that the pass could be accurate to an empty square (as he doesnt like to lose, and the scatter landed straight on my slann catcher who was in the endzone). I thought i bounced but he didnt agree. So i thought id double check

[Nikolai II]

Since this is a rules question thread that has already mentioned touchbacks, I thought I should get a comment on this thing claimed by a coach in our local league: http://forum.stockbowl.se/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=167

"A kick-off must land in the opponent's half of the pitch. Assuming
the ball lands in the receiving team’s half of the pitch, then it will
either land in an empty square or a square occupied by a player.
If the ball lands in an empty square it will bounce one more
square (see Bouncing Balls on page 13). If the ball lands on a
square occupied by a player, the player must try to catch the ball
(see Catching the Ball on page 13). If the ball scatters or
bounces off the pitch or into the kicking team’s half, the receiving
coach is awarded a ‘touchback’ and must give the ball to any
player in his team. Once the kick-off has been taken you are
ready to proceed to the first turn of the game."

This makes for an interesting kick with some diving catch players.
The ball is landing on their side. It neither bounced or scattered.

"A kick-off must land in the opponent's half of the pitch."

is countered by the more specific

"If the ball scatters or
bounces off the pitch or into the kicking team’s half, the receiving
coach is awarded a ‘touchback’ and must give the ball to any
player in his team."

Hence if it is leaving the pitch in any other way it is not a touchback. Comeon, go diving catch on your lines

(I don't agree with him, but he won't budge.)

[dode74]

Diving catch doesn't work on that. Here's why:

Diving catch (Agility)
In addition, the player can attempt to catch any pass, kick off or crowd throw-in, but not bouncing ball, that would land in an empty square in one of his tackle zones as if it had landed in his own square without leaving his current square.

My emphasis. If the ball had landed in his own square then it would have scattered to it, which would be a touchback as per the rule you quoted.

[DoubleSkulls]

Designer intent is that if the ball leaves the receiver's half for any reason then its a touchback.

I'll accept its unclear in the rules, but I'd argue that if the DC catch is made then the ball leaves the half and is a touchback.

[Nikolai II]

With the second to last sentence of the Diving Catch saying "A failed catch will bounce from the Diving Catch player's square", I'd assume that the mere act of trying to Diving Catch your own kickoff across the line makes it a touchback, whether it succeeds or fails?

[Darkson]

Yes.