NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

[Garrick]

In a word AWESOME again!

The venue is superb with the convenience of the hotel so close and a bar that opens when you get up and closes when you go to bed.

The food was good. The hotel breakfast was superb, the lunches were adequate (whoever stole my lunch off the corner of the stage on the Sunday afternoon, I hope you enjoyed it ), I even enjoyed the Saturday evening meal but then I found the salt and pepper which it needed as it was unseasoned and therefore bland without it but once seasoned was delicious.

The tables were wide but I would prefer that to too narrow. Board 13 appropriately was on two different height tables creating a dramatic step in the middle of the soft pitch but this was fixed by Geggster? supplying a stiff board.

The Craik as the Irish call it (were there any Irish coaches?) was fantastic.

My only complaint (do not take this seriously) was I was robbed in the Duel Painting competition, the winner's

* base was larger than allowed
* display stand was so much bigger and better than mine
* painting skill level was far too good (ruddy professional artists!)

but I was delighted to hear it was a landslide victory for him, it made entering the competition so worthwhile

[frogboy]

It was a good event, I did manage to get myself a cheaper hotel 5 minutes drive from the venue although I didn't get much sleep. I think next year I would love to stay at the venue and pay a little extra for that.

The Bad
Food, lunch was naff, I hate mars bars and sandwiches and a peice of fruit. When I picked up my havasac I immediately started having flash backs of range days Yuk. Evening meal reminded me of a cook house I used to frequent, the vegetarian pasta was alright though I went back for seconds, probably more because I didn't know if that was going to be my last meal after I returned to my accomidation.
Personally I would have preferred two hot meals for lunch and nothing for dinner. Them mars bars and crisps must have been expencive!

Too hot on Saturday.

As Lunchmoney as already said Think Green: By emailing the roster to you, in an agreed format (this can be done by maybe having a form/XL spreadsheet made just for the occasion and asking everyone to use it), or even better use the NAF website to have coaches submit rosters online (the NAF IT wizards must surely be able to create a module that can be used for tournaments?), you won’t need a printed copy on the day - Saves paper! And by disallowing electronic copies, on tablets or phones, you are again requiring people to waste paper. Think of the environment

The Middle Ground
The Gift, just expected more for my money, but then I don't run tournaments so have no idea on costings etc. It's still useful though just not as good as the Dungeon Bowl Gift

The Good
I thought the whole event ran smoothly, the anouincements were great. For such a big event and so many tables I thought I would get lost or not know where to go etc.
I had fun and everyone was friendly.
The temperature on Sunday was perfect.
The venue was really nice.
Toilets were always clean and had plenty of paper.

in a nut shell
If it was exactly the same next year I would still come and still enjoy myself and still eat the food. So thanks

[Darkson]

My first NAFC since the last one at Warhammer World. No worries for me. I do agree the food was a bit "meh" but I've no idea on the catering front so I'm not going to scream "fix it".
The tables are a bit wide, but having played in events where the tables were to small I'd rather having the small issue of having to learn across the board now and then - at least there wasn't any of the normal "board flipping" going on. Bit of an issue with some of the tables being different heights, not sure if that can be checked in advance?

Overall, thumbs up from me (and Moodygit who doesn't use TFF).

I won't be back next year, due to not playing BB events, but should I return to BB tournaments in 2017 I will definitely put this in my diary.

[Valen]

The Good
- Sorting the hotel deal again: I assume the prepayment the hotel asked for was to stop us being bumped like in 2014. If it wasn’t and the hotel just operate that way now, then happy coincidence.
- Venue: I really like it there. Having the hotel on site is a good thing.
- Organisation: I knew what was happening and when. Good job, chaps.
- Not knowing who won an hour early. Last year I knew the final winner long before the other matches had ended and it kind of ruined the surprise for me. This year I was unaware of the winners of anything until the final announcements. I don’t know if this was due to the results not being leaked or just me not hearing them, but either is good for me
- The bar bill: when I settled up in the morning I’m sure they undercharged me
- The Newcomers award: Brilliant, keep it up!
- The rule about models being "appropriate for people of all ages" is very welcomed
- Might just be me, but I thought the announcements were better this year.
- Reroll token was very nice


The Bad
- The round times were clearly laid out in the rules pack and the time announcements were very clear throughout the weekend. Yet I saw several matches run over. I know clocks were issued, but I saw one match, that the refs were aware of, that had not finished at a deadline and allowed to play out to the end. Surely part of the skill of BB is playing to the correct timescale? A 2 hours 15 minutes match should be 2 hours 15 minutes, not 2 hours 28 minutes.
- The food was once again a little bland. This hasnt changed in 3 years, so my comments on the last 2 feedback threads are still valid.
- Venue tables are too wide. Again this has been mentioned in previous years and I can understand that is what the venue has. But if we had just one table, rather than two put together, would it really be an issue to put the dugouts to the side of the pitch and maybe only have 8 pitches on a row of tables?


The Ugly
- The rules pack clearly states "There is no restriction on what miniatures you use in
your team as long as they are miniatures (not proxies) and are
painted, clearly identifiable and appropriate for people of all ages." Several non-painted teams were present. Not sure what you can do to enforce that on the day, maybe dock a point, but why have the rule if it's not enforced?
- I would like to see the "appropriate for people of all ages" applied to the Duel Competition as well. Once the inappropriate/tasteless entries were removed there was one clear winner (Witch Elf jaw punching an Orc, iirc, on the large block dice).


The Rest
- I can understand pre-registering a race and team name, to help speed up Score! entry, but why request the roster if you are just going to check them on the morning?
- Think Green: By emailing the roster to you, in an agreed format (this can be done by maybe having a form/XL spreadsheet made just for the occasion and asking everyone to use it), or even better use the NAF website to have coaches submit rosters online (the NAF IT wizards must surely be able to create a module that can be used for tournaments?), you won’t need a printed copy on the day - Saves paper! And by disallowing electronic copies, on tablets or phones, you are again requiring people to waste paper. Think of the environment


Just want to reiterate that I am always impressed with the tournament and I will be back. Keep it up

I agree with everything in this post, 100%

Must be a speed thing

[sann0638]

- Think Green: By emailing the roster to you, in an agreed format (this can be done by maybe having a form/XL spreadsheet made just for the occasion and asking everyone to use it), or even better use the NAF website to have coaches submit rosters online (the NAF IT wizards must surely be able to create a module that can be used for tournaments?), you won’t need a printed copy on the day - Saves paper! And by disallowing electronic copies, on tablets or phones, you are again requiring people to waste paper. Think of the environment

Do you mean the refs don't need a printed copy? I think having a printed copy next to the pitch is pretty necessary though, isn't it?

[malcbutch]

Had a great time, all the coaches I played where great fun and those on the second day took great pleasure in destroying my ogres!!

It is always nice to play new people and different teams and with small children it is now the only time I actually get to play.

only bad thing for me was rolling far too many ones in games 5 and 6, watching my ogres be stupid most of the time and therefore not giving my opponents anything to really think about....it had all gone so well on day one!!!

be back next year....the ogres may take a break though....just got to decide what team I want to take instead

[Vanguard]

Overall, thumbs up and thanks to the organisers for a great weekend.

The hotel is great (and the deal is very reasonably priced).
The venue is good, I had no complaints with the temperature (unlike last year).
The food isn't great and I would agree with whoever suggested hot lunches and no evening meal.

I don't think it's feasible to completely get rid of paper rosters, but digital pre-approval should be doable and would simplify registration. It would also provide a record of rosters as, hypothetically, you could have two or three rosters to select from once you see your opponents team.

Finally, and this is more NAF than NAFC, but it was a little annoying to find by NAF account had expired over the weekend. I assume that's because I last paid at the previous NAFC but a 2-4 week grace period would be nice.

[lunchmoney]

- Think Green: By emailing the roster to you, in an agreed format (this can be done by maybe having a form/XL spreadsheet made just for the occasion and asking everyone to use it), or even better use the NAF website to have coaches submit rosters online (the NAF IT wizards must surely be able to create a module that can be used for tournaments?), you won’t need a printed copy on the day - Saves paper! And by disallowing electronic copies, on tablets or phones, you are again requiring people to waste paper. Think of the environment

Do you mean the refs don't need a printed copy? I think having a printed copy next to the pitch is pretty necessary though, isn't it?

Why? I've been thinking about this (calm the shock)... If I had a printed copy by the pitch, then my opponent and I could refer to it at any time. However if I had my tablet by the pitch, with my roster on the screen, then my opponent and I can still refer to it at any time, but I wouldnt have wasted a sheet of paper. Gotta move with the times, everything is in the electonic medium now

[howlinggriffon]

This was my first ever NAF Championship so I can only compare it with the last Blood Bowl GT I went to back in 2008.

The hotel was excellent. I booked very early and organised a twin room so I could share with a buddy so I only paid £60 for the room and breakfast for the two days. There was a glitch when we got to the room and found it had a double bed (I'm not quite that progressive) but a quick trip back to Reception and they moved us to a twin room. Breakfasts were also excellent - nothing like a massive cooked breakfast to set the mood for the day.

The hall was good - lots of room and although the tables were wide, there was plenty of space for all the stuff we bring for gaming. It did get a little warm on the Saturday afternoon - maybe some of the side doors could have been opened? The lunches were okay - a "meal deal" lunch is pretty much all I expected for the ticket price. A cooked lunch would have taken too long and I was still pretty stuffed from the breakfast The evening meal was okay - it was bland but it was something edible. It helped soak up all the beer I had in the bar later.

Organisation - excellent. I really liked the option to read the draw of each round on the NAF site as it meant we didn't all have to crowd around the printouts. I know it's one of the events that people only go to once a year which is why is has a fairly generic rules pack but I think it would be nice to see more diversity in the teams by having a tiered skill package.

I really enjoyed the games - I had six great opponents. I also got to meet a lot of people I've only chatted to on the internet before and also catch up with friends from other BB leagues and tournaments. It's a good celebration of Blood Bowl and I will see you all again next year!

[Wilf]

Absolutely terrific, again. Really good from the organisers, gets better every year and nothing but positive feedback from me.

A real calendar highlight. Sharing beers with friends from Europe, a lovely hotel, 150 coaches and a good standard of games, what more could we want?

[lemf]

Great again,
Big thanks for putting all the effort you do into this event.
Then on top of running it and arranging it you then spend time helping out other players
really is appreciated in every way.

P.s When will NAF take over running of FIFA?

[Stig]

Another awesome event with so many positives, great hotel deal and breakfast, love having the draw up on the website, as well as the awards and capes. The "Emerging Star" award is such a good idea. It's always a big highlight for me and brilliantly organised.

My only suggestion is to echo Howlinggriffon's comment of a tiered skills package like the World Cup - my day 2 opponents were Undead, Undead, Undead, with identical rosters. Last year I played 3 consecutive Lizardmen coaches, again with identical builds. Last year I was the only Nurgle coach and the year before I was the only Chaos coach. As its a prestigious event it seems a large proportion of entrants are there to be as competitive as possible, which limits variety. I know the lower tier races are partly designed "to give you a challenge" but it turns out not many people do that.

Nevertheless I had a great time - thanks again for taking the trouble to put together such an amazing weekend!