Help for an aspiring player

[Forsythe]

Hey

Well, I have been playing WHFB for around 3 1/2 years and was looking for something new and fresh. I was considering getting into Blood Bowl, as it seems like a fun, exciting game. So first of all, I would like to know from you experienced players, about Blood Bowl itself. What are it's pros and cons? How long does it take to play an average game? How much does it cost to have a basic team and what is the core rules system like?

Secondly, if I was to start, what team do you think would be a good starting point?

Thanks in advance
Rob

[Skummy]

I'm probably the last person to answer the first bit of your question, since BB is the only GW game I play. The money investment in BB is actually prettly low, from what I've heard. This is in comparison to other GW games, though - so take that with a grain of salt. Base teams cost about $35, and you'll likely need a booster to go along with it. Figure about $50 per team, though some are more and some are less.

It takes about 3 hours to play a game of tabletop. One strength of the game is the way you get to develop players and build a team to suit your own playing style. With 20 different official teams, there are a lot of options out there - and they all play differently.

The rules themselves used to be quite a large weakness, but are getting quite a bit better becasue of a group of people called the Blood Bowl Rules Committee, or "BBRC". I'm sure you are familiar with the ambiguous GW wording in rulebooks, right? They've done a pretty good job of cutting out loopholes and fixing the powergamey aspects to BB to make a better, balanced game overall. As an added bonus, several of them are online, and do get input from people here on the direction of the game. The new Wild Animal fix had a small but significant change due in large part to this ongoing dialouge. The new LRB should be printed in the near future with all their corrections.

The one real weakness that BB has right now is keeping teams balanced in long term leagues. While aging works, lots of people don't like it, and I get the impression that it is a temproary fix while another workable solution is being developed.

I would suggest you read the following two threads if you do decide to join the BB community. They're both very good, comprehensive articles on how to develop and manage a team.

viewtopic.php?t=8994
viewtopic.php?t=2165

[ScottyBoneman]

First let me say, read Skummy's before mine as this is to add to his- he has great points.

To add however, are you planning a trying to start a league or join an existing one (like playing by email)? I, like most, have some issues with the LRB but my number one piece of advice is to play straight LRB before anything else. If you are just getting a group of buddies of varying levels of gaming interest this game is perfect. If you have a group of WarHammer players who sometimes want to be able to get togther and 'lighten up' the gaming sometimes this is also a strong spot for BB, and I would highly recommend league nights.

[DoubleSkulls]

The rules are in better shape than WFB - far fewer loopholes and thanks to the work of the BBRC those get closed in a generally official manner. None of this - but that would invalidate all the army books nonsense - since the complete rules are released every year.

The best starting teams are Humans - with Orcs a close 2nd. Play a few games with them (say half a dozen), learn the basics and then decide on a team you want to learn to play properly.

For cost its very low. With only 16 minis the maximum size of a team - and you only need the teams you are going to play - its very cheap. Maybe £30 for a complete team.

To get competent probably takes ~10 games (anywhere from 1 .5 hours to 3 hours per game) to get respectable probably another 10.

[Lycos]

Firstly I have not been playing long. In Feb 2003 I hadnt seen, played etc anything of BB other than seeing the box in a GW store. That was it.

I played Man O war (ok, not mainstream GW game but I and mates loved it) for 10 yrs or so. But i just fancied something different, I dunno why.

I got the slightly outdated game on ebay for £10. Downloaded the latest LRB free from GW site and with a bit of looking got 4 or 5 teams up for £50 in less than 2 months. And Im hooked. It takes 2 hours to play a game (I play every week and i cant recall a 3 hr game) but ok I have joined the lge which the guy above (IanW) runs and they know the game well so maybe that helps. Having said that, i play the mates I refer to above from MOW and it still takes 2 hrs.

As a new player what impresses me immensely is things like this web site, a NAF system that several or some must put alot of effort in to doing and generally a league structure that seems to be in every part of the globe. (couldnt tell from your post if your in USA, UK, Europe etc).

What I would say, and caused me to do a post than keep my opinion to myself, is that many of the "senior or longer standing players" who saw earlier editions, seem to refer to lots of issues with the rules. As someone who has found it in the last year or so and played alot, is that the rules seem ok to me and whilst im sure everyone has an opinion, the rules are not that broke and I would never be put off by people saying so. Sure some odd things, but hey common sense reigns, and they are few and far between and I would say to anyone who is thinking/borderline of playing - get in there, do it, Im still kicking myself for not taking it up earlier.