DreadBall - The Futuristic Sports Game

[daloonieshaman]

Mantic announced erules relase Friday

[Darkson Designs]

They re uploaded the rules today at a much higher res and now with the searchable function. It's a cleanly payed out book.

[MattDakka]

They re uploaded the rules today at a much higher res and now with the searchable function. It's a cleanly payed out book.

Link to the rules, please?
Thanks in advance.

[Shteve0]

The link was sent out to backers of the kickstarter only, and clearly comes with a specific request not to share it - else I'd happily slap it up here. Sorry, chap. I'm sure it'll come to light before long though... I guess just be patient.

[MattDakka]

The link was sent out to backers of the kickstarter only, and clearly comes with a specific request not to share it - else I'd happily slap it up here. Sorry, chap. I'm sure it'll come to light before long though... I guess just be patient.

Ah I see, I didn't know that, thanks anyway.

[Darkson Designs]

It should be avaliable soon. Looks like it will be $15 US for the 84 page book that includes rules, league rules, player advancements, and history of DB.

[spubbbba]

That’s good, for the game to have legs they really need to emphasise the fluff to make it a universe but leaving space for your own imagination. Though I thought Mantic gave away the basic rules for their other games for free. But it’s probably different when it’s a board game compared to a tabletop battle game.

GW had an advantage with Bloodbowl since they already had the well established warhammer world to use as a template.

[Darkson]

Got mine, backed up as well.
Need to send it to myself so I can try and print it at work.

[Darkson Designs]

Boardgamegeek.com has the basic rules posted in the Dreadball section. Those rules should give you a feel for the game. They also have a game play video posted.

[DDogwood]

Downloaded the rulebook and read through it once. It looks pretty good; I was getting cold feet after the Kickstarter ended, wondering if this game was going to be worth the investment, but the rulebook seems pretty well-written and the game looks like it will have a very Blood Bowl-like feel to it without being a clone or copy. Here are some of the basic similarities and differences I see between the two games, without having actually played any Dreadball yet:

Similarities:
* Both have a similar "turnover" mechanic - if you lose control of the ball, your turn ends immediately and your opponent gets a go
* Both require coaches to plan their turns carefully - failing to pick up the ball can end your turn, so you usually want to do this last
* Both use several similar concepts - you can roll to move extra spaces on a move, players can knock each other down and roll armour checks to hurt each other, the games both allow for running/passing games and various teams are better at playing more or less violently

Differences:
* DB only allows 6 players on the pitch instead of 11 in BB
* DB uses hexes instead of squares, and facing matters - you can't guard hexes that are behind you
* DB scoring requires you to throw the ball, and your drive ends whether you score or not... UNLESS your team manages to catch the ball again after it misses and scatters, which could give you another go if you have actions left
* In DB, each team gets 5 actions per Rush, and a player can take up to two actions (plus a special move, available through the use of cards)
* In DB, there aren't blocks and blitzes - Jacks and Guards can make Slam actions. Jacks can move 1 hex before a Slam, and Guards can make a full Run action first, so you potentially have multiple "Blitzes" per turn - but a player receiving a Slam can choose whether they want to Dodge or Slam the other player back; a successful Dodge can allow the targeted player to move a single hex away for free if he does well enough
* DB uses regular d6s for all actions, and uses a dice pool method. If your player has a Speed of 4+, every die he rolls on a Speed check succeeds on a 4 or better. Modifiers to the roll add or subtract dice, but don't change the target number. Rolls of 6 "explode", giving you a success plus a chance to roll the die again for another possible success.
* Penalties can reduce your dice pool to zero, making an attempt impossible, but you can make this up with coaching dice, which are DB's version of rerolls - bonus dice that you can apply to any action, but are used up once they're gone.
* DB's Ref is a figure on the pitch (as well as an overhead camera) and your chances of getting away with a variety of fouls and unfair moves depend on how well the Ref can see you doing it

Overall, it feels a lot like ice hockey, which is cool. The mechanics are a little cleaner and more consistent than Blood Bowl, but it looks like they feature a lot of the same type of decisions - coaches need to evaluate the risks carefully and decide what chances they're willing to take. No action is guaranteed to succeed, although the probability curves aren't as flat as Blood Bowl's.

[sann0638]

* Both have a similar "turnover" mechanic - if you lose control of the ball, your turn ends immediately and your opponent gets a go
* Both require coaches to plan their turns carefully - failing to pick up the ball can end your turn, so you usually want to do this last

Interesting - I thought I read that this was not the case. Probably mis-remembering though.

[DDogwood]

* Both have a similar "turnover" mechanic - if you lose control of the ball, your turn ends immediately and your opponent gets a go
* Both require coaches to plan their turns carefully - failing to pick up the ball can end your turn, so you usually want to do this last

Interesting - I thought I read that this was not the case. Probably mis-remembering though.

Well, in DB, falling down doesn't result in a turnover as long as you still have control of the ball, so it's not as harsh as Blood Bowl can be in this regard. I've had more than one game with a triple-skull-reroll-triple-skull block, and that wouldn't end your rush in Dreadball as long as you still had control of the ball after resolving everything.

[Chris]

Based on a read through it would seem the game looks faster than bloodbowl, with a lot more 'action' but I would say not as much depth. Maybe that would change as the expansions come out. Without playing I can't say anything about the relative gameplay styles, but the 'meta' seems a lot simpler compared to bloodbowl, but can't decide if it is perpetual or not. Anyone else's views on that? Looks like it would work best with a set of teams starting together? Though the MVP can't go to non core players in the team making catching up a bit quicker.

[daloonieshaman]

Depth...
Did you forget the in Dreadball there is no player reset after a score. You are where you are. You have to deal with offense and defense in ways BB never considered.
The models look better
The board is smaller to fit better on tables instead of just hanging off
The rules are more concise
The dice mechanic is way better
The optional point value when scoring is far superior
the point deferential is quite a new twist
The ref and types of fouls is better
attacks and responses to attacks is superior
did someone mention the strategy (and depth) of facing
did someone mention the fact of entering the pitch in the middle of a rush
How about being able to recover from both a foul and an injury in 1-3 turns
again the fact that a single player may make 3 moves and this does not count free moves for an outstanding action
the ball does not go out of bounds
the ball is deadly
you get a carrying case when you buy a team (for about 40% of the cost of a BB team)
I am sure I am forgetting more...

[Khail]

I would hesitate to say that Dreadball is "better" than BB. It definitely presents different options and strategy to think about, and I've enjoyed it a great deal the couple times we've played so far. There are a number of things that I like about it that are specifically "not BB". It remains to be seen if it can sustain high end tactical play over the course of a perpetual league in the manner that BB does, which will ultimately decide if it lives or dies here in Rat City. Even if DB takes off, BB has a very different feel and strategy set, and I don't think it'll get replaced anytime soon.

That said - I'm really looking forward to running my first Rat City Dreadball tournament!