Blood Bowl PlayBook

by Marc Harrington (Games Workshop)

As a long time fan of the Blood Bowl game I had eagerly awaited the arrival of the new Elf team and the models did not disappoint in the least. However, with the armour of Wood Elves and the speed of High Elves I was a little disappointed with the stat lines – that was, until I started to play.

by unknown (FUMBBL)

The greatest asset of the Lizardmen is their speed; the Skinks are lightning-fast with Ma 8, and even the strong Saurus have Ma 6. The Kroxigor is considered to be one of the best Big Guys out there being able to tie up opposing players with Prehensile Tail. Many coaches who have not played Lizardmen before struggle against them, mostly because they are so different. In the hands of a skilled coach, Lizardmen are very hard to beat.

by Stephen Babbage with Coach Blacknife (www.blood-bowl.net)

To me, Blood Bowl is a fun strategy game: yes, the most important element is strategy. In our league a team winning by luck alone is very rare; obviously luck does affect gameplay and can help determine the outcome of a game, but if the Coach is not using strategies and intelligence to win then they’ll find it difficult.

by Jeremy Vetock (Blood Bowl Home of @rnholm)

Since the new version of Blood Bowl was released, the staffs at the American Games Workshop office in Baltimore have been running a very intense Blood Bowl League. In a frenzy of high-voltage gaming we have already completed two exciting Tournament Cups and are about to start on our third.

by Stephan Babbage (Paradigm Central)

So you’re interested in our secrets eh? Well, come and meet a nice female dark elf I know. She’s just dying to meet you. :)

In all seriousness, Dark elves aren’t the easiest team to play. Some days they have the habit of just dying by ‘the sword’. In Blood Bowl, the sword is the block dice and the die 6 you roll. Dark elves live by the sword more than most teams. And if you live by the sword, you die by the sword – as the saying goes.

That being said the dark elves are a lot of fun. They are stubborn and cruel enough to hit some teams hard. They won’t last long in a big brawl, but they’ll make casualties as fast as a lot of teams. They also have enough skill and speed to race the fastest of the Blood Bowl teams.

But don’t get the idea that they’re the perfect team. Long term, you’re in for a fight – and will have to use more than your stat line to win a game.

by Mike ‘Da Boffin’ Brooks (www.blood-bowl.net)

Mike is a sort of strange cross between a ‘skateboarding dude’ and a hippy. He’s sixteen and from Ipswich, where he regularly indulges in games of Blood Bowl, Necromunda, and Warhammer 40,000. Blood Bowl remains his first love, however, and he even has plans to write an article based on ‘Star Commentators’, including the sheepskin overcoat-wearing Halfling, John Mootson .. .. Groan!!!

by Carl Brown (Blood Bowl Home of @rnholm)

Orcs have been playing Blood Bowl since the game was invented, and teams such as the Gouged Eye and Orcland Raiders are amongst the most succesful in the league. Orcs play a tough and hard-hitting game based around pounding their opponents into the turf before they stomp downfield to score. Orcs don’t tend to throw the ball much which is a good thing really as they are not very adept at catching it. It’s not that they can’t catch, it’s just that when the ball is in the air they tend to forget about it and get stuck into fighting with the nearest opponent instead!

by Reinier van Noort (Paradigm Central)

After having played Bloodbowl for some time (ever since 3rd edition was re-issued, somewhere in the second half of the nineties), I consider myself an experienced BB player, having played Humans/Orcs in the very beginnings, Dwarfs (for a very long time), Chaos Dwarfs, Chaos, Dark Elves and now Vampires in 4th edition.

After guiding my beloved Vampires through only 9 games, of which I must admit I only won the last 3, I’m already starting to be brave enough to put some information on the net regarding how to play with Vampires.

by Coach Blacknife, Dr Pestilance, Coach Bubonic Plaguers, with help from Nigel Buckle (Blood Bowl Home of @rnholm)

Skaven are an uneasy blend of low armour and very fast players. The Wood Elves have an advantage in that all of their players are more agile – which balances the low armour; the Skaven have to rely on their low cost to keep them supplied with plentiful replacements.(Which seems appropriate for rodents really.)

The Skaven are fast, but they break easily. Actually it’s remarkable as to just how fast these rats can run – this can infuriate your opponent if they’re not used to it. A good thing too, as it can throw them off their gameplay!

by Andy Chambers (Blood Bowl Home of @rnholm)

After a long and succesful career as coach of the Skavenblight Scramblers I finally decided to hang up my running shoes and try something different. I wanted to play with a slower but harder team than Skaven, a team with players which didn’t give me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach every time they got blocked. Although I was tempted by the Orcs, I was eventually seduced by the lack of subtlety of the Chaos team and the mouth-watering selection of hideous monsters that will play for them. After winning both the Spike Trophy and the Chaos Cup and getting to the semi-finals for the Blood Bowl, I must say that I’m delighted with my choice.