For anybody interested in getting the module and learning how to use it, visit the simple little website that I made that has those details. There's also a collection of logs from a game that I played in last years tournament that will give you an idea of how to use the thing. Complete (and easy) instructions are on the site at: www.garykrockover.com/BB/
Ok, so I've had the Blood Bowl bug bite again and have started up a VASSAL Pbem game with my brother "Big Al". I just wanted to show how crazy this game can get and to showcase the VASSAL module a bit. I'm thinking of starting up another season of the VABBL (VASSAL Blood Bowl League) so if anybody's interested, let me know.
So the match at start. I'm playing with a Norse team, the "74 Dalir Audhumlaboys", formed and named after the team/year that I watched as a kid- the 1974 Dallas Cowboys. Big Al is playing his favorite Wood Elf team.
For those that don't know Blood Bowl, it's fantasy "football" (more like rugby IMO) with fantasy characters/races and unlike American football, it can get bloody...and deadly. The Norse team is a well rounded team; you've got a bit of strength and some good blockers (with a "block" skill) and they're above average in overall team speed. A good running team. The Wood Elves on the otherhand are lightly armored (fragile) but very quick and they can throw the ball as best as any other team. So you have to play deep when on defense because they can break out in to the backfield quite easily as we'll see here.
The VASSAL module was put together by yours truly and I'm very pleased with how it came out. Blood Bowl is very well suited for Pbem as there's very little interaction during from your opponent during your player turn. The VABBL league can be played either via email or live- your and your opponent's choice. A turn takes maybe 10 minutes to complete once you're comfortable with the game and how the VASSAL module works.
With the module, we have the control board, which contains the dice, buttons to access the teams dugouts and all the charts that you need to play.
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Setting up for the opening Kickoff, Big Al has won the coin toss and has elected to receive. His Wood Elf team are suited up in green and yellow (what else would you expect?) and the Norse team is in the blue/blue:
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The "Pitch" as it's called, is a field of squares. You can move horizontally and diagonally. There is a "Line of Scrimmage" down the center of the field and there's two endzones. Just like American football. The ball will bounce and roll around if it hits the ground and it can be rather hard to handle (easily dropped) because, well, it has spikes on it.
The Turn Track is at the top. There's two halves of 8 turns each. Team scoreboards run along the sides and at the bottom is a track for team "Re-Rolls". You can buy some "do-overs" that can be used. I have 3 and Big Al had forgot to set his 1 when we first started. There's a few other things that can be purchased such as cheerleaders, assistant coaches and "Fan Factor". Buy your fans. These all help in various things, mostly on the Kickoff Table which is consulted after each Kickoff.
Before the match, the weather is consulted (it's "Nice", no effect) and the "gate" is figured. After a pair of rolls plus my FAME modifier, we find that this is a small scrimmage: Big Al has 2000 fans and I have 5000. This will affect the post match wrap up.
So for the kick, I place the ball about where I wish the kicker to kick it to:
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And of course the wind has to do its thing so with drift, the ball hits the field here:
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And rolls to a stop.
Big Al has a speedster in the backfield and he quickly runs and attempts to pick up the ball, which is successful:
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In a textbook Elvian move, he gets some lead blockers set in place:
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And then he announces a "blitz" (lightening bolt on player). This player can move and then block (or block and then move, the former in this case):
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You might call that "pulling a guard". He hit my #06 and luckily for me, only pushed him back. That opens up a hole for Big Al though.
Big Al seizes the opportunity, handing the ball off successfully to #22 who starts a charge down the sidelines. He could go all the way......
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But he's used all his movement points. Big Al chooses to leap towards the endzone by "Going For It". You can move up to 2 extra squares with a successful roll. His first square- he's good! Inching closer! But he gets a bit greedy stretching it a bit too far and:
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He trips! He trips over his own two feet! Oh no!!! And he tripped hard- he broke his own armor and consulting the injury table, he's broken his arm and is out of the game!
The ball rolls loose and Big Al's turn ends. A turn is over if you've moved all your players or you have a "turnover"; you drop a pass or hand off, miss a block and get knocked down or in this case, trip over your own feet.
The VASSAL module has some cool controls. Mouse over a player and you get all of his/her stats:
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And the control board logs and shows all the dice results (both in the text window and with the dice themselves):
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Fun stuff! Blood Bowl is a game where you have to carefully sequence your moves. That is key. It's not a light game; there's some real depth here. Skills and tactics (along with some luck) are all in play.
I hope that you enjoyed this little sneak peek in to a VASSAL Blood Bowl game. Again, if you're interested in signing up to play in the league, let me know!
Ok, so far not too much luck getting a league started but that's ok - I'd like to open this up to anybody looking to give a) Blood Bowl b) VASSAL a try.
I'm more than willing and happy to help new players set up VASSAL and/or learn how to play Blood Bowl. Both endeavors are quite easy really. Drop me a PM if interested.
Look - it's snowing!
For anybody interested in getting the module and learning how to use it, visit the simple little website that I made that has those details. There's also a collection of logs from a game that I played in last years tournament that will give you an idea of how to use the thing. Complete (and easy) instructions are on the site at: http://www.garykrockover.com/BB/