
The gong that resonates dramatically when you relinquish your turn during a risky play will start to make your stomach drop, but pulling off a dicey move may cause you to cheer, or at least breathe a sigh of relief. Dice rolls occur almost every time two players interact, making even the smallest acts, like running past a defender or tackling the ball carrier, tense moments. The uniforms don't, though.Įven in the early hours of a campaign or a competition, Blood Bowl is exciting.

The icons in the upper left display your team logo. Individual players can knock each other down, push each other back on the grid, and cause injuries, all while you try to run and pass the ball down the field. The basic flow is similar to American football and starts with a kickoff, at which point the receiving team attempts to score a touchdown while the defenders try to gain possession, or at least hold the opposition off until the half. You get limited time to perform your turn, during which you maneuver your players about the field in individual turns of their own. The Campaign mode is the most enjoyable of the offline modes: you guide your team through a series of matches and level up your players, which in turn lets you choose special abilities for them. There are a number of ways to play, though the classic turn-based rules provide the best experience.

If you're a newcomer, don't expect the inadequate tutorials to be any help-just play a bunch of matches until you get used to the intricacies of dice rolls, how cheerleaders affect gameplay, and all sorts of other small but important details.

What constitutes a turnover in your head isn't a Blood Bowl turnover (here, it means that your turn is over, not that you have relinquished ball possession) there are no downs, field goals, or two-point conversions and touchdowns are worth a single point. If you're an American football fan, you will need to make some mental adjustments before you can wrap your head around the terms and rules.

In any case, you choose a team from a variety of Warhammer races-dwarf, skaven, wood elf, and so on-and go up against the AI or another player to prove your dominance. Nevertheless, it's a surprisingly compelling formula-maybe because the raucous violence of Warhammer and the testosterone-fueled swagger of the signature American sport make such compatible bedfellows. If you've never heard of the Blood Bowl tabletop game, the idea of turn-based football within the Warhammer universe may sound a bit bizarre.
