With the new edition and starter box on the horizon, and the general success of the 2020 edition, there’s never been a better time to think about picking up Blood Bowl. But why would you do that? We’ve all seen those dorks sitting at the far end of the wargames club, with their low model counts and their terrainless playing surface, what keeps them coming back time after time? Especially that guy over there in the corner sobbing something about a “dead 10 SPP Bloodspawn”. Well, read on Macduff, and perhaps by the end of this article you’ll be watching over the Warcom pre-order pages with the rest of us, hoping for a glimpse of sweet bloodstained turf.
Given that I’ve been writing Blood Bowl content on Goonhammer for a while now, it may surprise you to learn that I do not like sports. Oh, sure, I like derivatives of sports. Sports Secondary Products, if you will. I like professional wrestling, I like a fair amount of sports-based films, and…I like Blood Bowl.
What really draws me into something isn’t competition in its own right; I don’t revel in victories over others, either personal ones or via a proxy like a sports team (but I do get frustrated at losses, so I just get the bad bits). I say this not to communicate some moral superiority, because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with competitiveness as long as it doesn’t spill over into toxicity (which is true for anything), but to highlight that the very reason why I thought I wouldn’t enjoy Blood Bowl turned out to be nothing to worry about. What does draw me into something is narrative drama, something that some of my favourite wargames provide in spades. Including Blood Bowl. The final-turn-last-ditch touchdowns, the tragic death of your prize blitzer, the stunning upset when your Halfling team pitch-clears a Lizardman team (true story) – Blood Bowl is an emotional, dramatic game.
But that’s just my main reason for loving it, there are many others, and coaches have all sorts of different reasons for devoting themselves to The Violent Game. Some crave competition, others value its accessibility, some just think the models are fun (and they are). We’re going to run down what your reason could be, and I’m confident there’ll be at least one we cover that appeals.
Gameplay
Blood Bowl is the only game I know of that can feel like chess or feel like Buckaroo, depending on how you approach it. This rules.
Let’s start with an important point – the game is fun as hell. Fun gimmicked teams, character advancement, nail-biting touchdowns. But what else is there?
Everyone knows what Blood Bowl is like, surely. It’s an edge-of-the-seat game, one with few safety nets, where the difference between victory and defeat feels like it can be determined by a single dice roll…
This is not entirely true.
Edge-of-the-seat? Definitely. Few safety nets? Not many, no. The last one though? This is a common reason I see people bring up when they say they’re not interested in Blood Bowl. “It’s too random,” they say, “I don’t want to be winning and then suddenly losing because my player tripped up!” Neither do I! The nice thing about Blood Bowl though is that the more you play, the more you realise that this is not actually what’s happening. But before I go deeper into the weeds, I’ll point out that if you actively enjoy playing Blood Bowl as a random sequence of zany events, that’s extremely valid and you can continue to do that. Every league I’ve played in has loads of players who are just in it for the chaos, and they have a great time. So, keep that in mind as I go more into how Blood Bowl doesn’t have to be zany randomness.
In Blood Bowl, decisions you make three turns ago – even mundane seeming ones like whether to put your safety guy in this space or that space – can have a major impact down the line. That can be intimidating, especially for a starting player, but with practice it becomes engrossing. Each game, you make little mistakes and you learn from them. A good opponent that has time to do so will often just tell you how they won, if you ask, and will point out those little mistakes. Over time, you start to be able to read the board quickly, to notice where an opponent’s catcher might be able to break out without opposition, and where a seemingly cunning trap for a ball carrier can be avoided with a simple manoeuvre. Once you start down this road, it’s easy to become sucked into reading tactics articles, number-crunching theory, and start debating the best skill combos and rosters.
There will always be games where you just get awful luck. In any game with random elements, this will happen, and it’s part of what makes them unpredictable and fun. But let me tell you, the London Blood Bowl scene is a shark tank, and I know of players with a crazily consistent win/loss record. It’s possible to get there too, and that’s exciting. Not that I’m particularly close yet. As a wise entity once said, it is the struggle that is most important, the effort yields its own rewards.
Or you can, y’know, play stunties and just throw crap around and have a zany, fun time. I also like doing that.
BB, like campaign-based skirmish games like Necromunda or Mordheim, is excellent at creating organic narratives. You get narratives for your individual players: that lineman who can somehow kill guys better than your big guy, or your blitzer who seemingly whiffs every important Rush move at the worst possible moment. You also get narratives for your team: those who start a league with a three game winning streak before rocketing to the top of the tables, or those who dominate their division before stacking it in the very first playoff. If you get properly into your team’s backstory, theming, and player names, it only enhances this storytelling potential.
Another thing to note is that Blood Bowl is one of those games where the actual list-building bit is not a major decider to victory. There are more or less optimal team line-ups, of course, this is the entire reason why we make suggestions for those. But a truly great coach can make the best of all sorts of starting rosters, and a larger factor in team-building decisions is often just picking the style that you find intuitive and fun. I perform best with hybrid teams, personally, while some favour bash or agility teams. As we’ve covered in meta articles, the vast majority of teams have an overall close to 50/50 winrate, so it’s unlikely you’re going to majorly handicap yourself.
Some wargames shut you out if you play a certain way. Some I stopped playing because my habit of coming up with high-concept armies rather than competitive armies just led to short shut-down games which lasted a couple of turns. Not much time for even a storied defeat. Blood Bowl doesn’t really do that. You might win less games if you devote yourself to Halflings or Goblins, but there’s an extremely high chance some ridiculous garbage will happen that’ll make a good story later.
Accessibility
It’s cheap, it’s compact, and it’s a manageable project and game for those of us with disabilities.
Price
Wargaming is expensive, the world is expensive (and getting more so). You don’t want to pick up a new game that’s going to require a massive investment, and that’s extremely reasonable. Given that, let’s run down the possible entry costs for Blood Bowl (assuming you already have a painting setup). For teams, we’re going to stick with GW products (there’s a whole wide world of options, but those are simpler and more universally usable). For dice and boards, I’ll include third-party options also.
The Digital Method
- Computer that can open a browser page – £0 (you already have this, since you’re reading this)
- Rulebook (sort of optional?) – £35/30/15-20 (depending on whether you get it new from GW, new from LGS that has a discount, or used)
Total investment – £0-35
Pretty easy one. Fumbbl is a free website that hosts a huge amount of free leagues, tourneys and open play games. The interface is simple but easy enough to use, and it’s not difficult to organise your own events with mates. It’s a good way to find out if you enjoy the game, or if you don’t have a local physical play scene, this is a really good way to still play lots of Blood Bowl.
I say the rulebook is kinda optional for a couple of reasons – while you’ll miss a lot of the nuances of what individual dice rolls are doing, you can pick up one Fumbbl or one of the Cyanide video games and learn reasonably well from those, particularly if an experienced coach guides you through. If you decide you like the game, it’s a good idea to get the rulebook eventually, of course.
The Minimalist Method
- A good one-box GW Blood Bowl team – £20-34
- Rulebook – £35(?)
- Dice set (sort of optional) – £4-14
Total investment – £69-83
This assumes that you have an established local scene to play in. Almost all long-time coaches own at least one pitch, so having a pitch as a completely new player is not entirely necessary.
Some teams require extra purchases of big guys, star players and even basic positionals (goddamnit goblins), but others can build a full and optimal roster with just one GW box. According to our excellent article by King_Ghidra, the “A” ranked boxes (which require basically nothing extra) are Amazons, Dwarves, Necromantic, Norse, and Vampires. The “B” ranked boxes are also perfectly good, just missing maybe a big guy and some spare players.
For dice sets, you can technically just roll D6s instead of block dice. 1 = skull, 2 = both down, 3-4 = push, 5 = stumble, 6 = pow. However, some opponents may find that hard to process quickly and not appreciate it, so it’s better to pick up a set. You can get some official GW ones, or some cheap third-party ones for £4-5 a set on eBay. You will also need a D16 for casualty rolls.
The Full Monty
- Blood Bowl Season 3 starter box – £80-120(?)
Total investment – £80-120(?)
On release the Season 2 box was £75, but now goes for anywhere from £80-100. We as of yet have no idea how much the Season 3 box is going to cost (and at this point it’d be extremely advisable to wait for that and not buy a rulebook that’s going to be invalid in a couple of months), but due to inflation and such, my guess is somewhere in the £80-120 range. That’ll get you two teams (if you only want one, you can sell it on or split the box), a rulebook, a pitch, QRFs, two dice sets, templates, and markers for player conditions.
And that’s really all you’ll absolutely need, ever. There are always more teams, more accessories, more useful bits and bobs. But this is all of the essentials and then some.
Small Footprint
While a Blood Bowl pitch is not exactly small, it’s probably a fair bit bigger (or at least longer) than most boardgames at about 89x54cm, it still takes up much less space than a lot of other wargames. You can comfortably play it on a 4-seater pub or kitchen table. The setup is also easy, there’s no terrain to lug around or mats to lay out – you just unfold the board and pop it down. Perfect for anyone who doesn’t have a whole lot of space in their home for a big gaming board.
In addition, because all movement and distances are calculated via uniform squares rather than in inches, scaling down the game to make a mini travel pitch is a very approachable hobby project. Indeed, others have got there before you, so there’s plenty of resources out there, and even some products you can just buy.
Disability Access
As an Autistic/ADHDer with a partner who has a fatigue-based disability, it’s good to have games that don’t require her to stand up for hours at a time, or for me to take on a massive project that I’ll never finish or get stressed about. Blood Bowl is great for that! Small model count, so potentially less room for executive dysfunction (provided you don’t get sucked into making each model perfect like I sometimes do). It fits on a table, and you don’t have to stand up to reach your models or determine sightlines, so if you can’t stand or find standing difficult it’s ideal.
I struggle to play in a lot of wargames clubs due to volume and crowdedness, so having a game that I can play in a wide variety of environments – at home, at the pub, in the park even – is a godsend.
Models
Fun models galore, whether you’re into the GW style or not.
Speaking personally, Games Workshop’s releases in the last 8 years or so of BB have been amongst my favourite from the company in modern times. They’re not generally especially easily convertible, but more so than some other modern kits, at least. For some teams one box will sort you, for others you might need an extra sprue or two or a separate big guy. If rumours are to be believed, Season 3 is going to ensure that all the teams are buildable from one box (bar big guys)…though I would hope that doesn’t include goblins, or else they’re losing all of their positionals. All of the new teams released in the 2020 edition have been lovely – they’re characterful, they’re dynamic but not busy, and they’re generally easy to paint.
You may say “well, this is a taste thing. I don’t like the GW models at all.” The nice thing about that is that in the 16 years or so in which GW left BB to fend for itself, a rich market of third-party figures popped up, and flourished. While most of them tend to be more expensive, if you’re willing to spend that cash (or have a friend with a 3D printer, in some cases) you can get hold of plenty of other options. A lot of third-party teams tend to lean hard into a particular gimmick – pirate skaven, celtic briton dwarfs, that sort of thing – which can be a good way for your team to stand out a bit more.
Also worth noting that a lot of BB coaches are extremely laid back and permissive when it comes to model choices, another consequence of the long stretch of time in GW exile. I’ve seen xenomorph teams, chibi animal teams, Star Wars teams, squig teams, Stormcast teams, really your creativity (and how moany your local crowd are) is the limit.
Community
An independent, widespread and organised community ensures an abundance of events and support.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that Blood Bowl went unsupported by GW for a long while, and the benefits of that on the availability of models and accessories. It has yet another benefit – the community. Independently minded, creative, and more than happy to operate outside of GW’s watchful eye, the BB community runs events around the world. Thanks to their independence, and to the structure of the NAF, things like data on events, team performance, and the effects of different rulespacks and tierings are all very accessible and collectible. In the UK, just in the few months left in 2025, there are over 50 tournaments scheduled across the country. There’s a healthy online community for organising and discussion and, if you’re looking to run your own event, a wealth of resources and people to ask for advice.
When I first got into BB in the 2000s, it was in a very siloed club environment. I never really interacted much with the wider BB community, being an anxious teenager. But, my experience with the community since getting back into the game around eight years ago has been extremely positive. People are welcoming, enthusiastic, and constructive, and it’s active both in person and online. It’s not perfect, but what wargaming community is? All I can say is that it’s one of my favourites.
Building Sportsmanship
Blood Bowl is a cruel mistress at times, and a relationship with the game can help you learn to not flip tables.
I mentioned above that it’s rather rare that a BB game is decided by a single roll – more commonly it’s a sequence of little mistakes that a savvy opponent spots and takes advantage of – but that doesn’t make failing that vital role any less stinging. When I first started playing, I took losses and bad rolls pretty hard. As with any competitive game, even if you hold it in, it’s easy for opponents to notice your mopey demeanour and deflating verbal interactions. It’s hard to speak for everyone, but with so many of my rival coaches taking such joy in chaos – reveling in the failure of the 99 in 100 shot, guffawing at the Endzone Tripwire taking another victim, shaking their head in amused disbelief as their best blitzer gets killed following two sets of double-skulls – for me it became difficult to be so serious about the whole affair. The best coaches I knew loved it when something ridiculous and improbable happened, and keeping that spirit in my heart has helped me be a better opponent, not just in Blood Bowl but across all wargames. Here we see the seemingly contradictory duality of Blood Bowl: simultaneously a competitive game of strategy, and a load of silly bollocks. It can be both or either, it’s all about your approach.
Final Thoughts
Blood Bowl rules. Buy the new starter box or something when it comes out, will ya?
Uh yeah, what the TL;DR said really. If none of these reasons cry out to you, if you say to me “No, Roach, I like my games to be shallow, expensive, exclusionary, with shite models, a rude community, and a rulebook that encourages open hostility to your opponents”, I only have one thing to say…I’m honestly impressed you managed to find games that fulfill your desires. You should probably just stick to those, because boy, you have singular tastes, all right.
Anyway, try Blood Bowl, it’s good. And if you’re not tempted yet, watch this space, we might get you yet.
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