3-Month Hiatus - Dreadball

Its been a while! Frankly I got a little bored with the hobby and a little disillusioned. Its hard to say which was the bigger factor in not writing for so long.

Any way, here's some models.

For those who don't recognise them, these are Mantic's Veer-myn models for their boardgame, Dreadball. Here are some things you need to know about Dreadball:

It is nothing like Bloodbowl.
It is not the same as Bloodbowl.

I mention these things because the first question most people ask when I mention Dreadball is 'is it like Bloodbowl?'. When I say that out loud I say it like Scott used to ask 'how are the graphics' on his podcast. I forget the name of the podcast, but I've only had a few hours sleep so I can barely type right now, let alone remember the name of a show I haven't listened to for four years.

Anyway, Dreadball is an excellent game. It plays like a mix of ice-hockey and basketball with lots of fast plays and end to end runs.

Games can be over really really quickly or they can go a maximum of seven turns per player. I played in a tournament a few weeks ago that ran for four games in a day and was not tired at the end of it. There would easily have been time for most players to get in five or maybe even six games in the day.

The mechanics are really simple and intuitive. It is so easy to pick up - I have taught four or five players how to play so far and none of them had any trouble picking up the system.

If it has a weakness it is perhaps that, for pickup games, the teams may eventually become somewhat limited. There are rules for MVP's included in the game, but these are only designed for inclusion in league-playing teams. so for casual gaming you are stuck with a vanilla selection of strikers, jacks, and guards - no special rules or abilities.

The runaway success of the Kickstarter campaign means two expansions, including further teams are guaranteed though, so there is variety on the horizon.

As for my team, the LV Raiders (formerly the LV426 Raiders) wear the silver, they wear the black, don't get in their way. Star players include: Sqeaky Barber, Randy Mouse, Troy Ratomalu, and Pavel Ratsuyk (I love hockey as much as football!).

In the Copperbowl tournament, they did - ok. Two 7-0 wins, two 3-0 losses. Both of the losses were real squeakers though, with one seeing me fail four shots on goal while my opponent only scored one. The other saw my opponent score a 1-pointer and a double while I, once again, could not hit the mark on two or three attempts. I even missed my last shot on my last rush, caught the rebound, then failed to hit the goal on the second bite at the cherry. So it goes with rats....

Dreadball is great fun, quick to pick up and learn, and doesn't cost the Earth.