Dungeon Bowl Death Match

Death Match

Dungeon Bowl is back with another claustrophobic match pitting two magical colleges against each other in Death Match!

Dungeon Bowl has quickly become a classic in our gaming groups with the catacombs and traps to navigate, making an already crazy game crazier. Death Match adds two new colleges to the mix and visually is the most stunning release yet!

At $170 this boxset comes with everything needed for a match but also give options to expand. Teams are divided into Colleges and it comes with teams for the Colleges of Life and Death. Map tiles allow you an almost endless number of customizations so that you never have to play the same map twice. Two teams enter the particular Dungeon and in search of the game ball and if found must survive to score a touchdown. One touchdown is all that is needed to win but just finding it and delivering the ball is enough. Players must survive traps and other players who will stop at nothing to prevent them from scoring.

Regular Blood Bowl players will have options to further customize their teams using their players and creatures to fill out the roster for their chosen College. The models look fantastic and the map tiles can be used in other games like Cursed City to keep those maps fresh as well. Without purchasing other Blood Bowl teams however will mean your kit-bashing options will be quite limited as you only have a couple models for each faction as part of the game. As a stand-alone game though I don’t see this title as a replacement for Blood Bowl, merely as a new way to play. This game is chaotic, fast paced and immensely enjoyable.

Dungeon Bowl returns with a new editon!

Dungeon Bowl

Dungeon Bowl is back but is it as good as expected and what impact does it hold for Blood Bowl going forward?

What do you get when you cross a scavenger hunt in a dungeon and American Football? You get Dungeon Bowl from Games Workshop. Dungeon Bowl is a lesser known version of Blood Bowl, similar to how Kill Team is a branch of Warhammer 40K. It’s the same world but entirely different mechanics, rules and points. Play styles that work well in Blood Bowl may not work as well in the Dungeon.

At $160 this boxset comes with everything needed for a match but also give options to expand. Teams are divided into Colleges and it comes with teams for the Colleges of Fire and Shadow. Map tiles allow you an almost endless number of customizations so that you never have to play the same map twice. Two teams enter the particular Dungeon and in search of the game ball and if found must survive to score a touchdown. One touchdown is all that is needed to win but just finding it and delivering the ball is enough. Players must survive traps and other players who will stop at nothing to prevent them from scoring.

Regular Blood Bowl players will have options to further customize their teams using their players and creatures to fill out the roster for their chosen College. The models look fantastic and the map tiles can be used in other games like Cursed City to keep those maps fresh as well. Without purchasing other Blood Bowl teams however will mean your kit-bashing options will be quite limited as you only have a couple models for each faction as part of the game. As a stand-alone game though I don’t see this title as a replacement for Blood Bowl, merely as a new way to play. This game is chaotic, fast paced and immensely enjoyable.

The Skull-tribe Slaughterers are the latest addition to Blood Bowl!

Skull-tribe Slaughterers

First announced at Gen Con but now the Khorne Skull-tribe Slaughterers have arrived for Blood bowl!

Blood Bowl remains the only sports game of any type I have ever been interested in and the only tabletop sports game I have played. For a game with blood in the name though there is just not enough representation for Khorne, the blood god. Apparently Games Workshop agreed because not only did they release the Skull-tribe Slaughterers, they also sent us a review set to try on the pitch! The very first team I played with the original edition of the game was the original metal team for Chaos and I had painted them to be followers of Khorne. Sadly they did not survive my move to Arizona in ’98. Games Workshop already released two other Chaos themed teams but this is the first that is Khorne specific. Of course my memory of the original game is quite limited and there may have been a Khorne team there and I’ve forgotten but none that my Google skills have found. reference

What makes this team stand out, other than playing dirty, is the fact that they play to win. Not in a sense of achieving victory but because the better they rank then the better foes the fight. Those better foes mean a more glorious kill in the name of their god Khorne.

Here’s how to boost your team using Games Workshop:

This pitch seems to have disappeared from the store itself but I suspect it will return. It is also a must for any Khorne player. This is aesthetics only, no benefit in the game comes from home turf other than a morale boost for the player. Who wouldn’t want to see their opponent squirm looking at this board?

These cards are not entirely essential but to streamline the game the sure as hell are, plus the dirty play cards aren’t found anywhere else I’ve noticed.

Themed dice are always a win in my book but if you’re on a budget they are not necessary. Rumors are that they roll better though…

This was the first issue I’ve ever looked at of Spike and I was amazed at how awesome this is. If you are playing with a team that does not come from a core box then you need this supplement for both the rules and details about the characters. It even has a sample roster for newer players!

How to boost your team with the help of Forge World:

Check out the Bloodspawn- what Khornite coach would not want this monster of a star player. The sculpt alone is intimidating.

For coaches looking for a more unique team can order the Team Booster as well. No special stats, just unique models.

Skull-tribe Slaughterers

Enter Scyla Anfingrimm, another Bloodspawn but one of the most dynamic and amazing Blood Bowl models I have ever seen. I mean look at that Wood Elf player he’s smashing!

Skull-tribe Slaughterers
https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-US/blood-bowl-max-spleenripper-2021

Lastly we have Max Spleenripper. If his name didn’t tell you everything you needed to know then the model itself will. I have never seen a Blood Bowl player with a chainsword, let alone anyone in the Warhammer Fantasy or Age of Sigmar realms.

With the exception of the Forge World items we were able to receive a review copy of this team and out of the three teams we currently have these are by far our favorite.

Blood Bowl has returned for Season 2!

Blood Bowl

The fine folks at Games Workshop have brought one of my favorite IP’s to the pitch with the Second Season Edition of Blood Bowl!

Those that know me, even just a little, will know that I am not a fan of sports, watching or playing. For some reason though I’ve always had a soft spot for Blood Bowl. I have played every iteration of the video games on the Xbox and both of the previous releases of the tabletop game. I even read some of the older books. So how is that I love a sports themed game when I detest sports? It’s all about the conflict. A game where you can have an ork kill or maim a player outright is one I am more than willing to give a solid try. Each time I’ve played I’ve lost on the tabletop and still found it quite enjoyable. The Season 2 Edition seemed like the perfect chance to finally beat my son.

Not much has changed in terms of general gameplay, but at the same time EVERYTHING has changed. That’s a bit of an exaggeration but we are seriously talking about some big changes. First off is in value- the core box comes with enough models to play a full team! This is huge! Every iteration previously required you to purchase additional boxes to have enough on the pitch. I hope this is the trend going forward. Previous editions made an effort of using star players but they always felt like they were missing something. With Season 2 we get to see them offer a bit more panache on the field, no longer just cool looking models. The rulebook includes rules for a plethora of star players, each with their own special stats to make playing them more worth it. It even adds another layer to setting your roster. Additionally previous editions required you purchase your heavy hitters separately but you get one for each team.

As always when it comes to causing carnage on the field I’m no slouch but when it comes to planning through openings to score points there is still some sort of disconnect. Playing multiple games with my son he managed to win each time but not before losing several players along the way. We had a total blast with the game and hope to try out a few of the other teams as they release using the new ruleset. The rules are much easier to understand than in previous editions, leaving fewer questions regarding how to interpret them. If you enjoy sports, fantasy tabletop games or beating the crap out of your opponent you will enjoy this game.