20.12.2010

The coin is spinning. You are experiencing butterflies in your stomach. The wait is unnerving. You stare at the message on the screen: "Looking for Opponent." Who will it be? More importantly, *what* will they be? How experienced will they be? The server is supposed to match you with an opponent of the same caliber, but if this is not your first game, you know it doesn't always work out that way. Suddenly, the message changes: "Connecting..." Here we go!Blood Bowl, in this reviewer's opinion, has since its conception in 1987, evolved over five editions to simply the best board game this reviewer has ever played. It is categorically unwise to call it the best boardgame in the world unless one has played all the boardgames in the world,but there is *evidence* to suggest that the statement *might* be true.All boardgames start from a more or less pre-determined or at least from a limited number of scenarios, right? Not so with Blood Bowl. With twenty different teams to choose from and a practically infinite number of builds for them, two games are unlikely to start the same, whether you're playing against A.I. or another human. And even if the teams in two games are exactly the same, the playing conditions (the weather) and random events that occur even before the first turn are likely to instantly give each game a different starting situation. And that's just with *newly* created teams.All boardgames end when one player wins, right? Not so with Blood Bowl. The keyword around which the Fifth Edition was developed was "Perpetual", meaning that you could play the game FOREVER. It would just consist of any number of matches. Very RPG. You start a team. You hire your starting players. The longer you keep playing with the same team, the more they evolve, possibly even becoming Legends, but the less likely they are to survive - hey, this is *Blood* Bowl, after all! If you like RPGs, you'll like BB. If you like chess, you'll probably *love* BB. It is maybe even more important to be able to think what your opponent can do in their turn than what you do on your own turn. This game is, most often, won by the one who has the better defense against touchdowns. Unless Nuffle is not on your side. He is the god of the game. There lies the most challenging aspect of the game: you have to throw the dice and Nuffle may not favor you. Guaranteed victories have slipped from various coaches' grasp just because they took the risk and threw the dice instead of just doing a straightforward touchdown because they wanted to earn more experience on some player on their team. Also, in Single Player mode, the game has three different modes: Competition, Campaign (which lasts as long as you want - I've played over 100 matches) and Story. The possibilities are *endless*.Nothing happens between two boardgame sessions, right? Not so with Blood Bowl. What you do after one match has ended and before the next one has started may make all the difference in the latter match. Your player(s) just earned a new skill - what will you choose? You do not often know who you will be playing against next, unless your team is in a league where the sequence of opponents is predetermined. Will the skill benefit you or be useless in the next match? In any case, your player will be stuck with the skill as long as he stays on the team. What if your player's next skill is a rare Statistic Increase? That might change the player's role in the team completely! You will learn the basics of the game in under half an hour, but will spend the rest of your life trying to master it. And you will love every moment of it, even the defeats, because you will know what went wrong and you will learn from your mistakes. Next time, you *will* win.But the coin spins and the dice cannot be trusted...

1.8.2009

I have been playing blood bowl the tabletop game for years. I managed to get hold of blood bowl game for psp in France (they got them in July)Having not seen the PC version, I cannot compare, but it really feels like the PSP version is a water down version of the PC game.The positive:1) it is blood bowl.2) you can play with some of the more famous teams in blood bowl (only in one-off game though) such as the lustria croakers, the lowdown rats, the orcland raiders. They have players with some serious skills.3) the hot seat option (1 psp, 2 players) is a neat option to play with people who do not have the game. But this is a one-off game option.4) The tutorial is okay,

2.9.2009

I have bought this game already by the end of july over amazon.de and I am truly happy with this game. It had a lot of bugs in the beginning and there are still some stupid connection issues but once you get the game started it is a blast. Now after already 7 patches most of the functions and skills work properly. I hope they fix the opening ports problem soon. I only play the classic mode which is 1:1 identical to the rules of the original boardgame. The real-time mode is supposed to be a mess so I have never bothered trying it out for myself.In order to be able to play this game you have to read the living rulebook which can be easily found on the internet.

16.3.2010

I first encountered Blood Bowl in the mid 1990s as a tabletop game which I played with friends. The rules were detailed, but at their core, pretty simple and the board game was quick, yet still provided a real challenge. Developing your team and your players' skills was great fun and highly addictive. The slightly off-the-wall humour also gave it a nice touch.I'm pleased to say that the PC game has successfully retained this fun element. Building your team and taking it from success to success is extremely addictive and this means you'll keep coming back to it (can I get enough star player points to be able to throw a Goblin with the ball into the End Zone?). Each of the teams supplied (now including Dark Elves,

29.9.2009

The game is a faithful conversion of the tabletop version and I believe this is its biggest strength (unlike other Games Workshop PC conversions which do not follow the tabletop). Blood bowl is a fantastic game that has stood the test of time and is very well suited to internet play. There are issues with the game (some bugs and parts missing) but these should be solved through the patches which have regularly been coming out. A previous reviewer complained about the lack of variety in some of the models. That's all very well and good but I would much rather play an enjoyable game than look at six different models of the same character. I'd rather have gameplay over graphics any day (and the graphics are quite good anyway).

14.12.2011

It's a very fun game when you get into it but somewhat limited.The pros:-Accurate representation of the tabletop game-Gameplay is smooth and interesting-Very strategy based-Campaign like system makes every game interesting-Single player and multiplayer tournament and league styles allow for a wide range of formats-Graphics aren't great but get the job doneThe cons:-Computer players can get predictable in play style-When playing other people there is a high tendency for games to not come to completion due to the game simulating to end any time a player accidentally leaves. I would really like to see it give you the option to allow players more time to return for games with friends or family

19.4.2011

First off I'd better state that I have absolutely no interest in fantasy worlds like Warhammer etc. Lord of the Rings is a classic book, but the copycat industry holds no attraction in my eyes. Yet I came across this game while browsing and oddly enough my curiosity got the batter of me. After searching online for more info, I ordered a copy as it sounded fun..........and it is! Unfortunately there is a steep learning curve for the Blood Bowl novice, so though veteran players may find the AI a pushover, newbies will find it more than a handful, at least for a while. The tutorial is of only minor assistance in helping you learn the game, and the overall feel of the package is that it was aimed at those who already played the board game.

6.11.2010

This game finally has all the things we wanted as a fan of the board game, namely all the teams, all the rules, extras, and skills. Commentary has been improved somewhat with extra lines of dialogue, and stadiums no longer have an empty feel to them with fans being visible.As a traditional player, I have only touched the blitz mode a little bit, favouring the original games rules, which can get very one-sided against the AI either for or against you, which has a pretty unbalanced and unpolished feel to it, but the real fun of this game is with playing against other players. Bring your own teams, host your own competitions, and play with your friends.

19.12.2010

A brilliant game and a prime example of the developers listening to the complaints of the first game. Its a huge improvement in every way. It offers lots of indepth gameplay that on the easiests settings is simple to learn but near impossible to master. It offers chess like gameplay in the traditional board game conversion but also a real time mode which is just as fun and indepth for quick and fast paced gameplay.It can require a little patience when you first start because it is a difficult game if you want to jump into the deep end but I dont see that as a bad thing. It hasnt dumbed anything down for the sake of playability. The new features in legendary edition are just fantastic,

26.9.2009

I must say I have had no problems at all with the game or with online connection. This may be due to the patches that have been released and which update the game when you install it.The "Classic" mode does a wonderful job of recreating the original board game. In the single player game you can either play a one off game using one of the many ready made teams, or create your own team and set out to win trophies or leagues. The game is wonderfully balanced as it has grown over several editions since it was first released.As a multiplayer game you can either play in "hot seat" mode with two players taking turns on the same machine, play over a LAN or compete in the online leagues.

17.1.2011

This really is a splendid game. If you liked the board game than you will like this as it really is a faithful adaptation.Blood Bowl is a deceptively simple game to play but as you get into it you realise that is actually a lot more complex than it seems.The A.I. is a bit of a letdown but it isn't too bad when you are learning the game or relearning it if it has been some time since you played.You can play in either a "Classic" mode which is basically a direct adaptation of the board game or in "Blitz" which has various different options including a real time mode.In single player mode you can play one-off games or also in a league format.It is multiplayer that Blood bowl excels.

22.2.2010

(This review is written to counter-balance some of the 1 star reviews above).The first reviewer has done a good job of summarising this game. it's Blood Bowl, and a very faithful version at that; it has, in my opinion, very good team development opportunities; it has a few niggles here and there, such as the lack of team colours etc.; but overall, it's good, enjoyable, and worth buying.I've been playing for over 6 months now, both on the PSP and DS, and I've yet to encounter any of the bugs referred to above. That doesn't mean they don't exist - especially if the manufacturer has said there's been a problem (I have to say I've not heard that before though). I've run different teams in different campaigns,

23.11.2009

This game is pretty glitchy for me under Windows 7 - the intro movie doesn't work, you can't alt-tab out like you can from most full-screen games and there's certainly no windowed mode available. On top of that the cinematics tend to have "snow" at the top where the graphics have glitched.The interface is kinda clunky too, the training mode is worthless, and I'm not mad keen on the camera, but the gameplay itself is rock solid and good fun. And playing online was simple, I have a pretty standard home ADSL setup and didn't have any of the firewall issues that another reviewer described, it took me all of two minutes to get into my first game.I agree with other reviewers on one thing though - give us the other teams!

9.9.2010

Pros-A faithful port of the board game to the PC.Beautifully designed players, again, faithful to the board game.Visible changes to characters as they advance in skill, giving them a more imposing presence.Hot-Seating, allowing you to play a game of Blood Bowl with your mate at home.Online leagues.Skills now patched and working properly.You can customize a team with the skills, players and names of your choice, allowing you to bring your tabletop team directly to the PC.Upcoming Legendary Edition will bring 12 more teams, including the Undead (at last)Cons-Online lobby system and connection is a mess.Not possible to play a hot-seating league...Team uniform customization limited to picking an

8.7.2011

I used to collect Warhammer when I was a youngster and I have to say this game has brought back all the fun of a table-top strategy experience.Like the old saying goes - this is easy to pick up but hard to master. The single player tends to be quiterepetitive as no matter what team you're facing (and they vary a lot), they seem to make the same plays all the time. However, the multiplayer is where this game really shines...Fantastic communities and ever-occuring online leagues with very friendly peoplemake this more of a social event than just a game.If you're any way interested in the world of Warhammer or even turn-based strategy games this deserves a look!

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