Advice for new players

[Snowdog]

What advice would you give to players who are new to Blood Bowl?

Mine is simply to have fun.

[Hairy Coo]

Get bb2 for 5 bucks on steam and play it instead for another 6 month at least, would be my best advice.

[WakWak]

Try out the different mechanics. Try to click on players when nothing works.

Be aware that everybody has lost a player, it aint only you, and it will happen again and if you play long enough your whole team won't have one player that was there at the beginning.

Don't see this game as finished product. But it will get better and that at the moment pretty quick!

[RotGoblin]

My advice to new players;

Remember the ordering in the name, blood, then bowl.

If you're here to play a ball sport, you're in for a rude awakening, because blood comes first.

This is a bloodsport, smash some face, get dirty, and when your opponents are face down in the dirt or dying on the operating table, walk that ball into the touchdown area to net some sweet, sweet cash bonuses.

[Snowdog]

Block is a very use perk to get early on for players.

[HolyGrail]

You learn to play Blood Bowl by playing against humans, don't feel bad that you can auto pilot AI then get wiped in your first few matches by others.. to play against humans there's guides out there for your team, and good ones that help you build on your strengths instead of trying to beat a bashing team or passing team at their own game, your goblins should be stamping on downed elves that were punched by black orcs and not outpassing them, you'll be rolling too much dice and for higher numbers too.. nuffle might let you off a few times but he's only doing that so he can tear you to pieces later.

The crowd attends matches to see blood and death, and so do your players, don't feel bad for them if they die.. to die on the pitch is a good thing.

[My Name is Mud]

Get in the habit of lining up players one square away from opponents. Doesn't matter how strong they are, they only have 1 blitz per turn. This goes double if you want to play an agile team like Skaven or Elves. Make them work to punch you in the face. What positions are the strongest will become more clear with more play but this is a good place to start.

[Munga]

Only roll a 1d if you have block, and only do it late in turn if ya can. It's an entire game leveraged on minimizing dice risk, but doing crazy stuff can work cause it's still dice, but make sure you do the crazy stuff late in the turn.

[My Name is Mud]

Originally posted by Munga:

Only roll a 1d if you have block, and only do it late in turn if ya can. It's an entire game leveraged on minimizing dice risk, but doing crazy stuff can work cause it's still dice, but make sure you do the crazy stuff late in the turn.

Yeah come to think of it maybe the most important piece of advice for newbies feeling some frustration: make all your diceless moves first (ie moving the ball carrier and a couple blockers or what have you), then your big dice, then the risky stuff last. Maximize your turns until you have a much better grasp of when to take risks.

[HolyGrail]

Originally posted by Munga:

Only roll a 1d if you have block, and only do it late in turn if ya can. It's an entire game leveraged on minimizing dice risk, but doing crazy stuff can work cause it's still dice, but make sure you do the crazy stuff late in the turn.

only exception I'd say is if the ball carrier is by your line and it's a last ditch attempt

[Norvack]

Originally posted by No Aim No Shame:

Get in the habit of lining up players one square away from opponents. Doesn't matter how strong they are, they only have 1 blitz per turn. This goes double if you want to play an agile team like Skaven or Elves. Make them work to punch you in the face. What positions are the strongest will become more clear with more play but this is a good place to start.

*My hyper-agressive full line of dwarves looking at you with glowing red eyes*

(new players, don't listen to me, it's a bold and risky strategy mainly done by dwarves only, they want to advance in a big line bit by bit, and they have block, tackle and later guard to support that, not a beginner game-plan)

Joke's aside, great advice. You only need 3 players on the line, the game put 5 of them on it by default, change that, 3 player middle front is enough, sideline is really fine 2 row behind, make them blitz you and work for it. Learn shevron strategies ;)

My advice would be: "Carlessness will find no clemency in this place...Watch your steps " (woops, wrong game)
Triple diced 3skulls are a thing (and when it happen AND you get injured badly...Nuffle liked you I guess). This game is about minimizing risk but also meaningfull management. Think about what the result could be, for exemple "If I don't get a put down dice, but instead I get a push, will the player pushed be annoying in his new position?" or "What will happen if my own player is put down?". Sometimes, not doing anything or changing your path of action can put you from a bad to neutral situation.

And yeah: You will fail dice rolls, player on your team will be killed by a both down, while the opposite little goblin you tried to block stay on pitch. Don't think too much about it, it happen to EVERYONE.

Also, a bit related but...Don't think you lose everygame becauese you were unlucky. If you persistently lose game because you "missed rolls", maybe you should think about not taking those "losing rolls". Bad things can and will happen, but no, every games are not win or lost by pure luck ;)

And...Have fun! see you on the pitch!

[Dirges]

Pick up your downed players first. Then use player's actions in order of easiest ones first or most crucial plays first, depending on the priorities of the current turn. Part of the game's charm is learning, identifying, and adjusting those priorities as the game progresses. Figure out your team's strengths and exploit them. Lastly, don't be afraid to lose and don't be afraid to experiment.

[HighLanderPony]

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[Snowdog]

As you can see from reading the comments here, dice rolls, and minimising risks, are important things to consider.

A tactic that I use, is to get as many re-rolls as I can, this minimises risks even further.

Buying re-rolls when you create a team, costs half the price that it does later. Most people go with 2-3 re-rolls it seems. I usually go for at least 4.

Recently I have experimented with a team starting with 8 re-rolls. The team started poorly, as I could only afford Linemen. But after a few matches, and gaining SPP, they are becoming a very good team.

The extra re-rolls, means that I can get away, with a lot more risky moves.

Also with a squishy team, an Apothecary is a must.