DreadBall - Into The Pit

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Awesome write-up! Dreadball sounds fun. I'd love to check it out some time. Especially since I went all-in on Deadzone during the last kickstarter.

I was looking forward to your DreadBall write up, and you didn't disappoint my expectations. I'm really glad to know you and your buds enjoyed the game.
I don't post all that often on F:AT, but most of time it's in praise of DreadBall. I love this damn game, as does my six player league. We're starting our fifth season next month. In the meantime, I'm going to gratuitously steal your idea of the "big bad" for one of my winter tournaments. Great idea! Check your inbox for the invite...

Thanks, fellas!

One of the things I really like about this game is that the teams, from what I can tell so far, are very unique. They seem to be more diverse than BB.

I mean, the BB teams differ by stat lines and the combination of skills. But these are skills most all the teams have access to and it's that distribution of initial skills that sets them apart.

In DB, some teams have abilities that seemingly only they have. From what I can tell, the robots are the _only_ team that can transform. The Judwan straight up can't slam. Etc.

This is different than BB. I really like this game. I mean, _really_ like it. Now that I've got a little experience with how it plays, I'm looking forward to seeing how a league plays out.

Also, I gotta give props to this team (photos from BGG). I'm going to have to get some of this paint!



Check out the glowing playpad!


boardgamegeek.com/image/2647801/dreadbal...orts-game?size=large
boardgamegeek.com/image/2647799/dreadbal...orts-game?size=large

What a great post... and your gamedays are fucking epic, I'm jealous.

I've never thought about putting so much work and effort to game day.

This is such a great write up. It's the kind of write up that makes me want to spend way too much money! I'm with Gary Sax, I love the effort you put into this. It really seems like you planned an epic event. Very cool.

Regarding events...

My philosophy on game ownership has changed over the years as the hobby has become more mainstream. More and more of my buddies have their own collections of sorts that'll range from 5 games to several hundred. I no longer need to be the one with a closet full. Outside of games I play with the family I have maybe about 10 hobby games and over half of them are card games of the FFG Silverline variety.

Instead of collecting and buying a lot of games, again, plenty of buddies that do that, I've turned my attention toward going deeper into fewer. I'll host a mini 2-3 session rpg game and do it up with themed music, food, etc. I'll put together a Wings of Glory event ( thepit198.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/08-02-13-wings-of-glory/ ) and have the right film playing in the background. You (my friends) bring a couple of your boardgames for us to play before and/or after.

This has gone off the Dreadball topic, but this arrangement works. I actually end up spending way less than I used to, but get to immerse myself a bit more (the old role-player/minis gamer in me loves the between game session tinkering). My buddies get to have their boardgames played as they bring them by the arm full.

Winners all around.

Really love the ticket idea. Unannounced is perfect.

Great write up!

Yeah, I enjoyed putting those together and getting the texts as their packages arrived.

Like I said, I expect to do up tickets again in the future for the next DB day. I'll drop those in the mail as well. Snail mail though...seems odd for a sci-fi game. However, there's just something to getting a tangible item in the mail.

With some in the group now having experience, the next time we'll use the league rules and witness some team development.

I just traded a KS version of this based on the article. 4 teams, 12 MVP...no idea about this game beyond this article.

I have to say, you sound like one hell of a good friend, and I'm very jealous of your friends.

Pete - if you need any help/advice/therapy, I'm happy to offer DB opinions.

DreadBall is a great game. I had low expectations of DreadBall; it looked like a simplistic version of Blood Bowl when I saw the original kickstarter. I was totally wrong. It is certainly faster, and the teams suffer from some imbalance (original DB Forge Fathers are just terrible), but the game is a ton of fun, and quick to play. Even the multi player version is excellent.

Jeff is an excellent dude. I'm gonna get sappy for a moment and admit I miss my ATX gaming buddies.

Great to hear you guys had fun with DB. It's got me interested in trying it out myself, wonder if I can get some like-minded people in Pittsburgh interested, my BB stuff is in storage right now anyways.

So Dreadball Xtreme... totally different game? Do teams cross over? Why would you pick one vs. the other?

Crudely speaking, consider "DreadBall Xtreme" as Blood Bowl's "DungeonBowl." It plays with roughly the same player mechanics and scoring objective, but it is more random and deadly. One-off games are fun, but you lose the depth of league play. League play is VERY different. There is little player advancement because so many die during a match. The focus instead lies on the team's "head coach" (called a Sponsor) and their improvement. There is a lot of opportunity for customization in Xtreme, but only if you already have access to a lot of DreadBall miniatures. If you're just starting out, I highly recommend the first game (aka DreadBall Original, or DBO) before Xtreme.