"Dreadball: I'd like an opinion of those who have played." Topic

I've decided to give the game a try and realize that it has some problems (Judewar being the main), but how do you feel the game plays, opinions are wanted, but only from those who have played.

1) Is the game exciting and engaging (FUN)?

2) Is it easy to pick up? I'm planning on trying a home league for the neighborhood kids (7-11) as well as club games.

3) Are you having a hard or easy time getting new players into the game?

4) Does it look like it will be around a while (players won't burn out after the first season)?

Thanks in advance.

yes, yes, moderate, won't last like BloodBowl

i don't think its as good a game as blood bowl.i've played a few games and each time i found myself thinking of playing blood bowl.
sorry. its a flash in the pan…

I really want to like it, but the rules have too many thorns.

what are the thorns? I thought about trying it out, but something is holding me back, call it gamer intuition.

I prefer it to Bloodbowl as you can run a game alot quicker. I found Bloodbowl against certain players slows to a crawl whilst they decide on their best tactics and its not been unknown for a game to last more than 4 hours against certain opponents at our club!

You can get 2 or 3 games in a club night with Dreadball. The downside to it are the figures a nightmare to put together and don't paint up so well.

While I like Bloodbowl's fantasy theme better…as well as the BB miniatures, Dreadball is a more tactical game and is quicker to play. BB rewards strong players for adopting a cage tactic and playing delaying games to prevent the opponent from equalizing.

Dreadball has less predictability with multiple successes triggering bonus actions. It rewards quick, risky strikes without full support like BB cages require. It is just a more wide-open game. Throws require the receiver face the passer. Injuries flow better in Dreadball as players take time to return to action rather than waiting for a score or the half to reset. The cards allow for unexpected strikes. Unexpected is good. Cards and bonus actions allow a depth of play I've never seen in BB.

I wish Mantic would deliver the card decks as they are required for play without the boxed set.

Dreadball is very quick and you will be surprised by a new tactic every other game ,must be the new-ness.I hope new add-ons come out as these will give it more depth and long lasting appeal.

@freewargamesrules ^^ Bloodbowl did get bogged done with our league until two fellas brought their space hulk sand timers ….
Now it is quicker and some errors are made but it is the same in sport so we kept the timers.

Dreadball is INFINITELY better than Bloodbowl.

i've played a few games and each time i found myself thinking of playing blood bowl

I've played many games and not once found myself thinking about Bloodbowl, since that initial knee jerk ill-informed reaction (nearly a year ago now) common to so many.

1: Most definitely.
2: Yes.
3: I can't answer this one.
4: It will be around a long time.

Oh and no idea what these "thorns" are supposed" to be ..

"Thorns" are my personal peeves with a game system. Here's a thorn in my side from Dreadball. It is often better to have models FACE AWAY from the ball during a game. What kind of logic is this? I know exactly why people do it in the board game, but why the heck would any player do this in a real game? Example: I was covering a receiver in a game of football, had this guy locked down tight, no chance he was catching anything with me around. QB threw to him anyway and because I wasn't WATCHING THE BALL, the pass hit me in the back and fell to the ground. The rest of the game I was the whipping boy for not having one eye on the ball at all times. I should have at least tried to catch the damn thing. Here's Dreadball having us turn players away from the ball so they CAN'T even try to catch the ball.
This and several other bits of illogical rules yanks me from the fun. It's just a personal thing. You don't have to understand it. I don't like d6, either. Go figure.

You note it's "…often better to have models FACE AWAY from the ball…"

Having 25 games under my belt, many of which are demos I teach, I'd be interested to hear how that works (and with zero snark on my part---genuine interest).

I'd certainly give it a go. I enjoy it, it's a different game to bloodbowl. It's faster to play.

FYI we also stock the kickoff at a very reasonable £26.99 GBP which includes postage.

er, I'm not saying it's good because we sell it, I'm saying it's good because that's what I think :-)

Gary

I absolutely love Blood Bowl but I don't have the patience for 4 hour games anymore.

I Kickstarted Dreadball and I am very, very happy I did. It is an excellent game and has been a huge success for Mantic.

1. Yes, every game has been really fun, even the games I lost bigtime.

2. Yeah, play your first game without the coach or cards, so you can learn the mechanics. Then add the cards and coach. Very simple rules, you'll have 'em memorized quick, so you'll be spending your time thinking of tactics and new plays without having to remember rules.

3. I haven't been trying and a friend texted me out of the blue who didn't even know I played and said he bought a team and wanted to know if I wanted to try it, haha.

4. I know two production runs have sold out and Mantic has sold more than three times their initial projections, so I assume it's going strong.

I kickstarted the game pretty heavily (eight teams, all expansions, MVPs, custom board, etc) and, honestly…

1) 50/50 fun and frustrating
2) Easy to pick up, rules are simple, rules often don't make logical sense.
3) Easy to get new people into the game, VERY hard keeping them after two or three games.
4) No, I don't see it going well long-term. There's a LOT of burnout and a LOT of frustration at silly rules among local players, which isn't helped by often aggressive defense by those that do love the game on the official forums. There is a LOT of bickering and nasty recrimination from those who defend it for whatever reason.

I think Dreadball's a real Marmite sort of game. It could be horrible, it could be wonderful, your mileage WILL vary.

DK,

Interested in hearing about what rules are silly.

I know the 'lose your turn if you drop a launched ball' is not popular. Any other ones that are being a problem?

JD, Doubtless your friend texted you after playing in one of my demo games at FTW Games :) Just kidding.

1) Is the game exciting and engaging (FUN)?

Yes. The game moves much more quickly than BB, and the way the rules are set up a team can try to score on almost every game turn. That being said, my opinion of it has decreased slightly with each play. While bad die rolls won't kill you, good die rolls (by your opponent) can exacerbate game situations. If one team is getting free action after free action, there's not much you can do as a player to prevent getting "run ruled." If you don't have a problem with good/bad die results, then this may not be an issue for you.

2) Is it easy to pick up? I'm planning on trying a home league for the neighborhood kids (7-11) as well as club games.

The game mechanics themselves are fairly easy. Probably the hardest part is remembering which die results can generate free actions, and what the exact effects of winning or doubling a particular action is. There are some really good fan generated reference charts at BGG though, so this shouldn't be a problem.

3) Are you having a hard or easy time getting new players into the game?

There are a few locals playing it, but we haven't taken it to any kind of league level yet. I don't think its been any harder generating interest for this game versus any other game.

4) Does it look like it will be around a while (players won't burn out after the first season)?

I can't answer this one (see #3 above). This could probably go either way, though. A league may generate even more interest, but I guess it could just as easily identify more potential problems. I've found that just playing one off games has been enough fun for me.

Kevin

Privateer, I believe he did, actually!

:)

Quick followup to my earlier post……

Three of the boys in the neighborhood are playing quite a lot now. (Ages 8, 10, and 11), Overall they grasp the rules and concept and are loving the game. They still lack a lot of tactical sense that comes with experience and learning to evaluate risks. All three have now played more than my limited game and a half, and are demanding a chance to play today after it gets too hot outside to play ball or whatever (Hot weather, like really cold weather tends to drive them inside). So this afternoon around one I'll host for a couple more games.

One suggestion, when attempting to teach the game to new players, try and teach one game at a time. I tried to teach two games at once to a group of boys, and it just required too much attention. This of course is one of Dreadball strengths is that it keeps both players engaged through the games as you really have to be involved. Its this attention to both sides of both games that stretched my abilities too far. We eventually decided to let one set of boys finish one game and then the other set finished theirs afterwards.

"Having 25 games under my belt, many of which are demos I teach, I'd be interested to hear how that works (and with zero snark on my part---genuine interest)."

No snark detected. It's cool. If a ball hits a model in the back, it merely scatters again. If a ball hits a model facing toward the ball, it MUST try to catch it. Catching a ball is impossible for some models, very hard for others. Failure to catch a ball is "lose a turn" for you. So the best tactic is turning these models away from where the ball is to avoid losing a turn. People have written about this on the Dreadball forums, it's not my invention. That and never putting a model on the middle line where the ball comes out are the two ways players avoid random turnover. Too bad you can't plan for everything, so expect to lose a turn to failed catches.

Picked up the kickstarter and really enjoyed only played 2-3 games but like it much more than I remember of Blood Bowl.. Horses for courseS if we all liked the same thing it would be a bland world out there :)

Warwick,

Now I understand what you meant. I was thinking there was another instance where turning away from the ball was a benefit.

Launch Tube loss of turn is very annoying (and loopable so you can lose the entire game if you're badly situated). It's definitely frustrating if you have it happen to you---I've seen it twice now in about 29 games.

Jake Thornton, the game's designer, has hinted that Season 3 rules will address both the Prone Cage* and possibly Launch Lane/Tube. He has been reading the forums and says there are changes coming. Many folks have suggested an injury roll versus loss of turn if you get hit by the launch. We'll see.

*Prone cage is a controversial tactic where you protect the ball carrier for multiple turns by purposing failing dashes. Ball carrier stands in a corner. Three other players move to all hexes around him. They notionally do infinite dashes in those spots (you eventually will fail as you can't meet the increasing success roll needed). There they stay, untouchable by the opponent (usu. Judwan with their mind-trick power).

I think it is a really fun game that plays a lot faster than BB.

1)Yes
2)Yes
3)Have not tried
4)It is selling well, but time will tell…

Just a note on the length of BB games…get a timer, enforce usage. To play otherwise ruins the game imo. The original was set up that way.

It's not the BB rules, just the players.

A quick update here.

Season 3 has revised the launch rule to prevent the turnover loop mentioned above. It can be found on the dreadball living faq .

Second, for those curious the boardgamegeek has several downloads that lay the entire game out via flowcharts. Really nifty but intimidating the first time you see them. In short order actions get memorized and you consult them less and less

Respectfully,
That Lee guy