Wednesday 24 January 2018

A new/old game!

Hi all

My apologies for the lack of posts and comments on my favourite blogs, RL is a factor but there is also a severe lack of mojo within my hobbywork since I've finished my board for PAW.  This is fairly normal for me following a major build project.  With PAW looming, I'm sort of in a holding pattern, not really playing that many games and certainly not writing them up! Never fear though, when I come back from PAW, which I'm sure will re-energise my mojo with all the eye candy that is bound to be on show, my first priority will be to continue my ATZ campaign.  

So in the meantime I need a little something that won't tax me too much with hundreds of minis to paint or loads of terrain to paint. Thankfully for xmas, the awesome Mrs Gobbo got me....

"Welcome Ladies, Gentleman and anything else that has crawled, flown or teleported to this beautiful, brand new stadium.  Mannslieb is full and Morrslieb has cast its sickly glow upon us all, so that can only mean one thing - Its time for BLOOD BOWL!!"

Image result for blood bowl images

Ahh yeah, one of my favourite games ever produced by the resurgent Games Workshop.  GW fell from grace over the last few years, in my mind the sheer commercialism and disregard of it's fan base in the pursuit of making money turned a company that made excellent games and a range of miniatures that were second to none into a no-go area for me, with the destruction of Warhammer FB being the final straw.  However in the last year or so, managers have changed, mindsets have changed, this is good, this is progress! and yes I've been seduced back into purchasing GW products, albeit not quite so fanatically.  One of the best things about the fall of GW (in my mind, it was a fall...) was the drive to find other games that at other times, I might not have looked at - Bushido, ATZ, Bolt Action to name a few and this will continue despite me returning (partially at least) into the fold...

Image result for blood bowl imagesAnyway onto the new/old game - the new version of an old game! When BB was re-released in 2016, I was intrigued, really intrigued and even deigned to venture into a GW store to look at the contents of the box.  I was obviously impressed by the miniatures, they company hasn't missed a step in the quality of it's minis.  4 sprues (2 human, 2 Orc) nestled among high quality card components, colourful dice and plastic templates, each sprue had enough minis for half a team and some accessories such as balls, coins and turn markers.  The minis themselves just push together and the game itself can be played almost straight out of the box (you still have to clip off the minis from the sprue). My only gripe is the size of the minis - they are at least 32mm with a special 32mm round base, clearly designed to exclude older 28mm ranges and the plethora of other "fantasy football" minis from companies like Shadowforge and Greebo. All in all it looked fantastic and I was sooooo tempted to buy it there and then, but I was on my way to a Bushido tournament and so kept my wallet in my pocket.

Fast forward then to this xmas and I figure it's time to dip my toe back in the GW pool and here we are.  The scale creep in the minis doesn't really bother me and I will be playing with my existing teams as well as the new releases which look fantastic. The best thing about this is I'm not in any mad rush to complete teams as I have two fully painted from years back (albeit in 28mm).  This means I can take my time painting the brilliant minis that come in the box and to that end I've managed just a single solitary human to date and the tokens, footballs and coins.  That said, already my mind is thinking about building a full blown stadium, maybe situated in an goblin infested Dwarven hall or a Skaven haunted sewer system,  AARs of games......here we go!!





my human thrower, yet to be named!



"Strap on your armoured cod-pieces folks this could get rough...."

hope you enjoy
dGG





27 comments:

  1. I was a huge fan of "Blood Bowl" in the past and have many fond memories of playing it with my old gaming group. I saw the new version and I agree, it does look impressive. However, I am holding back on purchasing it for a number of reasons. It is great to see you enjoying the new game so much and I'll be following your posts with keen interest.

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    1. I held back as long as I could Bryan but they got me by the nostalgia....

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  2. I never got into the Blood Bowl mini's game, but DID get the video game version for PSP and quite enjoyed that for a while. This new release looks impressive in its quality and it'll be interesting to hear your views on how it plays.
    Very nice work on the painting so far BTW, and as for the "full blown stadium in a goblin infested Dwarven hall" idea - Oh Yeah! :-)

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    1. Yeah the video game is terrific for the solo gamer, although I found the AI to be very limited. Muc( better against a real person!

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  4. My eyes are going moist with happiness. Mr Gobbo has joined the ranks of the faithful. Try playing online at https://fumbbl.com/p/games of an evening, can be done while the Mrs is in the room too, so good for domestic bliss. Beware of seal clubbers and kitten killers... you have been warned.
    If you’re into pirate goblins there is a rather good Kickstarter going on at the moment sculpted by the very talented Pedro Ramos.

    I'm waiting for my all new female vampire team `The Ingrid Pitts' to arrive.

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    1. The Ingrid Pitts - oh, yes! That's a team I'd want to support and buy!

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    2. Bryan - calm, calm calm, now - slow deep breaths.

      But you're right ;-) the Ingrid Pitt's does sound like an interesting team.

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    3. Hahaha thanks Phil, I will be taking a look at the online gamers as soon as I’m off this run of shifts!

      Ingrid Pitts sound awesome!

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  5. Sorry to hear about your mojo suffering mate, shall try to help you regain some at PAW, chose not to get the latest BB, as still have the previous edition and teams and to be honest don't goto clubs anymore so can easily play the previous edition at home. Go WARPSTONE WARRIORS ! LOL

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    1. I’m sure PAW will lift the mojo mate, just need a little recharge 😉

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  6. I feel funny about the new/old Bloodbowl. I played for years and love the game, but within our game group, we can’t think of a reason why we’d not just play the old version.

    I can’t see a reason to spend the money, and I’ve gotta bit of a bugbear about the ‘lots of small instalments’ release pattern for rules.

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    1. I totally understand that Kieron, I still have a copy of the game with the Astro-granite pitch with a couple of teams. The rerelease is really lovely though it wasn’t a hardship plus I got a good price on the game so....

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  7. Bloodbowl has really taken a surge here and I've been sorely tempted to play several times now. Looking forward to some AARs.

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  8. I've never played Blood Bowl (yes I did live under a rock for a very long time) so very interested to see what the fuss is about. Looking forward to it.
    The mojo comes and goes for us all, especially as you've been working hard to a deadline you're bound to take your for of the pedal a little.

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    1. BB is a corking game mate, no need for hundreds of minis plays in a couple of hours and is loads of fun!

      The mojo will be back, I’m sure, this happens following big projects

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  9. Brilliant rule set and with the re-release you no longer have to worry about scalped on eBay - unless you want figures from outside the new plastic sets.
    Absolutely love the new edition of Bloodbowl, while I can't bring myself to touch the new Necromunda.

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    1. I’ve always loved the rules and the current rules have been developed over years. I must admit the new Necromunda hasn’t pushed the buttons just yet...

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  10. I too was given a spanking new Blood Bowl game, but it was several years ago. I loved the game and still do, my pieces are still on their sprues and the cards are as they were as I've never had an opponent - unlike my computer version where I can get a good game from the computer AI team and I don't have to remember any rules!

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    1. I do like the video game and played it for ages but I thought the AI was a bit predictable

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  11. January is always a bit tough when it comes to restarting your gam8ng. Yes, you may have got lots of new and shiny gifts for Chrimbo, but the break and the dull greyness of January does make it hard to begin again.

    Nice to see you renewing your interest in Blood Bowl. Should prov8de a much-needed distraction from all the construction work.

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    1. That’s what I’m hoping mate. I think PAW should reignite some of the flames

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  12. I know that BloodBowl has always been very popular and I look forward to hearing about your new excursions with it. Having said that, I find the Fantasy setting for a sports game a bit odd!

    I'll stick with DreadBall myself, especially since Version 2 was just released from KickStarter...

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    1. Even fantasy races have to blow off a little steam C6 😉
      My daughter got Dreadball but is yet to take it out of the box...

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  13. Oh gosh, Andy - Bloodbowl - what a mega temptation your postings on this may well be. Wonderful work on the thrower and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this pans out for you :-)

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    1. I hope to do you proud then Simon 😊

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