Welcome to the July edition of the Tournament Director Blog, your go-to spot for all the news and insights about NAF tournaments. Here, we not only give you the latest scoop behind the scenes, but we also share significant details, highlight upcoming events, and of course, publish reports on recent exciting tournaments. For this month’s edition, our coverage extends to five recent events: German Team Bowl, Nuffle’s Wyld 4, SKABB Gutter Bowl, Rosenbowl, and Danish Open.
As always, if you want to contribute any content to this blog (e.g. a report of a recent tournament you visited or ran), reach out! Contact info are available on our NAF staff site.
Content
- NAF Chatter
1.1 NAF Committee Minutes
1.2 Emails Sans Frontières
1.3 New NC/RC Structure for England
1.4 Global Blood Bowl Expansion
1.5 NAF Data Mine - Report: German Team Bowl (by Obsidian)
- Report: Nuffle’s Wyld 4 (by Jogrenaut)
- Report: SKABB Gutter Bowl (by Stewbacca)
- Report: Rosenbowl (by Elkantar)
- Report: Danish Open (by Volkajo)
- Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. NAF Committee Minutes
A variety of topics were addressed in the July NAF committee meeting, which Megamind kindly summarized in the meeting minutes published on the NAF site. The July minutes are available as a neat PDF file, which isn’t named following ISO 8601, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Because why should we carve a path though the chaotic, swirling maelstrom of time, guided by the beacon that is ISO 8601, when we might as well choose to get lost in the maddening labyrinth of anachronistic dates and times.
Anyway, key issues included updates of 2023 NAF goodies (set to be available before the World Cup), tournament series badges, 24-race patches, and the selection of a professional third-party shipping service. Among other items, we also touched on the current deficiencies in the UK/England NAF staff (more details below), and the inclusion of Gutter Bowl into the NAF database.
1.2 Emails Sans Frontières
For the longest time, our NAF server has been plagued with emails bouncing from different email providers. That made automated sign-ups near impossible, as activation emails were blocked. It also seriously hampered other site related services like recovery of forgotten passwords, or receiving emails related to tournament submission.
Fortunately, and I don’t want to jinx it, this seems to be fixed now, thanks to large help from codered, who had good fun dealing with customer technical support. If you have experienced issues in the last months to years or gave up on logging in, you should now be able to do that again.
In general, if you are experiencing any site or account related issues, quickest help is available in our respective NAF Discord channel.
1.3 New NC/RC Structure for England
As indicated in the previous meeting minutes, our intention was to enhance and refine the existing organization of UK NAF coordinators. Given the quickly growing community and the surge in tournament numbers, this became a necessity. Specifically, our goal was to fill a void in South Eastern England, assign regions to current regional coordinators (RCs) more clearly, and identify a new national coordinator for England. Stewbacca joined the English RC team and will oversee regional matters, with support from Deeferdan, Lunchmoney, Spleggy, and Warka, as depicted in the map below. In addition, Deeferdan will assume the role of NC England, alongside ChrisRaff88 (NC Scotland) and TheShepherd (NC Wales).
The NAF staff site has been updated accordingly.
1.4 Global Blood Bowl Expansion
The Blood Bowl community is continuously expanding, and more and more new countries are popping up on the global NAF tournament map. Recently, a local scene has been developing in Israel and started a Facebook group. We are looking forward to receiving the first official tournament submission for NAF approval! Whether the close proximity to so many holy sites leads to better or worse dice rolls needs to be seen.
1.5 NAF Data Mine
You don’t need to be a Cyber Dwarf to appreciate some good ol’ data mining, and we all value the efforts of those who sift through NAF match and coach data, providing us with intriguing stats.
In fact, here’s an interesting one that caught my eye. When discussing the number of games played worldwide in the first half of 2023, the UK churned out the highest numbers, followed by Spain and the US. However, the US hosted the most tournaments during the same period. These tournaments tended to be smaller on average than the UK ones, with two British tournaments (NAFC and UKTC) being extraordinarily large.
Yet, that wasn’t the only difference. Upon examining the number of one-day versus two-day tournaments in different nations, it became clear that there are significant variations:
Both the US and Spain, for instance, are big fans of one-day tournaments, while two-day tournaments are much more popular in other countries, particularly in France and Germany, where there are more two-day than one-day tournaments. Even in Canada, arguably comparable distance-wise to the US, two-day tournaments occur more frequently.
To create a more centralized resource and sharing point for NAF data analysis, we’ve started a separate NAF Discord channel. Head there for asking questions and sharing interesting results.
2. Report: German Team Bowl (by Obsidian)
It’s been a long time that my teammates and I have said we should explore how Blood Bowl is played abroad. This year, we chose to attend the German Team Bowl. Pilaf, Helborg, Lord_Bojo, and I decided to venture together under the banner of LGBT (Lyon Grenoble Bloodbowl Team) to claim the trophy:
After a 7.5-hour drive from Lyon (it took Helborg and Bojo longer), which wasn’t exactly relaxing, we finally arrived at the venue. We quickly spotted the Blood Bowl players. There was no need for psychic powers to find them: they were outside, drinking beers and chatting.
But before we joined them, we checked out the youth hostel where we’d be staying for the tournament. It’s safe to say we were comfortably set up. The rooms with two separate beds were ideal. The only issue was that they were on the top floor, facing west, with no air conditioning… Given it was 30°C outside, we didn’t get a good night’s sleep, which led us to believe our German hosts were already intimidated by us: they gave us the worst rooms! 😊 Tired from the journey, we retired early and planned to meet up the following day.
DAY 1:
We had breakfast in the communal canteen, where everything was well organized. Of course, being good Frenchmen, we would eventually find fault with the food, but for now, the breakfast was satisfactory. We then proceeded to the room where the action was set to begin. The room was spacious, as were the tables. There was ample room to place all the pilaf cubes:
We learned (not really a surprise, as Bojo had already briefed us) that match results would be input by the players themselves, using a WhatsApp or Telegram bot. This was the 21st century after all! In France, we still use paper, leaving the organizers to decipher the players’ handwriting. Here, no! Everyone was responsible for entering their own matches! And it turned out that not all of my countrymen were up to speed with this modernity (since 90% of the errors were made by French players… ). Nevertheless, the system worked well. Matches were announced on WhatsApp (the option I chose), including the opponent and table number, and the results were easy to understand. In my opinion, the only thing missing was opponent validation, but other than that, it was fantastic! As for the tournament itself, there was nothing to complain about. While we weren’t rushed, it was made clear that we shouldn’t exceed the allotted hour. The opponents were very friendly (except for Candlejack, who wrecked my elves with his Skavens from Saturday morning 😉 ). And we completed the three rounds without even noticing, protected from the scorching heat by efficient air conditioning. After all, there were about 80 players in the room (with the last tables being played in another hall). In the evening, it was time for the “warriors” to rest. Arioso had booked us a table in a delightful restaurant where we discovered another side to the players and enjoyed ourselves immensely.
We concluded the evening with our friends from Lutetia in a bar further down the road and went to bed, agreeing to meet them for round 6, table 1!
DAY 2:
In similar fashion, the Köln weather did not spare us on this second night, but we still managed to arrive on time for round 4. This time, the schedule was slightly more demanding as it was Sunday. We didn’t want to be late, so Arioso explained that we would need to manage our meals during round 2 and that it was up to each of us to do as we saw fit. Despite my opponent’s clarification, I believed we would have to finish the match before eating… But no, I had completely misunderstood the instructions! So, a few turns after halftime, we headed to the restaurant with a few others from the table. We weren’t late, so everything was fine. However, that wasn’t the case for everyone, and they had to consume their Sunday pizzas rather quickly. As “expected”, we met up with the other French team in the last round. We took the opportunity to take a photo with the head organizer: Arioso!
But we lost by the narrowest of margins, which knocked us off the podium. However, there was no need to fret. The tournament was fantastic, and we finished in 4th place, just behind the very strong teams we had previously considered. We would have liked to stay a bit longer to debrief, but we faced at least an 8-hour drive (with breaks), and it was best to start sooner rather than later. We barely had time to congratulate the ‘rookies’ (Germany has many young players; it’s great, the next generation is here!), and the winners:
1st Lutèce Spirit
2nd Team Alfea
3rd Borderless
We had to leave, our minds filled with vivid images, rolls of dice, and faces that we could now associate with the nicknames. The car debrief would keep us awake for a few hours. After that, we would need to look forward and discuss the World Cup! Once again, a MASSIVE thank you and kudos to Arioso and all those who were able to assist him! From my perspective, the main issue is that it’s difficult to reach from Lyon. But that doesn’t mean we won’t return because it’s worth it. The organization was top-notch and the system for entering matches was flawless. BRAVO!
3. Report: Nuffle’s Wyld 4 (by Jogrenaut)
Nuffle’s Wyld 4 – “An Afternoon at Caesar’s Palace” – took place on June 17th in Gainesville, FL at Punkouter Games.
My Nuffle’s Wyld tournament series always focuses on a famous Vegas casino. Nuffle’s Wyld 3 was based on the Luxor and had a Khemri theme. This year, it was Caesar’s Palace and focused on Nobility.
The tournament is classified as “Specialist” for NAF purposes because it’s a “multi-variant” 5-round event. Coaches built a team with 700k per Deathzone rules (without desperate measures or mercenaries). Then they took that same team through 7s for rounds 1 and 2, Streetbowl for rounds 3 and 4, and then finally 11s for round 5.
Rounds 2 and 3, they got to add a single skill to a lineman that didn’t already have one added from a previous round.
Round 5, they got to top up their team with linemen with loner 4+ to get up to 11 players if they didn’t already have 11 players.
The strategy behind roster choices was a lot of fun to watch. Some coaches went full elf, and just accepted they’d take a hit on the streetbowl rounds. We had a ton of norse coaches, combining that speed and built-in Block. Two coaches jumped on dwarf rosters with the Deathroller. Some teams were considered too wildly expensive and unreliable, especially for the 11s round when they only got extra linemen, like Undead and Necro.
The really great thing about this is that no coach went 5-0. The very best score was 4 wins and a tie – displaying just how close all the games were.
First place – FloridaMan’ Dwarves
Second Place – Aftershock912’s Norse
Third Place – HurriKane’s Dark Elves
Some key things to note:
Nuffle’s Wyld always implements a “poker chip” mechanic at the start of each game. Each coach secretly chooses 0, 1, or 2 poker chips and they reveal their hands to one another simultaneously. The total poker chips dictates a special rule for the match. After doing this a 4th time, I knew not to make the results incredibly game-changing.
0 chips – Caesar wanders off to eat grapes. Nothing happens.
1 chip – Velour shades. Passing is a +1, to a maximum of 2+. If a player does not have passing, they will not gain any bonus from it.
2 chips – Unleash the underground lions! Treacherous Trap doors are in effect for the duration of the game, as described in the prayers to nuffle. This has no effect in the Streetbowl rounds.
3 chips – Each coach gets a wizard to use for the match that keeps lighting himself on fire. The wizard only casts fireball, and it only hits a player on a 5 plus.
4 chips – One random coach gains the Brutus reroll. Once you use the Brutus reroll, it instantly switches side to the other coach. It will continue to do this for the entire match.
Doing this allows for a “bluff”-like mechanic in the beginning of the game and adds a little extra strategy. Instead of just supplying an extra rule or allowing players to choose what they want, let them try to get what they want with a chance it could go bad.
Most Nobly Over-Polite Award
This was a social award for a prize, with no bearing on points or the game. The idea was these nobles would never outright call you a name. They would share sportsmanship to an incredibly crazy level, which was snarky or a bit sarcastic. As I walked by, some coaches were thanking others for scoring touchdowns on them. Others would offer apologies in advance for blitzing. They really got into it and it made it fun in a goofy way.
At one point, one of the coaches begged for Caesar to spare his opponent’s player and not break the armor. And when it didn’t break it, I got to say: “Am I not merciful?”.
I had some requirements for dressing Roman, or having like a large feathery plume. But I only used the dress as a tie breaker for the Nobly Over-Polite award.
4. Report: SKABB Gutter Bowl (by Stewbacca)
The first NAF-approved Gutter Bowl event took place! This report is based on Stewbacca’s blog of the SKABB Gutter Bowl.
At our recent Dungeonbowl tournament with the news of the Gutter Bowl release having just been revealed, we discussed the possibility of arranging a tournament on the release day so that we could all play together for the first time.
As it happened, the logistics meant that arranging it for a couple of weeks later worked out better and also gave us the time to all actually read the rulebook. This was officially the first ever NAF-approved Gutter Bowl tournament in the universe. See the confirmation of this below from NAF Honcho Stimme.
10 of us took part – 9 from our league and the honorary SKABBer, Bob (phuqster), who dashed up from Brighton as soon as he finished work to join us.
This was the first time we had used Tourplay for an event and it worked really well. It meant not needing a laptop along with us, being able to run an event paperless and the draw being available for everyone to view as soon as it was done. Some of this was not necessary when we were only a few feet away from each other but for a larger event it will be really useful.
We had come up with the ruleset prior to the official rules being released and we based them on our previous Sevens events. This meant positional allowances were halved (rounded up). There were no additional skills and a budget of 750,000. The first round was to be played on the streets, the second in the sewer and the final randomised.
As I’ve been playing a lot of Dark Elves in preparation for the World Cup I took them with one witch, one assassin, two blitzers and five linemen.
Game 1 v Oli (eldritchfox) playing Underworld
Game 1 was drawn in advance so you knew who you were playing. This in theory gives you time to prepare but I’m not sure how useful that actually is at Gutter Bowl.
I was up against fellow SKABB commissioner, Oli. He was taking Underworld with a Rat Ogre, all the skaven positionals and a seemingly infinite supply of goblins.
Kicking to him, he scored mid way through the first half, the stalling rule meaning that he was effectively forced to do so.
I had 2 turns to try to equalise. However I’d permanently lost my witch and a blitzer meaning I was down a lot of useful skills and 2 of my 4 players with the extra point of movement.
I tried to dodge my assassin through into scoring range but she tripped leaving me without the possibility of scoring. The only consolation was being able to foul the rat ogre to death.
In the second half I drove up the pitch and managed to get the equaliser giving him one turn to attempt to get a winner. He successfully worked out the chain push logistics and his thrower got the 6+ pass over a market stall to the gutter runner who caught it and started to run away.
The logistics of the pitch and the way that I had set up meant that he’d have to dodge through 2 tackle zones and contend with my assassin shadowing the runner to score. The gutter runner failed the first 4+ dodge leaving us with a draw.
In hindsight to counter the one turner I could have probably made it more difficult with 3 players in a row in the middle zone making it impossible for them to get through. It would have meant leaving one of the wide zones uncovered but I think had I set up off centre it might have meant that that particular wide zone was not a feasible option anyway due to the terrain needing a few extra points of movement to get around. I’m sure this is something that will be looked at in more detail by better players than me.
The game ended 1-1 with casualties showing as 2-2 (although I forgot to log the rat ogre foul casualty on Tourplay and apparently it is no longer possible to edit it). All the other first round games had ended in a win to one side or the other.
Game 2 v Marianne (yantz) playing Black Orcs
Marianne had stepped in last minute after a drop out and needed a crash course on Gutter Bowl on the way to the venue. She also was a bit under the weather but was very sportingly filling in so that we could all play a game.
She had not played Black Orcs in a while, but had a roster comprising a troll, 3 black orcs and again a seemingly infinite supply of goblins. Removals were thin on the ground for me, despite my constant fouling and I didn’t manage to get a numbers advantage as I received and scored. Leaving her with two turns, she managed to throw a goblin down the middle corridor avoiding the sewers who successfully landed and rushed in for the equaliser.
This was the only game when my assassin managed to do something good when she stabbed a black orc on the fourth attempt and managed to knock them down. I’m not sure if it was the right roster choice, as shadowing only proved useful once. I might go for the runner if I ran them again in this format.
Kicking to Marianne, a black orc picked up the ball and marched up the pitch. I had the black orc marked and was running a witch elf down the side to intercept when time was called and we were unable to finish the game. I think Marianne likely would have got the victory if we’d had a bit more time although as it would have taken her at least two more turns to get to the endzone, I had at least one more shot at taking the ball carrier down.
This is the first time we’ve run a tournament in an evening, and to get in three games, we had to cap each round at 1 hour. Looking at the times on Tourplay, the majority of games finished in 45-55 minutes, although there were a few that were cut off or just on the hour mark. The shorter game time, fewer players and the ground helping with removals make it a speedier game but I think with all of us getting used to the new environment they were more likely to push the time limit.
The game ended 1-1 with Marianne getting the only casualty with a goblin foul.
In this round, four of the five games wneded as 1-1 draws with the only victory being Damian beating Bob 1-0 in a battle of the wood elves meaning he was the only player with 2 wins.
Game 3 v Bob (phuqster) playing Wood Elves
This was the third time I’d played Bob in a NAF ranked game, with the previous two being a 1-1 draw at OctOgre and a 2-0 defeat at our Summer Sevens event last year which Bob went on to win with his ogre team. We’ve also played 6 times on FUMBBL apparently, with Bob having won 4 of them and my 2 victories being with secret league teams which I’d probably say don’t really count. I certainly don’t remember them – what I remember are the last two which have been comprehensive victories for Bob.
With some elf-on-elf action, you might have thought it would be a high scoring game, however Nuffle thought otherwise. The kick off table gave us sticky sludge meaning that for this drive there was a +1 modifier to pick-ups (largely irrelevant when all the players on the pitch are 2+ agility) and meaning that passes cannot be made.
I quickly removed a lineman and then, with the wardancer on the floor, proceeded to put the boot in on 4 consecutive turns – unfortunately, never managing better than a stun. Most of the fouls were done with my witch elf, which probably wasn’t the best use of my resources. However, with no sendings off, it wasn’t as silly an idea as in regular Blood Bowl.
I had the ball down one of the side passages with my blitzer and a reasonably good elf screen. I decided I wanted to give Bob as few turns as possible to score back against me, so I placed my blitzer just out of stalling range. Unfortunately, this meant that they were just in the range of the wardancer to get up and make three dodges, a leap and 2 rushes for a one dice block, which knocked the ball loose. We both agreed after that this was probably a bad idea as scoring in 2 turns with 7 players and the obstacles is not as easy a proposition as 2 turns in regular Blood Bowl.
The second half was a case of removals and turnovers. Again we rolled sticky sludge for kick off meaning we played the whole game unable to pass.
We both tried some sewer surfing, which helped getting players out of the action – I managed to dodge in for a one dice block to be able to push Bob’s wardancer into the sewer which caused them drop the ball, otherwise I might have found it difficult to get it off them.
Towards the end of the half, Bob’s three remaining players had the ball and dropped back deep. I manouvered round in a pincer, meaning he wouldn’t be able to get away on his final turn and I’d have a shot at a blitz. My only hope was a pow on his wardancer and the ball spilling into the sewer with a favourable ball retrival from the sewer monster. I got the pow and the ball did indeed go into the sewer, unfortunately I didn’t have the movement to collect it and score, so it ended a 0-0 draw although 4-2 to me on casualties.
The final round saw one other 0-0 draw and two games decided by just one touchdown. Damian managed to win on the top table to go 3-0 and be crowned The Greatest Gutter Bowl Player in the Universe (at least until someone else puts on a Gutter Bowl tournament).
Craig finished 2nd, cementing his place as BB Variant King, as he placed 1st in both our recent Dungeonbowl Tournament and Dungeonbowl League.
I really liked Gutter Bowl as an alternative way to play Blood Bowl. It was a lot quicker and more brutal, and the obstacles provide a nice way of having to rethink the game without it being a significant change to what we are used to. It is likely we will run a Gutter Bowl season after our current league so it will be interesting to see how it plays out with players gaining a few skills.
5. RosenBowl (by Elkantar 4.0)
In the June month, neath Bavaria’s sky,
Rosenbowl Tournament, round two did fly.
Unterfoehring near Munich held the stage,
Where twenty participants engaged in the rage.
Three games of Blood Bowl fervently played,
Dice were tossed and Goblin feast was laid.
By trolls four Goblins were joyfully chewed,
A sight that the crowd with laughter imbued.
From Spain and Austria, coaches did arrive,
In our local setting, their teams to strive.
Bloody games thrice, under sun and moon,
The “Storm Cruisers” emerged as a boon.
Wood Elves they were, led by Topas brave,
Won the tournament, their glory to save.
“Birds can be real Noobs,” a strange team’s name,
Imperial Nobility, Tschirgant’s second place to claim.
Most CAS, oh a victorious theme,
To Candlejack’s Tomb Kings, the “Tomb Braiders” team.
But every competition has its final post,
The Wooden Spoon’s tale, we host the most.
“Flaying Fellbats”, Dark Elves of the night,
For SirSigurd, things didn’t go quite right.
Awarded a dice set, shiny and new,
A much-needed boost to revise his view.
And last but not least, a pitch was won,
An Amazon theme for Lazyfox, the fun.
He played the Goblins, with Morg at his side,
In the Rosenbowl Tournament, where pride and skills collide.
6. Danish Open (by Volkajo)
I’m writing this a few weeks after the Danish Open, but luckily my memories are still clear and sharp!
In my view, Danish Blood Bowl has really grown over the last few years. Not only did their national team win the recent Eurobowl in Malta, but there’s a lot of activity online and with coaches traveling to international tournaments.
It’s not surprising then that Denmark from next year on will officially join the club of countries eligible to hold a “National” tournament! With this iteration of the Danish Open breaking and surpassing the number of 50 participants, and more than 100 active coaches nation-wide, Denmark now fulfills both criteria!
Moving on to the tournament: This year’s version was held at the Telefonfabrikken, just outside Copenhagen. Coming from Berlin, it was a great train ride to get there, and the ferry ride back was quick and offered nice views of the landscape.
The venue is a cultural center located a few kilometers outside the city, but it’s well equipped and there are supermarkets nearby. The organizers provided food and cheap drinks, so we had everything we needed on-site. The weather was great too, so we had the chance to hang out outside and toss the ball around.
The tournament was really well run. A large team, each with their own tasks (like food, rules, ref, score-person, backup player etc.), took care of organizing a big group of Blood Bowl coaches. Everything went smoothly and our tournament director, Stimme, took the title back to Hamburg.
The people in Denmark were very friendly and relaxed, so if you enjoy well-organized and competitive Blood Bowl, you should definitely consider attending the tournament in Copenhagen next year!
7. Outlook
Summer breaks are unheard of in the Blood Bowl world, as we see an impressive number of 79 tournaments submitted for August in 19 countries including Chile and Colombia. As many as 12 tournaments carry a variation of “summer” in their title – not necessarily all of them in areas we associate with a lot of sun, such as the Irish ED Summer Smackdown or the Swedish Peking Summerbowl.
Thrudball is happening on August 5th, best known for it’s charity donation drive, auctioning and Thrud the Barbarian. Rumours are that there is also Blood Bowl played.
And Madrid is basically taking August off to focus on Blood Bowl, hosting a mini multi-variant tournament series over three weeks, consisting of a Classic, Lineman, Dungeonbowl, Sevens and regular BB2020 tournament.