Welcome to the August installment of the Tournament Director Blog, your premier destination for everything you need to know about NAF tournaments. In this space, we offer you not just the freshest updates from behind the curtain, but also essential information, previews of forthcoming events, and naturally, summaries of recently concluded exciting tournaments. For this month’s edition, our coverage extends to five recent events: Eucalyptus Bowl, the Bilbali Teams Cup, Beach Bowl, Touchdowns in Tacoma, and Thrudbowl.
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 The 2023 NAF Gifts
1.2 New Membership Director Twyllenimor
1.3 XML Test Function and Changes to the XML Upload Script
1.4 API to Check NAF Name and ID
1.5 World Cup Countdown - Report: Eucalyptus Bowl (by Rabid_Bogscum)
- Report: Bilbali Teams Cup (by MarkyMarc)
- Report: Beach Bowl (by BRaN)
- Report: Touchdowns in Tacoma (by LEGION)
- Report: Thrud Bowl (by Volkajo)
- Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. The 2023 NAF Gifts
Long awaited, they are now becoming available: the 2023 NAF gifts. A sexy Throw Team-mate token and a pair of light blue dice (engraved, not printed as shown in the prototype below, don’t panick!). As we are waiting for the last shipments to arrive from the producers, you can already order them online when renewing your membership on the NAF site.
Batches of the gift will be made available to our tireless distributors in the US (Valdric), the UK (Lycos) and various European countries, for shipments and further distribution to local NAF staff. Please be patient, as this takes time. As you might have read in previous editions of the TD blog, we are in the process of setting up a shipment service for all EU countries, which will in the future vastly accelerate the process. We also aim to have them available at the World Cup.
When renewing online, you will notice two major changes. First, there is now an option to ditch the most current NAF gift and instead receive an additional year of membership (making it two years instead of one year). This was introduced because we had multiple coaches wanting to support the NAF without adding more gimmicks to their collection.
Second, gifts from previous years, due to their spotty availability, will not be selectable any more. They might still be be available from a local NAF rep, though, when renewing in person. Find an overview of all gifts in NAF history on the respective NAF page.
1.2 New Membership Director Twyllenimor
After years of service, Sebco is stepping back from his appointed position of Membership Director. He did a great job, and we very much appreciate all his efforts and the uncounted hours of work he volunteered. Make sure to give him a long, tight hug when you see him at the World Cup.
Fortunately, a successor is available. Twyllenimor is taking over MD duties and will continue to coordinate memberships, gift shipments and design and production of the annual gifts. Sebco will of course assist in the transition process. Feel free to hug Twyllenimor as well in Alicante, but be quick, he is slippery.
The NAF staff site has been updated accordingly. As always, if you have any gift or membership related questions, quickest help is available in our respective NAF Discord channel.
1.3 XML Test Function and Changes to the XML Upload Script
If you are running a tournament using software like Score!, TourPlay or TourMa, you might want to bookmark this link: https://www.thenaf.net/xmlcheck.php
It will allow you to check any XML file (the output format for uploading tournament results to the NAF database) for potential errors without the need to login.
The next part is a bit technical and will not affect you at all, unless you are organizing any tournaments where coaches can play multiple races (e.g. turncoat style, swapping teams with opponents: or rotating rosters with squad mates): I have been making some changes to the NAF XML upload script. The upload function now supports multiple races. Changes to the XML are very small, and the current XML format is still supported.
You can define “Multiple Races” in the header:
<coaches>
<coach>
<name>Stimme</name>
<number>17245</number>
<team>Multiple Races</team>
</coach>
</coaches>
Then you can define the actual race that was played in the game match data:
<game>
<timeStamp>2023-08-08 10:00</timeStamp>
<playerRecord>
<name>Stimme</name>
<number>17245</number>
<teamRating>100</teamRating>
<touchDowns>1</touchDowns>
<team>Nurgle</team>
<badlyHurt>1</badlyHurt>
</playerRecord>
<playerRecord>
<name>Megamind</name>
<number>23694</number>
<teamRating>100</teamRating>
<touchDowns>0</touchDowns>
<team>Orc</team>
<badlyHurt>3</badlyHurt>
</playerRecord>
</game>
1.4 API to Check NAF Name and ID
And we are staying slightly technical. I also recently implemented a new interface that allows tool developers and regular tournament organizers to quickly validate NAF name and ID of any given coach:
https://www.thenaf.net/coachcheck.php?naf_id=17245 will look up the NAF name.
https://www.thenaf.net/coachcheck.php?naf_name=Stimme will look up the NAF ID.
https://www.thenaf.net/coachcheck.php?naf_name=Stimme&naf_id=3 will check if the two entries match.
It’s a simple but useful feature that should make life a bit easier for everyone involved in organizing tournaments. Hopefully, this will reduce the number of mistakes and incorrect or mismatched entries.
1.5 World Cup Countdown
The date thousands of Blood Bowl coaches are looking forward to is creeping closer and closer! In fact the World Cup is the reason that for once this blog is not coming out 15 minutes before the end of the month, as I myself am about to start travelling soon.
Before diving into some final stats and announcements, I would like to take the time and already now thank the team around Ulvardar for all the blood, sweat and (hopefully mostly happy) tears they have poured into this project. Most people start to get nervous when inviting more than two guests over – and these guys invited more than 2,500. And they are all staying overnight!
This is an incredibly large project, and while I am absolutely confident that everything will go smoothly, I would like to ask everyone, especially those who haven’t organized a similarly large event, to be patient and flexible and do their best to contribute to the spirit of the event. There will be rookies and communication issues, there will be coaches that miss their bus, lose their phone, or forget their dentures. At least it’s unlikely anyone will freeze to death. Make sure to promptly and properly report results between rounds. Ensure that your captain brought the phone charger. Better yet, get them a power bank. Or two.
Embrace the fact that this is a dice game, and continuously remind yourself that you didn’t spend thousands of Dollars, Euros or whatever they pay with in New Zealand, just to ruin your mood over a six-sided cube landing on the wrong side! And yes, you have my permission to tattoo this quote on your thigh.
Finally, make sure to check website and the official Discord channel for announcements!
All that said, here are some final stats that the team has recently published, breaking down participation by nations and selected races.
Unsurprisingly, we expect a large crowd from Spain, but also a decent number of players from overseas. North and South American coaches will join participants from Australia and New Zealand. The Greeks have excused themselves, as they are too busy organizing next year’s EuroBowl, but have requested some leftover paella. To be honest, I suspect they’re still not over losing the Archaic colony of Hēmeroskopeion to the Italians.
With regard to races, the usual suspects are on top, with Undead still strong, and Underworld less dominant than many expected. Necro, Norse, Khorne and Chaos Chosen showed up in higher numbers than I anticipated, while High Elves have clearly fallen from grace. They will always have the summer of 2022, I suppose. Vampires are ‘dead’ last. One of the coaches is on my squad, which leaves me with very mixed feelings of dread and pride.
Nearly the entire NAF committee will be present at the World Cup, which means that this is an excellent opportunity for all participants to express any feedback, criticisms and complaints. Ideally to Megamind, the only one who is missing out and will be available by any means of social media.
Our beloved president Gaixo will be there as well as a non-playing guest, handing out handshakes, bad advice, and most importantly, the long awaited 24+2 patches. If you have not received a patch yet, and you are eligible because you played the 24 races (+ Khorne and Bretonnians) before the cut-off, get in touch with him.
If you are eligible, you will see the respective patches on your individual NAF coach page. We of course also have a list of coaches, so you won’t miss out if you are not present or can’t find Gaixo’s little booth between the Corn on the Cob stand and the Children’s Corner.
We also aim to have the 2023 gifts available for those who wish to extend their membership and give the new, personally blessed dice a spin in their World Cup matches (*).
(*) Disclaimer: While our NAF dice are a marvel of tabletop engineering, we make no guarantees they’ll secure your victory. Roll at your own risk and may Nuffle be ever in your favor.
2. Report: Eucalyptus Bowl (by Rabid_Bogscum)
The sometimes forgotten Major Eucalyptus Bowl has been run and won in Sydney Australia this July. 54 coaches turned up for our 18th year, with players from all over Australia and two foreign raiders from New Zealand, with 20 different races being represented. Both performed strongly: Ramchop finishing 9th and Claymore battling for 2 days on the top tables to fall just short and joining Jonny_Kanone as the highest placed International as Runner Up. A challenge to our European and American coaches, the honour of being the 1st non-Australian coach to win Eucalyptus Bowl is still up for grabs! But the story of the weekend was relative tournament newcomer Almic85, in only his 4th Table top tournament running the tables with 6 wins with tournament favourite race Orcs. An impressive showing considering the field was made up of multiple Major winners, including back to back defending champion tribalsinner. The win was earned with a strong defence, only giving up 2 TDs for the weekend. Rounding out the podium was Geoffwatson, who finished 3rd with Orcs, split by Claymores High Elves.
Stunty King is a big deal at Eucalyptus Bowl with 2nd pick off the prize table. This encouraged 10 brave coaches to bring a vertically challenged team. This year it was won by Ogre coach Captain_Prosecco who finished an impressive 4th overall with 4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss. He joins Creature as a multiple Stunty King Champion. Jono is famous down under for his painting, adding his 6th Best Painted title (in a close run affair with thysanotus) to add to his Stunty title this year.
We haven’t outlawed Star Players, but have added a general 50k Star player tax to all the official Stars, as well as playing with a modified Highlander rule where teams will have their star replaced by a journeyman player. So far it has had the desired effect of reducing their numbers while still allowing Stunty coaches to take them to remain competitive. Griff was the most represented Star, playing for 6 teams. But the Highlander rule didn’t come into play.
We have a badge system for coaches to recognise our veteran coaches. Receiving badges this year were the following:
15 Years – Tribalsinner, Creature, Geoffwatson
10 Years – Hoggle, Tupiboy
5 Years – Irgy (8), Devilsreject (8)
We have also locked in dates for next year. We will be running at Club Burwood RSL in Sydney on the 13th & 14th July 2024. Now that we are through the worst of Covid, I am definitely hoping to boost our player numbers and try and push the impressive Victorian tournament Big V, who are expecting nearly 150 coaches later in the year.
3. Report: Bilbali Teams Cup (by MarkyMarc)
If someone asked me to sum up the Bilbali Teams Cup in one word, I couldn’t. Friendly, amazing, massive, fun, estupendo – all would easily come to mind. However, if pressed, the one word I’d choose is “WELCOMING!”
Unlike most tournaments, the Bilbali Teams Cup doesn’t start on a Saturday but on a Friday night – or even Thursday night for the particularly enthusiastic. The organizers arrange an open and heartily encouraged gathering of all players at a local bar in Bilbao’s old town. If you decide to attend, which I highly recommend, you’ll find a street brimming with Bloodbowlers celebrating as one. Whether you’re sampling the local Pintxos (finger food that varies from traditional Spanish Omelette to fried cod, typically served on fresh crusty bread) or sharing a drink of Calimocho (a delightful blend of red wine and cola over ice), you’re bound to be swept up in the festive spirit.
Concerned about not speaking Spanish and feeling out of place? Don’t be. If a Scotsman can find his way, anyone can! Both the local and visiting players rank among the most amiable and kind-hearted people I’ve ever encountered. They ensure you feel at ease and genuinely welcomed.
The tournament itself boasts the participation of over 260 coaches from across Spain and even beyond. This year, attendees hailed from as far as Scotland, Sweden, France, Italy, and Norway, to name just a few.
The venue is about a 15 minute subway trip outside of town in a massive sports hall with more than enough space for everyone. The hard work from the organizers mean the tournament runs as close to perfection as possible, even if it does mean that Mike spends ten minutes shouting abuse at the laptop at the end of round 1 to work properly. I can confidently say EVERY opponent I have played was kind, friendly and played Bloodbowl in the best spirit possible, all adding to the wonderful nature of this event.
The Saturday night after the first day of gaming involves a trip back down into town for more pintxos and drinks or a trip to a local Cider House where you are treated to some unbelievably fresh cider from the barrel whilst eating a delicious four course meal.
When Sunday arrives and the final games are played there is a massive raffle prize give away with the money going to charity. The event this year raised over 3,600 euros! Which is an enormous achievement from the organizers and a huge amount of credit to the Bilbao community members who spent their own time either painting prizes of individual star players or some even donating whole teams spectacularly painted.
Having attended the Bilbali Teams Cup for the second year in a row I will leave you with these last few sentences.
Once you visit and spend a weekend at this brilliant tournament and meet the amazing people who put their hearts and souls into running the Bilbali Teams Cup you honestly feel like part of the family. They go above and beyond to make you feel welcome, and when you finally say goodbye on Sunday you will find yourself thinking…..how long until next year’s Bilbali Cup… trust me I’ve just booked my flights for my 3rd year in a row.
Thank you to all the people I have met in Bilbao, but especially to Juan, Iker, Mikel, Jorge, Iñigo and Kike! I miss you all and will see you again next Bilbali Teams Cup, my friends.
4. Report: Beach Bowl (by BRaN)
The very first NAF National Tournament in the history of Polish Blood Bowl took place in Gdańsk on July 30th and 31st, and it was glorious! The sixth edition of Beach Bowl was the largest Polish BB tourney in the post-covid era, too. There were 65 coaches from all over Europe!
But it had begun a little earlier, with a Before Party which set the tone for the rest of the weekend! The mood generated was of awesomeness and camaraderie! Alas, we met in Sopot, Poland, in the beach bar Wodnik. And so many participants showed up that we basically took the venue over. We bonded over local specialties and stayed till late… Because being merry at night trumps being spry the next morning, if you know what I mean XD.
On Saturday, we gathered in the e-sports pub Kinguin, and the funniest Blood Bowl Tournament in Poland was kicked off. Why so funny, you’d ask? Well, for a multitude of reasons, us being trolls and lots of lols (like that special prize we have for a few select coaches: “The Butt-Hurt Cream”) among others. But, perhaps intuitively, because of Seaghoul: our custom-designed (by Vini), greenstuff-sculpted (by our Coordinator Alex), and 3D-printed Star Player which every participant got in their starter pack. Oh, and yes, the helmet is He-Man’s XD. All the minis came assembled and painted, looked the same… With one exception 😉 A bit more on that later. And so, the 1st day of 4 games began. We used TourPlay to aid us in keeping score, CAS, etc. and kept everyone on their toes with the clock counting match time down on a huge screen above the referee’s table. Sunday was a 2-game day as we had intended to end it early enough for our foreign guests to catch their flights, ferries, etc. And by the way, we were super-happy to welcome representatives of 6 nations who came to Gdańsk and took part in this 1st Polish NAF National! There were guests from Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Malta, Spain and the UK. We were told that they had a blast (we will take them for their word)!
The tournament featured awesome plays, such as a chorf passing game (and successful one at that!) as well as a match with a high score of 6 Touchdowns! How insane is that?! As much as we enjoyed entertaining our foreign guests, we’re pleased to say that the Polish title landed in the lap of a Polish Blood-Bowler, Rover of Warsaw, with his Orcs. Mentos, from Cracow, was the runner-up with his Wood Elves. Vini, our very own Pomeranian Troll, took 3rd place with his Lizardmen. One other Troll, Pegaz, became the Bash Lord. The last of us Trolls – Unicornson – won the Stunty Cup. And finally, Mort Jr. from Warsaw, took home the Best Offense trophy (worth noting is the fact that he’s the youngest Blood-Bowler playing tournaments in Poland)! The tournament was epic and the people were all smiles on that Sunday afternoon.
As promised, I’ll get back to that Seaghoul 😉 Gareth, the lone Brit at Beach Bowl, got one unique miniature of our Star Player; instead of it being an undead seagull, his is a ghoul camouflaged as a parrot (see here: Parrotish Seaghoul). And with his unusual gift, an idea was born: this particular parrotish Seaghoul will be given away each time a current owner plays a game of Blood Bowl. Let’s see how far this mini travels!
5. Touchdowns in Tacoma (by LEGION)
The Games Workshop US OPEN Series returned in 2023 bigger and bolder than the year before when Blood Bowl made its triumphant return to the roster of games featured at the event. Kansas City kicked things off in June and had a good turnout but Tacoma, WA was shaping up to be the biggest of all three cities with Tampa being the last stop in October.
The weekend of July 15th-17th kicked off with “Friday Night Fights”, a free Blood Bowl Sevens ice-breaker event for all registered coaches. And 14 coaches from the Pacific Northwest, Canada and various cities across the USA showed up to get the party started early. Three rounds of Sevens flew by faster than a Skaven Gutter Runner, with Trevor Freutel taking First Place coaching his Dwarf team, the “Quick-Crete Rollers”, for the tournament win. It came down to tie-breakers against David Burroughs and his Norse team, the “Tacoma Tentacles”. Both coaches finished with 2 Wins and 1 Draw with the key tie-breaker being Net Casualties.
The main event “Touchdowns in Tacoma” started on Saturday and finished on Sunday as a 6-round tournament featuring 34 coaches looking to join Nancy Poxleitner (Winner Kansas City 2022) and Joe Poxleitner (Winner Kansas City 2023) as Champion of a US OPEN event!
Featuring a good mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams, it was quite shocking that there were no Stunty teams represented at the event. The team build was 1.2 million with points by tier to spend on Star Players and skills, based on the Games Workshop Matched Play Guide, which was used as the foundation for the entire event. Even though we didn’t see the likes of Griff, Hakflem, Morg or Deeproot Strongbranch, there was a significant amount of Star Players across the rosters including; Lord Borak the Despoiler (a personal favorite), Boa Kon’ssstriktr, Glotl Stop, Varag Ghoul-Chewer,
Frank ‘N’ Stein, Fungus the Loon, Grombrindal the White Dwarf, Ivar Eriksson The Mighty Zug and last but certainly not least Skrorg Snowpelt.
Saturday featured 4 rounds of Blood Bowl which makes for a very long day (for some), especially when the dice are NOT going your way. Nuffle was definitely “in the house” delivering numerous judgements of double skulls and even a glorious gift of triple skulls, which were at least rerolled into a favorable outcome in the end.
After the first day, there was only one coach who was still undefeated. Geoff Roscoe’s “Bad News Beards” Dwarf team were leading the pack with 4 Wins, 8 TD’s and 17 casualties. Phyllip Hulscher’s “Ivar and the Boys” Humans, Max Christian’s “ORCTUGAS” Orcs, Jack Balduf’s “Arkhans Ankhs” Tomb Kings and Eric Paulsen’s “Die-Ami Maulfins” Shambling Undead rounded out the Top 5.
Day two had some pretty epic match-ups but a few truths held firm. Geoff Roscoe managed to pull out the Tournament win with a final score of 191, with Phyllip Hulscher coming in as runner-up with a final score of 187, and Travis Childs coming in third place with his “Trophie” Imperial Nobility team at scoring 156 points.
For many, this was their first Games Workshop US OPEN Event and according to feedback given throughout and after the event, everyone had a great time and would definitely attend another one of these events. One of the highlights from the weekend was Mark Robinson, who had never played in a Blood Bowl tournament before, winning the CARNAGE CUP (most casualties) edging out Geoff Roscoe who was leading throughout the entire event. With a whopping 25 casualties, Mark’s Black Orcs “The Black Beauties” put the BLOOD in Blood Bowl and christened his first event with a nice blood-spattered trophy to take home with him. Another highlight was Shawn Brownell taking home the Best Painted Award winning with his classic Dwarf team, “Tri-Peaks United.”
6. Thrudball (by Volkajo)
Apologies, dear readers, this might be another long one. Thrudball happened a couple of weekends ago and whilst I might have forgotten a few facts due to the high levels of Serotonin on my flight home, I still have some blurry memories I want to share with you.
What is Thrudball?
You might skip this section if you know about Squad Chaos and Thrud, but funny enough I still meet coaches everywhere who have not heard of either. Squad Chaos is basically a global initiative of coaches (which started in the UK) that is all about taking care of each other. Making sure everybody has a good time is basically the core of the agenda, while creating safe spaces, mental health awareness, inclusion etc. are obvious side quests that follow. Thrudball is basically the team’s main event which is not only about said things, but also about raising money for charity with multiple activities. Oh, there is also Blood Bowl, but more about that later.
Most Thrudlike
Throughout the weekend the organizer of the “Most Thrudlike” competition sets up multiple challenges for the chosen competitors, who all dress up in silly costumes and basically have to do whatever Twelfman tells them to. This year’s theme was “melons”, so it did get messy at times. My personal highlight was a coach who cosplayed a ball and chain goblin which made a lot of the tasks quite a bit more difficult for him to handle. The lovely Eldrichfox won the event and I very much hope this will always be an integral part of the weekend.
The Auction
Over the course of the year (and actually a bit longer), Widram collects rare, funny, odd, silly and a lot of unique items for the Thrud auction using his global network of sherpas. Some of the best painters in the community provide insane teams for the event, people get their relatives to knit helmets and axes and international tournaments send in their best swag alongside free tickets for the event. To name some highlights: an absolutely unique Muppet team (77 miniatures + a set of unique dice + a massive display), a collection of all NAF block dice, a “Wild Things” team with a lot of customizations and many more. Thanks to everybody who provided and helped out getting these.
On Saturday night, Landrover puts on a show, putting himself on stage to not only managing the online bids versus the room and encouraging bids, but also providing three hours of solid entertainment for the crowd gathered in the big hall. The auction raised a total of about 10,000 pounds, which is a great effort by the community and everybody involved. With all activities (such as the raffle, where you can win e.g. a golden ticket for next year’s event) combined, we raised more than 14,000 pounds which have already been paid out to MIND and the Roy Castle lung cancer foundation.
7s and fun times on Friday
Sorry, these things are not in any kind of order, but before I forget: On Friday, the organizers set up a tournament of Thrudball 7s in the main hall for everybody who wants to join. There are also a lot of other board games like Hero Quest, Mordheim and more things going on, while a lot of coaches just hang out by the bar for socializing. The event takes place at a rugby club, so there is a well equipped bar with reasonable prices. Speaking of the venue, the club lets us use their facilities, so there is plenty of space for camping which just adds to the festival feeling of Thrud.
The Blood Bowl
Yes, Blood Bowl was also played. I was actually quite relieved the admins went for a rule set different to the World Cup rules. The rule set used customized stars which were similar to old school stars. My personal opinion was that the rule set was actually balanced. Stars added a bit of spice to the builds but did not make it much better. Most races were played and there was nothing that was clearly overpowered. AndyDavo managed to win the event with Amazons, congrats! Looks like having a certain last name turns the odds in your favor quite a bit 🙂.
It’s three rounds on each day and the schedule ran very well. The last tables actually play Dimaryp or Dock Bowl which are basically versions of Dungeon Bowl, adding another extra to a tournament filled with fun gimmicks.
Secret Thrud
Another small thing that just makes Thrud better, is the “Secret Thrud”, which was set up by the lovely Auntie_Moon before the event. It is just like Secret Santa where you get a little gift for a random person who is participating in this. Funny enough, my Secret Thrud was Spiky who also volunteered to pick me up from the airport (not the only thing that makes international coaches feel very welcome – some even get their tents set up beforehand!). So on top of my free ride from the airport I got a customized and hand painted dugout and scoreboard, which are simply amazing! This is just one of the many ways you get to meet and know new people at Thrudball, which obviously adds to the “spirit of Thrud”.
Summary
I do a fair bit of traveling for the game and my favorite part is actually seeing how different tournaments are set up and what organizers come up with to make their tournament special.
Nothing I have seen so far beats Thrud in this regard. While the Blood Bowl part of the event is well run and nice, it is everything else that makes Thrud special and what these “extras” do to people. It is an event set up by the community for the community and it helps build that community. Thank you to everybody who helped out and made the event better! Thanks also to the admin team, FallingdownJoe, Nazgob, Glowworm, Lunchmoney and Landrover to name a few.
7. Outlook
September will see a total number of at least 60 tournaments – a significant drop from the previous months, for which I have absolutely no explanation. Particularly the weekend of September 9th and September 10th is awfully quiet, with only two European tournaments in total. I guess all eyes will be on The Reaper Royale, one of the most popular tournaments in Bexley (UK). Alternatively, Blood Bowl hungry coaches can book a trip to the US, where there will be Floridian Gutter Bowl, the NAW Cup, the World Carp and a Summer Jubilee on that weekend!