The Rules of Dungeon Bowl
THE TEAM TURN
Simply put, a game of Dungeon Bowl is a chaotic and thrilling affair, filled with all kinds of madness that has become synonymous with the game over the years. To make sense of all of the action, the game on the tabletop is broken down into a series of team turns, during which each coach will activate their players one at a time. In this way, the drama of the game is recreated in a manageable and controlled way.
TEAM TURNS
Once the teams have been set up and the coin toss has determined which team has the first turn, the game continues in a simple sequence of turns in which teams will alternate taking turns beginning with the team that gained the first turn, and continuing until the winning touchdown is scored.
ACTIVE AND INACTIVE TEAM
(see Active And Inactive Team, page 42 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PLAYER ACTIVATIONS
(see Player Activations, pages 42-43 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
MOVEMENT
(see Movement, pages 44-45 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
BLITZ ACTIONS
(see Blitz Actions, page 46 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PICKING UP THE BALL
(see Picking Up The Ball, page 46 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PASSING THE BALL
Often in a game of Dungeon Bowl, players I will throw the ball to each other In order to move it quickly around the labyrinth of corridors and rooms - after all, the ball travels faster when thrown than by a player running with it! Throwers endeavour to pass the ball safely to a team-mate, avoiding the walls and low ceilings of the dungeon, who is in a better position to run with the ball into the opposition I end zone room, or at least try to find it!
PASS ACTIONS
(see Pass Actions, pages 48-50 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
MEASURING RANGE
Range is measured by placing the circle at the end of the range ruler over the centre of the square occupied by the player performing the action. The other end of the range ruler is positioned so that the ruler covers the target square, with the line along the centre of the range ruler passing through the centre of the target square. The target square will fall into one of the four bands marked on the range ruler:
- I: Quick pass
- II: Short pass
- III & IV: This is too far for a pass in the depths of the dungeon; the low ceilings won't allow the ball to gain enough height to be passed this far.
Any squares that are in ranges III, IV, beyond the reach of the range ruler or that are intersected by the end of the range ruler are out of range and cannot be the target square.
CATCHING THE BALL
(see Catching The Ball, page 51 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
HAND-OFF
(see Hand-Off, page 51 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
THROWING THE BALL AT THE WALL
Sometimes a player will purposefully throw the ball at a wall in order to try to have it ricochet off into a far more advantageous position.
A player that declares a Pass action may also declare that they will bounce the ball off the wall instead of passing normally. Declare which wall square the ball is being thrown at, and test for accuracy as normal. This Pass may be interfered with as normal.
If the test for accuracy is successful, the ball will ricochet from the target square. If the test is failed, roll a D6. On a 1-3 it hits the wall square to the right of the target square; on a 4+ it hits the wall square to the left of the target square.
The ball will then ricochet as shown in the diagrams below. It will then travel D6 squares in the direction indicated, and if not caught it will scatter once from the square where it ends up. If the ball hits another wall then it will ricochet off it. Any and all players that the ball passes over may attempt to catch the ball, in the order that the ball passes over them, counting as an inaccurate pass. Unless the ball is caught by a player on the active team, there will be a Turnover.
Throwing other Players
One tactic that has been used with moderate success is one that seems to have been first employed in aggression, rather than as a cunning way to score. In the early days of Blood Bowl, it was i not uncommon for Big Guy players to simply launch their smaller team-mates at troublesome opponents. Naturally, this transitioned quite well into Dungeon Bowl and, these days, it is a common tactic to see a Big Guy pitching a puny pal at an opposition player that is proving to be a particularly I prickly thorn in their side, or H even towards the opposition end zone on occasion. This isn't without risk, though; there have been instances where a Big Guy has forgotten what's going on and eaten their ally!
THROW TEAMMATE ACTIONS
(see Throw Teammate Actions, pages 53-54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
LANDING
(see Landing, page 54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
LANDING IN AN OCCUPIED SQUARE
(see Landing in an Occupied Square, page 54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
CRASH LANDING
(see Crash Landing, page 54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
HITTING THE WALL
Should the thrown player scatter into one of the dungeon walls, they risk a serious injury. The player will suffer a Crash Landing as described above. Additionally, when making the Armour roll for a player that has hit the wall apply an additional +1 modifier to the roll.
Blocking
At its most basic, a block is a very rough tackle. The rules of Dungeon Bowl allow players to do almost anything to bring down an opponent, and provided weapons aren't used, the officials rarely make any distinction between a skilled tackle and a frenzied rain of pummelling blows that leave a player unconscious. This is part of the game's charm. After all, who wouldn't want to watch a violent, full contact blood sport that happens to include some ball related drama!
BLOCK ACTIONS
(see Block Actions, page 56 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
STRENGTH
(see Strength, page 56 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
ASSISTING A BLOCK
(see Assisting A Block, page 57 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
BLOCK DICE
(see Block Dice, page 57 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PUSHED PLAYERS
(see Pushed Players, page 54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
CHAIN-PUSHES
(see Chain Pushes, page 54 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PUSHED INTO A WALL
If a player occupies a square adjacent to a wall when they would be pushed back, and there are no squares they can be pushed into, the player w will be 'pushed into the wall'.
If a player is pushed into the wall, the active coach must roll a D6 for the pushed player. On a 1-3 the player remains where they are, they simply bounce of the wall. On a 4+ the player will Fall Over in the square they are in; make an Armour roll as normal.
Note that if a player is pushed into the wall as the result of a POW!, do not roll a D6 to see if they Fall Over - they automatically Fall Over in the square they are in.
KNOCKED DOWN
(see Knocked Down, page 59 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
PLACED PRONE
(see Placed Prone, page 59 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
FOLLOW-UP
(see Follow-Up, page 59 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
BLITZ ACTIONS
(see Blitz Actions, page 59 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
Armour and Injuries
There are many ways in which a Dungeon Bowl player can get injured. From being brutalised by an opposition player who is hell-bent on getting the ball, to tripping over one of the many hazards scattered around the dungeon. Dungeon Bowl is a game that provides almost limitless opportunity to get seriously hurt! Even death is an ever-present threat! Most Dungeon Bowl players proudly sport impressive scars, or teeth marks from whatever lurks within the depths of the dungeon...
RISKING INJURY
(see Risking Injury, page 60 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
ARMOUR ROLLS
(see Armour Rolls, page 60 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
INJURY ROLLS
(see Injury Rolls, page 60 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
STUNTY PLAYERS
(see Stunty Players, page 60 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
CASUALTY ROLLS
(see Casualty Rolls, page 61 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
MAGIC SPONGE
If a player has been KO'd and placed in the Knocked-out box, it may seem that there is no way for them to re-enter the game. In fact, in the early days of Dungeon Bowl this was the case, though it led to various complaints and criticisms from the Magisterium that the stars of their teams wouldn't get to shine in the game.
In response to this, the Colleges of Magic pooled their resources in order to develop the Magic Sponge - an all-purpose magical item designed to revive those players that may have been left seeing stars (or small birds) flying around their head!
All Dungeon Bowl teams are issued with a Magic Sponge at the start of a game. Once per team turn, a coach may use the Magic Sponge to treat a KO'd player in their Knocked-out box instead of teleporting a player into the dungeon. A player treated with the Magic Sponge is immediately moved from the Knocked-out box and into the Reserves box. The Magic Sponge cannot be used on players that are removed as a Casualty.
Kicking Them While They're Down
Fouling is strictly against the rules of Dungeon Bowl, and any player tempted to stick the boot in risks the wrath of the referees. Not that this stops anyone of course! Many teams are renowned for being dirty and devious, and more than a few players have become renowned in the art of the foul. Of course, the referees aren't actually inside the dungeon (they don't have a death wish!); instead, they utilise a series of crystals placed throughout the dungeon, allowing them to see the action from every angle, and teleport those caught fouling out of the dungeon.
FOUL ACTIONS
(see Foul Actions, page 63 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
FOULING
(see Fouling, page 63 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
BEING SENT-OFF
(see Being Sent Off, page 63 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
ARGUING THE CALL
(see Arguing The Call, page 63 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
Touchdown!
The game of Dungeon Bowl is won by scoring that all-important touchdown. The first team to retrieve the ball and score with it, will win. True, there are many, many teams that consider scoring the touchdown secondary to committing acts of violence, but even the most bloodthirsty of teams will turn their attention to the ball once the opposition has been satisfactorily dealt with. Proof indeed that the basic premise of the game is so simple that even an Orc can understand it!
SCORING A TOUCHDOWN
(see Scoring a Touchdown, page 64 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
SCORING DURING YOUR OPPONENT'S TURN
(see Scoring During Your Opponents Turn, page 64 of the Blood Bowl Rulebook)
TIME LIMITS AND WINNING THE CAME
Sometimes you may wish to impose a time limit on your game. Perhaps you are playing in a tournament, during your lunch break, or want to squeeze a game in before you sit down for dinner.
When playing a game that has a time limit, if neither side has scored when the time limit is reached, make sure both coaches have had an equal number of turns. Then the team that has got the ball closer to their opposition's End Zone, regardless of which player is holding the ball (if any), is the winner. What this means is that players should count up the number of squares between the square the ball is in and their opponent's End Zone by the shortest route possible. The player that has the lowest number of squares between the ball and the opposition team's End Zone is the winner. In the rare case that this is also the same, then the game is a draw - the teams were simply too well-matched to separate!
For Organised Play games, we would recommend a time limit of between 1 and half hours and 2 hours.
EXAMPLE: Jay and Rob have been playing a game of Dungeon Bowl with a 2 hour time limit. At the end of the 2 hour time limit, neither player has managed to score that all-important touchdown. After counting the number of squares between the ball, which is in the hands of Rob's Gnoblar Lineman, and each player's End Zone, it is determined that the ball is 23 squares away from Jay's End Zone and only 14 squares away from Rob's End Zone. This means that Jay is the winner as the ball is closer to Rob's End Zone - even though Rob is in possession of the ball.