The Tahoma Area Blood Bowl League is an inclusive space meant to be representative of all players who participate. That means we do our best to respect every player who plays, refer to them in the way they want to be referred to, and create a space wherein they can feel that they belong. We show respect to each and every player and try our best to create a space for them to play Blood Bowl.

Season League Rules

A. League Format

The league will be divided into 2 divisions of a varying number of players. Each team will play every other team in their division at least once. If the number of players in the league is less than 16 then players will play cross-divisional in order to meet the goal of 8 games per season. 

# of games in Preseason: Up to 3 (Challenge Format)

# of games per season: 8-10 (Round-robin)

# of playoff games: Up to 3 (Knock-out)

# of games in Postseason: Up to 3 (Challenge)

Time between games: 2 Weeks.

Length of Season: ~4 Months

Playoffs: Top 4 from each division enter Playoffs. Seeded based on performance from regular season.

Cost of League: $15 per player 

Standings tiebreakers:

1. Points

2. # of Wins + Draws / Games Played

3. Head-to-head record

4. TD +/-

5. Coin Flip

Scheduling rules:

Each player will have 2 weeks to schedule and play their games. Players are allowed to play ahead in their fixtures on TourPlay if both players are ready to play their games. In general, games should not take longer than 2 weeks to play. In the event that a game is taking longer to play than 2 weeks then please notify league staff so that games can be encouraged to be played.

Please be reasonable and try to work around each others schedules. We all get that life happens but communication is key. If it’ll take you longer than 2 weeks to play your game, let the league staff and your opponent know as soon as possible. And try to make that time up later in the season by catching up in your schedule. Our goal is to have 4 month long seasons and that means everyone needs to work together to hit that goal. 

In the event that a player is unable to schedule their game and there is clear fault on one side, that game will be forfeit by the negligent player and the schedule will be moved forward. League staff may, however, choose to mitigate these consequences or do something altogether dependent on circumstances.

Scheduling Process:

1. Coordinate with the other player by utilizing the published player contact information or the scheduling channel on discord. Agree on location

2. Schedule the game on TourPlay to indicate the date and time that the game will be played. In all cases, the tourplay time will be used as the official time for the game to be played. If a dispute occurs and there is no time agreed upon in TourPlay then the game will be treated as if it was never scheduled.

3. Play your game!

B. Playoff Format

Playoffs will be played as a Knockout Tournament with no more than 8 players. Seeding will be determined based upon regular season performance. For example, 1st seed will play 4th in the other division, 2nd seed will play 3rd seed in the other division, and visa-versa. Additional rounds to determine unseeded players will be played, e.g. 3rd plays 4th, etc. The league commissioner reserves the right to put forward a vote in special case scenarios where there are less than 8 players. Should there be a need to adjust the format then the league will democratically vote on the structure and number of players in the playoffs. 

Each season a vote will determine whether star players will be permitted in the playoffs. The reason for this is that GW often releases new star players or FAQ's that can dramatically alter the balance of the game and, consequently, a decision will need to be regularly made as to how we will handle this.

C. Seasonal Transition

The league staff will provide the opportunity for the league to vote during the offseason to provide feedback on the league and feedback as to what they would like to see. Typically, the league will vote between the following options between each season: 

D1. Option A:

We believe league diversity and giving players the option to choose and try new teams is important. It shouldn't feel like all of your hard work goes to waste as a coach, and we wanted to provide an avenue for doing so. Players will be given the following choices to select from each season of the following options:

Choice 1: Continue with their current team, earned SPP, and previous players. Nothing is allowed to be modified between the two seasons. Standard redraft rules will apply.

Choice 2: Roll into a new team. A process will be provided for this each season.

The LC Reserves the right to override these rules in special circumstances. Please contact the LC if you believe you are one of these circumstances.

D2. Option B - The Purge:

Occasionally, teams get bloated and are carrying too much SPP to make the game easy to balance. Option B is the reset button for the league where teams are built back to the starting standard for each team. Alternatively, players make opt for a special draft format where individual teams are given build instructions and a special run-off league is performed. 

1. Teams are drafted to either TV 1M or built according to draft rules for the league.

2. Teams are considered “Fresh” for this.

D. General Rules

Special rules of play are listed below. We play with some slight variations to the Blood Bowl rules to help make the experience better.

1. MVP Selection:

   1. Players are able to roll across the team to choose a new MVP after their match. Players nominate 3 players on TourPlay after their game and a random of the 3 will be assigned. 

2. Concessions: We handle concessions in this league as an “only if absolutely necessary” scenario which is to say that we do not generally allow concessions in this league unless the following condition is met:

   1. 3 Players Left Standing Condition: If, at the beginning of a drive, a player has 3 players or less left on the pitch then the player is permitted to concede legally. No penalties will be assessed to the player in this case.

   2. Illegal concessions: If a concession is made and the player has not met the 4 players left standing condition then the league staff will review the specific scenario and make a determination dependent on the surrounding factors that forced the player to concede. These will be handled on a case-by-case basis and the league will attempt to follow precedent wherever possible. In most cases, the rules from the Blood Bowl 2020 rulebook will be followed. In this case, the conceding player will have any touchdowns scored converted to the opposing team and any player at advancement 3 or beyond may leave the team. Each player at advancement 3 will roll a 1d6 and will stay on the team on a roll of 4+. On a roll of 1-3, the player will leave the team in disgust.

   3. Other scenarios:

The league reserves the right to consider special circumstances in the event of an illegal concession and break from precedent. This means assigning unique punishments or not assigning punishments.

4. MVP’s: The conceding player forfeits their ability to select their MVP. The league staff validating the match will review the MVP. If the MVP falls upon a dead player then league staff will roll 1d(N) where (N) is the number of players on the team and randomly assign the MVP into the team. Two MVP’s will not be assigned to the winning team.

5. Special Circumstances: We are all adults and, occasionally, special circumstances may occur that prevent the successful completion of the game. In these cases, please notify league staff so we can discuss next steps.

4. Scheduling: Players are expected to schedule and play their games in a timely manner. The expectation is that once a fixture is open for the player to play, the player has contacted their opponent and offered times within 3 days. Games are given a 2 week window in which they must be played by. Games must be scheduled in TourPlay in order to be considered officially schedule. Failing to schedule your game in TourPlay may result in decisions not ending in your favor should there be any scheduling discrepancies. In these cases, league staff will review communications between players and make a decision as to what will occur. Precedent will not be considered in these cases. While it is not a requirement, the league staff strongly recommends creating a thread in the scheduling channel for visibility's sake.

5. Take-backs: In general, play on the board is considered undetermined until, at any point, dice have been rolled. If dice have been rolled since you made a move or your opponent has made a move then the game state is considered “locked”. However, it is possible that your opponent may be gracious and permit the take-back. All take-backs are at the discretion of the player whose turn it is currently not. 

6. Length of the Game: We’re all folks who have busy schedules and busy lives and it’s important that you’re respecting your opponents time. In general, turns should take less than 6 minutes. Over the course of a 16 turn game, this results in a 192 minute minute game or roughly 3 hours of play. Even a 3 hour game of Blood Bowl is a long one though so try your best to play your games quickly. However, if you and your opponent have agreed to take longer then no big deal. This is a general rule.  If your opponent is taking an excruciatingly long time to play then feel free to remind them of this rule, pull out a chess clock, or just simply let them know that you've other commitments as well.

7. Cocked Dice: Any dice that lands at an angle, off the table, not in its dice tray, or otherwise, when it lands will be considered cocked dice and needs to be rerolled. That means, even if it’s a 1 or a Pow, you’ve got to reroll that die if it lands at an angle. However, you and your opponent should take a moment during the setup to agree on cocked dice or a system for each of you to follow.

8. Sportsmanship: This game isn't fun when people suck and treat each other poorly. So here's a couple quick rules that we should all try to follow:

Conduct Rules

1. Demonstrate mutual respect towards one another. 

This does not mean that one cannot tease, chirp at, or razz the opposing player. It’s Blood Bowl, after all, if you don’t complain about their dice at least once then are you really playing? But don’t be a dick about it. We’re all adults, we know when it’s too far, don’t go too far. The league will handle sportsmanship complaints with a heavy hand. Don’t make this game unfun for others. 

2. Don’t be *that guy*

We’ve all played against that guy once or twice. They make their skills hard to read, their models can barely be determined what’s what, they try to take that extra movement square when you aren’t looking, or some other sordid act. Don’t be that guy. Be as honest as you can be, try your best to know the rules, and if you’re wrong… just admit you’re wrong and move on.

3. Schedule your games in a timely manner.

Don’t try to mess with your opponent by offering the worst possible windows for scheduling. Be proactive, make concessions, do your best to help get that game played. 

League Staff

Eric Paulsen - Commissioner

Jay Smith - Co-Commissioner