Review: Battleball

This is a great little game that is unfortunately out of print. However, you can pick it up on ebay for not very much. The game itself is essentially a game of football where you are trying to use your players to tackle your opponents players and score a touchdown. After scoring 2 touchdowns you win the game. It is designed by Craig Van Ness and Stephen Baker.

Each player has a team of football players. There are a few different types of positions that each player plays. You have running backs, wide receivers, linebackers, tackles, etc. Each position uses a different die in the game. There is a 20s, 12s, 10s, 8s, and two 6s. Each die is a different color and that corresponds to the color of one of your football player's base. This makes it really easy to tell which die each of your players roll. 

I won't go into too much detail about how the game is played but it is actually very simple. Players take turns choosing which figure they want to move then roll that figure's corresponding die. After you move him if you're adjacent to a figure from the other team you attempt to tackle him. This is done by each player rolling their figure's die. The lowest number rolled is the winner and the losing figure is taken temporarily out of the game. This means that your fast guys are your bad tacklers and your slow guys are your good tacklers. This seems simple enough but it balances out really well. Play continues with each player trying to move the ball to the endzonewithout being tackled. They can pass and hand the ball off to try to gain big yardage or they can just keep it with one guy and set up some blockers. 

Overall, the game is very luck based. The luck seems to even out because there are so many dice rolls that its difficult for one side to just get all of the luck. However, this makes  it a very light game with a little bit of strategy and risk taking. The game will often come down to a nailbiting finish where one die roll will win you the game. The components are very good and the game looks awesome while it is being played. The figures are very good quality and have good paint jobs. Battleball is a very fun, light game that gamers and non-gamers alike will be able to understand and enjoy. Even younger kids should be able to play this game. I highly recomend it as a fun sports game that doesn't have a bunch of charts that you need to continuously refer to.

7/10

Casey Stump