Hi all and apologies for the quiet time. Today we look at Guild ball the newest fantasy sports game from Steamforged Gamesa new UK based company
i ordered my minis from Element games who are linked with Steamforged and the delivery was as usual for element amazing ordering lunchtime the day before and delivered by 11am the next day
Guild ball is a fantasy football (soccer) game with small teams of up to 6 models played on a 3x3 board though small games can play on a smaller board. but rather than teams being based on races or areas the teams are based on trade guilds like the Brewer's or Fisherman's Guilds
The game uses D6 dice pool basis for the system so you roll a number of dice equal to your stat and try and beat the difficulty on the opponents relevant stat. for example to hit someone you roll a number of dice equal to your TAC with a difficulty of the targets defence on average about 4+ and for the more success the better the effect as based of a "playbook" which defines what you can choose to do.
The first time i played i had no idea what i was doing and was using a complex team and it almost put me off the game for demonstrations simpler teams are definitely the way as you see the complexities of the game but without the added headache of figuring out what else you can do.
I ordered 2 starters and the rule-book to get started with and it all comes stylishly packaged.
The first starter i ordered are the Brewer's Guild which come in a sleeved box the art work is beautiful for the packaging
Inside the box you get 3 models for your team, stat cards for them and a ball
Tapper is the first model i opened and there are a few mold lines on this one and a bit of flashing on others but the sculpting is beautiful and the detail for metal models is some of the best i have seen in the market. my only issue is the fit is not great on the parts so could end up looking odd.
The Second starter is the Fisherman's Guild and to begin with i was like "so happy i picked the Brewers for my guild!" not i am not sure and think its a have them all situation.
The rulebook comes in a slipcase that is as nice as the rest of the range. The book it self is odd in that its a landscape format rather than portrait which is the norm but it does allow the book to contain some beautiful artwork.
these are available for download too at -http://guildball.com/#downloads
overall presentation value is easily 5 - 0 win
the game-play as i said depends on what you play to begin with but in the long term its deeper than most fantasy football games so 4 - 1 victory
the models are lovely i personally wish they were plastic but at least they are not resin with the fine parts that would be horrid.4 - 1 again
To be honest if i didn't like it i wouldn't of invested into it so yes i am pleased with what i have received. and i look forward to getting to play it with some friends.
Thanks for reading
