League Info

The BUBBLE League is an open format Blood Bowl league based in Utrecht. Anyone who can field a Blood Bowl team is allowed to play whenever they feel like it. There are some restrictions that will be listed later. League nights will be organized every first Thursday and third Tuesday of the month.

To take part you need to register a team in Tourplay, pay the 3€ fee, and join the league mailing list and/or WhatsApp group. If we don't know you yet, please fill out the Contact a commish form on this page.

The season starts May 1st 2024. From this date onwards the league will be active in Tourplay. The season will be terminated on October 31 2024.

Tuesday league nights will be held at The 5th, Neude 5, Utrecht. The Thursday leaguenights will take pace ar Oproer Biercafé, Beyaertdreef 5, Utrecht. During these nights the commish will assign match-ups (see section arranging matches).

Midnight (Utrecht) from September 30th to October 1st the qualifying phase will end. Teams that qualify for the play offs will be barred from playing any matches other than the (semi)finals. Other teams may complete their 10 games in a consolation stage to prepare their teams for redraft.

League Rules

(Re)drafting teams

New teams have a draft budget of 1,000,000 gold pieces and are allowed to add unspent budget to the treasury.

Redrafting of teams from previous seasons is possible with the following restrictions:

A cap of 1,300,000 gold pieces for redraft budget is in place

After redrafting it is not possible to have cash left in your treasury.

During step 2 of the redraft process, when the treasury is emptied, there is a limit in cash that can be used for redrafting of up to 50k per match played. The rest of the treasury was lost in a hyped investment when the BUBBLE burst.

The league consists of two stages

Qualification

Play-Offs & Consolation

In addition there is a league cup, called the Raven Cup

Please note that, between the triggering of the redraft process by the commish and the end of your first match, it is not allowed to give your players a new skill.

Qualification 

Ranking and matching

The qualification phase is an open structure. Teams are allowed to play 8 matches against different teams in this phase. Scoring will be according to the Blood Bowl rulebook as follows:

Win: 3 points

Draw: 1 point

Loss: 0 points

Tiebreakers are net Touchdowns scored and net Casualties scored.

The top four teams on midnight September 30th to October 1st qualify to be invited for the play-offs. If teams decline the invitation for the play-offs, the next highest ranked team from a coach who has not yet been invited for the play-offs will be invited until all places in the play-offs are filled.

Arranging Matches

During the qualification stage coaches are free to play whoever they want whenever they like using the challenge option in Tourplay. You may challenge any team once. 

Every league night the commish will send an email asking who is joining the league night. In order for the commish to keep track of the participation, it is necessary you reply to the email if you wish to play. 

Those who sign up for the league night will be matched to an opponent by the commish.

Coaches can also arrange their own opponents for league nights, but both coaches need to inform the commish of this arrangement when signing up for the league night. In case it is not possible to match all participants due to pre-arranged match-ups, the commish may request the pre-arranged match be postponed and arrange a different match-up anyway. 

If you have multiple teams eligible to play, please indicate your preferred team if you have one when signing up for the league night. Please note that the match-up will be one of teams, not of coaches.

Exceptions to match-up limitations

Limitations on repeat match-ups have been introduced to promote playing as many different opponents as possible. We encourage coaches to seek a variation of strength and playing styles in their opponents. Of course they are not intended to limit the possibilities to play as much as you like. There are some exceptions to the limitations to keep things practical:

• Should it be impossible to match teams who haven’t played each other yet at a league night, the commish can make an exception to limitations on repeat opponents.

• If a repeat match-up occurs as a consequence of the Raven Cup schedule this is allowed. However, you will need commish approval and support to arrange this.

• Lastly, there is an option for a grudge match, see below.

Grudge matches

Each coach can request one grudge rematch a season as an exception to the rule for repeat opponents. A commissioner needs to approve and arrange this match. The grudge match can only be requested by the losing coach.

Blood Bowl rules

The rules from the core rule book, the latest official FAQ, and teams and star-players from Spike! Magazines are used. Chaos Dwarves and High Elves may be drafted according to the teams of legend, as well as Slann teams according to the NAF rules.

The following rules from Death Zone are used:

(In)Famous Coaching Staff

Biased Referees

Wizards

Other Inducements listed on page 36-39, except for Side Bet

The following rules from Death Zone are optional and may be used, provided both coaches agree it will add to the fun prior to the match being started on Tourplay:

A load of balls

Weather Tables

Death Zone rules not used:

Rostered Star Players

Stadium rules

Side bets

Giant-Sized Inducements

Sponsorship

Expanded rules for mercenaries (normal mercenaries acc page 92 of the rulebook are available)

Match Events

If rosters are updated in Spike! Magazine during the league, a coach needs to decide to enter a new team created to these rules and/or to finish the league with the team he started with. If a roster is updated by a Spike! Magazine update, it may not be possible to redraft the team. Match results can not be carried over to new teams.

Please note that balls, stadiums and weather tables from Spike! Magazines are not allowed.

Megastars

Star players on the Mega Star list will cost an additional 50k. This should be arranged by spending  at least 50k on non-working inducements, i.e. inducements of this values need to be bought in tourplay that cannot be used during the match.

Play-Offs & Consolation

Rules for teams in the Play-offs

Teams in the play-offs will not be allowed to play any other matches until the end of the season.  Any coach can have only one team in the play-offs. A coach who has multiple teams in the top 4 of the qualifying phase needs to decline the invitation for play-offs for any additional team that has qualified. 

The highest ranked team from the qualifying round will play the lowest ranked team in one semi final. The other two teams will play each other in the other semi-final. The winners of the semi-finals will play the final, the losers will play the little final for third prize.

The (semi)finals need to be scheduled before the first league night of October. We strongly suggest semifinals and finals will be scheduled for the October league nights. Do keep in mind that overtime is an option for the playoffs when discussing a time to start.

Please decline the invitation to take part in the play-offs if you expect you will not be able to play the semi-final and final in time. The next season can't be started before the final has been entered in Tourplay.

Blood Bowl  rules for the play-offs only

The following rules are valid during the play-offs:

• MNG are reset before the semi-final

• The highest seeded team in each game gets a +1 bonus on their Officious Ref or Pitch Invasion roll to reflect them being the fan's favorite.

Consolation friendlies

Teams that did not qualify for the play offs can play friendly consolation matches to take their total for the season up to 10 during October. The rules for cross-division friendlies apply for these matches, meaning:

These matches count towards the redraft budget

You can play only one friendly against the same team

No league points are awarded

Prizes & Awards

The winner gets:

100,000 gold to be added to their treasury

A physical trophy to represent the trophy re-roll

A golden BUBBLE die

Tourplay registration fee of the winning team is waived for next season, so they can defend their title for free.

The runner up gets:

60,000 gold to be added to their treasury

Third place gets:

30,000 gold to be added to their treasury

Raven Cup

Each coach can enter one team into the Raven Cup. The Raven cup will be played according to a knock-out schedule. 

To enter a team:

• Register a team for the open league

• Indicate to the commish that you wish to enter this team for the Raven Cup by May 17

The draw will be made on the league night of May 21, at which time the schedule for the different stages of the Cup will also be decided, depending on the number of participants.

The rules

• Matches played in the Raven Cup will count towards the Open League result as well

• It is allowed to play open league matches between cup rounds with a team taking part in the Raven Cup

• It is each coach's responsibility to make sure they are able to play the remaining rounds of the cup within the 8 game limit of the open league

• Reaching the 8 game limit in the open league before getting knocked out from the Raven Cup will result in a concession for your scheduled cup match.

The winner gets a free Cheerleader until the next Raven Cup is played.

Rules for knock-out phases (Raven Cup and Play-Offs)

Meeting the schedule

The knock-out phases rely on coaches meeting the set time schedule. Failing to meet the schedule will have repercussions for the teams.

• The team that is not able to play in time will lose by the rules for a concession.

• If both coaches are in default, the commishes will decide on a relevant penalty for the teams involved.

Overtime

In case of a tie after 16 turns, an extra eight turns are played. A new toss is made and the winner of the toss can decide to kick or receive. The game ends when a touch down is scored or after 8 turns of overime. If no touch down has been scored in these 8 turns, the kicking team wins and a random player on the kicking team that is still on the pitch gets the SPP for the touchdown.

Tourplay

We use tourplay to keep track of the league. To make this run smoothly, please pay attention to the following:

• We will charge 3€ for each registered team to cover tourplay charges.

• If you submit a team to the league, tourplay will start charging us. Please do not create test teams.

• Your team will be activated once payment is received.

• It is recommended to use the Tourplay App, or Google Chrome browser on your device to avoid compatibility issues.

• Your Tourplay account is linked to the method of log-on, so if you sign up with Facebook,you can only access your account using Facebook.

• Data entry during the match via smartphone is preferred.

• To enter a match, both players need to be online simultaneously. 

• Both players need to enter information under their own account.

• Entering information after the match is possible as well, if this happens each coach should keep track of events affecting their own team.

• Tourplay will roll for weather, you can choose to ignore this, but agree with your opponent before clicking start match. Otherwise the tourplay result stands.

• Tourplay will roll your winnings at the end of the match. 

• Spiraling expenses will be rolled at the start of the next match rather than at the end of the post match sequence.

Fair Play & Sportsmanship

A game of Blood Bowl typically takes up to two-and-a-half hours. If you regularly find your games take longer, we request you play with a clock. Limiting your turns to 4 minutes is one way, or you can limit your total playing time to an hour or 90 minutes. A faster paced game is not only more fun, it also helps you to become a better player. Learning from your mistakes is an effective way to become a better coach. The Android app BB Coach Assistant has a good game timer and provides an easy reference during your game. No doubt there are also good game timers available for iPhones.

It is not mandatory to field a painted team, but in case you haven’t painted them yet during their first match, it would be appreciated if you at least intend to paint them over the course of the season. The least we require is that:

You assemble the miniatures, 

Number miniatures in accordance with your tourplay roster, 

Positionals are easily identifiable (e.g. base ringed or colored bands),

Make sure all players are individually identifiable. 

Lastly, if you suspect a coach of intentional cheating, please do report this to the commish. The commish will investigate and, if there is cause to do so, warn any offending player. Repeating offenders will be suspended and eventually banned from the league.

League Orcanizers:

David van Dijk

Michel Schaake

Philipp Mayer