
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition): Death Zone – Season One
- 2 players
- 60–180 min
- 2016

2016
Rules assistance for Blood Bowl (2016 Edition)
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) is a board game released in 2016 for 2 players, 60–180 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jervis Johnson, Andy Hoare, and James M. Hewitt and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Grid Movement.
Description from the publisher: Blood Bowl is a game of Fantasy Football. The basic game features a match between two teams drawn from a number of fantasy archetypes, playing a warped version of American Football. The Blood Bowl boxed game contains two teams: Humans, an all-round team who are flexible enough to adapt to any style of play, or Orcs, who make up in brute force what they lack in finesse. The teams are represented by coloured plastic miniatures, and push-fit assembly is required before use. The game is expandable, and additional rules and teams will be made available through expansion sets and supplements. Actions in the game are resolved through the use of dice. Regular six-sided dice are used to make tests in a number of cases, such as when a player attempts to pick up the ball, pass it, catch it or dodge past an enemy player. Custom dice are used when one player wishes to Block another, using graphics to represent each of the different (but all violent) potential outcomes. The rules in this edition of Blood Bowl are almost identical to those found in the Competition Rules Pack, which was the culmination of several years of development of the Blood Bowl Living Rulebook. This has resulted in an incredibly well-honed game which sees regular competition play around the world. In fact each team takes turns moving, blocking and advancing the football down the field. The game comes with plastic miniatures. This game is a part of the Blood Bowl Series.
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) is 60–180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) has a complexity rating of 3.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Miniatures. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Grid Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) are: Jervis Johnson, Andy Hoare, and James M. Hewitt. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Blood Bowl (2016 Edition) as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.