
- BGG rating
- 8.7
Slaughterball: Team Nemesis Arena – The Core
- 2–4 players
- 60 min
- 2014

2016
Rules assistance for Slaughterball
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.
Slaughterball is a board game released in 2016 for 2–4 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Erik Kjerland and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Grid Movement.
Slaughterball is a competitive sci-fi board game simulating a brutal future sport where 2-4 teams of genetically-engineered super-athletes clash in a remorseless steel pit. Teams score points by making goals and inflicting carnage. Three different modes of play give you control of how long the game lasts. Scrimmage games are the quickest, using identical rookie teams and a subset of the rules to help you learn how to play the game. Exhibition games add skills, edges, and unique pro teams to give you many more options. League games add support staff and let you improve your team over a full season of games. The game includes rules for risk-based scoring, penalties, injuries, mascots, cheerleaders, physicians, assistant coaches, mavericks, 50 player skills (like Savagery and Immaculate Reception), 70 strategy cards (like Epic Fail and No Time to Bleed), and more. All of this adds up to enough strategic options to fuel hours and hours of thrilling victories and agonizing defeats.
Slaughterball supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Slaughterball is 60 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 Slaughterball for ages 14 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.
Slaughterball has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light 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.
Slaughterball belongs to these categories: Miniatures, Science Fiction, and Sports. 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 Slaughterball are: Erik Kjerland. 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 Slaughterball 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.