If you're getting pumped for the start of the Rugby World Cup tonight (I know I am! Can't wait to see England Vs Fiji!) then how about mixing in some nerdery with the sports and cracking out your copy of Blood Bowl* as well!

The Living Rulebook

Thankfully you can still download the games Living Rulebook (LRB) through the Cyanide Games Forums which means if you can get together a few models and a pitch you could be playing without having to buy much.

The LRB contains all of the rules as well as the teams that were available as of 2010 and is still the official source for all things Blood Bowl despite it being left at the wayside by Games Workshop. I usually plump for Human or Dwarfs as my teams of choice in the game.

The Humans always had the right amount of flexibility in their choice of players. The Blitzers were tough, Catchers were nimble and Throwers could do a bit of everything and secure the ball. They also had the legendary Ogre big guy which was always fun.

Dwarfs on the other hand were a rolling ball of iron and muscle. Once you get that red ball into a cage you could shove forwards into practically anything and not move a muscle. Stand Firm became a favourite skill of choice for that very reason.

If you're looking for miniatures try Black Scorpion who do a great range of resin teams...

...and you can find a lot more over on their webstore where you can get to HERE.

The Digital Alternative

Of course if you can't get your hands on models to play the game you could always check out the digital alternatives. Cyanide have been keeping the game alive with both Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition which is currently on Steam and the much improved Blood Bowl II.

There is a free choice too if you don't fancy spending any money and prefer the tactical view without the fancy graphics. FUMBBL is an online java-based program which enables you to create leagues, play out tournaments and generally enjoy Blood Bowl in sprite form.

Time For A Tournament?

Considering the plethora of teams in the tournament, the real World Cup I mean, how about setting up a league using these Fantasy Teams and then playing out your own version of it on the tabletop?

All you have to do is name your players according to the countries players and you're sorted...

• England - Humans (Versatile)
• Scotland - Norse (Heavy Hitters, Lack Of Defence)
• Wales - Elves (Quick and Agile)
• Ireland - Orcs (Tough, Still Quite Versatile, Quick Try Scorers - Goblins!)

Those are just the home nations of course and I'm sure that you'd have a few things to say on why your own team fits the bill better than my own thoughts.

If you think differently let me know in the comments below and tell me what you think the other teams in the World Cup would be.

Are New Zealand the Wood Elves? They are certainly quick but maybe they deserve a bit more staying power so they could be Chaos All Stars or High Elves?

*I am aware Blood Bowl is more American Football than Rugby but just go with it!

What do you think; a neat idea to combine two loves?