The first time we saw Blood Bowl at GC '07 we were intrigued. Based on the Games Workshop board game of the same name, Blood Bowl tries to answer the very particular question of what can happen when American football meets the Warhammer universe. We tried to answer that question during a brief hands-on session with the PC version of the game, where we trialed the game's turn-based and real-time modes.

Blood Bowl: it's bloody.

Blood Bowl is being developed on four platforms (PC, Xbox 360, PSP and DS), but only the PC and 360 versions will allow players the choice between playing in a turn-based mode and a real-time mode. The other versions of the game will just feature the basic turn-based mode, whose rules mirror that of the board game. If you will be firing up Blood Bowl on the PC or 360, then the first thing you'll need to know is the difference between the two modes: turn-based mode allows players to ponder their moves before acting on them, thus maximizing the use strategy and tactics. There are two halves made up of eight turns each, and players will move on a grid made up of coloured squares. The real-time mode demands quicker reactions and more inventive gameplay, as well as being comfortable in the knowledge that things can turn nasty very quickly.

At launch, Blood Bowl will feature eight different team types: human, dwarf, skaven, orc, lizardman, goblin, wood elf, and chaos. During our hands-on session we were only able to play as humans and orcs, but it was enough to see how each play benefits from their individual strengths. Each player will be classed by type (e.g. lineman, receiver, etc) which will give them access to a specific skill path. In addition, each player will have four fluctuating attributes: strength, agility, movement allowance and star player points. The latter increase when a player performs well and can be traded in to advance to the next level; there are seven levels in total, with each level offering new and improved skills to the player. Each player will start off with 100 points, but can easily lose these through injuries or knockout. When the points reach zero, you must retire your player.
Before heading into a match, be it turn-based or real-time, it's wise to perform a series of pre-match moves that will give you an advantage over your opponent. For example, we opted to train our team members--this gives players an extra point for each attribute for that particular match. To train players, you simply select the player and click the 'Train' button which will appear beneath him. A health bar will now appear on the screen, which will fill up very quickly once the 'Train' button has been hit. To correctly train a player, you must click on the bar before it fills to the maximum capacity. If you let the bar hit max, you will either injure your player or fail to train him completely.

Bribery also forms an important part of the pre-match moves. Before a particular match you will be asked if they'd like to purchase any inducements which put your team at a clear advantage. These can include bribing the referee to overlook some of your fouls, purchasing extra training time for your players, purchasing potions to increase the attributes of your players, or bribing crowd members to run on the field and 'obstruct' your opponents. In the turn-based mode, most of these inducement suggestions will be offered to you, so you simply click a button to choose yes or no. In real-time mode however, you must do it all yourself. After that's all done, you can finally take to the field.

Pre-match inducements can put your team at a clear advantage.

The single-player campaign offers players two options for play: classic mode, or blitz mode. The classic mode is turn-based, and follows the same rules as the Blood Bowl board game. You will be asked to enter a campaign name and difficulty, and then pick your race, motto, and team name. Then you will have to set about carefully picking and buying your 16 players, and you will only have $1 million to do this with (players can be very expensive depending on their attributes). The blitz mode is more customisable, and here you'll be able to play real-time matches as well as changes races and customise each payer and their attributes, pick and control team sponsors, and get gear upgrades.

At first, a turn-based match can appear frightening. There's a lot of information to take in--the grid field, as well as the statistics and attributes of a particular player. The right hand side of the screen also shows a number of options that can be utilized during a match: scrolls (which can be collected from the field during the match as they are thrown by the crowd), the apothecary (which heals injured players), bribes (which can still be implemented during a match, after a player commits a foul) and the blitz (which allows your players to move and attack at the same time).

When it comes down to playing, there are only a handful of elements to remember: moving, passing, blocking, and touchdown. To actually move your players, you simply left-click on player to select him, then right click on the square where your want him to go (preferably, move him to the square that has the ball, or is closest to the ball). Another right click will allow players to pick up the ball, and a right click on another player from the same time will deliver a pass. To block another player, you must select with the left click and then block by clicking on the offending player with the right click--this can result in one of a few options, including just one player down, or both players down. While the controls aren't too confusing, the game itself can be, and it wasn't long before we were lost in a sea of attribute deciphering. The key is to think about each move before you perform it, taking into account what player you are moving, where you are moving him, and what is up ahead, all whilst keeping in mind that the aim of the game is to pick up the ball, pass it effectively, and score a touchdown.

Blood Bowl ain't a pretty game.

We found the real-time mode much easier to get our heads around, but also much more chaotic. Before starting a real-time match, you can assign each player attack or defense roles, which will be marked on the field under each player so you don't forget who's who. The rules and controls are the same as in the turn-based mode, where the objective is to effectively pass the ball between your players and score a touchdown. But because this is real time, you'll find you don't really have enough time to think about what's going on and it's very easy to end up clicking blindly trying to rescue the ball from the opponents and avoid getting into a bloody pile-up. However, after a few turns, this gets a lot easier. The key is remembering and paying attention to the players that have good attack attributes (these are the guys that will actually catch the ball when another player passes it to them) and good defense attributes (the guys that won't go down during a block move). Once you have that down, you can begin paying attention to the other stuff going on, like injured players (make sure you treat them as quickly as possible by clicking the apothecary button) and discarded scrolls (taking the time to pick these up will increase the attributes of your players momentarily).

Our first hands-on with Blood Bowl was fun and challenging. There are a lot of things going on, even when playing the turn-based mode, which players can't waste time getting their head around if they are to succeed or even manage to play an entire match. This could prove demanding for newcomers to the Warhammer universe but with a little patience and practice we're certain it will pay off. Blood Bowl is due out very soon on the PC, Xbox 360, PSP and DS. Stay tuned for more coverage on GameSpot.