With a new season on the way, is Blood Bowl's second edition still worth a look?

Games Workshop has been dishing out the surprises with some regularity this year, whether that's a whole new army in the amazing Helsmiths of Hashut models, the all-new, all-chunky edition of The Horus Heresy, or the company's epic-sounding plans for Kill Team. But one of the more recent surprises was the announcement of a new "Third Season" edition of Blood Bowl, the cult classic game of fantasy football. The new set will update the rules and, once again, includes two teams in the box – this time around Bretonnians and Tomb Kings.

It all looks very cool, but as we don't yet have a release date for when the new edition will be joining the best board games, we thought it would be interesting to take another look at the Second Season edition, which can still be found in retailers, for about £85. Is it still worth grabbing? And what's in the box?

Features & design

• Two teams included, Imperial Nobility & Black Orcs, plus Biased Referees
• Excellent production values on the board & cards
• A really nice full-color hardcover rulebook

First, a little history lesson. Although this is set is referred to as the "Second Season" edition, it's actually a bit more complicated than that.

The original Blood Bowl was published way back in 1986 and used cardboard "miniatures." It was updated two years later with a version of the game that was more recognizably like the present day title. Then, the third edition of 1994 was a fairly radical departure, massively streamlining the rules, and arguably losing a lot of what made the game fun in the first place.

Following that release Blood Bowl slipped off the radar. It never entirely went away – a fourth edition of the rules was released online in 2001, getting a physical release in 2002 – but it was clearly not a priority for the Games Workshop of the early 2000s.

All that changed in 2016 when the game was relaunched and rebooted for the modern day. Whenever the new box arrives (presumably later this year), then, it will be the third season of the 2016 version of the game, but actually the seventh release to bear the Blood Bowl name. Got that? Good. There are also spin-offs such as Dungeon Bowl and the streamlined, budget-friendly Blitz Bowl.

Blood Bowl is a very different sort of game to Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team and the rest. For a start, while it looks like it takes place in a version of the Old World – it's not a coincidence that the starter boxes for that game were also themed around Bretonnians and Tomb Kings – it's not quite the same world as that game. This is a goofier, more comic setting, where the various races settle their differences not with combat, but with a more violent type of American football. Two teams face off and beat, shove, tackle, and throw each other in order to score Touchdowns.

In the box you get 30 miniatures, split into two separate teams. The Imperial Nobility team, also known as the Bogenhafen Barons, is cast in red plastic, and is made up of a mixture of Linemen, Throwers, Blitzers, and Bodyguards. You also get a star player in the form of legendary Blood Bowl character, Griff Oberwald, and an Ogre.

On the opposite side is the Black Orc team, the Thunder Valley Greenskins. This is a team of contrasts – hulking great orcs and smaller goblins, plus star player Varag Ghoul-Chewer, and a Troll, all in dark green plastic. You also get a pair of blue "Biased referee" miniatures.

The pitch itself is double-sided, made of thick, durable cardboard, and folds away nicely. Both this and the 136-page hardback rulebook are really good quality. It feels like no expense has been spared with the production values here.

Gameplay

• Players battle for control of the ball
• In-depth rules make for a complex, but involving game
• The post-match phase is essential for developing your team

Arguably part of the reason why Blood Bowl was in the wilderness for many years is its slightly cumbersome nature. It's an old-fashioned game in many ways, one that seems fairly simple, but has a tendency to get into the weeds and ramble on for ages. It's also a game that, while tactical in nature, depends a lot on the randomness of dice rolls.

The basics are this: Two Coaches (ie. players) vie for sports supremacy by scoring Touchdowns. You do this by passing the ball between your players, and battering the crap out of your opponent to get hold of it. The game takes place over two halves, with each player having eight turns each. And that's kind of it – except, of course, for the masses of rules that dictate how every single aspect of that works.

Crucial to the game is understanding the Turnover – the mechanic which flips the game from your turn to your opponents. This happens a lot: if one of your players is Knocked Down, if a player moves off the pitch, if a player fails to catch the ball, and so on. Basically, if something unfortunate happens to one of your guys then, chances are, your turn is over.

Before all that, though, you have to draft your team – much as you might build an army list for 40K or Age of Sigmar. You're given a budget of 1 million gold pieces (sadly only in the game and not in real life) and must use it to purchase the players you want to make up your team.

The bulk of these will be Linemen (good all-round players), Blitzers (the heavies of your team, good for tackling enemy players), Throwers and Catchers (take a guess at what they do), and Blockers (who have a more defensive role to play). There are various other types, too, and the different races will sometimes use different naming conventions, but these are the basics.

You can also add Star Players (named characters, basically) and Big Guys (trolls, ogres and so on). The rest of your cash can be used to buy Team Re-Rolls, and Sideline Staff, like Cheerleaders and Apothecaries – adding models of these is optional, but encouraged. You can even add wizards to cast spells against your opponents.

Once the game is won and lost there's an in-depth post-game sequence which determines how your players develop, what your fans made of the game, and any hirings and firings.

It's this granular quality that can be a bit daunting, but which fans of the game adore. While this Second Season streamlined a few elements of the 2016 set, it is largely the same. It'll be interesting to see how the upcoming Third Season changes things further.

Should you buy Blood Bowl Second Season Edition?

The main factor determining if you should pick this specific box up is, of course, the imminent arrival of the Third Season. That will have further tweaked rules and cool new teams. If you're looking to play the game outside of your immediate friend circle, then you're best off waiting until the new set is released. We don't have a firm date for that yet, but we're assuming it'll be some time this year.

If you're itching to get started, though, then the Second Season set is still well worth your time and the actually very good value in terms of price. The miniatures are great – especially those big, chunky Orcs. It's a very rich game, one that takes a while to master, but which has endless replayability. And if you're wanting to take the game further, then the rulebook pleasingly has team stats for all the other available races in the current game. There's no need to buy any additional supplements.

As knotty as Blood Bowl can get, there's a reason why this game has endured for so long. It has an instantly appealing premise and works as a great counterpoint to Games Workshop's more sprawling systems. If you're after something more streamlined, then the budget-friendly Blitz Bowl is a solid alternative and one that boils the game down to its core essentials. If, however, you're up for a slightly old-fashioned, rules-focused game, that is often as hilarious as it is exciting, then it's time to strap on your pads and head to the pitch...

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Blitz Bowl Second Season Edition

Our reviewer tested this game multiple times to get a better feel for the teams. They also painted both teams from the boxset for the full experience.

For more details on our process, check our guide to how we test board games, or the general GamesRadar+ reviews policy page.

For more recommendations, check out these best adult board games or the best 2-player board games.