10 Observations from a barely legal coach:

1: Tournaments and Leagues are the way to go! I have not played much in these, but when I have, they are 100% BB the way it was meant to be played. You get da’ Fouls, Wizards, Dirty Tricks, Star Players, etc. You can’t choose your battles, opponents play tough, and the games are bloody! Much better than just choosing “soft” games (“build” your team/Pad wins/inflate CR) for some tomorrow-glory match, fancy signing bonus, contract, ‘bling-bling’ that is never, ever going to happen…

2: Good sportsmanship takes place between the coaches, not the players. We should stall, foul, surf, etc with reckless abandon, but still stay respectful...

3: When I started to foul, other “fouling” coaches sought me out. Did they know? Pretty soon, I was playing fouling matches all of the time. It is strange how birds of a feather flock together. Maybe the community as a whole is beginning to embrace the fouling and stalling philosophy.

4: Have fun. Beer helps! For me personally, the games where I play loose and happy are more fun, even if I don’t win. Now during most games, even tourneys, I “try” to have more fun.

5: Most of my lost games are due to poor decisions, planning, and anything else dealing with "thought". Do people really believe that the top winning coaches are just lucky? Blessed by some magical, all-powerful nuffle? I don’t! Better to practice and learn consistency and gain confidence, than relying on those cursed dice.

6: Confidence is everything. Once I hit under 148 CR, I found myself in dogfights with other 140-something CR coaches almost every game. My CR told them I suck, and that gave them enough confidence to play like they had a pair. Part of the mystery to beating top CR coaches, is just their “reputation” and this “intimidation” can be too much for some coaches (Me included). These games are over before the first kickoff…

7: Great games are made by the coaches who talk and have fun. Silent games with no more than a GL and HF (unless language barrier) are just bad for the fumbbl community. Is that how we play our tabletop games?

8: Profile pages are cool and should be similar to baseball cards. Cool, stats, and fun! Too bad there are so many coaches unwilling to have fun with this. I get tired of playing “faceless” opponents with no bio, opinion, or history, and find their lack of humor and input to be indicative of their coaching "persona": Booorrring!

9: The RNG is ok and it IS random, but it’s no substitute for living breathing flesh wrapped around dem’ bones. One of the great joys of gaming is rolling dice. The ceremony of shaking, blowing, dancing, yelling, and then tossing with much gusto! The drama and excitement as the dice reveal their mysterious conclusion (if they stay on the table and don’t roll under the refrigerator) can only be had on the table. The table is the true altar and holy ground for rolling dice, but best of all, I can throw the @#$* dice across the room at my opponent.

10: Thanks Christer, SkiJunkie?, Admins, and Fumbbl community for great time and here’s to another 100 wins & 2 years!