With the Road to the NAF Championship (RTTNAFC) fast approaching, I’m delighted to be able to give the GLN our first update!

Since our first announcement, much work has been undertaken between the NAF and FUMBBL to help make the tournament a reality. Of course, chief among those working hard is Christer, who is busily working behind the scenes to ready FUMBBL for the off. I’m happy to now be able to release some new details about the tournament, and also offer some thoughts on how things are going to progress in the future as resurrection Blood Bowl comes to FUMBBL.

Firstly, some further details:

• We’re planning to begin the tournament on January 12th 2015
  
• There will be 6 rounds of Swiss, each lasting one week
  
• The rules of the RTTNAFC will match those of the NAFC 2015
  
• Resurrection Blood Bowl, including the RTTNAFC, will take place in the [L]eague division. A modified team creation interface will be unveiled (so please don’t make a team now!)
  
• We are still working hard to provide an online records / rankings variant for NAF members
  
• The NAF will go on to run a sanctioned tournament on FUMBBL every 4-6 weeks
  
• When the RTTNAFC is live, resurrection Blood Bowl functionality will become available to the whole FUMBBL userbase
  
• You can expect a full RTTNAFC rulespack to be published (including details on how to create a team) in mid December and to be able to register for the event by the end of 2014
  
• Prizes:
  
  • The winner will receive a free ticket (worth £55) to the NAFC. In the event he cannot attend; he will receive the free gifts NAFC delegates get anyway
    
  • One coach that completes all 6 games will be selected at random and also win the NAFC free gifts. This is one of the "carrots" we will use to ensure as many games as possible are completed; there may also be ‘sticks’ (such as exclusion from further NAF events for failing to play games)
    
  • A Stunty Cup will be presented to the highest placed Stunty coach
    

I hope the above answers some of the questions many of you have raised in the forum and news article thread. There are still some details to be worked out, but I hope these will be covered in the full rulespack mentioned above.

The tournament is due to finish before the special rate deal on the NAFC hotel expires, so our winner has the opportunity to receive cheap board and breakfast. Should our winner already have purchased a NAFC ticket, he will receive a refund. Don’t wait until the RTTNAFC to book your ticket for the biggest individual coach party of 2015! The NAFC never ceases to impress, and I can heartily recommend that you join us in Nottingham regardless of how the RTTNAFC goes for you. Don’t worry about miniatures, the community will sort you out if you’re lacking. If you have any questions about the NAFC, feel free to PM Joemanji or myself and we will help you out.

Now for some thoughts on the future.

We will learn a lot from running the RTTNAFC, and we hope to take what we learn and apply it to future NAF sanctioned events. When resurrection functionality arrives on FUMBBL, there will likely be an explosion of this form of the game (tabletop) including several user based tournaments featuring a variety of weird and wonderful rules. NAF sanctioned events will use popular NAF tournament rulespacks from around the world, and are likely to be more of what NAF members expect to see when they attend a NAF sanctioned weekend. I hope that this initiative will bring many NAF coaches to FUMBBL, but also will encourage more online coaches to try a tabletop tournament. I have always said; if you’re only playing one form of our game, you’re missing out!

There are many advantages to being a NAF member. Quite apart from receiving an excellent free gift with your membership, you are able to vote to elect the NAF’s leadership and you will become part of the worldwide Blood Bowl coach association. It is an extremely worthwhile £5 to spend. Only NAF members will be able to track their online progress via the system we’re working upon. For further details on the NAF and how to join, visit thenaf.net.

The NAF is a worldwide organisation, and the team and I are going to keep this in mind when organising online tournaments. The RTTNAFC has a European feel to it with the NAFC being held in Nottingham (England), and we appreciate that coaches from outside of Europe committing to finding time once a week for six weeks to play in a Euro-centric event is tough. In the future, tournaments will focus on different timezones, such as American or Australian, to cater to coaches from around the world.

On a personal note; I cannot wait for this. When I first tried this form of the game in 2008, it felt somewhat alien, and there were several nuances and new tricks to enjoy and to learn. Now, I’ve become addicted, and I’ve travelled the world to meet new people in new places, make many firm friends and experience new Blood Bowling cultures. To see two organisations so close to my heart (the NAF and FUMBBL) collaborate to bring this form of the game to many that may not have had the opportunity to try it is a wonderful thing. I hope you take resurrection BB to your heart in the same way that I have; I’m going to do my best to ensure we deliver the finest tournament that we can.

Exciting times ahead. I will see you in the RTTNAFC draw in January! Until then, keep an eye on the forum, and please do ask any questions you may have. Before January rolls around, why not peruse the NAF tournaments taking place in your area? Full listings can be found on the NAF site or your regional tabletop forum.

January 2015 - when resurrection comes to FUMBBL! Better than Christmas?