So, you don't think you need to read all the instructions, eh? Well here's hoping this will give you a fighting chance.

Required Reading

No, you didn't sign up here to do homework but everything that happens on FUMBBL assumes you are familiar with the following. You will, in all likelihood, have no clue what is going on and find your time frustrating and confusing if you aren't at least familiar with this stuff.

• The Rules - FUMBBL is based off of The latest Living Rulebook (LRB) 3.0. You need to know the rules in order to play the game, right? Otherwise you're just floundering around uselessly and you probably won't have a very good time doing so.
• The Other Rules - the LRB provides the rules to each game, but there are some rules to tie all the games together into a league. The League Rules provided in the LRB are a suggestion, which is overrided by the FUMBBL Rules.
• The JavaBBowl README file - The file is called READ ME for a very important reason. It wants to be read. I needs to be read. Coincidentally, you need to read it. It works out well that way. After sitting here and answering questions for over two years now, I can honestly say that a large percentage of people's frustration and problems could have been avoided if they'd simply read the instructions. Really. Read them, they're important.

It sounds like a lot but it is really not too bad. Without this knowledge, you simply won't be able to get playing in a fun, efficient fashion. You'll run into nothing but problems and questions which you could easily avoid simply by getting up to speed first. Don't be a detriment to yourself and others. Just take a little time to get up to speed.

How it works

Ok, with the background material out of the way, you probably want an overview of how you can play. Here's the basic idea:

1. You set up an account on FUMBBL. If you're reading this, you've probably already done so.
2. Download the latest version of JavaBBowl. You may need to download a FULL version and then apply a Patch. Please read the instructions on the BBowl Download Page (mirror)
3. You make yourself one (or more!) teams to play with. You should be familiar with the team creation rules from your LRB above. Once you make your team, you must "submit it for approval." Approval is generally a quick process in which one of the Approval Monkeys (local euphamism for sub-admins who help out the guys who run the site) checks over your team for any offensive names and then either approves or rejects it. If you team is rejected, you will receive a Private Message telling you so. If it is approved, the small icon next to the team's name will change to a green "R".
4. Each team is in a division, which you select at the time of team creation. Different divisions have either alternative rules or teams to pick from. You should make yourself aware of any rules in your division... you are responsible for knowing and following them.
   A few games in Unranked to get started is strongly recommended... Even if you'd rather focus on playing Ranked or Factions (or whatever), Unranked is a good place to get used to the way things work because it doesn't affect your Rating or faction or ladder points or whatever.
5. Once you're ready to play, you need to find an opponent. There is no set schedule (unless you join a tourney with one, this will be covered later). Your opponent must be in the same division if you wish to play a legal match.
6. The primary way of finding matches and communication with other coaches is through IRC Chat. IRC chat requires an additional software as described in the appropriate section here in the User Guide.
7. You can look for a game (LFG) either on IRC (using the LFG command) or here on the FUMBBL website (using the GameFinder).
8. You find an opponent (either someone who offers a game to you or you offer a game to someone who is advertising an appropriately rated team) and you need to decide who is going to act as the server and who is going to ask as the client.
9. The server creates a game and gives the appropriate information (IP address, port and possibly proxy name) to the client and the client then joins the game.
10. Play, play, play! The fun stuff.
11. The results of the match are then uploaded to the FUMBBL website. There is an option to have this handled automatically or you can manually do so by using the "report match" link on the website.
12. Go back and check your team. Once both players have had their results uploaded and they've been verified, any injuries, winnings or other changes will be applied to your team. You may make skill rolls for players who have earned enough SPPs, retire players you wish to get rid of and purchase any new players you can afford.

Congratulations. That's the way that your first match should go. From here on out, you simply run through steps 6-12 and play to your heart's content. Whether you want to build up a dynasty by playing one team through a large number of games or simply dabble and try a number of different teams to find what you like, it's up to you.

The Devil's always in the details...

Some of those steps were intentionally left pretty vague. You really need to run through the rest of the User Guide if you find a problem at any point. The core of the User Guide is set up so that you can go through each step in a logical, sequential order with a number of appendices tacked on at the end. At this point, you can probaby go through the index and pick out which section you feel you need to have clarified and skip over those that you think you understand.