Those of you that travel to the real life BB section of our forum will note that the NAF have announced the NAF Championship for May next year. Read about it in this thread what I started; http://fumbbl.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=22471.

I guess actual tournament chat should live there, but I fancied writing a personal view. Hence a blog.

The NAF Championship (or GT or Blood Bowl, as it was) has piffle all to do with the Blood Bowl, really. You can get 6 games of Table Top in a city near you pretty easily, I dare say, if you made the effort to go and look around a bit. Indeed; from a competitive point of view (and I guess mine always is), in a field of 150+ coaches, you could put the 40 or so names who know what they're doing into a hat on the Friday night and pick a winner just as easy as run the event. The size makes it a bit like a spin on a roulette wheel.

No, what this event is, what it has always been, is a big Blood Bowl party. A massive Blood Bowl party; bar the World Cup every four years, attendance pretty much dwarves any other event. A celebration of the game, the hobby and a chance to meet up with old faces from the past, newcomers or that bloke from the internet you'd never even considered you'd meet. For instance, two years ago I sat down to play our very own JimmyFantastic in game one, who had turned up out of nowhere. And he's alright, really. He didn't even kill all my mens.

The NAF took the event over (from GW) two years ago to rave reviews. A body with a real passion and understanding for the game elevated the tournament to new heights and increased attendances. This year, the event steps out from Warhammer World for the first time. Obviously, the venue was a big draw for first timers, it's helpful to tempt newcomers to the scene with the nerd cathedral they've heard of as a backdrop to the game. But with a venue change, the NAF have even more scope to make the event their own, to put their own stamp on it since they're really running the whole show. I'm really excited to see what the team have in store, I've no doubt we'll be hearing more in the run up.

So, if you're a lapsed tabletopper, someone who's never had a go before, or simply someone who has always really meant to come and have a go (but never really gotten around to it), there really is no better time than the first weekend in May next year. Come join the big Blood Bowl party, get stuck in and make some new friends.

Go on, give it a go. I remember the first tournament I turned up to, the worry beforehand. What kind of nerd would really play this nonsense game? Surely FUMBBL is better? I had so many concerns, and now I'm addicted. Come along, find me at the bar and get yourself immersed. You won't regret it.