Anything but a one and I’ve got the touchdown
Me, getting ready for Blood Bowl victory
My blockers had done a good job of guarding the opposing team, creating an open space down the side of the field. I just had to receive the ball and I was through to the end zone. My receiver got ready. I rolled the dice. One. My runner fumbled the ball. It hit the ground and bounced left. The opposing team caught it, taking possession. Just like that, my perfect setup was done. Any other roll would have guaranteed a touchdown. It wasn’t to be.
It’s good to find new ways to challenge yourself. Apart from discovering new interests, it’s a great way to become a beginner again – full of frustrations, failures, and learnings – full of accomplishment, levelling up, excitement.
You’ll be humbled in new ways. It’s a good way to keep yourself in check and remember not to take yourself too seriously. To remember that you aren’t the greatest.
Blood Bowl has a great way for me to spend some time with a friend and to lean back into my fantasy tabletop curiosity. When I was younger, I’d always been fascinated by Dungeons and Dragons, and Warhammer. Blood Bowl combines the two. Get your team of Dark Elves and get the ball down to the end zone. Plan out your strategy. Roll a one. Change your tactics. Whilst I had always been into these things, I never fully pursued them. I observed from the sideline, reading White Dwarf, following blogs, watching Critical Roll. I never played any games though. So when a friend asked me if I wanted to learn how to play a table top game, the answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ The entry cost is also much lower – just two people and an hour of time.
If you are still interested in things after many years, I think it’s a sign that you aren’t doing what you should be doing – in my case, being a fantasy geek and connecting with others over games (especially table top games).
It’s important that we take time to do what we are interested in. After all, we have precious time each day and we need to be focused in how we use it. Once we add in time sleeping, working, eating, commuting, going to the gym, there isn’t a lot of time left in the day. We need to prioritise and be selective on how we use what’s left.