Blood Bowl - Elf Team

I have a plastic Elf Blood Bowl team that came with Dungeon Bowl (1989) - like the orcs and human plastic teams that came in the second edition core box (1988), they are mono-pose and you could only tell which position they played by the colour-coded bases. I thought I should FINALLY get around to painting these minis that I've had squirrelled away for over three decades! 

I'd originally started painting them in a dark green uniform - ALL with blond hair - But I'm just going to prime them black and start over. I was thinking I might just paint these up as an existing team, just so I don't have to think about it too much... Elves probably aren't going to be my go-to team, these will strictly be loaners (or... maybe Amanda will play them!?).

So I was considering the classic Elfhiem Eagles... but then... WHICH version of their colour scheme!? 

(Image ©2026 Games Workshop, used here entirely without their permission for the purposes of review)

The current ones are in an orange and purple uniform and... not going to lie, one of my favourite colour combinations...

(Image ©1989 Games Workshop, used here entirely without their permission for the purposes of review)

This is as they were also depicted in the Blood Bowl (Second Edition - 1988) Star Players book (which came out in 1989)

BUT.... on the cover of the Blood Bowl (Second Edition - 1988) rule book... 

(Image ©1988 Games Workshop, used here entirely without their permission for the purposes of review)

They are depicted in PINK - with white pads and gloves... and some red and yellow accents! And... I kind of LOVE that... 

I don't know about that all blond hair, though... I may have do deviate from that a bit... or not... we shall see! 

In addition to the plastic mono-pose minis, I also have a few metal ones, which I will also do in... whichever scheme I decide upon! They can be the captain and alternates or whatever... 

Blood Bowl – Third Season Edition!

So... I did a thing... 

I just kind of happened to be in the vicinity of Dragon's Den Games yesterday afternoon while running errands, and... 

This just kind of ended up in my bicycle bag... 

I had a lot of fun playing Blood Bowl last week with Vera and it brought back a LOT of fond memories of playing Blood Bowl Second Edition back in the late 80s/Early 90s.... And the game seems to be taking off here and I already HAVE teams - including a few that still need to be painted - that have been in the PILE OF OPPORTUNITY since the 80s/90s!!? 

So I'd looked into just basics I'd need to play the game - the rule book... and a pitch to play on... and the set of tokens... and a set of dice... and all that added up to the same price as the new edition's core box, which was still available at my FLGS (Dragon's Den Games!) which includes the rule book... and a pitch to play on... and the set of tokens... and TWO sets of dice... and TWO COMPLETE TEAMS!? 

It is bonkers how much better a deal the core boxes are!?

What have I gotten myself into... 

Some of the aforementioned minis I still have from the 80s/90s... There are complete Dwarf and Elf teams there. The skaven are painted, but I really need to touch up the bases. In fact, MOST of the teams could do with a bit of touching up, lots of paint chipped off from many, MANY hours of use back in the day (and probably rough storage and many, many moves had a bit to do with their current state!)

Some of the paint jobs aren't great and there is a temptation to strip and repaint the lot of them... but they have... "character" and nostalgia is holding me back from just stripping them all... 

Also the basing was pretty sloppy... that I MIGHT redo! I'm not really sure what size to put them on, though... Currently anything that isn't HUGE goes on a 32mm base. But I worry that putting some of these on a 32mm base will just emphasize how much smaller they are that the current minis, and so I'm kind of leaning towards not rebasing - or rebasing onto new 25mm bases (or maybe 28mm bases...?) 

While I have enough teams to host a small tournament, there are a couple of new teams I wouldn't mind picking up - the Halflings and the Nurgle team - just because the miniatures look like they'd be really fun to paint. I am absolutely NOT buying EITHER until I have painted all the stuff I have and have played a few games with them!! 

Blood Bowl - Gnarly Green Guys versus Shitsberg Stealers

Vera was back in town this week and suggested we play games! I feel like we haven't played games in MONTHS. She suggested trying out the new version of Blood Bowl (Third Season Edition - 2025). I played a LOT of Blood Bowl (Second Edition) back in the late 80s. Like a LOT!!! It's probably one of my most played games ever! I have not played it in the last 35 years, however! 

My team - the Gnarly Green Guys! 

#1 Hotlicks Wobblespot (Goblin Lineman) 

#3 Dirk Blood (Goblin Lineman) 

Also #3 (apparently!?) Norg (Troll) - I mean who's going to argue with a troll if it shows up and is wearing the same number as one of your other players...? 

#4 Leon Cankersore (Goblin Lineman) 

#7 Bill S. Pestmain (Goblin Lineman) 

#10 Ted "Wildboar" Grogan (Goblin Lineman) 

#15 Fungusface (Goblin Looney - with Chainsaw) 

#16 S. Maulfart (Goblin Lineman) 

#28 Dagadyr (Troll) 

#48 Bop (Goblin Pogoer) 

#67 Chaz Goldensnott (Goblin Hooligan) 

#69 Jean Klean (Goblin  Fanatic - with Ball and Chain ) 

Vera's team - the Shitsberg Stealers. 

I kicked off in the first half... 

Before the ball even landed on the far side of the pitch, Greg the Shitsberg Stealers troll started hammering on #3 Norg the Troll stunning him! 

A trio of Black Orcs from the Shitsberg Stealers ganged up on The Gnarly Green Guys other Troll, #28 Dasgdyr! 

Dasgdyr sprang back up and with the aid of #69 - the ball and chain fanatic - Jean Klean - took down one of the gargantuan Orcs. Bill S. Pestmaim ran into to foul the downed Orc! 

A serious melee ensued mid-field. 

#15 Fungusface - the Goblin Looney - was flailing his Chainsaw all over the place, meanwhile a pair of goblins from the Shitberg Stealers, snuck around the side and made a run for the end zone! 

#28 Dagadyr cut the little goober off and knocked him into the dirt, the ball scattered into the crowd... 

... who threw it out into the middle of the pitch! 

#48 Bop - the Goblin Pogoer - went after the ball... 

... and ended up injured and recovering in the dugout for his troubles. 

#69 Jean Klean - the Goblin Fanatic - drove one of the Shitsberg Stealers Orcs clear off the field with his spinning Ball and Chain ! 

One of the other goblins from the Shitsberg Stealers snatched up the ball and sprinted for the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of the game!! 

Furious and angry, the Gnarly Green Guys just kept beating on the Stealers... 

#28 Dagadyr - one of the Gnarly Green Guys trolls kicked one of the Shitsberg Stealers orcs while they were down and was thrown out of the game for fouling! 

(Whoopsie! Lesson learned! Don't use the big guys for fouling!!!) 

#7 Bill S. Pestmain - Goblin Lineman for the Gnarly Green Guys - grabbed the Stealers kick and quickly passed it to  #48 Bop - the Goblin Pogoer! 

The Goblin Pogoer bounded up the field with the rest of the team trying to clear the way! 

The Goblin Pogoer bounced right over the Stealers goblin lineman! 

The ball was passed off the the Gnarly Green Guys captain, #1 Hotlicks Wobblespot, who ran it in the the goal, tying up the game just as the squigpipes sounded to mark the end of the first half of the game!! 

The Shitsberg Stealers kicked off to the Gnarly Green Guys to start the second half of the game! 

Once again, it was the Gnarly Green Guys' Pogoer, #48 Bop, that took the ball up the field. bouncing past, and OVER, the Shitsberg Stealers defensive line. 

and scored the Gnarly Green Guys second goal, putting them in the lead!! 

The Gnarly Green Guys, roared with delight... and it was now the Shitsberg Stealers that were roaring with frustration and anguish... 

Recieving the next kick-off the Shitsberg Stealers' goblins tore up the field with reckless abandon, and only to be brought down right at the scoring line by the Gnarly Green Guys! 

The Gnarly Green Guys recoved the ball and passed it to their pogoer who, once again, bounded up the field like the mad bastard that he is... but did not make it to the Stealers line before the Squigpipes sounded!!

Vera having a good laugh at the absolute madness of it all! 

we realized after the game, I probably should not have been using both the Fanatic and the Looney throughout the game - as BOTH had illicit weapons that would have required bribing the refs... they accounted for the majority of the Stealers injuries - which included THREE of the orcs AND their TROLL!! 

It was fun to revisit the game after so many decades. Blood Bowl (Second Edition) was probably one of my MOST PLAYED games EVER!! I played SO MUCH of it back in high school. I personally ran two or three leagues, and played in another league or two... plus so many "exhibition matches" between leagues and teaching the game to people at the Wizard's Corner (Saskatoon's first game store - which I'd worked at through high school). I was playing multiple games a few nights a week and more on the weekends... for months... 

It's nice to see how it's evolved... but in many ways is still the same. It's nice that I could, in theory, still play with all the teams I had (or... at least... most of them). 

(I did do some accounting, though, and realized that picking up a pitch and the rules and a set of the dice and tokens to play with current players... would end up costing exactly the same as buying a starter box... which includes all those things - PLUS TWO TEAMS!? - and a SECOND set of the dice!) 

Am I going to buy in and start playing again...? I don't know... I've been wanting to repair and touch-up the old miniatures for ages. There's a part of me that would like to strip and completely repaint and rebase a lot of them... but I also kind of love the old paint jobs and feel a lot of nostalgia for those teams that played so many games back in the day... I'll probably leave them as they are (but maybe clean them up a bit!)