Last updated: 4/12/2006 9:02:01 PM

All Mechwarrior: DA rules not superseded by these rules are in force during play.

Restrictions:

No vehicle or infantry figures are allowed.

No “running”, all mechs are assumed to be modified and running during play, even though only their standard movement values are used and no heat clix are taken in the process.

No points are awarded for destroyed, salvaged, surviving mechs or time spent in deployment zone.  Crossing the goal line with the ball is the only way to score.

                Mech Figure Restriction Options:

1. Only industrial, agricultural, construction, mining and forestry Mechs and the like are allowed to play.  No combat designed Mechs.  Mech Football is the perfect retirement home for retired MW Mech figures.
2. Only Mech figures worth 100 pts or less are allowed in a team regardless of type or status.
   1. Require 3, 4 or 5 be “industrial” types, as described in (1) above.
3. Require no less than 6 Mechs on a team, and up to 600 points per team as recommended below and restricted by type above.
   1. Allow any type Mechs in any quantity, so long as there is at least 6, and no more than 600 pts/team.
4. Players can agree on any team build rules they wish to create their teams.

The Field:

The playing field is 28.5” goal line to goal line and 22” side line to side line.  The felt field from the Football Guys game/toy set is the model, information available at, http://www.kaskeykids.com/footballguys.htm

It also comes with goal posts you can use for added flavor, and are available on the website for $1 each. 

                Optional rule – Mechs with grasping “hands” can take goal posts, and make melee attacks with them at +1 click of damage, but cannot make ranged attacks while carry the goal post.

A standard MB Battleball field board (20”x44”) can be made close to the above dimensions by removing the center board piece and butting the 2 end zone pieces together.

It should also be possible to build a near sized field from Heroscape tiles, and then apply movement by hex instead of using measured inches.  22 hexes zigzag across, 28 hexes in line from goal line to goal line or 22 hexes in line across and 28 hexes zigzagged goal line to goal line.

Play:

Recommend starting with 600 point teams of mechs, warranting 4 moves per team.

Teams line up behind opposing 20 yard lines, or on the 2 rows of Heroscape hexes in front of each goal line.

Coin toss or die roll determines first possession.  After the first goal, possession goes to the team the last goal was scored against (ie “loser’s ball”).  All heat dials are reset but no damage (clix) is removed between goals.

Destroyed and immobile mechs are left on the field as “blocking terrain” for the remainder of the game.  A poker chip is best used to replace the mech figure, avoiding confusion with mechs in play and still marking the blocking terrain they have become.

Destroyed mech ball carriers, loose the ball to the combatant who dealt the killing blow if it was a melee combat attack only.

All other hits cause the ball carrier to loose possession of the ball.  It is fumbled in a random direction, 1-2” for melee hits, 1-6” for ranged combat hits.  The fumble dial, below, is used to determine direction.

Melee hits can opt to steal the ball instead of doing damage, one or the other, but never both.

There is no restriction against “hitting”/attacking any Mech whether it is carrying the ball or not.

Hand-offs can be made whenever 2 friendly mechs are in base contact at the beginning or end of their movement.  No hand-offs mid-movement.

A shut down mech ball carrier, hands off to the first figure (friend or foe) that makes base contact with it.

A hand-off is a free action, so for example, 4 teammate mechs in base contact can hand the ball from the first to the forth with no action taken.  This can only be done once per turn; a group of teammate mechs cannot rotate the ball between them to avoid opponents’ attempts to base the ball carrier during the opponents movement phase.  Further more, a Mech in base contact with an opponent, cannot initiate or receive a hand-off.

Salvage Mechs that can move, but cannot do damage, are not out of the game.  The can block, base, be handed off to, and carry the ball.  They just can’t attack.

Passing (optional): 

If you choose to allow Mechs to pass to one another, there are a few ways of doing this.  All involve the use of artillery tokens.  You can agree to choose one artillery token each, use the same one, or choose each pass from a randomized pile of tokens.  You can use actual tokens or print the PDF copies from Wiz Kids website (mount, laminate, glue to poker chip, print on thicker paper or label stock).

Maximum passing range is 7” regardless of the Mech throwing the ball.  If a pass (artillery attack) results in drift, the ball lands exactly where the drift indicates per regular Mechwarrior artillery token use.

A pass cannot be used to “throw away” a ball, or to advance the ball down field ahead of a team’s advance.  One receiver, or more, must be designated and capable of meeting the ball at the token indicated target point (ie no counting on drift to prove capability to receive).  If such a case is allowed to happen and cannot be reversed, the opposing player gets the ball, in the possession of one of his Mechs closest to the current ball location, in the direction of his intended goal line (ie not in the passers intended direction of advance).  So, this should never be allowed happen.

A pass that lands out of bounds, is considered to have landed on the inside of the sideline, where it crossed that sideline.  Use a straight line from passer to final out of bounds landing point, where it crosses the sideline is where the ball is set.

Recommendations for easier play:

Teams’ pieces are placed on poker chips of different colors so that teams can easily be identified.

A fumble dial can be affixed to each poker chip for easy and immediate use during fumbles.

Movement markers should be different for each team, and different between moves, to help keep track of who moved last, when.

The football marker should be small enough to fit on a base with a mech, and very different from the movement markers used in the game.  (The actual Battleball piece, a small chess pawn, any small game pawn or a jack would work well)

2 Goals win the game (maybe win by 2 goals for longer games).

Fumble dial example:

Place the fumble dial where the mech was, with the arrow pointed directly away from the figure making the attack.

Roll 3 dice, the results show the direction the ball is fumbled in.  The odd colored die determines the distance; 1-6” for ranged hits, odd = 1” and even = 2” for melee hits.