Which rulebook is better 3rd Ed or 6th ed

[jdmofo]

I think LRB6 is definately the best in terms of balance in long term play, but I feel like some of the madcap fun was sucked out of BB to achieve it. I played a lot at Uni with the rules out of the box (just after it was released), then got back into the game a couple of years ago, so I don't know anything about the rulesets between Ed3 and LRB6.

The inducements/journeymen thing is a real improvement, a couple of our leagues back in the day folded cos players who were miles behind just gave up.

By far the biggest disappointment for me with LRB6 is that the star player minis which I lovingly spent ages painting in comparison with my rank and file now sit on the bench at least 90% of the time.

I literally haven't been able to field Morg and Thorg in the 2 years of league play since I came back to BB. That can't be right, can it? Nowadays when you start building a team there are 6 stars you need "just in case". That's a lot of money and painting time for something you virtually never need to field. They look cool on the shelf, then you set up a game and leave the most interesting minis there to gather dust while the linemen go and play. New players I expained this to were confused: "So, the coolest players are not allowed?"

Plus secret weapons being automatically sent off after one drive is no fun either. I preferred them more expensive but with the chance of staying on the field for the whole game. I liked the mechanic whereby the more obvious a weapon was, the more likely it would be sent off. Now a bomber is equally likely to be sent off as the deathroller (ie 100% chance).

I understand why these changes have been made but balance at the expense of fun is a shame IMO, especially when you play short leagues like we do (maybe 10 games each before a final).

We could house rule stuff but have just stuck with the LRB6 to keep it simple. It's still a great game, just not so crazy and bloody as it used to be.

[Indigo]

Current ruleset is by far and away the best.