Advice for starting a Blood Bowl league

[Shteve0]

PS good luck

[J_Bone]

Thanks a lot, Shteve0... You've summed up a lot of what I'm mulling over and it's good to know I'm working along the right lines. Cheers!

[sann0638]

Worth moving this to the league section?

[mzukerman]

Agreed

[WeeManBiggins]

At the HDWSBBL I run a NFL style format with 16-20 teams. Two conferences of 2 divisions with top three heading to the play-offs, bottom teams entering into a plate tournament. Each teams plays a minimum of 11 games maximum of 13/14 depending on the size of the league in the current season.
We are part of a wargames club and play every other week to allow people to play other games, the league is long but people do keep interested.
Fluff is key to our league and we make it compulsory with team descriptions/backstory etc...
Key thing on being a commish is that you have the final say it's your league, keep it simple, keep people informed via website/email group of fixtures each week, team standings etc... and of course if people don't like it for some reason, don't accommodate them if the system is working and the majority of coaches are happy, tell them to accept it or move on, simple as.
Excel is a simple and easy way to track data. Use match report sheets so you have a hard copy of each match in case of any disputes or forgetfulness of coaches.
Good luck! Running a league is very rewarding and you will have a lot of fun doing it!

[J_Bone]

Thanks for the input, Biggins... Yeah, one of the things I've been concerned with is how to actually deal with the rosters. An honesty policy is cool when everybody knows each other well but if the league becomes a bit more open I'd want to see some hard copies like you say. I REALLY like your website too! Did you design that yourself? The level of detail is great!

[WeeManBiggins]

It was done by my mate and co founder of the league, all custom made. Every match, team, stat, player is all recorded and kept up for all to view so you know what your opponent has before you play.

Its just a database which outputs the data we input to use however we like. Everything links together and you can also track stats so much easier. It's amazing what you amass over 8 seasons in terms of data 0.0

[sann0638]

J_Bone - OBBLM is the way to go for most leagues (imo), unless you have someone who wants to do a custom one. Do a search on here for the best way to set it up.

[Shteve0]

I'd recommend using mercuryvps' service. Its $25 a year an comes with obblm pre-installed. I use it to host both wbbl.nzbbn.com and abbf.nzbbn.com. Can't recommend it enough.

[sann0638]

Link, Shtev0?

[Shteve0]

http://www.mercuryvps.com/obblmhosting.php

[Hucker73]

Good luck with the league expansion!

Hope you have a lot of fun with it!

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[J_Bone]

Oh I will, don't worry... I have mentioned the league to a few people over the weekend and am rapidly gaining a list of email addresses and phone numbers. I think this thing is going to blow up fairly soon!

[mzukerman]

A few other suggestions:

- I ran some Blood Bowl demos and taught the game to a bunch of people at local game stores. I got 3 guys in the initial season that way.
- Have a meetup before the league begins where you agree on a set of rules for how to run the league. Let people have an equal vote.
- Fix the duration of your run as commissioner. It gives you an out and lets someone else have a chance if they want one. There's no reason you can't be reelected as well.
- Come up with a couple of other jobs for people to do in the league so they get a little more invested. Possible jobs are: Site admin, league reporter, league historian, Fluff inspector, oddsmaker, etc. Some of these may be filled by you as well, but some can be by others in the league.

[J_Bone]

Myself and the other guy (Pete AKA CarterCaine on here) have decided upon the OBBLM today. I'm planning on spending tonight registering the website and getting it all online. After that we're on to talking to a local pub about using their tables on a Tuesday night and we're away! I'll keep you guys updated on our progress!