Set up

Blood Bowl Team Manager Solo Rules

Set up a four player game choosing a team

to play and three other teams which will
use a set of rules to determine where to
place their players at matchups. You can if
you wish draw team tokens from a cup to
decide teams. Make sure to place team
tokens in each teams play area to avoid
confusion later.

Team Upgrade (TU) and Staff Upgrade (SU)

indicate what happens if these icons are
included in an AI players pay out, whether
it is a central payout or not. For Easy and
Medium difficulty simply take the top card
of the deck and add it to the AI players
play area . For Hard and Insane difficulty
the AI player also receives +1 fan for each
TU and SU icon in a payout that player is
entitled to receive.

Next decide which level of difficulty you

wish to play, the rules differ slightly
depending on the level of difficulty. First
player indicates which player starts with
the First Player Token. In the example
above, the human player is the Athelorn
Avengers and as he is playing on Easy
difficulty he has taken the token. On Hard
difficulty the token would start in the
Gouged Eyes team area.

Instead of drawing 6 cards as a hand for the

AI Managers, draw the top 6 cards, shuffle
them and place them face down as a draw
pile perpendicular to the Team deck (see
the above diagram).
Difficulty
Easy
Medium
Hard
Insane

First Player
Human
AI on right
AI opposite
AI on left

Team Upgrade or Staff Upgrade payouts

Take top card
Take top card
Take top card, and +1 fan per TU or SU icon
Take top card, and +1 fan per TU or SU icon

Specific Solo Rules

AI Managers will never pass on playing a
card (different to using the pass skill).
Except in the unusual circumstance that
they are unable to play a card.
AI players will always return the lowest Star
Player Point (SPP) player to the box if they
draw a Freebooter star player.
Sprinting Skill Icon
If an AI manager plays a player with a sprint
skill icon or a card or other game effect
gives the manager the sprint ability then
draw the top card from the AI managers
team deck and compare the SPP for that
card with those that are in the draw pile. If
the drawn card is higher than a card
already in the draw pile replace the lowest
SPP card in the draw pile. If it is not then
discard the drawn card. If the drawn card
has the same SPP as the lowest card in the
draw pile compare the two cards skill icons
and keep the card with the highest number
of icons. If both cards have the same
number of icons then the player chooses
which card to discard. Once you have
completed the above step, shuffle the draw
pile.
Staff and Team Upgrade cards
It is difficult to write specific rules for each
team and staff upgrade card. However,
cards that are not scoreboard phase cards
should be used at the earliest available
opportunity. Specific rules for specific
cards may get added in a future version.
Rounds and Turns
A round is defined as the completion of a
week of matchups. There are therefore
five rounds in each game with the last
round including the Blood Bowl
tournament. A turn is when a player places
a card at a match up.

Split payouts
If an AI Manager wins a match up which
has a split payout (that is where either the
central or team zone payout has benefits
which are separated by a \. Then the AI
manager will decide on which benefit to
take using the following order (for Easy and
Medium difficulty games). On Hard or
Insane difficulty games use the same
approach. However, note that the AI
manager also receives fans for Staff and
Team upgrades. In the event that the AI
manager would receive the same or more
fans by taking the Team or Staff Upgrade
then this payout should be selected.
Rounds 1-3

Rounds 4-5

Star Players

Fans/Contracts

Fans/Contracts

Staff Upgrades

Team Upgrade

Star Players

Staff Upgrades

Team Upgrade

Assessing Matchups
The solo rules require the player to make a brief
assessment of each matchup that an AI Manager
is engaged in to determine where to place cards
in later turns of each round.
This is done by revealing the top card of the
draw pile and assuming the card is placed at
each match up that the AI Manager is engaged
in. Assume all pass icons are successfully
resolved and assume all tackle icons are
successfully resolved if, and only if, tackles can
be made against an opponent or multiple
opponents with the same or lower SPP.
Remember to apply any written abilities such as
Frenzy and Dauntless. In addition, apply the
effect of one Staff or Team Upgrade card that
could be used in conjunction with the card being
placed.
Finally, work out the current score (before
placement of the card) at that matchup by
totalling the visible SPP scores and the score
after placement of the card again including all
visible SPP. In both cases the result should be
one of the following:
Lose(L) The current AI Manager has less
visible SPP at the matchup than his opponent
Draw (D) both Managers have the same
visible SPP at the matchup; or
Win (W) The current AI manager has more
SPP at the matchup than his opponent.
Compare the before an after scores to the table
(example below). In this case moving from a Loss
to a Win is the preferred option.
Turn 3
Before
L/D
L
W
L

After
W
D
W*
L*

W* - Do not place if it would extend

lead beyond 6 SPP

L* - Do not place if loss is still

greater than 5 SPP incl. SPP of ball

Playing the game

All the rules of playing the game remain
unchanged unless specifically mentioned
below.
Each game round (round) has three
phases:
1. The Maintenance Phase
2. The Matchup Phase; and
3. The Scoreboard Phase
The Maintenance Phase
The steps in the Maintenance phase
remain unchanged with the exception of
step 2 Replenish Hand. The Player draws
6 cards from each AI managers Team Deck
and places them face down in a draw pile
as discussed on page 1 above. The rules
for replenishing the Team Deck remain
unchanged.
The Matchup Phase
The steps in the Matchup Phase also
remain unchanged, except as described
below.
On each AI Managers turn the player
draws the top card of the AI draw pile and
uses the tables below to decide at which
matchup to place the card.
As mentioned above, the AI Manager will
always place a card at a matchup if able.
Scoreboard Phase
During the scoreboard phase the player can
skip step 2 Reveal Improvement Pile. All
other steps in the Scoreboard Phase
remain unchanged.

Turn 1

Turn 2

Roll 2d6 for each AI Manager and refer to

the following table:

Roll 2d6 for each AI Manager and apply the

one of the following modifiers to the roll:
+ SPP for player card selected; or
+3 if the Spike! Magazine card which
limits the number of players at a matchup
to three is revealed.

Roll
2-4
5-6
7-8
9
10-12

Turn 1
Result
Staff Upgrade
Star Players
Tournament/Fans
Contracts
Team Upgrade

Place the drawn card from the AI

Managers draw pile at the matchup which
has the most available icons of the type
rolled. Therefore if one side of a matchup
is already occupied, do not count these
icons when determining the number of
available icons.
If a 7 or 8 is rolled and there is a
tournament this week then place the card
on the tournament. If there is no
tournament, then place the card at the
matchup with the most available fan icons.
Where two or more highlights have the
same number of icons, then place the card
on the side of the highlight with the most
icons. If both sides have the same number
of icons of the type rolled, including zero,
then the player may choose which side of
the highlight to place the card.

Roll
2-4
5-6
7-8
9+

Turn 2
Result
Existing Match-up
Team > Staff Upgrade
Star Players
Tournament > Fans/Contracts

For example if a card is drawn with 2SPP

and 4 is rolled then the modified score is 6.
The player should therefore place the card
at an available slot in a matchup which has
the most available Team Upgrade icons and
that does not already contain a card
belonging to the current AI manager.
Remember if the other side of the matchup
is already occupied by another Manager
then do not count these icons. If there are
no available slots where either the selected
payout has Team Upgrade icons or the
central payout has these icons then repeat
the same check for Staff Upgrade icons.
If the modified score is 9 or higher then
place the card on the Tournament if
available or on the matchup with the most
fans or contract icons (players choice) if
there is no Tournament in the current
round. The card should be placed on the
Tournament, even if the AI Manager has
previously placed a card on the
tournament.
Remember the card should always be
placed on a new matchup i.e. one that
does not contain a card for the current AI
manager unless Tournament is selected

If the modified score is between 5 and 8 or

there is no tournament in the current round,
then the player should be placed at a new
matchup, even if there are more icons of the
type rolled at a matchup where the AI
manager already has a card.
If there are no available icons of the type
rolled then refer to the table below to decide
where to place the card. Start at the top of
the table depending on the current game
round and work downwards until a suitable
option is available.
For example: The player draws a card for an
AI manager with 3 SPP; he rolls 6 on the dice
giving a modified score of 9. The current
week does not have a Tournament and there
are no available highlights where the player
can gain and/or win fans or contracts.
The game is currently in round 2 and so the
player refers to the left hand side of the table
below. The first option is Star Players and
there are two highlights with Star Player
icons, both have 4 such icons, but in one
highlight a payout has already been selected
by a rival Manager and therefore only 2 Star
Player icons are available. The card is,
therefore, placed at the other highlight on
the side which has the most Star Player icons.
In the event that both side payouts have the
same icons the player can choose which side
to place the card.
Rounds 1-3

Rounds 4-5

Star Players

Fans/Contracts

Fans/Contracts

Staff Upgrades

Team Upgrade

Star Players

Turn 3
In the unusual event that the Spike!
Magazine card limiting the number of
players in a matchup to three is in play
AND the current AI Manager has already
placed his first two cards on the
Tournament then the next card will be
placed at one of the remaining open
matchups by rolling on table 2 below.
However, assuming the above does not
apply and open spots are still available
then roll 2d6 and consult table 1 below.
Table 1
If there are open spots available:
Turn 3
Roll Result
2-6
Existing Match-up (Table 3)
7+
New match-up (Table 2)

Table 2
Place on an open payout with the most
available icons of the type rolled. Only
place on the Tournament, if the AI
Manager has NOT previously placed a card
on the Tournament.
Roll
2-4
5-6
7-8
9
10-12

Turn 3
Result
Staff Upgrade
Star Players
Tournament/Fans
Star Players
Team Upgrade

Table 3
Assess existing matchups as described on
p3.
Turn 3

Before
L/D
L
W
L

After
W
D
W*
L*

W* - Do not place if it would extend

lead beyond 6 SPP
L* - Do not place if loss is still
greater than 5 SPP incl. SPP of ball

Staff Upgrades

Team Upgrade

Turns 4 to 6
In general by this point all the available spots
on match-ups should have been filled.
However, it is possible, although unlikely,
that one or more AI Managers have not
committed players to the Tournament
matchup or that one or more highlights still
has an available slot due to injuries or some
other reason.
Table 1
If there are open spots available:
Turn 3
Roll Result
2-7
Existing Match-up (Table 3)
8+
New match-up (Table 2)

Table 2
The card is placed at a remaining legal open
spot at a matchup that does not currently
contain one of the AI Managers cards. If
there are multiple options randomly select
one of the available options.
Table 3
Assess existing matchups as described on p3.
Place at a matchup that meets the most
preferred option in the table below. Note
that L/D to W is the preferred option followed
by L to D and then W to W* and lastly L to L*
Turn 3
Before
L/D
L
W
L

After
W
D
W*
L*

W* - Do not place if it would extend

lead beyond 6 SPP
L* - Do not place if loss is still
greater than 5 SPP incl. SPP of ball

If at any time none of the above rules are

fulfilled, then the AI Manager will extend a
winning scenario beyond 6 SPP if possible,
before reducing a losing scenario in which the
AI Manager is still left more than 5 SPP adrift
after placement.
In the event that 2 or more options meet the
same criteria, randomly determine an option
by rolling a dice.