This is Draft 2 of the revised, improved, refurbished Slargeball miniatures rules. This ruleset incorporates bits and pieces of the original Slargeball miniatures rules from 1990, the Slargeball DTP boardgame "game kit" from 1993, the Gludgeball miniatures rules from 1996, and earlier incarnations of Slargeball.
Primary differences in this version:
- Fewer types of figures
- Decrease in the total team size from 64 figures to 33
- Division of teams into squads of six figures each
- Simplified systems for Fling and Scatter
- Revised Coach rules
- Revised the rules covering the number of balls in play at any given time
- Elimination of the "quarter" time-keeping rule
- Revised the "locked in melee" rules for Movement and Whapping
- Revised the "Break Play" list of circumstances
- Revised rules for moving through a pile of unconscious figures
| Players and Figures |
Slargeball is a set of miniatures rules for 2 to 10 players. The players are divided into two opposing teams. Each team consists of 1 to 5 squads of figures (each player controls one squad of figures), plus a Goalie, a Captain (if there are two or more squads on each team), and a Coach (if there are three or more squads on each team).
There should be the same number of squads on each team. If there are an uneven number of players, one player on the short-handed side controls two squads so that the two teams will have an equal number of figures.
Each squad of figures consists of 6 figures: two Tremples, two Nickelbacks, one Defensive Grelker, and one Running Grelker. Their stats are as follows:
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| Coach |
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| Captain |
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| Goalie |
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| Tremple |
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| Nickelback |
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| Defensive Grelker |
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| Rushing Grelker |
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In my personal set of Slargeball miniatures (featured in the photos accompanying this web page) I made a Green Team (striped shirts and socks) and a Blue Team (no stripes). Within each team I have five squads, indentified by a color band painted around the perimeter of each figure's base: yellow, red, tan, blue, and grey. Labels glued to the bases indicate the figures position (Captain, Goalie, etc.) and the figure's four stats: Move, Whap, Fling, and Nab.
A squad of 6 figures. These 54mm miniatures are conversions of Airfix and Tamiya 8th Army and Afrika Korps infantry sets, with the exception of Slarjimoto Wapanabi who is a conversion of a Tamiya samurai figure. Conversions and paint jobs by the author.
You can use practically anything for figures. We have been experimenting with a popular line of pre-painted plastic fantasy figures, attaching temporary labels with Slargeball information over the "clicky bases". The figures do not have to be mounted individually, nor do they even have to be "figures". You can even use coins. We have plans for trying these rules with 15mm Napoleonic and Roman units as well as microarmour and naval miniatures. Simply print up labels with the Slargeball stats and temporarily attach them to the miniatures you want to use. For stands of miniatures with multiple figures per stand, simply assume that entire armies are engaged in the game and that entire units (rather than individual athletes) are assuming the role of each position.
As of this writing, there are no "official" commercially-available miniatures designed for use with Slargeball. If you are a manufacturer who would like to produce Slargeball miniatures (think soccer players carrying baseball bats) send me an e-mail. If you are a customer who would like to play this game but are reluctant to get involved with any game system that does not have an extensive line of "officially supported" miniatures, send an e-mail to your favourite manufacturer. If you would like to get involved with playing live-action Slargeball, please phone your local hospital and have yourself checked in. Ask for the eighth floor.
| Other Required Equipment |
To play Slargeball, in addition to the figures you'll need a bunch of regular six-sided dice, some rulers and tape measures (in inches), something to represent the balls (I use HO scale 55-gallon drums, painted red, glued to small metal discs), and a playing field. You can make your own field (see photo below) or you can simply mark out the playing area on a tabletop using narrow masking tape. (Precise instructions for designing a field in a future draft; we're using a 64" x 32" field.)
Optional: If you have them available, use "arrow dice" (see the photo to the right) to determine scatter. You can get by using six-sided dice for scatter, but the arrow dice work so much better, and are handy for many other games as well.
My slargefield, made from a large piece of green cloth. The lines were painted on with white enamel (probably Testors) after careful application of masking tape to keep the lines straight. The goal bunkers are made from foamcore.
| How to Win |
Get more points than the other team.
A standard game lasts 25 turns. Whichever team has the most points at the end of 25 turns is the winner. In the event of a tie, stamp your feet and demand a rematch.
| Figure Stats |
Each figure is rated with 4 numbers, or "stats":
- Move indicates how far a figure can move during the movement phase, in inches. The abbreviation M8 means the figure can move up to 8 inches per turn.
- Whap reflects the figure's ability to knock unconscious an opposing figure. This also indicates the figure's ability to wake up during the Check Consciousness Phase of each turn. The abbreviation W4 means the figure will knock out an opposing figure on a roll of 4 or less on a six-sided die (1d6); it also means the figure will wake up on a roll of 4 or less on 1d6 during the Check Consciousness Phase.
- Fling measures how far and how accurately the figure can throw a slargeball. The abbreviation F4 means the figure can Fling a slargeball to a maximum range of 12 inches (3 times the Fling rating), and will successfully Fling the slargeball exactly where he wants it on a roll of 4 or less on 1d6.
- Nab indicates the figure's ability to catch a slargeball when it's flying through the air, and how well the figure can pick a slargeball up off the ground. The abbreviation N3 means the figure will successfully catch an airball on a roll of 3 or less on 1d6, and will successfully pick up a groundball on a roll of 3 or less. If a figure fails a Nab attempt on an airball, the figure must check for Ballbonk.
Last updated: April 22, 2008