Welcome to the April edition of the Tournament Director Blog – your monthly digest of NAF tournament news, insights, and global happenings. We take you behind the curtain, highlight notable changes, and share stories from the pitch.
This time, we showcase some new site features, introduce a new challenge system from New Zealand, and take you on a tour through Singapore and central Italy for Kopi Cup and Fulginium Bowl.
As always, if you want to contribute any content to this blog (e.g. a report of a recent tournament you visited or ran), reach out! Contact info are available on our NAF staff site.
Content
- NAF Chatter
1.1 Changes to the Coach Page
1.2 Tournament Series Update (by Topas)
1.3 How People get into Blood Bowl - Report: Kopi Cup (by Gronov)
- Report: Fulginium Bowl (by Siggi)
- Report: Schwager Shield Initiative (by Ramchop)
- Outlook
1. NAF Chatter
1.1. Changes to the Coach Page
You might have seen already that we haven given the NAF coach page a significant overhaul, with meaningful improvements to layout, underlying structure, and usability. The familiar components remain: search functionality, summary statistics, badges, and privacy toggles. But these elements have been reorganized into a cleaner, three-column design that makes better use of screen space and improves the experience across devices.
Several subtle but important updates are worth highlighting:
1) The option to toggle the visibility of real names, previously buried in a less accessible setting, is now clearly available to every coach through the “Edit Profile” link.
2) We have better clarified which variant shown statistics and rankings are referring to.
3) Perhaps most notably, we now display Tournament Series records directly on your coach page. This addition marks the first phase of a broader push to bring series-level info and results into clearer view. More on that in the next post by Tournament Series Coordinator Topas.
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1.2 Tournament Series Update (by Topas)
Back in January 2025, our wise Goblin seer predicted that “For the near future, plans are in place to integrate Tournament Series results into Coach Pages and to link Tournament Series directly to tournaments, making it easier to track performances across a series and visualize participating events.” And as everyone knows, Goblin seers are never wrong. Except, of course, when they are.
In this case, the prophecy came true: your coach page now proudly displays your tournament series accolades (if applicable). If you finished in the top 3 of an officially approved NAF tournament series from 2023 onwards, those results will appear, assuming your TSO has recorded them. If your podium finish is missing, feel free to nudge your TSO to update the series page or contact Tournament Series Coordinator Topas for assistance.
What even the most confident Goblin seer couldn’t foresee was the explosive growth of the program after the 2023 reboot. From 20 series across three continents in 2023, the number rose to 31 in 2024. And as of 2025, we’re tracking 44 active NAF series, with the new Super Series initiative also under trial. So far, these cover Europe, North America, and Oceania – but we’re calling on TOs in Africa, South America, Asia (and Antarctica, for that matter) to help us break into a fourth continent.
Curious which series are currently running? You can find all 2025 entries listed here.
1.3 How People get into Blood Bowl
Major_Grooves recently conducted a survey to answer a deceptively simple question: How did you get into Blood Bowl? And 327 coaches responded. The survey, structured with multiple-choice and long-form answers, offers a glimpse into the many doors through which people enter the hobby.
Some highlights:
- While friends and gaming groups remain the most common gateway (with two thirds of respondents introduced to the game through someone they knew), as many as one third claimed they “found it themselves”. Presumably involving a dusty box in a cupboard or a misclick in a Steam sale.
- Half of the coaches believe you need at least seven games to play Blood Bowl somewhat properly. Encouragingly, most participants felt the game is not especially more difficult than other games they’ve played (just more emotionally scarring).
- Surprisingly, at least to me, more than 50% of respondents considered the painting aspect equally important to playing, or even more so.
- The vast majority, which was nice to see, described the Blood Bowl community as inclusive and friendly. A reassuring result for a game where players gleefully foul and chainsaw each other into the turf.
- Interestingly, coaches tend to discover Blood Bowl at a relatively mature age: fewer than 30% were 16 or younger when they first encountered the game. And more than a third have now been playing for over 10 years. Though whether that counts as experience or stubbornness is up for debate.
You can read the full article here: How Did You Get Into Blood Bowl?
2. Report: Kopi Cup (by Gronov)
Whilst backpacking in Cambodia for a few weeks, I checked the NAF site for upcoming tournaments in the local area. There was only one tournament announced in the near future across the greater Asian region: Kopi Cup in Singapore. I had intended to travel to Singapore anyway, so I only had to rebook my flight and try to borrow some miniatures.
I tried to contact the TO via email, Discord, and the NAF messaging system, but for almost two weeks I failed — and my chances to attend the tournament dwindled more and more. As a final desperate measure, I had the idea to use the Tourplay site to get in contact with him by entering a rather unusual team name.
To my great relief, I finally got in touch with Paul, the TO, and from that moment on, everything ran smoothly.
On March 2nd, I took the MRT, the local subway, and reached Holland Village. In addition to the constant CCTV, I had to sign in when entering a gated community. After some asking around, I finally found a well air-conditioned recreational room where the tournament was taking place.
I was greeted instantly with a warm welcome: “You’re the one who just flew in yesterday to attend this tournament?” In fact, there were only a small number of coaches taking part — 12 players including the TO. It was the smallest tournament I had ever attended, and I was lucky to borrow a nicely painted Dark Elf team to join the carnage.
It was a three-round tournament, and I faced Lizardmen, Necromantic, and Norse. It was a really relaxed atmosphere; no one took it too seriously, and it felt more like playing with each other than against each other. I enjoyed it a lot. While playing three rounds of Blood Bowl against really lovely opponents, uttering some loud cries of despair and hysterical laughter, and enjoying pizza and drinks, I came to understand that despite the city’s large size, the local community was really small.
Paul, the TO, had recently started building up the local scene, and this was only his second tournament in Singapore — true dedication and love for the game, and soon to come, a growing community. One of the next goals is to make the next Kopi Cup even bigger, hopefully doubling the number of attendees.
After three rounds of true mayhem and a nice award ceremony, a few coaches went out for dinner at one of Singapore’s hawker centres. Armed with chicken skewers and beers, the chat continued for some time. Hopes and wishes came to life: What will happen to the Singapore community? What to do next? How fast will it grow? How many people could fit into today’s venue? Could they send a squad to the next World Cup? After almost 12 hours, we called it a day and went our separate ways.
Thanks again to Paul for a wonderful day of dice, blood, and laughter with an amazing group of people.
Back home in Germany, I told my mates about this adventure, and the idea popped up to support the future coaches in Singapore. Everyone agreed that gifts and random swag are a great way to draw people into the hobby. Two weeks later, at the German Dungeonbowl, we collected almost 4 kg of dice, tokens, miniatures, dice mats, stickers, and more, which we sent to Singapore. Hopefully, these bits and pieces will help to drag more people into the Singapore Blood Bowl community.
The next Kopi Cup (No. 3) will take place in August or September.
If you’d like to join the Singapore BB scene, get in contact with Paul (“paprende”), the newly appointed NAF Regional Coordinator.
3. Report: Fulginium Bowl (by Siggi)
Recently, it was time again for the 2025 edition of one of my favourite tournaments, the Fulginium Bowl. Located in the centre of Italy, in a region full of history, lies Matigge — close to Foligno, which is close to Perugia, which is… let’s just say it’s not too far from Rome. Not the easiest place to reach, but absolutely worth it!
The area is truly beautiful. So, what else do we need for a good Blood Bowl tournament?
Six games? Got it.
One hundred fellow players? Got it.
A really cool venue with homemade wine and a pool? Got it.
Around 35 courses of food over the whole weekend? Yay… absolutely got it!
If anyone knows the Maltese, they are not exactly known to be aggressive people. Still, to this day, Matigge is the only place ever conquered by the Maltese.
They come for food and Blood Bowl and leave with a smile, every year. Rumours say they are bribed by the locals with pasta and wine.
This year, I almost managed to capture pictures of all the courses, served in a cozy dining room packed with fellow Blood Bowl enthusiasts. There have been reports from the Fulginium Bowl before (in the March 2024 and March 2023 blogs), and it has become something of an annual tradition — but never before have there been so many food pictures!
The Fulginium Bowl is characterized as one of the oldest Italian tournaments: the first edition dates back to 2008. It is remembered, known, and appreciated as “the tournament where you eat!!!” In fact, the Saturday dinner features over 20 courses (many of them truffle-based), along with “light” lunches on Saturday and Sunday, and generous “snacks” in the afternoons.
The tournament itself has an interesting special rule: each coach can use one extra reroll per game if the action happens on the line of scrimmage — a fun, interesting, but not gamebreaking idea. The event consistently sees a small but steady stream of international coaches, alongside a lot of strong Italian players.
If you ever want to take a few days to travel Umbria, enjoy amazing food, and play Blood Bowl in a very welcoming atmosphere, this could be the tournament for you next year.
4. Report: Schwager Shield Initiative (by Ramchop)
Provincial pride in New Zealand Blood Bowl no longer has to wait for the next Powtearoa Provincial Championship!
The Schwager Shield is a new initiative to celebrate NAF Blood Bowl and provincial rivalry across the country. Inspired by rugby’s famous Log o’ Wood, the Shield is a challenge trophy that travels from coach to coach across New Zealand.
The Rules:
- The holder of the Schwager Shield (the Defender) must represent a New Zealand province.
- At any NAF Blood Bowl tournament in NZ, whenever the Defender plays a coach from a different province (the Challenger), the match becomes a Shield Match.
- If the Defender wins or draws, they keep the Shield. If the Challenger wins, the Shield passes to them and they become the new Defender.
- If a Defender cannot attend the next tournament, they may transfer the honour to another coach from the same province.
- A coach is not forced to challenge, but must defend if challenged.
- The Shield is only contested at full Blood Bowl 2020 tournaments (no Sevens).
- It will not be contested at the Powtearoa Provincial Championship due to team composition rules.
The Trophy Itself:
While the physical trophy is still under construction, the concept is exciting. BigBullies is crafting a small wooden base with a recess to hold a plastic-printed provincial shield (by Game Gremlin) that can be swapped whenever the Shield changes hands. The final design will proudly feature the iconic spiked ball on shield logo by Christian Schwager.
The Origins:
The inaugural Defender was parttimer, selected from the victorious Auckland team that won the 2024 Powtearoa Provincial Championship.
The first official defences took place at Stubbl Bowl 2025 in Palmerston North, followed by matches at Blitz Bowl 2025 in Tauranga.
About the Name:
The Shield honours Christian Schwager, a Blood Bowl artist and community pillar in New Zealand. Christian ran the Auckland league and organized three Greenstone Cups (2008–2010). His artistic contributions, especially the provincial spiked ball logo, are beloved in the NZ Blood Bowl scene. More of his work can be found here: Christian Schwager’s Art.
Provinces in Play:
Provinces are loosely based around New Zealand rugby provinces. Here are the ones we currently know about with Blood Bowl players attending NAF tournaments in New Zealand. Not all of them have active or named leagues, and some provinces may have more than one active league. So, unlike the original artwork which used league initials, the Schwager Shield will use province names.
5. Outlook
We can expect 131 tournaments in May, across as many as 28 countries, including events on both Fumbbl and BB Online platforms. Four of them even made use of the good ol’ Mayhem pun – one of the more popular month-based jokes after Blocktober.
Many coaches will travel to the NAF Championship in Nottingham on the first weekend of May, the biggest iteration ever with 300 people in attendance. In parallel, many others will flock to the Tilean Team Cup near Florence. Meanwhile, Papa’s Spring Mayhem in Zagreb sees yet another nation join the international Blood Bowl family, as Croatia hosts its first NAF tournament. Rendez-vous Bowl, the very first French tournament recorded in the database, returns for the 21st time on the outskirts of Paris. And Lithuania continues fueling its Blood Bowl tradition with the Lithuania Cup.
As for me, I’ll be staying local once again and attending one of Northern Germany’s largest tournaments: Hamburg’s HammaBowl.
Finally, the most frequently asked question: will there be a new Designer’s Commentary and Errata in May?