Retired - Guild Ball™
Guilds. Goals. Gore. It's medieval mob football!
- 2 Players
- Ages 14+
- 90-120 minutes
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Retired - Guild Ball™
Guilds. Goals. Gore. It's medieval mob football!
Two coaches. Two teams. Twelve points to victory. Slide into a tactical skirmish game where football and fist fights go hand-in-hand. When it's for the good of your Guild, anything goes.
Once, mob football was a casual game played between neighbouring towns. A pleasant pasttime to celebrate feast days.
And then the Guilds stepped in.
The Guilds invested vast sums of money. Suddenly, there were professional teams and structured leagues. Guild Ball became a spectacle that drew huge crowds. And the more popular it grew, the more money it made, the more political the clashes between the powerful Guilds became.
Now, behind the scenes, fortunes are won or lost with the kick of a ball.
A game of Guild Ball is played to 12 victory points. But remember: this isn't regular football. It's mob football, and anything goes.
There are two ways to get points: by scoring goals, or by sending your opponents to the infirmary. You choose your path to glory. Anyone can fight. Anyone can win.
Each Guild has a distinct playstyle and a variety of players to pick from. Choose your Guild, then choose a Captain, Mascot, and four Squaddies. Got your team? Get on the pitch!
Maiden of Science
'In the near-darkness, Calculus seethed. Rain poured into the room from the howling deluge outside, calm no more—just another element beyond her control.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Rat Catcher
'Compound had very quickly seen his niche. During games, he would lurk at the back of the pitch, near the goal, and attack anyone who came close, gleefully beating them to a pulp with his new mechanica arms.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Herald of the Chosen One
'Wreathed in thick and poisonous fumes as she skipped around the pitch, it was obvious Crucible would not be long for catastrophe. The young girl was fast, trim, and athletic...a naturally gifted Guild Ball player. Ultimately, though, Crucible couldn't escape the lethal cloud that enveloped her. The very weapon she used to punish the opposition.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Obscure Automaton
'Flask began life as a prototype. A creation without purpose except to prove that artificial life could be achieved, no matter how limited...Now, at last, far from the workshop where it was constructed, Flask has a role to fill.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Little Hawk
The Lost
"Katalyst is the very embodiment of this process, a man made by cataclysm into a monstrous creature...His consciousness has been fractured by insanity, the individual all but lost." - Vitriol, Alchemist's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Flare of Passion
'Gasps ran through the crowd as the wreath of flames burst from Mercury's fingertips and into the air, casting their faces into stark relief and obscuring the Alchemist from view...Mercury wore drunkenness like a sailor, nose and cheeks flushed ruddy pink, eyes dull and glazed.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Chosen One
"And now, I take my research and my considerable abilities once more to the field. I will unite the team around me and bring a reversal of fortunes for our Guild." - Midas, Alchemist's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Venomous Viper
'You ever wonder where Venin gets the base for his poisons and corrosive acids? Look no further than that thrice-damned snake.' - Ratchet, Engineer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Esters
'Esters was overbearing, obnoxious, and loud. Friday could think of any number of things she would rather do than have a conversation with the woman.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Tragic Orphan
"Life won't respect that. It will keep hitting you, over and over, until you follow its lead. I've never entertained that sort of lie in my time, and I don't think I'll start now. I've always had to adapt. It doesn't matter whether I'm happy to or not. That's just life." - Friday, Brewer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Unyielding Soldier
'Hooper had never felt sorry in his life. He left that for the weak and the foolish. Let them worry about regrets...In the end, he was just a soldier, and it was time to put up and shut up—but he didn't have to like it.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Mash
"Our Guild isn't build like the others. We are who we are because of solidarity. Because, above all, we're the toughest and meanest in the yard." - Mash, Brewer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Bruiser
"Pintpot has a temper as foul as his mouth and enough bad attitude to keep him going long after he should have been knocked out cold...I've never seen him back down from anyone, twice his size or otherwise." - Stave, Brewer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Faithful
'Over time, the adoption and training of wolves was successful, leading to such creatures as Quaff, the massive dog that accompanies Mash to his games. Although physically intimidating, Quaff is a gentle giant...and the Brewers have trained him to carry around a barrel of their strong ale.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Unwanted
"I'm not sure why they let the cat on the pitch. To be honest, I think it just turns up, whether they want it to or not. Doesn't do much, though, and barely any of them pay attention to it. P'haps it's someone's lucky cat or something." - Mallet, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Football Legend
'Reflecting the light of the hearth's waning fire, Spigot's eyes were stormy grey, cool and reassured. They spoke of the legend Friday remembered...matches where Spigot had weaved magic on the pitch as she watched, enthralled, her heart racing in her chest.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Artillerist
'...one of Stave's enormous arms held Pintpot headfirst in a barrel filled with water. As the smaller man violently struggled, the cold water splashed around them, soaking through their clothes and spilling onto the wooden floorboards. Stave wrenched Pintpot up by the scruff of his neck. "Let's see now. Have you spent enough time in the barrel yet, lad? How do we vote again?"' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Master of the Stills
"Stoker? That's one untrustworthy swine all right, no honour in him at all...I doubt you'll find any of us much interest in his worthless hide nowadays." - Anvil, Master of the Blacksmith's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Grand Brewer
'The days when Tapper held the absolute loyalty of his people were so far behind him, he wouldn't even recognise them now.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Beast
'For the first time in his life, as the Master Butcher towered over him, Boar knew fear. Submissively, he nodded, all pretence of strength or defiance having fled from his body.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Apprentice
'Boiler didn't know who to trust anymore. A long season of divided loyalties had taught him that...Every game he bloodied his arms up to the elbow, painted by the wounds of his opponents...Things were really just like before, he reflected, toiling out on the pitch to gain the favour of the Master Butcher.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Survivor
"Brisket was ever the thorn in my side, the leader of the rebellion that threatened to destroy us...It wasn't the word of the Beast that took her down into the pit and made her fight me. She chose that path herself." - Fillet, Butcher's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Flashing Blade
'Fillet had never met the Master Butcher until this moment...They were two alphas tenuously sharing a single pack, and [she] wondered how long that could last.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Winter's Fury
'Fillet smiled at her emotive lover. To find such a person was a rare occurrence in a world of Guild politics and intrigue, and Fillet had no desire to give up Meathook any time soon.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Prisoner
"...they talk about the Master Butcher and his grand return from the dead, I know...The people are in awe of him. But he is a changed man. Before, he was a hatchet-man for hire, a thug...I don't know that [he] cares to lead anymore, to head up the crew as he once did." - Honour, the First Lady of Guild Ball (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Roaming Terror
'No one truly knows where Princess came from...[she] soon became a firm favourite with the fans, who now cheer on the hound as she fearlessly bounds towards the opposition, teeth bared.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Master Cutter
'Shank smiled, a false grin with no hint of humour. "Good. I wouldn't trust me, either."' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Indomitable Giant
"That's why he wears the mask. If no one knows what you look like, then you can change sides as fluidly as water on the tide, moving up and down the shore. If you don't have a face, then you aren't human. Just a tool. A weapon." - Shank, Butcher's Guild Vice Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Cantankerous Swine
"A mean-spirited, dangerous, spiteful creature that'll gore you as soon as look at you. That's why the thing fits in so well on their team. It's just like the rest o' them." - Corsair, Fisherman's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Lord Artificer
"What happened to the Lord Artificer? That's a good question, lad. I think you'd need to be a Cog to know the whole story, and even then, you'd struggle for the details. Their Guild has always been a real nest of vipers, secretive even with its own." - Mallet, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Engine of Destruction
"[Colossus] is not currently suited to my needs, but no matter. It is a rudimentary problem and can be easily resolved. I shall engineer the removal of the operatorr, the man within the machine...Then we shall see the true destructive force...no longer constrained by poor design and execution." - Pin Vice, Engineer's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Replicator
'A phenomenon both enigmatic and unknown to all, Hoist's transcendence toward true sentience resumes, without fail, every evening. Long after nightfall...a rebellion against his strict programming awakes the mechanica from deep slumber.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Mathematical Solution
"The Locus, as I have named it...The name itself should be explanation alone. What better name for our immovable core than one that describes a significant point, where all coordinates and equations must obey clearly defined scientific principle?" - Pin Vice, Engineer's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Mechanical Tick
"Now that I have access to higher quality materials, I will improve the Mainspring tenfold...Less deadly? Perhaps, but...the detonation mechanism shall remain, hidden within a sturdier chassis." - Ratchet, Engineer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Arachnid Queen
"What possible advantage could that thing ever bring to the pitch? Just keep it and its vile little hatchlings away from me, and we won't have a problem." - Harmony, Mason's Guild Vice Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Artificer Queen
'It had even begun to eclipse her desire to indoctrinate the remaining human players of the Engineer's Guild team...Later, once they had outlived their usefulness, she would simply replace their parts in the machine with mechanica pieces...At last, it was all beginning to run like a well-oiled machine. And soon, she would possess even more power and influence than before.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Maverick
'[Ratchet] doubted he could trust [Pin Vice] in the slightest. Almost certainly, she would look to betray him once she deemed he had expended his usefulness to her cause...Not for the first time, he wondered...whether anything close to humanity still dwelt within her. It didn't matter to him, truth be told, but he was curious.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Marksman
'Salvo fitted the vambrace over one skinny arm and carefully took aim. There was a heavy rattle accompanied by a violent shudder, and a flurry of bolts burst forth, streaking towards their target. With a splintering sound, each hammered home, decapitating the mannequin. Salvo's spiteful smile grew larger still.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Mechanica Revolution
'Velocity's whole post shifted in an immediate flurry of activity. Suddenly from the menacing stance came a burst of unnatural speed. The automaton quickly retrieved the ball, andthen expertly switched to the striker position.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Innocent Rose
'Bushel didn't know how a girl like her got here...The memory of herding cattle and helping around the yard was fresh in her mind as fresh in her mind as if it had happened yesterday...And yet, her boots now were those of a professional Guild Ball player.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Ass Kicker
'The creature had been abrasively braying at the top of its lungs since the game began, its hee-haw sounding more like scathing, grinding laughter...' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Destined Heir
"Grange is already one of the most capable players we have. He's naturally talented, a solid and dependable fighter, and charismatic in his own way. Hard-headed? He is that, and more...He'll calm down in time...And one day, when I'm finally done, he'll be the next captain on this team." - Thresher, Farmer's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Salt of the Earth
"A young lad like Harrow might not look it just yet, but he's one of the most important players the Farmer's Guild has...Lads like him are the rich soil upon which the crops grow. They're the future of our Guild..." - Thresher, Farmer's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Mischievous Scarecrow
"I've even seen a couple of the Farmers give it a wide berth. The thing has a nasty habit of sneaking up on you when you least expect it...On the pitch it seems fairly harmless, though. Most of the time, it just skips around and throws sprouts about..." - Friday, Brewer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Full Hearted
'Tater envied Millstone for her drive and determination. From the start, she had actually believed the Farmer's Guild could be champions.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Fowl Play
"Is it even the same chicken on the pitch each time? I doubt it. Not even the Farmers can tell them apart, I'll wager." - Jac, Fisherman's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Prince Charming
'"Here we are again, then, pretty boy. Going to tell me more of your amateur tactics, and how they'll stand up against the pros in the big leagues?" Honour's jaw was set in a determined line.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Old Father
'Thresher was a born leader, paternal yet authoritative, always with a kind word for his kin...and stern if they didn't toe the line. Old Father, they called him, and the name suited the man who was the partiarch of the Farmer's Guild.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Indolent Slacker
'[Windle] had only signed up to avoid work in the fields, back when the team seldom played, and he could bunk off for a kip in the barn. It had proven to be the worst decision of his life. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he could take his frustration out on the opposition once the league started.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Seas Beauty
"There is going to come a time in your life, young blood, when the moment is upon you and you have to step up...Get it right, and you'll be the First Lady. Proud, true, and noble. Get it wrong, and you'll spend your life running...Don't be that girl when your time comes." - Greyscales, Fisherman's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Returning Exile
'One word described the difference Corsair brought to this team. Leadership. It was leadership that had been lacking...The Fisherman's Guild team belonged to the pirates again. And that was the way it was going to stay.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Elder Fisherman
'Greyscales didn't know anything other than Guild Ball. His life was the game. It had left him old and hobbling on a knee that creaked worse than a scuttled hull.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Seawitch
"Look past the leathery, wrinkled skin and the blind eyes clouded with sea salt and foam, and you will see what the crone truly is. A message that we have attracted the attention of the Lords of the Deep. A curse." - Sakana, Fisherman's Guild
The Brawler
"Yeah, you'd better believe me, boy, I don't trust what Boar said. Even he couldn't have taken down my brother." - Jac, Fisherman's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Deep Power
'Kraken opened his mouth to scream...and seawater immediately rushed in to fill his throat, suffocating all sound...[His] eyes flickered open. He was alone in his bunk...Just a dream. Or a memory.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Privateer
'Although [Greyscales] didn’t know Sakana all that well, he had known several Numasai over the course of his service in the navy. They were a hardy, determined, and tenacious people, not given to bouts of inactivity. Hard, vicious fighters as well, he recalled, eyes drawn to Sakana’s trident.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Rascal
"What is it? I think it's some sort of rat...don't worry about it. Just watch out for the rest of them. Salt won't do nothing all game, never has done." - Shank, Butcher's Guild Vice Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Fang of the Sea
"Always pragmatic, the Fang of the Sea. Never had much ego in him to get in the way of his shipmates or the team...One day, when the sun sets on my final voyage, it will be Shark who takes the helm..." - Corsair, Fisherman's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Turning of the Tide
'"You are doomed, Elder." [Siren's] eyes blazed brighter, something primal and malicious having stolen the young woman's expression once again as she broke out in a savage, feral grin.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Eastern Mystery
"Weird things, aren't they? All legs and suckers, like nothing you've seen before on the western seas...At least they don't bite much." - Corsair, Fisherman's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Ironheart
"It's been said that my problem is that I don't trust anyone. You know what? I don't. You have to earn my respect." - Chaska, Hunter's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Promised of the Moon
'Egret felt the presence of the stag before she saw it...The Promised knew that this strike was hers to make, that she must release the arrow herself...[she] could almost feel the Lord Huntress's smile, leagues away to the north.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Midnight Devil
"Hunger. The sort of huner that will only be sated when they catch their mark and tear its throat out. You know what they hunger for? Prey. And on the pitch, that's us." - Spigot, Brewer's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Oracle of the Moon Goddess
'It was the last rite of the Sun Father, the final passing of the northern sun during the reign of the Moon Goddess...Each year, Hearne had wearily struggled through the snow and ice that capped these craggy peaks.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Shadowborn
'Jaecar grinned wickedly by way of reply, his hands reaching for the knives at his belt. Ah, yes, city life. He'd missed it. He would just have to make the most of moments like this whilst he could.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Great Bear
"I hear that they can control the bear because one of their shamans trapped a man inside of the animal, some poor sacrifice who displeased the Hunter's Guild a thousand years ago." - Silence, Mortician's Guild Vice Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Champion of the Moon Goddess
'[Hearne] wondered if any trace of Skatha remained or if her mind had been lost completely, destroyed by the wrath of her mistress. It appeared that the Winter Queen had finally embraced her role, herald of a frozen kingdom, ruled only by darkness.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Spirit Hound
"They are the hounds of the Moon Goddess, the trackers in her pack charged with hunting down prey for their mistress. Do not underestimate the wolf." - Hearne, Hunter's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Champion of the Sun Father
'Theron could not have been more proud to stand with his brothers and sisters...vibrant and alivem united by the path of the old gods and by their ties to the Guild. Together they were one family, one pack.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Blessed of the Hunt
"Half man, half wolf, the skinwalker is forever destined to roam the forgotten places of this world...The curse is at its height when the moon is full—then the predatory instinct will take over." - Theron, Hunter's Guild Team Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Wild Mistress
'Soon, it would be time to hunt, time for [Zarola] to feel alive once again, amongst her brothers and sisters.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Unstoppable Juggernaut
'Brick didn't mind admitting that he loved the new regime...he knew the changes that Hammer had introduced were going to win them a second championship in a row. They were tougher, leaner, and meaner than ever before.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Devoted Sportswoman
'On Hammer's first day, he had told [Chisel] to forget about the ball. He wanted her to punish the other team, and so she did, gleefully charging headlong into the fight without fear.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Veteran Rogue
"And you know what? Good for [Flint]. Isn't the first lad to prefer a stallion to a mare and certainly won't be the last. I like him well enough, and all I care about is how he takes care of himself out there on the pitch..." - Mallet, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Stern Enforcer
"I'm glad she's on my side. You ever see her chase down the opposition, lad? Utterly relentless. It doesn't matter how many swarm her...It's all the same. Granite just takes her licking and dishes it back out." (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Superstar
'No man could be expected to live up to what was being asked of [Hammer], by both his Guild and the Union. Neither had any level of consideration for his feelings...He was just another puppet in their games, forced to suffer in silence.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Foundation
'...every time an argument broke out on the proving grounds, Harmony would simply stop it...They all respected her enough to cease...She was happy to help smooth things over...It was part of her new role as Vice Captain.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
First Lady of Guild Ball
"I’ve spent a life living in [Honour's] shadow, and it’s a blasted big one. When I was very young, I used to think she was a hero. Typical childish fantasy. When I got older, I could see the truth for what it was: all the pressure to perform, to guide the team to victory in every game...I saw what it did to her. Took a carefree woman and made her stonehearted." - Harmony, Mason's Guild Vice Captain (Guild Ball, Season 3)
The Old Workhorse
"...no settling in slowly like in the old days...[Now] every tackle has to break bones or draw blood, every goal needs to be a screamer. I imagine these old legs have run more in the last month than they managed all of last season." - Mallet, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Exotic Primate
'[Marbles] is devoted to each of the Mason players. Whenever one of his teammates is threatened, Marbles often charges headlong into the opposition without thought for his own safety.' (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Redoubtable Apprentice
"Oh, the boy will adapt, I have no doubt of that. He's already on the path to be a star one day. I can even see one or two improvements." - Flint, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Giant Shrew
"What is it? Some sort of bloody great shrew is as much as I could tell you...You wouldn't believe it, but Chisel is crazy over it. She's always petting the thing, pushing it around wherever she goes, coddling it like a house pet." - Brick, Mason's Guild (Guild Ball, Season 3)
Is your team great at scoring goals? Can they use buffs to boost teammates? Or maybe their talents lie in knocking out enemy players? The best game plan plays to the strengths of your Guild.
Smash in a goal. Make a crucial pass. Take down a threatening enemy. Gain Momentum Points by performing actions that excite the crowd!
Once you've gained Momentum, use it to make special and game-defining actions like taking shots on goal, healing damage, or launching counter-attacks. The spectators will love it!
Earn 4 points for scoring a goal, 2 points for taking out a Captain or Squaddie, and 1 point for taking out a Mascot. Remember: just 12 points stand between you and victory.
With just six player slots to fill, think carefully about the skills you need in your team. It's up to you whether you balance ball control with attack and defence, or weight your team one way or the other.
Guild Ball's playbook system also lets you be strategic with attacks. When you make a successful attack, you can choose the result from the options available to your player. Choose to damage, tackle, dodge, push, or take your victim down.
Some powerful character plays can change the course of the game.
Each team starts with a pool of Influence. Players use that Influence to kick the ball, make an attack, or peform character plays. As coach, it's your job to allocate Influence to players at the start of the turn. During the game, perform actions that excite the crowd to build Momentum. Then use that Momentum to perform even more momentous actions.
Be clever in your use of these two resources, and you might just win!
Bring mob football to your tabletop in this fast-paced medieval skirmish game, where powerful Guilds compete to win by any means necessary. Earn victory by scoring 12 victory points—or by sending your opponent home in a wooden box.