image © Mantic Games
Article updated: 2021.03.15
The DreadBall Xtreme board game is a futuristic sports game, published by Mantic Games, set in the Warpath universe. It was first produced in 2014.
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Details - DreadBall Xtreme base set from Mantic Games
Boardgame base set: DreadBall Xtreme base set
Product name: Back DreadBall Xtreme - The Galaxy`s Most Brutal Sport DreadBall Xtreme - The Galaxy`s Most Brutal Sport, Product code: ?, Set type: Board game base set (Game base set), System: DreadBall Ed2 system (DreadBall system), Range: Warpath range - DreadBall range - Bremlin Nebulas & Long Rock Lifers & Renton Rejects (Futuristic), Setting: Warpath universe, Company: Mantic Games company, Production: 2014-2021-
Designer: Jake Thornton
Features: Miniatures
Players: 2
Language dependency: Rules, cards
"With a focus on violence and carnage, DreadBall Xtreme is a standalone sports game and takes the simple mechanics of DreadBall and twists them together to create something altogether more unruly!"
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Contents - DreadBall Xtreme base set from Mantic Games
image © Mantic Games
System
1x 68 Page A4 Full Colour Rulebook (online rulebook PDF)
1x Special Move Card Deck
1x Sabotage Card Deck
Counters
14 Coloured Dice
Miniature figures
Convict team - Long Rock Lifers
10 Convict Players
2 Guard / Keeper
2x Long Rock Lifers Grogan Guard kit
Long Rock Lifers Grogan Guard #1
Long Rock Lifers Grogan Keeper #1
3 Jack
3 Striker
2x Long Rock Lifers Striker #1
1x Long Rock Lifers Striker #2
2x Long Rock Lifers Prone player
Kalyshi team - Bremlin Nebulas
10 Kalyshi Players
4 Jack
4 Striker
2x Bremlin Nebulas Prone player
Free Agents - Renton Rejects
1x Avaran Treebeast (Guard)
1x Jetari Training Drone GL14 (Guard)
1x Jetari Training Drone SL22 (Striker)
1x Yxaal Nameless Bloodsucker (Guard)
1x Pusk Rampager (Guard)
1x Vlorox Spinpede (Striker)
1x Yndij Reaver (Striker)
1x Zee Buccaneer #1 (Jack)
1x Zee Buccaneer #2 (Jack)
Sponsors
1x The Warden
Miniature figure accessories
12x Transparent Yellow Mantic Hex Base, plastic
12x Transparent Blue Mantic Hex Base, plastic
Miniature scenery
1x Xtreme Deluxe Gaming Mat
DreadBall Xtreme Obstacles and Accessories
4 Large crate
8 Small crate
1 Tower
2 Strike post
image © Mantic Games
image © Mantic Games
image © Mantic Games
 image © Mantic Games |
 image © Mantic Games |
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Review - DreadBall Xtreme base set from Mantic Games
Opening the box
I'm impressed that the whole game could be played practically in 30 mins after opening the box. The miniatures are sprueless one-piece (or pre-assembled) models, only 2 of them requires assembly, and even that is just putting them together, the pegs will hold them during the game. The scenery is a bit more difficult, I'd say it's about 5-10 minutes to put them together, but is's just because there's a lot of them in the box. The scenery is put together LEGO-style, you just need to find the two halves, press them together and that's it. I love this system, I hope Mantic will produce more of them.
Rulebook - First read
Even though the game pieces could be prepared for the game quickly, I have to admit it was the rulebook the slowed our first game. It took me reading most of the book to even understand what is the aim of the game - the players need to go to the coloured zone with the ball and put it into the goal posts. Now, I have to admit, I have never seen a game of American Football, never played the basic DreadBall, and probably knowing more about them would have made it easier to understand the concepts the book referred to, but most of them was totally foreign to me.
If there were some more comprehensive rules to guide me through a first game it would have been great and it would made a first game easier to start. For example the Infinity box Operation: Icestorm is a good example for having a good quick start. (Although in that box it's the miniatures that take hours and hours to clean and assemble.)
Foreign editions: ?
Package: ?
Rulebook: ?
Rules: ?
Game mat: ?.
Miniatures:
Every miniature in the DreadBall Xtreme base set is either a one-piece cast, or pre-glued multi-piece, so you don't need any preparations before your first game. The only exception is the Long Rock Lifers Grogan Guard kit, but it has a tight fit peg, so you only need to push it together, and it will hold through your games.
There is no flash on the miniatures, but there are some mould lines that are visible, and they will be need removal before you start painting.
The glue doesn't show, most of the miniatures are so finely crafted it's hard to realise whether or not it is a multi-piece cast. Most of the joins are hidden well, and that also helps the pieces to stay together. I haven't seen any of these minis come apart.
The optional parts of the Long Rock Lifers Grogan Guard kit are not glued - you can just snap-fit those, and they can survive the game if you are not too rough on them. If you intend to switch those parts regularly, maybe a self-adhesive glue could do the trick.
On the back of the Bremlin Nebulas miniatures, there is a circle. This feature gives you the chance to identify team members. You can just paint them with a common colour, or colours that identify the team member. You could also paint symbols, numbers or use decals, there's enough space.
Dice: ?
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Resources - DreadBall Xtreme base set from Mantic Games
Official
Mantic Games Shop: Back DreadBall Xtreme - The Galaxy`s Most Brutal Sport DreadBall Xtreme - The Galaxy`s Most Brutal Sport (on Archive.org): Official webpage. (2021: The article is offline.)
Mantic Games Shop: DreadBall Xtreme with free Player’s Manual: Official webpage.
Mantic Games Shop: DreadBall Xtreme Player Manual: Official webpage. 2018: 18 EUR / 15 GBP / 20 USD
Official rules
Rules overview
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): Sponsor articles
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): SPONSOR: Blaine (DBX): Sponsor overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Alienation (Blaine): Team configuration article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Greater Alienation (Blaine):
Team configuration article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): SPONSOR: The Warden (DBX): Sponsor overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): DBX TEAM CONFIGURATION: Speed Freaks and Roid Rage (Warden): Team overview article about the Long Rock Lifers.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): Convict articles
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): TEAM: Long Rock Lifers (Convict team): Team overview article about the Long Rock Lifers.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): TACTICS: Dealing with difficult teams... the Convicts : Team overview article, how to play against the Long Rock Lifers.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Con (Human DBX Convict): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Runner (Human DBX Convict): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Thug (Grogan DBX Convict): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): Kalyshi articles
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): TEAM: Bremlin Nebulas (Kalyshi team): Team overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Kalyshi Jack (Asterian DBX Kalyshi): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Kalyshi Striker (Asterian DBX Kalyshi): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): Free Agents articles
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Jetari SL22 “Thrower” (Robot DBX Free Agent): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Pusk Rampager (Pusk DBX Free Agent): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Vlorox Spinpede (Vlorox DBX Free Agent): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Yndij Reaver (Yndij DBX Free Agent): Unit overview article.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): PLAYER: Zee Buccaneer (Zee DBX Free Agent): Unit overview article.
Contents overview - DreadBall Xtreme base set
AdamHarry (from Bell of Lost Souls): BoLS Unboxing | Dreadball Xtreme | Mantic: Contents overview video.Ł
Chris (The Blue Baron)(for Weekend Warriors): Weekend Warriors – DreadBall Xtreme Unboxing: Contents overview article.
Compel (for Compel's Gaming Blog): Unboxing DreadBall Xtreme: Contents overview article.
Deathwatch Studios: DreadBall Xtreme Unboxing & Review!: Contents overview article, with review.
Review
Deathwatch Studios: DreadBall Xtreme Unboxing & Review!: Contents overview article, with review.
Deathwatch Studios: Dreadball – Playing Xtreme!: Review article.
Gameplay
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): SIDELINE REPORT: Bremlin Nebulas vs Rallion Roses: Gameplay article. System: DreadBall.
Pope (for DreadBall Notebook): SIDELINE REPORT: The Fran-Taar Philosophers vs Long Rock Lifers: Gameplay article. System: DreadBall.
Miniature showcase
Richard Heath (for Yith's Wargaming Blog): Dreadball Xtreme: Showcase article about the Bremlin Nebulas, the Long Rock Lifers, the Renton Rejects, Blaine Sponsor, and The Warden.
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Buying the product - DreadBall Xtreme base set from Mantic Games
Price
Base price (DreadBall Xtreme base set)(2021): 25 EUR / 10 GBP / 30 USD. Price/figure: 0.8 EUR / 0.3 GBP / 1 USD. Price/model: 0.5 EUR / 0.2 GBP / 0.7 USD
Base price (DreadBall Xtreme base set)(2018-2019): 70 EUR / 50 GBP / 80 USD
Contents (2014): 1x DreadBall Xtreme Player Manual, 1x Long Rock Lifers Convict Team (£17.99 / $29.99), 1x Bremlin Nebulas Kalyshi Team (£17.99 / $29.99), 9 DreadBall Xtreme Free Agents (£17.99 / $29.99), 1x Xtreme Deluxe Gaming Mat (£19.99 / $34.99), 1x DreadBall Xtreme Obstacles and Accessories (£14.99 / $24.99)
Contents (2018): 1x DreadBall Xtreme Player Manual (18 EUR/ 15 GBP/ 20 USD), 1x Long Rock Lifers Convict Team (25 EUR/ 20 GBP/ 30 USD), 1x Bremlin Nebulas Kalyshi Team (25 EUR/ 20 GBP/ 30 USD), 9 DreadBall Xtreme Free Agents (25 EUR/ 20 GBP/ 30 USD), 1x Xtreme Deluxe Gaming Mat (25 EUR/ 20 GBP/ 30 USD), 1x DreadBall Xtreme Obstacles and Accessories (25 EUR / 15 GBP / 25 USD)
=145 EUR (49%) / 110 GBP (45%) / 165 USD (49%)
Where can you buy it?
Mantic Games Shop: DreadBall Xtreme with free Player’s Manual: Official webpage.
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