Introduction: G-BALL - SPORT OF THE STARS What binds the worlds of the Imperium together? The xboat system? The feudal vows of the nobility? For many citizens sporting ties are an equally important source of imperial unity, creating shared interests for systems which would otherwise have little in common. There are a multitude of sports played in the Imperium, many being unique to a particular region or race. One sport that is found in every sector is zero-gravity handball, popularly called G-ball, gravball or nul-ball. It is a human invention which is now enjoyed by many other races. HISTORY G-ball developed out of the ball games played by off-duty Terran naval personnel during the Interstellar Wars. The court could be any open volume inside a starship hull where there was zero-gravity. Empty fuel tanks were especially suitable, once they had had their baffles dismantled. These informal games still take place today, when a visiting cruiser squadron might find itself challenged by the local marine garrison commander, who wants to provide a morale-boosting diversion for his troops. The Scouts too like to 'shoot some ball', the bays of xboat tenders often being the chosen location. The collapse of the Rule of Man also brought the collapse of interstellar sport. During the Long Night, a variety of zero-G ball games evolved inside the scattered petty states, most of them surviving in some form to the present day. Modern G-ball is really an amalgam of two of these sports. Both of them, although very similar, developed independently; one in the Sylean Federation, the other in the Aakhri Empire (subsector N of Dagudashaag sector). The two games came into contact in the early years of the Third Imperium and borrowed elements from each other until they had merged into a single sport. This new game was soon being played throughout the coreward portions of the Imperium. The fundamentals of the sport, such as each side fielding five players at a time from a team of nine, were settled by 200 and indeed since 400 the rules have hardly changed. Both proto-games used a court of 60m by 30m - these dimensions seem to have their roots in the standardised shipbuilding techniques of the Terrans. However, there remains to this day variations in the size of the ball used; from league to league it can range in circumference from 60cm to 80cm. G-ball spread across the Imperium, growing more popular over the centuries and ousting many home-grown sports. There are now thousands of amateur and professional teams playing in single-planet leagues in hundreds of systems. But to the Imperial citizen G-ball means the interstellar leagues, with their fabulously wealthy star players, majestic orbital stadia and constant holoview coverage. THE BIG LEAGUES The 'majors' are organised at the sector level. For example, the Spinward Marches G-Ball League has forty-four teams, grouped into five conferences: Regina, Rhylanor, Lunion, Mora and Glisten. The Regina and Mora Conferences, which have the largest number of teams, are both split into a Core and a Rim Division. Rhylanor is the oldest conference in the League, its six charter teams being founded in 512. The Glisten Conference was suspended following the destruction of the stadium above Aki in 1117 during the Aslan invasion. The unrest in Trin's Veil and Glisten subsectors, caused by the ihatei encroachment, made team owners unwilling to risk their teams by either playing or travelling there, despite guarantees given by the Aslan that they would be perfectly safe. The Aslan have long been supporters of G-ball and some of their best athletes have played alongside human team-mates in the Imperium's top sides. Elsewhere, the Rebellion has caused most sector leagues to be suspended for the duration, although in some isolated subsectors away from the war zones teams play on as if the Imperium was at peace. Armed conflict has a history of disrupting league schedules. The outbreak of the Fifth Frontier War caused all play in the Spinward Marches to be halted at a time when Regina Royals seemed a certainty to take the championship. Although the Royals were to win the Victory Tournament of 1110, it was not the same. The fans felt robbed and spent the next decade complaining. The Royals did eventually make their fans happy at the climax of the 1120 playoffs, when they defeated the reigning champion Mora Maulers by four games to two, in the best-of-seven SpinBowl series at Equus. In common with the majority of leagues, the Spinward Marches follows the 'homeworld' pattern, in which each team is based at a particular world from which it draws its support. Divisions and conferences are formed from neighbouring teams. Other sectors follow the 'circus' pattern, also called the 'barbarian' pattern, where teams have fans, and marketing offices, scattered over many worlds. These itinerant teams then tour the sector playing in a succession of tournaments. From opening game to playoff final, the season typically lasts eighty weeks, with a twenty-four week gap between seasons. The average team plays seventy-five regular season games, mostly in week-long three game series against rivals from the same conference. Each season a team will also go on several tours through neighbouring conferences. With the completion of the regular season, conference champions and wild-card qualifiers go on to contest the playoffs and find a sector champion. Before the Rebellion, every regular season would be interrupted by Emperor's Cup tournaments. These tournaments, of which several would be held at various systems around a sector, were all of a standard format: a round-robin first stage followed by a knock-out second stage, the final game being held on the Emperor's birthday (which for Strephon was day 202). For the four-week long tournaments teams would travel great distances, sometimes even into other sectors, to play teams that they would not usually get to meet. The assassination of Strephon put league officials in an awkward political situation, which those in the Spinward Marches resolved by declaring that in future the tournaments were to be called Domain or Archducal Cups, and were to finish on day 091, the date of Norris' elevation to Archduke. In odd-numbered years the Domain Cups now serve to mark the start of the season. Other traditional interruptions to the regular season in the Spinward Marches are the charity All-Star games, held every other year on day 001, between teams picked from the finest players in each conference. TICKET TO STARDOM The day before the All-Star games is when the midseason draft takes place. An identical draft is also held during the offseason. Within each conference, teams take it in turn to draft new players from a pool of available talent. In this pool are free agents, who may have travelled from distant subsectors, newly graduated university players and the rising stars from the professional planetary leagues. Large universities, like Rhylanor, each have several rival G-ball societies. These often provide scholarships for promising young athletes. Old pros with many seasons experience will always tell you that no games are as fiercely competitive as those in the varsity leagues. Few university players are drafted straight into the majors, the bulk of them first spending a season or so in the minor planetary leagues, honing their skills. The chances of any would-be major leaguer being picked in a draft are slim, as teams are allowed only twenty-five players on their roster from which to pick each game's nine participants, and the roster size is even smaller in some sectors. But for the lucky few who do make it the rewards can be enormous. Even the most junior player will receive a basic appearance fee of Cr100,000 per game, although it should be remembered that careers in the majors are short. Not many players can absorb the physical punishment of the long best-of-seven set games for more than three or four seasons, while some players even find that all their money makes them no longer 'hungry' enough to be at their sharpest in the court. In 1115, Rhylanor Raiders, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to spend their way back to their past glories, signed Jurgen 'Duke' Shaw on a contract worth a record Cr900,000 basic a game. This was before the scoring and win bonuses which push many star G-ball players' pay over the million credits a game mark. Shaw's signing did bring the Raiders short term benefit: the live holoviewing ratings for his first home series against Skull Crushers averaged over 700 million curious sentients. When holoviewing, a G-ball fan can either watch the traditional three dimensional representation of the court or he can take advantage of the holorecorders mounted in the helmets of all the players to experience the sites and sounds of the game as if he or she were actually playing. ARENAS IN THE SKY To provide a suitable big-game atmosphere, both for the players and the holoviewing fans, all G-ball clubs have seats around the court for spectators. The court's walls are tinted to give the players a hazy view of the crowd but be fully transparent from the spectators' side. Even though they know the wall is really there, it can still be a little disconcerting for the fans when a 200kg Aslan comes hurtling through the air towards them. Tickets to see a major league game are expensive, the cheapest around Cr100, but the drink and snack facilities are traditionally all free. A surprisingly widespread apocryphal tale told at stadia is of the fan that ate so much that he became stuck in his seat and stayed there for an entire season! Since the main purpose of the live audience is to generate excitement, few stadia have many private or corporate suites, although this exclusiveness serves to raise the rents of the existing suites to astronomic levels. Most stadia are in orbit, although a few in high tech level systems are on the planet's surface. Some of the finest arenas are in hollowed out asteroids, the one at Gitosy (Spinward Marches 2918) being famed for its elegant architecture. To solve the problem of where to practice while en route to away games, many teams simply equip their stadia with jump drives and take the whole lot with them. OFFICIALS AND RULES Professional G-ball games are overseen by five officials. Inside the court are the Umpire, responsible for keeping discipline amongst the players, and two Goal-Judges, who each watch over one end of the court and who rule on scoring and related infringements. Outside the court is the head official, called the Referee, and his assistant who monitor the game using the many holocameras. Transmitters mounted in the armour of each player enable his or her position to be tracked at all times and lets some illegalities such as wall-walking and offside (loitering on a goal) to be handled by computer. The computer will warn a player moving along the side wall over his helmet communicator if he is in danger of crossing a girth line, one of the thin lines that section off the sidewall into 6m wide hoops; to then ignore the warning and deliberately cross a girth line is a sending-out offence. Similarly, the computer also prompts any player who has stayed for a second on a goal. Failure to then jump makes that player offside, and thus ineligible to touch either the ball or another player until back onside, i.e. having landed again on the sidewall. The tracking computer's data is made available to coaches during the game to help them evaluate the performance of their own players and those of the opposing team. The armoured suits worn by G-ball players can make them resemble soldiers in battle dress. G-ball armour is not as resilient as the military variety but does help to protect players from injuring themselves when colliding with each other. More dangerous is when a player catastrophically loses control, usually because of a tackle, and crashes into the wall of the court. One way in which G-ball players differ from combat troops is that they want to be seen, and so their armour can be brightly coloured and adorned with the club emblem. The helmet communicator enables the players and officials to talk, or more often shout, at one another. The coaches too can speak to their players, but only between points. There are adhesive patches on the back of G-ball gloves to help players cling to the wall, as otherwise any small movement could push them off towards the centre of the court. Adhesive patches on the palms, to help catch the ball, are not permitted. The rules also forbid the armour being equipped with servo-assistance or any means of propulsion. Neither can more low tech fittings such as spikes and studs be attached, and nor can the players themselves be enhanced, either bionically, chemically or psionically. As well as a transmitter, the ball contains pressure sensors to aid in enforcing the holding rule. This rule states that the player can only keep one limb in contact with the ball except at the instant of catching or passing it, and cannot hold it against the body. The intention of this rule is to stop tackles becoming wrestling matches and so reduce injury and speed up the game. Anyone who has watched a game will have noticed the tackle shell, a luminous, transparent globe three metres in radius which is holographically projected around the ball. Besides helping spectators to follow the ball, the shell's main purpose is to let players know when they are close enough to the ball to be allowed to grapple with their opponents. The rules state that the home team selects the atmospheric density inside the court. This is normally the same as the homeworld, although this is of course not possible with vacuum worlds or those with very thick atmospheres. But the visiting team must be prepared for the air pressure to have been changed for tactical reasons, as it can effect the game. In a thinner atmosphere the players and the ball will fly faster, while in a denser one players can swerve the ball when passing, so foiling would-be interceptors. Whatever the atmosphere of the homeworld, harmful taints must be removed from the air inside the court. ALIENS - THIS TIME IT'S SPORT The Aslan fondness of G-ball has already been mentioned. The Vargr too have provided many of G-ball's greatest stars. Both of these races have spread the game beyond the Imperium's borders, although they have altered both its rules and tactics to better suit them. Although the Hivers are not thought to play the game much themselves, they have introduced it to 'younger' races in their Federation as a tool for channelling aggressive energies away from war, that other popular spectator sport. To rimward, dolphins are often found playing G-ball, one successful minor league Terran team being entirely composed of them. They cannot use their waldoes (as this is ruled as enhancement), but their aquatic background puts them at an advantage when manoeuvring in three dimensions. There are accounts of the Zhodani having a sport similar to G-ball that they play at their Games. However, their use of psionics would make it nearly unrecognisable, if not totally unwatchable, to Imperial citizens. As you would expect, having invented it, the Solomani continue to be great fans of the game. Indeed, play in the Sol subsector restarted in 1118 almost as soon as their battlefleets had left for systems further coreward. Before the Solomani re-occupation of Terra, its G-ball team - the Firma - had been a centre for anti-Imperial agitation and its games against the local rival LunaTics, a team identified with the pro-Imperial movement, were played in a somewhat charged atmosphere. At last report, the tension remains under the new regime, but now it is Terra Firma that has the fans in high places, while the 'Tics find themselves being investigated by SolSec. Similarly, before the Fifth Frontier War, Grand Sports Club of Entrope used to play in the Sword Worlds League of Gravball. (The game in the Sword Worlds is almost identical to Imperial G-ball except for allowing some blocking away from the ball.) Its fixtures at Entrope Stadium often turned into rowdy demonstrations pressing for the system to be reunited with the Darrian Confederation, and consequently the club was regularly threatened with closure by the authorities. After the war Entrope did again become a Darrian world, but G.S.C.'s supporters missed their gravball and the club has now requested to play again in the Sword Worlds League. Sporting loyalties can sometimes be stronger than political ones!

G-BALL

A complete match is the best of seven sets, each set being the best of seven points. After each point, play is stopped and the teams return to their own halves of the court. The neutral zone, a 6m slice midway along the cylinder, separates the two halves. Substitution only occurs between points, when any number of players can be substituted.

The Board

The game board shows a section through the court. Each of the large squares is 6m across. These full-sized squares are referred to as air squares. Players in air squares are moving through the interior space of the court.

The half-squares and the four small corner squares around the edge represent the wall of the court and so are called wall squares. A player in one of these is assumed to be in contact with the wall. To be in contact with a goal he must be in one of the four, shaded wall squares at each end of the court. The small corner squares are not part of the goals. Players may not loiter on the goals. Those who are on a goal, either theirs or their opponents', must move off as soon as they can. Any number of players, from either side, may occupy a square.

Star Ratings

A new team facing its debut season has a budget of 140 megacredits to buy star players. A player with a star rating in a single area costs MCr20, in two areas MCr60 and stars in all three areas MCr100. Players without star ratings do not count against this budget, and make up the rest of the team. A player may not shift star ratings from one area to another, but teams may always trade players.

Initiative

If the morale levels are equal, or if that rule is not in use, then the team in possession of the ball automatically has initiative ; when the ball is loose, the home team has initiative.

(If playing at a neutral venue, a coin is tossed before starting the first point of each set. The winner is considered to be the 'home team' for the point, both for this purpose and for when starting play. Thereafter, the side which won the previous point is the 'home team').

The Game Turn

Phase One MOVEMENT: First, the ball, if in no one's possession, moves one square in the direction of the arrows on the ball counter. Then the players are moved, in this order:

a) Players without star jumping of the team without initiative

b) Players without star jumping of the team with initiative

c) Players with star jumping of the team without initiative

d) Players with star jumping of the team with initiative.

Phase Two CATCHING & TACKLING: Players in the same square as the ball may attempt to catch it, or tackle an opponent who already possesses it. Note that catching and tackling depend on the player's position after all movement has taken place. If the ball enters a square which a player vacates later in the same movement phase then a catch may not be attempted. At the end of this phase, players in possession may throw the ball.

Phase Three BALL ONLY MOVEMENT: The ball, if loose, moves one square in the direction shown by the arrows on its counter.

Phase Four SECOND CATCHING PHASE: Players in a square entered by the ball in phase 3 may attempt to catch it. A ruck is the only sort of tackling allowed in this phase. At the end of the phase a player in possession may throw the ball.

Starting Play

Players must start the point in a wall square in their own half (and so not in one of the neutral zone wall squares). If they start in a goal square they must jump from it in the first movement phase.

The ball enters play by being shot through a hole in the wall of the court. A die is rolled prior to the first point of each set (once the players are in position) to determine where the ball emerges. On a 1-3 it is placed in the neutral zone wall square to the left of the home team, on a 4-6 in the one to the right of the home team. The first turn then begins, with the ball moving across the court, into the adjacent neutral zone air square.

On the second and successive points of a set the ball starts in the neutral zone wall square on the same side of the court as the goal square in which the previous point was scored. It is also placed so that the arrows showing the direction of flight are at 45o to the wall, pointing back into the half of the team which conceded the previous point.

MOVEMENT

Players must move in the direction shown by the arrow on their counter. Those in air squares may only turn as a result of contact with another player (see Changes of Direction). Players in wall squares may turn at any time to face any direction, up until they move.

Players may not move from a wall square into an adjacent wall square. Note that the outermost goal squares are not considered adjacent to those side-wall squares one move diagonally across from them, either for this rule or for passing out from the end-wall.

A team may never have, at the end of a phase, two players in an air square pointing in the same direction. This does not apply to wall squares. Two players from different teams may face the same way in the same square.

A player may not move from a wall squre while in possession of the ball. The ball bounces when it strikes the wall. A loose ball in a wall square has its facing changed in phases 2 and 4. A ball moving perpendicular to the wall is turned by 180o. This includes any ball that enters a corner square. Balls striking the wall at 45o are moved through a right angle.

CATCHING & PASSING

Only one player may have possession at a time, and only this player may control the ball. Those who are not in possession may not nudge or bat the ball (except, sometimes, in a maul: see below). If a team has more than one player in the square, it chooses one of them who will try to catch the ball. Should this player fail, one, and only one, other player can attempt to make the catch. A player may never attempt to make a catch in the same phase as he or she lost a tackle roll.

Players in possession may throw the ball during phases 2 and 4. This is the final activity of these phases, so players may throw the ball in the same phase as they caught it. Throwing is optional, except for players in possession in one of their own goal squares, who must throw, or else leave a spinball, before they jump off.

The ball is placed in the throwing player's square, pointing in the direction in which the player wishes it to move in the following phase. Opposing players in the same square may not try and catch the ball.

For purposes of initiative and morale, the throwing player is considered to still have possession up until when next someone has tried to catch the ball: if successful, the catcher takes possession; if not, the ball reverts to being in neither teams' possession (the state in which it starts each point). The 'In Hand' counter should be left on top of the throwing player, as a reminder, until the next catching roll is made. This rule only applies when the ball is deliberately thrown or left; players who fumble immediately lose possession.

A player in a wall square may never throw the ball into an adjacent wall square. In particular, a player in his opponents' corner end-wall square may not throw the ball across the face of the goal, but only diagonally back towards the neutral zone.

A player in a side-wall square may not throw the ball forward. He may throw it laterally across the court or back towards his own end-wall. Players in possession on their own end-wall (goal and corner squares) may make forward passes.

Spinball

Handoff

A player is inelligible to receive a handoff in the same turn as he or she lost a tackle roll or failed in a prior catch attempt.

TACKLING

To determine the result of a tackle each player rolls a six-sided die, star tacklers adding one to their roll. The highest roll wins. Tied rolls are called fumbles, the effects of which are detailed below.

When a player is tackled by several opponents at the same time, he still only rolls one die. The scores of his adversaries are not added together, but instead each is individually compared to that of the lone player. EXAMPLE: Player Alpha is tackled by players Chi and Gamma. Alpha rolls 4, Chi 5 and Gamma 1. Chi has beaten Alpha, but Alpha has beaten Gamma, and , as the two scores add up to five, Gamma is injured (see Injuries). Note, in a ruck involving two players from each side trying to catch the ball, each player compares his tackle score to those of both his opponents. A player may tackle more than once in a phase in some circumstances.

The Ruck

Each blocker chooses one receiver to tackle; several blockers can combine against the same receiver. Only those receivers who have first defeated all their blockers are elligible to catch the ball. If receivers from both teams have achieved this, each receiver rolls a tackle die. The highest may attempt the catch. If this player fails, the second player of the same team (if any) may now try, providing his tackle roll was higher than any made by the opposing side. The losers of a tackle roll may never attempt to make a catch.

FUMBLES: If a tackle between a blocker and a receiver is fumbled the receiver is prevented from catching the ball, and, if in an air square, there is a chance that the players may make an accidental turn (see below). If the block is fumbled in a wall square, both of the players must roll a die: on a 1, 2 or 3 he or she has strayed into an adjacent wall square and is called on a wall-walking penalty. The offending player is sent out (removed from the board) but may return for the following point. If any of the tackles made between the receivers causes a fumble, the resulting confusion of flailing limbs immediately brings the phase to a halt: no catching attempts may be made, nor any changes in direction, although injuries and fouls are resolved.

The Maul

If the ball-carrier defeats all his tacklers then he retains possession. Otherwise, the successful tackler gains possession if he makes a catching roll. If several tacklers beat the ball-carrier's die roll, the tackling team chooses which one attempts the catch and if he fails one, and only one, other of those players may have a go. Should the tackling team fail to gain possession the ball comes loose, with no other player of either side able to catch it during that phase. The tackling team decides in which direction the ball moves off (note, this is the only time a player can aim the ball without having first caught it).

FUMBLES: If a blocker fumbles there is a chance of both players making an accidental turn (see below); the fumble prevents the tackler from confronting the ball-carrier. Whenever the ball-carrier fumbles the phase ends immediately once any injuries and fouls have been rolled, with no turning allowed. The ball pops loose and goes off in a random direction. Roll a die: a 1 means it will move off at 90o to the left of the direction of the ball-carrier; 2 means it continues going in the same direction as the ball-carrier; 3, at 90o to the right of the ball-carrier; 4, 5 and 6, respectively, 90o to the left, the same direction as and 90o to the right of the tackler who caused the fumble. (If two or more tacklers tie with the ball-carrier, randomly pick one before rolling the die). The ball moves out of the tackle square in the following phase; no player may try to catch it until it has moved.

Injuries If the two dice in a tackle roll add up to five, after modification for stars, then the loser is injured. The injured player rolls a die:

1 - 2 STUNNED : the player misses the rest of the point, but may play the following point.

3 - 4 MINOR INJURY : the player misses the rest of the current set.

5 SERIOUS INJURY : the player misses the rest of the game, plus the next game as well.

6 SEVERE INJURY : the player is out for the next (die roll) games. If this second roll is another 6, the player is automatically out for the remainder of the season, or, if a veteran (q.v.), announces his or her retirement.

In between games teams may call up any number of replacement players, but these cannot have star ratings nor be veterans, unless they are established players acquired from another team. If a player tackled simultaneously by several opponents is injured twice or more then two or more dice are rolled and the highest result taken - injuries are not cumulative. For convenience, remove injured players from the board. Play continues without interuption. Substitutions may not be made until the point is over.

Fouls

1 - 3 NO FOUL

4 - 5 FOUL : The player is sent out and takes no further part in the point. They must also spend the following point in the Sin Bin.

6 SERIOUS FOUL : The player is expelled from the game, and suspended for the following game (a replacement may be signed, as with injured players).

Remove fouling players from the board. Play is not stopped when someone is sent out, nor may a substitution may be made until the point is finished.

Tackling Declined

Players who opt not to tackle take no further part in the phase. They may not be tackled by their opponents; they may neither turn nor be turned; they may not try to catch the ball; they may not receive a handoff.

For the rest of the players tackling only stops when all those from one team have been beaten.

Changes of Direction

Players turn both themselves and their beaten adversaries in the same order as they move. EXAMPLE: Player Alpha, with star jumping, has defeated Omega but has himself been defeated by Chi. Neither Omega or Chi have star jumping and so would normally move before Alpha. Chi first turns Alpha, then himself. Because of his star, Alpha turns Omega last of all.

Players in a tackle square who do not decline to tackle but who for some reason do not tackle (e.g. a ball-carrier with good blockers; a player all of whose adversaries decline) may also turn 45o provided that they have a team-mate in the square with them.

During phase 2 only, players who are not in a tackle-square but who are in the same air square as at least one of their team-mates may also change direction by 45o. This is done at the very start of the phase, before any tackling and catching, in the same player order as movement. Only those players involved in a ruck may turn in phase 4.

Accidental Turns

Each player rolls a die: on a 1 or 2 they must turn 45o to their left, on a 5 or 6 they must turn 45o to their right, otherwise they continue as they are. These turns are made before any others in the tackle square. Should so turning cause a player to face, at the end of the phase, in the same direction as a team-mate in the same square, then the two players are both called on a ganging penalty and are sent out (removed from the board). They may return for the next point. If the team-mate was in possession he may throw, handoff or place a spinball as his final act in the court.

OPTIONAL RULES

Veterans & Morale

Each team has a morale level, which is equal to the number of veteran players currently in the game (i.e. not those on the bench, injured, or sent out) plus the following modifiers, which are all cumulative:

+1 : The team is in possession of the ball

+1 : The team won the previous point (this doesn't apply during the first point of any set)

+1 : The team has home court advantage (this doesn't extend to teams at neutral venues who are the 'home team' as regards initiative)

Earned Stars

- scores a 'hat-trick' of three consecutive points, they gain a star jumper rating;

- attempts 8 or more catches, with a success rate of 0.833 or better, they gain a star catcher rating (receiving a handoff in a wall square does not count as a catch, although it does in an air square);

- is involved in 8 or more tackles, with a win ratio of 0.555 or better, they gain a star tackler rating (fumbles count as losses; being tackled by several opponents at once counts here as a single tackle, and only a win if all are defeated).

Seasons

Non-veteran Players Veteran Players

11 - 26 Rookie 11 - 32 5th Season

31 - 44 2nd Season 33 - 45 6th Season

45 - 56 3rd Season 46 - 55 7th Season

61 - 66 4th Season 56 - 63 8th Season

64 - 65 9th Season

66 10th Season

SUMMARY OF MAIN PENALTIES

a) GANGING: Two players from the same team may not face in the same direction in an air square - the flying wedge is definately not permitted.

b) HOLDING: To prevent tackles becoming brawls, players are not allowed to hold the ball against their bodies.

c) ILLEGAL FORWARD PASS: Players must be in an air square or on their own end-wall to make a forward pass.

d) JUMPING WITH THE BALL: Players may not move from a wall square while in possession.

e) OFFSIDE: Players may not stay in goal squares.

f) PARALLEL PASS: The ball may not be thrown from one wall square into an adjacent one.

g) WALL-WALKING: Players may not move from a wall square into an adjacent one.

G-BALL : EXAMPLE OF PLAY

The optional rules are in use. The Crushers are at home. We are several seconds into the first point of the set. The Raiders have won possession, and are attacking the goal to the left. Each team is playing one veteran, so both teams have a morale level of 2. As the Raiders have the ball, they have initiative.

TURN 10 ends with the players in the positions shown in fig 1.

TURN 11: Hard hitting no.6 jumps into F5 in order to tackle no.1 head on. No.3 hurles himself after no.6, and in phase two tries to block him. Both players roll a die; both roll a two, but no.6's star adds one to the roll, for a winning score of three. As the two scores come to five, no.3 has been injured: he rolls a three, a minor injury, but his loss means the Raiders' morale drops to 1. Rolling a two for 'no foul', the 150kg behemoth can now turn his attention to the ball-carrier. No.1 rolls a six, while her assailant rolls a five, plus one, for a tying six. The ball is fumbled; a four on the roll of a die will send it into E4 in the next phase. Because of the fumble, there is no turning in the tackle square, and, as possession has been lost, the Raiders' morale has plunged to zero. They are now demoralised.

TURN 12: The ball shoots from E4 into D3. Rookie no.4 jumps into C2 to pick it off, no.7 following suit. No.1 has already landed on E6, while no.6 now drifts into Raider space. In phase 3 the ball moves into C2 and a ruck breaks out. No.4 rolls a five, no.7 rolls a three. No.4 has won the tackle, but now rolls a two when trying to catch the ball. Ordinarily this would be successful, but demoralisation has caused him to miss: no doubt he was distracted by the sight of his stricken team-mate spinning down the court. No.4 turns no.7 to face towards D3, but, still shocked by his own failure, elects not to turn himself. The head coach bellows: a turn into C3 would enable him to intercept the ball.

TURN 13: No.4 continues into B3. Meanwhile, demoralisation is getting no.1 down: the loss of her star means that she must move before no.9, instead of watching and reacting. The Crushers' last line of defence snorts menacingly. No.1 decides to wait until her young team-mate is in a better position. No.6 floats into H3 and no.7 into D3. The ball bounces off of the wall, into A2, where it bounces again.

TURN 14: The ball flies through B3. No.1 lets it come to her. No.4 lands on the goal at A4, as the ball zooms just behind him into C4. That leaves things as shown in fig 2

TURN 15: Before he is caught off-side, no.4 jumps into B5. No.1 leaps into D5, no.9 jumping into B5 to intercept. Rolling a six, no.1 makes a clean catch. Raider morale recovers to 1.

TURN 16: No.1 flies into C4 as no.4 lands on the sidewall at C6. No.9 moves into B4 - getting closer - but then no.1 throws the ball, aiming it into B5. As this is a pass, Raider morale stays at 1.

TURN 17: The ball hurtles into B5. No.9 moves into B3, and a peaceful rendevous with no.1. No.4 jumps into B5. His earlier failure is forgotten as he rolls five (plus one equals six) for an impressive catch. He touches down to score in the next turn.

At the start of the second point the ball will enter play in F6, moving into E5 in turn one, phase one.