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There are many similarities between Lacrosse Blast and it’s hockey game “big brother,” but there are plenty of cool differences and subtleties to make it a unique tabletop board game experience. Here are some of them…
• Twice as many shots, four times as many goals! In many ways, pro indoor lacrosse is actually more like the NBA than the NHL. It’s a faster game, and for that reason more “stuff happens.” To some, it may seem “too easy” to score goals in LACROSSE BLAST, especially with the BOXLA BLAST goals. But that’s the way the sport is--there’s 24 goals per game instead of six. Often in real pro lacrosse, a goalie simply doesn’t have a chance to stop a shot, despite the much smaller net and much bigger padding!
• Offense-Defense instead of five-on-five. Pro lacrosse has become a platoon sport like football, rather than a 5-on-5 sport like basketball or hockey. Defensive players DO impact offensive play-making, though, as they contribute to transitioning from defense to offense. Thus, you’ll often see a defensive player included in the PLAY combination--by design. As an aside, the fictional set allows for 5-on-5 lacrosse, with some defensive players having scoring ability, and some defensive-minded forwards.
• Player substitutions instead of line changes. Rather than changing lines every minute, player substitutions are spread out over the course of the game. Player participation is necessarily abstracted somewhat--the top TWO players in each stack are considered to be in the game when that platoon is on the floor. The transition player actually leaves the floor as well at some point in the offensive possession, leaving five forwards. However, the game zeroes in on two PRIMARY forwards and two SECONDARY forwards, the fifth forward is considered to be on the perimeter, and not directly involved in the play.
• 30 second segments instead of 60 second segments. That means that a game of LACROSSE BLAST will take a little longer than a game of HOCKEY BLAST. You’re basically playing the equivalent of TWO hockey games, with one lacrosse game. This extra action is mitigated somewhat by the fact that you don’t need to change lines after every minute of play. Also, the pro indoor lacrosse season is much shorter than hockey--eighteen games instead of eighty. So a season replay project is actually far easier in lacrosse, despite the longer game time.
• Fewer Face-Offs. In pro lacrosse, face-offs generally occur only at the beginning of periods and after goals are scored. In many of the situations where you’d see a face-off in hockey, in lacrosse you’ll instead have a team awarded possession. Play is then re-started with a player on the possession team putting the ball into play by running with it himself or passing to a team-mate.
• BLASTS instead of LULLS. This is a major difference, and one which differentiates these two sports pretty vividly. A “blast” is essentially the polar opposite of a “lull.” When you roll a “7” in LACROSSE BLAST, the action ratchets UP, and ends with a goal scored. In HOCKEY BLAST, of course, a “7” result ratchets DOWN the action, and ends with a loss of momentum and a face-off.
• LOOSE BALL results on “9” instead of MOMENTUM. Momentum is an important part of LACROSSE BLAST, and it’s acquired in the same ways as HOCKEY BLAST--through goal-scoring, spectacular saves, hits and fights. However, in the lacrosse game, there isn’t a specific hit-inducing dice result that will automatically create momentum.
• Fewer CHEAP SHOTS. For a cheap shot to occur, you’ll need to roll three “9s” in a row instead of two.
• Different Penalty Rules. “Slow Whistle” allows offense to continue scoring process for possible goal before penalty assessed against defense. Thus, when penalty results occur, you’ll know immediately which team the penalty is on. Lacrosse also allows for “loss of possession” penalties, where no penalty minutes are served.
• Slightly Different Penalty Procedure. In HOCKEY BLAST, on the first penalty dice roll, the player indicated gets the penalty, UNLESS his opponent--the player in the position box directly opposite him--has a higher PEN rating. In that case, the opponent gets the penalty. In LACROSSE BLAST, the player indicated gets the penalty, even if his opponent has a higher PEN rating.
• Different Penalty Rules. “Slow Whistle” allows offense to continue scoring process for possible goal before penalty assessed against defense. Thus, when penalty results occur, you’ll know immediately which team the penalty is on. Lacrosse also allows for “loss of possession” penalties, where no penalty minutes are served.
• Slightly Different Penalty Procedure. In HOCKEY BLAST, on the first penalty dice roll, the player indicated gets the penalty, UNLESS his opponent--the player in the position box directly opposite him--has a higher PEN rating. In that case, the opponent gets the penalty. In LACROSSE BLAST, the player indicated gets the penalty, even if his opponent has a higher PEN rating.