2025 Skills

According to the rules, all Active skills are optional unless stated otherwise.

Since Jervis aims to be as close to the rules as possible, a similar policy is in place in the client. However, having to decide if "obvious" skills should be used all the time makes for an annoying and slow user experience.

For this reason, Jervis has implemented the concept of "Auto Actions". This means that in many cases, it can automatically be decided that a skill should be used, so the Coach is not asked, instead the Game just uses it.

It is possible to change this behavior on a per-skill basis in the settings as well as disable Auto Actions completely in the few cases where you might want full control. This must be done before the event happens.

Skills that are optional, but where not applying a skill does not have a use case (either good or bad), the skill will always be used without involving the user or Auto Actions. E.g., Dauntless only affects the number of Block Dice rolled, not the final result, so Dauntless is always used.

These cases will be spelled out for the relevant skills below.

Page 124 - Big Hand

The rules are unclear if Secure the Ball is a "pickup" or not. By extension, this affects Big Hand that works on pickup.

Since both NAF and FUMMBL ruled that this was the case, Jervis allows the use of Big Hand on Secure the Ball actions

Page 126 - Bullseye

Bullseye is an optional skill, but in most scenarios a Coach would always choose to use it.

The only exception seems to be when you want to try to throw a player further than is allowed, which can only be achieved by having the player scatter.

For this reason, Jervis automatically uses Bullseye, unless that target square is at max range.

This behavior can be disabled in the Auto Actions menu.

Page 127 - Cloud Burster

Technically, this skill is optional, but you would only want to disable it if you wanted the opponent to "accidentally" catch the ball, but in that case the opponent can just decide to not intercept.

So to improve game flow, this skill is always used when available.

Page 127 - Dauntless

While this skill is optional, it only affects how many dice are rolled and not the final outcome. This combined with the fact that there is no scenario where you might want to not use Dauntless, Jervis always applies it.

This is similar to Guard and Horns.

Page 127 - Defensive

Since both Guard and Put the Boot In are applied automatically (as there is no use case for making it optional), the same reasoning applies to Defensive as it only disables those two skills.

If this changes in the future for either Guard or Put the Boot In, it should also change for Defensive.

Page 127 - Diving Catch

The behavior of Diving Catch is not defined in the case of the ball landing near multiple players with this skill. This leaves questions like, can multiple players attempt to catch the ball? Which order do they do it in? Especially if on different teams.

As these questions were answered in a FAQ for BB2020, Jervis adopts the same answers for BB2025:

1. All players with Diving Catch can choose to use the skill to attempt to catch the ball.
2. The order is defined by the active teams coach, including the order of players on the opposing team.

The +1 modifier from Diving Catch apply when "...attempting to Catch the ball as part of a Pass Action if they are in the target square.". This means that the Diving Catch modifier can apply multiple times, e.g., you fail the first catch, the ball bounces around, and ends up in the target square again.

Page 127 - Diving Tackle

In BB2025, Diving Tackle is always applied after all rerolls and modifiers have been applied, not before. This is a change from BB2020, where it could be applied both before and after rolling the die.

This has a few implications:

1. The UI should not accept "success" on a Dodge Roll automatically without also assuming that Diving Tackle is used.
2. Diving Tackle is applied after Leap. This means that Leap cannot reduce the modifier from Diving Tackle. See a more expanded discussion in the Leap section.

Page 128 - Eye Gouge

Eye Gouge says it can trigger when an opposition player is Pushed Back. From as strict RAW reading of the rulebook this would also apply to chain-pushes as :

"...the player occupying the square the originally Pushed player has been Pushed Back into will be themselves Pushed Back as if they had been Pushed Back by the player who is now occupying their square...".

However, this makes chain-pushes quite awkward, and both NAF and FUMBBL have ruled that Eye Gouge does not work during chain-pushes, only the first block.

Jervis has adopted a similar interpretation.

128 - Fumblerooski

From the rules, it is unclear how Fumblerooski interacts with other skills, as Fumblerooski will trigger on "they may choose to place the ball on the ground in any square they move out of during their Move Action".

What does this mean when using Tentacles or Shadowing?

For now, Jervis uses the following order:

1. Check for Tentacles: If failed, the player isn't moved and Fumblerooski cannot be used.
2. Move Player. Fumblerooskie can now be used.
3. Shadowing/Diving Tackles are used afterward. If an opponent ends up in the square that was just vacated, the ball will bounce as only the active player can do a Pickup.

Similar questions arise for Jump and Leap as the rulebook isn't clear on exactly where Fumblerooski can trigger. When rolling 1, the answer seems clear: Fumblerooski cannot be used as you never leave the square. The same is true when rolling a 6, Fumblerooski can be used in the starting square.

However, what happens on rolls where you fail the Jump, but still end up in the target square? Is it possible to use Fumblerooski between moving and Fall Over?

Since other skills like Steady Footing have a window there to trigger, we also assume that Fumblerooski can. FUMBBL also allows this.

Finally, some have argued that Fumblerooskie can be interpreted as allowing you to place the ball in any square that was vacated during the move, not just the last one.

Apart from being a very generous interpretation and mechanically clunky, NAF has also ruled that it only applies to the last square vacated.

Jervis has adopted the same interpretation.

Page 128 - Grab

Grab is split into two sections: 1) Moving the pushed player and 2) Disable Sidestep for pushed "players". It is unclear why the plural is used here.

It could either reference Multiple Block, chain-pushes, or both.

NAF has ruled that Grab canceling Sidestep only works on the blocked player(s) and not on chain-pushed players.

Jervis has adopted this interpretation as well.

Page 129 - Guard

While this skill is optional, it only affects how many dice are rolled and not the final outcome. This combined with the fact that there is no scenario where you might want to not use Guard, Jervis always uses it.

Page 129 - Hit and Run

The interaction between Hit and Run and Multiple Block is a bit unclear as a strict RAW could indicate that you could use Hit and Run on both blocks, potentially moving the player twice.

However, that opens up a lot of questions with regard to the exact timing and checking for Hit and Run constraints.

So since allowing Hit and Run twice would complicate the implementation on top of being an extremely generous interpretation, for now Jervis will only check for Hit and Run after both blocks in a Multiple Block have been fully resolved.

Page 129 - Horns

While Horns are technically an optional skill, similar to Guard, there doesn't seem to be any reason for not using it.

So for that reason Jervis will always apply it.

Another question is whether Horns will automatically be applied to the 2nd block when using Frenzy. The skill wording doesn't make this 100% clear, but given that Horns are always applied, this doesn't matter (for now).

Page 129 - Juggernaut

Juggernaut cancels Fend, Stand Firm, and Wrestle for both the blocked player and all other opponents in the push chain.

This interpretation comes from the Juggernaut skill description: "..opposition players cannot use..." (note plural and specifically mentioning opposition).

In particular, this means that in a chain-push scenario, a player with Juggernaut will cancel Stand Firm for all opponent players, but not players on their own team.

Page 130 - Jump Up

While Jump Up is technically optional, Jervis will always apply it as the coach can just choose to not use the extra movement.

Page 130 - Kick

The behavior of Kick if unclear.

In the rulebook, the wording for Kick is "...then when kicking Deviates, this player's Coach may choose...". This combined with a D3 being defined as "Sometimes you will be asked to 'roll a D3'; to do this, roll a D6 and half the value shown on the dice, rounding any fractions up."

This means it is possible to interpret it as either:

1. You must choose to roll a D3 or D6 before the roll. FUMBBL uses this interpretation.
2. You can choose to treat the D6 as a D3 after the roll. NAF uses this interpretation.

For now, Jervis uses the NAF interpretation, which means that you are allowed to roll the deviate die (using a D6) and then choose to treat the roll as either a D6 or D3 after seeing the result.

Page 130 - Leap

Leap makes it clear that reducing the difficulty of the Leap is only allowed if the negative modifier is <= -2. However, the sequence of events when combined with Diving Tackle is unclear as Diving Tackle is applied after all other modifiers. Does this mean that Leap can reduce the difficulty from Diving Tackle?

For now, Jervis assumes "no", so if the Leap modifier was chosen, it will not apply to Diving Tackle.

This means the sequence of events is:

1. Declare Leap.
2. Roll for any Rushes needed.
3. Choose to use Very Long Legs.
4. Choose to use Leap Modifier. It will either be +1 or +0 depending on the number of negative modifiers.
5. Roll / Re-roll the Leap.
6. Choose to use Diving Tackle.
7. Leap Modifier does not get recalculated. It was locked in step 3.
8. Calculate the final Leap result.

This interpretation is mostly chosen because it reduces the complexity of the rule engine and should be re-evaluated if new information becomes available.

Page 130 - Leader

The rules say that "A team that has one or more players with this Skill on the pitch at the start of a half...", but since a player isn't on the pitch until after Setup, which is during the Start of Drive sequence, Jervis assumes that this is the intended meaning.

Also, since Extra Time is not a Half, this means that if a Leader reroll was added at the beginning of the last half, it will carry over into Extra Time, but if the Leader is not placed on the Pitch, the re-roll is disabled, but can be enabled later in Extra Time if the Leader comes back to the Pitch.

Leader also specifies that "...if all players with this Skill are removed from play, either as a Casualty or by being Sent-off...". However, "Removed from Play" is not a term defined in the rules, and both "Casualty" and "Argue the Call" use the term "Removed from the Pitch".

Jervis therefore interprets "Removed from Play" as meaning any effect that removes a player from the pitch AND prevents them from being used for the reminder of the game. This e.g., means that if a Player is Knocked Out, the re-roll is not lost, only disabled, and it can be enabled again if the Leader returns to the pitch during the Half.

Page 130 - Lone Fouler

Lone Fouler only works if there are no Offensive or Defensive assists. In many cases it would be mathematically better to have a reroll than having +1.

However, it is worth noting that following the NAF interpretation on assists, adding available Offensive or Defensive assists is not optional. This means that the active Coach does not get a chance to "disable" assists, because they want to use Lone Fouler instead.

Page 131 - Loner

In BB2020, it was not allowed to re-roll a failed Loner roll using a Team Reroll. This sentence is not found in BB2025, so while probably a mistake, until there is an errata, this is allowed in Jervis.

Page 131 - Mighty Blow

Mighty Blow specifically says "Whenever this player Knocks Down an opposition player during a Block Action...", but when you are pushed into the crowd, the player is never Knocked Down. This means that Mighty Blow cannot be used on crowd injuries.

Page 132 - Multiple Block

When using Multiple Block, it is unclear what "Both Block actions are performed simultaneously" means exactly? Does it apply to all steps of both blocks or only some of them? And what actually constitutes an atomic step?

All of this is undefined in the rulebook and is very much left up to interpretation. In this section we will try to describe the approach Jervis has taken to resolve this ambiguity.

Jervis has taken the following approach:

1. The order of checks should match the single block case, whenever possible.
2. As many things as possible should be done in "lockstep" between the two blocks.

These two restrictions have a number of implications.

Resolving Injuries

Resolving injuries is split into two steps:

1. We roll for injury when knocking a player down. But we defer finalizing the injury (apothecary / regen) until later. Injuries are either put in an Attacker or Defender "Injury Pool".

2. Once both attacks are done, we resolve the injury pool. First Defenders, then Attacker. Each injury is fully resolved before moving to the next.

In BB2020 this choice was partly backed by the rulebook. The reason being that "Risking Injury" (page 60 - BB2020) is described as "as a result of a Block Action" and other skills, like Pro, are not working on Regeneration (Designer's FAQ). This indicates that the action ends with a player being Knocked Down.

That wording is gone in BB2025, but we still use it as a guide here.

Chain-pushes

See Page 58 - Pushed Players and Chain-pushes for a discussion on chain pushes and the semantics chosen for normal chain pushes. These choices also impact Multiple Block, but unfortunately in quite complicated ways, and none of the interactions are clarified by the rulebook.

Some examples:

• With enough players, a multiple block on the first target can chain-push the second target away from the attacker. How does this impact the second block?

• For normal blocks, you bounce the ball after choosing to follow up, but it is unclear when this step happens for Multiple Block. After each block or after both blocks are resolved, and all unjuried players have left the pitch?

Since no exact description of what "simultaneously" means exists, Jervis has to take quite a few, somewhat arbitrary, choices. Among others, this includes:

• If one of the targets is pushed away before the second block is resolved. The block is allowed to be executed at a distance. The logic being that is that the block already happened. Pushback options are chosen from the targets current position, similar to the Vicious Vine special ability that also allows blocking at a distance.

Implementation

With the above decisions in mind, we should be as close to simultaneous as possible, while still allowing for some reasonable trade-offs. The full sequence for Multiple Block currently looks like this:

1. Select the Multiple Block Special Action.

2. Select Target 1. Only a normal Block is allowed.

3. Select Target 2. Only a normal Block is allowed.

4. Roll block dice for Target 1.

5. Roll block dice for Target 2.

6. Choose a reroll type or accept roll for all dice against both targets. This is done at the same time. The following skills can also affect this:

   • Brawler (Both blocks)
   • Hatred (Both blocks)
   • Pro (One of the blocks)
   • Savage Blow (one of the blocks)
   • Team Rerolls (Both blocks)

7. Use skills that modify the final results. This is done at the same time for both targets:

   • Juggernaut

8. Select the final dice results for both targets. This is done at the same time.

9. Choose which target to resolve the Block for first, now named Block A and Block B.

10. Resolve Block A. What happens differs slightly depending on the block dice:

    • Player Down

      • Mark Attacker as being Knocked Down, but the player is not Knocked Down yet.
      • If Attacker is holding the ball, mark it as loose and bouncing, but do not roll for bouncing yet.

    • Both Down

      • Handle skills that trigger on Both Down. First Defender, then Attacker.
      • Mark Defender/Attacker as being Knocked Down, but they are not Knocked Down yet. No skills that trigger on being Knocked Down are applied yet.
      • If Defender is holding the ball, mark it as loose and bouncing, but do not roll for bouncing yet.
      • If Attacker is holding the ball, mark it as loose and bouncing, but do not roll for bouncing yet.

    • Push Back

      • Create the Push Chain, i.e., determine were all pushed players will be pushed to. Using skills as appropriate.
        • Sidestep
        • Grab
        • Stand Firm
      • Do not move any players yet.
      • Do not roll any dice yet.

    • Stumble

      • Choose to use Tackle and Dodge.
      • Stumble is converted to either a Push Back or Pow and will use their resolution order.

    • Pow

      • Create Push Chain. See Push Back for details.
      • Mark Defender as being Knocked Down, but they are not Knocked Down yet. No skills that trigger on being Knocked Down are applied yet.
      • If Defender is holding the ball, mark it as loose and bouncing, but do not roll for bouncing yet.

11. Resolve Block B, using the same steps as Block A. No dice have been rolled yet.

12. Move all Players in Push Chain A (if any).

13. Move all Players in Push Chain B (if any). Note, a Push Chain is defined by the squares affected and not players, so by resolving Push Chain A first, some players might be moved twice: First as part of Push Chain A, and then as part of Push Chain B.

14. Follow-up is not allowed when using Multiple Block.

15. Decide if Strip Ball is used against Defender A. Resolve ball bouncing if needed.

16. Decide if Strip Ball is used against Defender B. Resolve ball bouncing if needed.

17. Resolve Push Chain A. Look at one square at a time, starting from Defender A and all the way through the Push Chain. We will check for touchdowns at every step, but the entire chain must still be resolved regardless of a touchdown being scored in the middle. For each square resolve events in the same order as for a single block:

    • Check for a loose ball. If found, it will bounce.
    • If standing on a Trapdoor. Roll to see if the player falls through. If Yes:
      • Roll for Injury immediately and resolve it.
      • If holding a ball, resolve bouncing from the square.
      • Will not suffer the consequences of being Knocked Down (if any).
    • If pushed into the crowd:
      • Roll for Injury immediately and resolve it.
      • Throw the ball back in.
    • Check for Touchdown from the player standing in the square.

18. Resolve Push Chain for Block B. Using the same sequence as for Block A.

19. Resolve Events in Attacker's square, if not done already as part of a Push Chain. This concludes the Pushed Back sequence for both blocks, and we can continue with Knocked Down.

20. Resolve skills for Block A that trigger on Knocked Down.

    • Safe Pair of Hands
    • Steady Footing
    • Saboteur

21. Resolve skills for Block B that trigger on Knocked Down.

22. Put Attacker and Defenders Prone as needed.

23. Roll Armour and Injury for Defender A. If injuries happen, do not resolve completely, but add to a Defender Injury Pool instead.

24. Roll Armour and Injury for Defender B. If injuries happen, do not resolve completely, but add to a Defender Injury Pool instead.

25. Roll Armour and Injury for Attacker A, first for Block A, then for Block B. Injuries are added to the Attacker Injury Pool.

26. Resolve Defender Injury Pool, ie. resolve apothecary and regen for both players at the same time

27. Resolve Attacker Injury Pool, ie. resolve apothecary and regen for all injuries on the Attacker at the same time.

28. If defenders or attackers dropped a ball as part of being Knocked Down. Bounce now: Defender A, Defender B, then Attacker.

29. If Attacker is still standing, holding the ball. Check for a Touchdown.

Other Skill Interactions

Multiple Block interacts with a number of other skills. These are listed here:

1. Taunt: Since Multiple Block prevents Follow-up, Taunt cannot be used on the player using Multiple Block.

2. Pile Driver: It is unclear if Pile Driver can be used on both blocks, or it only activates after the Multiple Block Action is over. For now, Jervis assumes that it can only be used after both blocks are resolved (i.e., once). This is similar to how FUMBBL handles it.

Page 132 - No Ball

Technically, you would be allowed to use other skills when attempting to pick up the ball (like Extra Arms), but since it would be pointless, Jervis just ignore these skills if a player has No Ball.

Page 133 - Pile Driver

As Pile Driver says "perform a free Foul Action", it doesn't count against the limit of declaring one Foul Action per turn.

Also, Pile Driver will activate after fully resolving the block, including bouncing any balls the opponent might have had.

While, technically, Quick Foul can be used on a Pile Driver foul, it would not do anything useful, so this interaction is ignored in Jervis. The reasoning being:

1. Pile Driver puts a Player Prone and ends their Activation.
2. Quick Foul removes the "End Activation" flag.
3. Standing Up can only be used at the beginning of the action.
4. The player is prone and still "active", but there is nothing they can do at this point, except ending their Activation.

Page 134 - Put the Boot In

Technically, using the skill should be optional, but there doesn't seem to be any use case for this (even a bad one), so until such a use case surfaces, this skill is always used.

Page 135 - Safe Pair of Hands

The skill requires an adjacent unoccupied square. If one isn't available, this skill cannot be used.

Page 135 - Safe Pass

The skill uses the wording "Passing Ability Test", which is the same wording used for rolling for the throw in both Pass and Throw Team-mate actions. But then the rest of the skill only describes what happens to the ball, indicating that maybe they just mean that it works for normal Pass actions.

If we allowed it to work for Throw Team-mate actions, it would open up a lot of unspecified scenarios with regard to how the thrown player be handled?

For this reason, Jervis assumes that Safe Pass is only applicable for normal Pass actions (and by extension, throwing bombs).

Page 136 - Sprint

Sprint is an optional skill, but for most cases, there is no downside to just applying it automatically.

The only exception is during a Frenzy Blitz. In this case, the coach might not want to use Sprint to prevent Frenzy from triggering a 2nd block.

For those reasons Jervis will apply Sprint automatically. Except in the Blitz case (with the player having Frenzy), then the Coach will be asked if Sprint should be used.

Page 136 - Stab

Stab is not available when starting from prone as it is an Active skill that requires a tackle zone when activating the player. Doing a Blitz-Stab from Prone will still work as the player will be standing by the time the Block is performed.

Page 136 - Strip Ball

Strip Ball requires that a player is "Pushed Back" (note, this is different from the Push Back result on the Block die). Since Stand Firm prevents a player from being Pushed Back, this also prevents the Strip Ball skill from being used.

FUMBBL has a similar interpretation.

When Strip Ball and Sure Hands interact, the order is unclear. But it shouldn't matter, so to simplify the rules engine, Jervis is asking the pushed player to use Sure Hands, before asking the attacker to use Strip Ball.

Page 136 - Swoop

It looks like it is a prerequisite for Swoop that the thrown player would Scatter. This e.g., means that Swoop cannot be used on a fumbled throw or when the thrower is using Bullseye (nor would it make sense).

Also, the Swoop roll is not a single "dice pool", but consists of two separate rolls. This means that rerolls can be used on both rolls, but you need to choose to reroll the direction before you roll for distance.

It is also slightly unclear what happens if a player is near the sidelines. Are you allowed to point the throw-in template out of the pitch?

The rules say "...so it faces one of the two End Zones or either Sideline", since you are not facing the sideline when putting the template on the other side, Jervis assumes this is not allowed. This also simplifies the game logic and UX.

Note, it is still possible to Swoop out of the sidelines if you point towards an end zone and roll a distance that takes the player out-of-bounds.

Page 137 - Take Root

Take Root and Diving Tackle

The interaction between Take Root and Diving Tackle is unclear as Take Root says that Rooted is removed when "Placed Prone", and Diving Tackle says "...place this player Prone...".

This leaves it open to interpretation if you can use Diving Tackle on a player that is Rooted. Some arguments:

1. For: FUMBBL is currently allowing Diving Tackle to be used.
2. For: The definition of Placed Prone does not specify anything about where it happens.
3. Against: Take Root says "... may not leave their current square for any reason..", and Rooted is not cleared until after the player is in a different square.
4. For/Against: The FAQ for BB2020 made it clear that both Wrestle and Pile Driver could be used when Rooted. Diving Tackle was not mentioned.

While a somewhat arbitrary choice, Jervis will be using the FUMBBL interpretation.

Take Root and Declaring Actions

Take Root only says you are not allowed to "Perform" Move Actions. This means it is still allowed to "Declare" them, but the only thing you can do in that case is just end the action immediately.

Page 137 - Timmm-ber!

It is unclear why Timmm-ber! wants to mention that it only works on MA 2 or less, since that is a requirement for even rolling for Standing Up.

For now, Jervis assumes that this sentence can be ignored and doesn't put extra constraints on the skill. I.e., any player that rolls for Standing Up can use Timmm-ber!.

Technically, Timmm-ber! is an optional skill, but since there is no use-case for not applying it, Jervis will apply it automatically.

Page 137 - Tentacles

This skill explicitly mentions Dodge, Jump and Leap, but not Pogo, so it is assumed that this skill cannot affect a player using Pogo.

Page 138 - Trickster

The exact timing of Trickster is a bit unclear in the Block Sequence, especially in relation to Foul Apparenace.

Both use the wording "...an opposition player attempts to perform a Block Action against this player...", but Trickster also has an additional "...Before determining how many dice are rolled...".

While an argument could be made that Trickster triggers before Foul Appearance, it also feels "weird". So for this reason, Jervis will check for Foul Appearance and only if passed, can Trickster be used. FUMBBL has a similar interpretation.

Page 138 - Very Long Legs

While this skill is optional during Interceptions, Jervis always enables it as the coach can just choose to not intercept instead. This lowers the complexity in the rule engine.

It is still optional for Catch, Leap, and Jump.

Note that Very Long Legs does not mention Pogo, so it is assumed that this skill does not work if a player is using Pogo.