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[VengefulPotato]

I've thought of something that might be a cool edition to Dwarf Fortress. Dwarven sports. Or a dwarven sport. Something like a mix between soccer, american football, and the deadly Mayan ballgame.
Some kind of goal posts would be constructed at either end of an area designated as a playing field. The goal would be to pass and kick a ball made of leather, or cloth, (Though, stone would be dwarfier. Or a severed goblin head.) and try and score a goal. In the process, the dwarves will tackle and crash into each other, slightly increasing the wrestling skill, possibly. Kicking and throwing the ball would slowly level up those skills respectively. Playing the game would be similar to sparring, except your dwarves could sustain minor injuries. Nothing too life threatening. Just breaks and lots and lots of bruises. To mitigate this, teams could be equipped with armor. Leather would probably be best.
Maybe the field could be a zone, or a special building that could be built bigger than 10x10. The goal posts could just be 2 simple poles made of any material, and constructed like a workshop at the end of each field. Maybe you could make 4 team fields, with a goal post on each side of the field. Stands could be built alongside thebfield, and dwarves sitting in them would get happy thoughts from watching it. Dwarves playing would get happy thoughts from winning/scoring, and also bad thoughts from injuring other players.
Dwarves could be assigned to teams, and equipped like military.
I apologize for this post being so unorganized. I was writing it as it came to me, mostly. Please tell me what toy think, and help me improve upon this idea. Thank you.

[FallacyofUrist]

I likes. But dwarves should get happy thoughts from injuring other players, unless the other players are friends.

[VengefulPotato]

That would work lol. Then also, maybe random civilian dwarves could spend free time playing a game on a free field. Like a party. Children, too.

[utunnels]

When I saw this title I just imagined drinking contest.


Urist McDrunkard cancels Drink: stomach exploded.
Urist McDrunkard has been found dead.

[Waparius]

Personally I'd like to be able to have games of suitably-modified Mob Football happen on special occasions. (Perhaps the player can set them to happen at a fixed time of year).

What is Mob Football? A medieval sport wherein the goal was to get a ball into the church of a neighbouring village, while they are trying to get that same ball into the church of your own village. The other rules are, "Everybody who wants to can play" and "Try not to kill or injure people".

[AceSV]

If Dwarf Fortress still uses the trope that Dwarves = Vikings, they played a lot of absurd sports:  http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/games_and_sports.htm  One such sport is apparently some sort of cross between cricket/baseball and hockey, and in the action movies of the day, sagas, routinely turns into violent brawls:  http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/knattleikr.htm

I like the idea of a ball game, but if we add !!SPORTS!! I want to see some more variety.  The article lists track-and-field events, swimming, wrestling matches, board games, drinking games, rap-offs (yes, really), bone throwing (like darts, but with human targets), and horse fights.  Modern primeval sports like dodgeball and capture the flag (sounds like the mob football mentioned earlier) could work too.  Ancient Olympic games including boxing, wrestling, horse/chariot racing, the pentathalon, jumping and foot races. 

Board games would work well with the dwarven artistic sense too, with masterfully designed game boards and game pieces.  Wrestling, track-and-field and swimming sports could keep your dwarves fit and healthy without needing to expose them to the dangers of military training.  Rap-offs could utilize the ensuing poetry system. 

For team sports, like the ball game, I think it would work well to assign teams the way we assign military squads.  I'm not sure about uniforms though, since it doesn't make sense to have one team play with wooden bats and the other play with metal bats, you'd want them to be fairly balanced, right? 

[VengefulPotato]

Yes, I like the idea of mob football, wrestling, and boxing, but though drinking games certainly fit with dwarves, the ones in this game seem to be a bit desensitised to alcohol. Rap offs sound great, too. About the uniforms, I agree that you wouldn't want them to be unbalanced. Maybe just make them play naked?

[AlexanderTheIncompetant]

 And there could be zones designated for spectators, who would then start a massive fight whenever their team lost.

[Naryar]

Blood Bowl. That is all.

[AlexanderTheIncompetant]

 Would be nice if caravans occasionally brought their sports team and sold you their merchandise, though that would be a bit anachronistic.

[AceSV]

Yes, I like the idea of mob football, wrestling, and boxing, but though drinking games certainly fit with dwarves, the ones in this game seem to be a bit desensitised to alcohol. Rap offs sound great, too. About the uniforms, I agree that you wouldn't want them to be unbalanced. Maybe just make them play naked?

Actually, if the game was violent, which I think we're going for, you could decide what armor level dwarfs should wear while playing.  Helmets?  Shoulder, Shin Guards?  Full Body Armor?  Cloth? Leather?  Bronze?  Steel?  Adamantine?  Like military squads, dwarves would grab whatever armor they can, and if they can't find enough, they just play in their street clothes.  In that case, I guess you'd set the uniform for the entire league and not for the team specifically.  Maybe on a game-by-game basis. 

That way, if you want a bloody conflict, you can make your players go nude with metal bats, or if you want to play safe, you can assign steel armor and feather wood bats. 

[VengefulPotato]

Yeah, I was kinda thinking something along those lines.

[callisto8413]

Golf.   

You would have to design a course.  A series of tunnels each one ending in a hole.   

[NW_Kohaku]

Of those viking sports, I think the most dwarfy is the one where they eat a feast, then play a "game" of throwing the bones at each other to see who gets injured first. 

That said, some board games would also be pretty appropriate, and allow for some of those crafts to be put to use...

Golf.   

You would have to design a course.  A series of tunnels each one ending in a hole.   

You know, when I was really little, playing my father's Commodore 64, one of my favorite games was a golf game where you could design courses, then play them... 

... I liked putting dinosaurs on the fairway.  Good times.

[vjmdhzgr]

I think sports are probably going to end up randomly generated kind of like the festival in the devlog that ended up with an instrument string throwing competition.