Pitch

The term **pitch** is most commonly used in British English to describe an outdoor playing area for various sports. Although the surface of a pitch is usually grass, it can be composed of any number of materials, including sand, clay, gravel, or stone.

In Guild Ball, the playing surface (play mat) on which the game is played is also referred to as the pitch. Furthermore, in the fictional world that Guild Ball is set in, the sports field on which the game takes place is also called a pitch.

The size of the pitch can vary, depending on the type of game (or game size) that you are playing. Open-ground is considered the default terrain type for the pitch.

## Game sizes

The following table uses the terminology from the Season 4 Core Rulebook.

In the Season 1 Core Rulebook, the term "Team" was used instead of "Squaddie". The Season 2 and Season 3 Core Rulebooks changed this to "Team Member".

## Markings

   Just like the pitches and sports fields in the real world, a Guild Ball pitch displays a variety of markings which are used during the course of a game to identify different parts of the pitch. The following terms, used to describe those markings, are from the Season 4 Core Rulebook section on terminology.

**Halfway line** describes the line across the middle of the pitch which runs parallel to each player's table edge. All previous seasons' Core Rulebooks use the hyphenated "half-way line" when referring to this marking. There is often a circle or Guild Ball logo that appears at the center of the halfway line, but this is only for decorative purposes.

The **deployment zone** is an area in which a player deploys their team during the beginning of a game. It is also the area where models will return to the game, after suffering the taken out condition. This zone encompasses the area of the pitch within 10" of each player's respective table edge, the border of which is indicated by a solid line between the halfway line and the goal line.

**Goal line** describes the line 6" from, and parallel to, each player's respective table edge. The term was hyphenated as "goal-line" in all previous versions of the Core Rulebook. Typically this appears on the pitch as a dashed line.

Each goal is represented by a **goalpost**. In the Season 1 Core Rulebook, this marking was referred to as a "goal-token". It was updated to a hyphenated version of "goal-post" for the Season 2 and Season 3 Core Rulebooks. Goalposts are always positioned in the centre of the deployment zone, with the front edge on the goal line. A **goalpost** is a specific piece of terrain represented by a 50mm base or equivalent-sized object. They are considered barriers. There is often an arc or half-circle marked on the pitch, in connection to the goalpost, but this is just for decorative purposes.

## Play mats

   After successfully launching the Guild Ball game on the Kickstarter website, Steamforged Games launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise money for production of a neoprene play mat. This initial mat was printed with the classic 3' x 3' pitch design.

Steamforged exceeded their target revenue for this campaign, earning 915% of their initial goal from 229 backers. Upon doing so, they designed and offered a second mat, which could also be purchased via the same Indiegogo campaign. This second mat was also 3' x 3' in size, but was printed with a smaller 2' x 2' play area that is associated with the introductory game size in the rules.

   The 2' x 2' play mat was later titled the Proving Grounds, with the 3' x 3' mat being referred to as a Classic Pitch. Both were eventually offered for purchase as official Steamforged Games products. They were printed on 3' x 3' cloth-covered neoprene mats, with a zippered carrying case, just like the original products that were provided to backers as part of the Indiegogo crowdfunding project.

In the Kick-Off! boxed set, a foldable, double-sided, cardboard play mat that was included as part of the product. One side is printed with the classic, grassy 3' x 3' pitch, while the other side is styled to match the teams that are included in the set: the Brewers versus the Masons.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch\_(sports\_field)
2. ↑ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/guild-ball-play-mat#/