It's a small thing, but being able to save and quit when I'm playing against the AI is a definite improvement in Warhammer: Blood Bowl. Though matches didn't take a huge amount of time in Blood Bowl 3, there were still nights where I'd find myself with 40 minutes before I should really go to bed thinking I can squeeze another game in, and then realizing too late I absolutely cannot.

A bigger change in Warhammer: Blood Bowl, though one that also makes it easier to squeeze in another match, is Rumble Mode. Based on the tabletop format called Sevens, it's a shrunk-down seven-a-side version of Blood Bowl played on a smaller pitch, inspired by 40K in 40 Minutes and Rugby Sevens. Each half has six turns instead of eight and rerolls cost twice as much, making failure much more common—and since a failed action results in a turnover in Blood Bowl, that speeds up play as well.

Rumble Mode isn't exactly the same as Sevens, though I'm playing the beta so details are subject to change. It doesn't have the Desperate Measures inducements, for instance, and you don't have to make one of your linemen a veteran (who is slower, but can reroll a few specific actions). But it still plays faster, and shakes up the tactics in interesting ways.

There's no line of scrimmage for a start. Instead of having to put three players on the frontline where they'll be biffing or being biffed from the outset, there's a no man's land between both teams.

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