The Grifball leagues have a rule that is regarded as the number one edict for all Grifball players: Don’t be a douche. The staff at GrifballHub.com wholeheartedly endorses the sentiment. That rule ranks up there with that other number one rule that everyone learns as a child: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Don’t go out of your way to ruin other people’s fun.

The basic point of Grifball is to advance the bomb down the court and score. The tanks on the team are responsible for clearing a path for the runner to plant the bomb. Some runners are daring, willing to take on the other team all by themselves and punch their way to victory. Others are much more timid, only going in for a score when it is all but assured. Regardless, every team strives to score and to win.

Celebrate the victories

In matchmaking, as most everyone is aware, there are ways to ruin the fun for the other team by not playing the game as it is meant to be played.

Spawn-killing, the act of killing the other team as their respawn, is a perfectly legitimate (and awesome) move in Grifball. The spawns are designed to be predictable, but they also allow the respawning team to escape if they work together and act quickly. Enemy tanks can take advantage of the defenders’ spawn points and wreck havoc to allow the runner to score.

But spawn-killing without advancing the bomb is douchebaggery at its worst. If you hold on to the ball but refuse to score while your tanks rack up the kills, you are stat-padding and abusing the game. It reflects badly on you and everyone you associate with. The point of Grifball is to score the bomb — not to build your medal chest. It’s no fun for the other team that must sit there for 15 minutes or be hit with a quitter’s penalty.

In short: Spawn-killing = Awesome. Stat-padding = Douchey.

Says right here - Detonate the bomb

As such, people who engage in stat-padding aren’t welcome in the Grifball leagues. Teams in the leagues that intentionally ruin the fun for others in matchmaking by stat-padding will receive at least a one-season ban. Repeat offenders may be permanently banned.

If you have stat-padded in the past, and you are joining the league for the first time, you can be welcomed into the community if you put the stat-padding behind you and play the game as it’s meant to be played.

By playing in the leagues, you are representing our site and the Grifball community of fans. Grifball fan sites are judged by the company they keep, and that includes league players. Also, it’s much easier to grow the active Grifball community if folks in matchmaking are treated nicely and have a good time.

Nearly everyone who plays in the Grifball leagues is a nice person who treats others with respect. So when you go into matchmaking, feel free to pwn the other team. Just don’t be a douche.