So we played today, and it was just fun all around.
Without a board, I took a piece of the foamcore normally used as a painting surface and drew out a pitch. I brought a bunch of Fantasy minis I have just laying around and quickly made some teams. Humans vs Ogres.
The first half was spent hammering out rules. We basically were able to figure out most of the questions ourselves. The second half went much quicker, and the die rolls favored both sides better. The Ogres lost 2-0, but the Humans took an absolute beating in the last 4 turns.
Six and a half hours later, a game was complete. The second half only took two hours. With quick reference sheets and more practice, games will definitely be faster, an encouraging sign to all.
With the pitch being relatively small, we can play on the regular tables, which is good. I don't want to compete for space.