FROM THE EDITOR

Let’s get ready to Ruckus!! We have

OBSERVATION POST

New and forthcoming wargames stuff you need to know about

RELEASE RADAR

Paul Matthews brings you some of his favourite new (and forthcoming) releases in the wargaming world, in the hope that your interest will be piqued by what he has to share.

QUICK FIRE!

MAKING EXPLOSIONS 

CAUSING A RUCKUS

Never Mind the Billhooks Here’s the Ruckus author Mike Peters discusses the early stage of the game’s development, and lets some of the pre-release players tell their Ruckus stories.

MELEE IN THE AGE OF PENDA

Game Designer Daniel Mersey turns to a Steve

DEAD MAN'S HAND REDUX

We are joined by Mark Wheatley of Great Escape Games as we lift the lid on their new incarnation of the popular wild west gunfight game, Dead Man’s Hand..

HOWDAH YOU DO?

Nick Buxey revisits a painting passion that saw

HAMMERHEAD 2024 PAINTING COMPETITION WINNERS GALLERY

Editor Dan holds court as he announces the

FANATIC FABRICS

They say you can’t teach an old dog

Pimp my Cog

The Wargames Illustrated team take their lead from

LAUNCH PARTY REPORT

James headed to Modiphius Entertainment’s Fallout: Factions launch party, in the heart of the Lead Belt, and took in the gaming and miniature painting action.

Unboxing: Blood & Steel

We are joined by author Mike Bradford to

BASE CURRENCY

Mike Peters gets down to base-ics and makes

INTRODUCTION

Never Mind the Billhooks: Here’s the Ruckus, better

WHAT IS NEEDED TO PLAY

• Two Retinues consisting of twelve individually-based figures.

STANDARD CONVENTIONS

While there are many variables in Ruckus some

THE ONE RULE TO RULE THEM ALL!

Ruckus is a fun, story-driven game that builds

THE RETINUE

Every player-controlled figure in a game of Ruckus

HEROES

Heroes are the notable individuals in your Retinue;

RETAINERS

Retainers are the soldiers, tenants, and members of

YOUR FIRST (CUT DOWN) RETINUES

Diving into your first game with full Retinues

TRAITS AND SKILLS

Heroes have Skills which are individual to each

PREPARE FOR BATTLE

At the beginning of the game, before deploying,

TERRAIN

Above: Three types of Hard

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

A game of Ruckus consists of a number

UNDER STANDING CARD DECKS

HERO DECK THE HERO DECK This Deck drives

COMMAND AND CONT ROL

COMMAND RANGE Each Hero has a Command Range,

ACTIVATION

Once a Hero’s Card is drawn from the

MOVEMENT

There are two types of movement - basic

SHOOTING

Shooting works differently depending on the Shootist’s weapon:

Shooting Sequence

SHOOTING MISHAPS Roll 2D6. If the roll is

MELEE

Melee occurs after a Character Charges into contact

Melee Sequence

SUPPORT Any Retainers that have the Support

MELEE EXAMPLE

Blue (left) is the attacker and rolls 3

HEALTH

Each Character has a Health attribute in their

WILL TO FIGHT

Combatants can only be pushed so far in

END PHASE

The end phase is a time to clean

HOW THE GA ME IS WON

Victory in Ruckus is not achieved simply by

SCENARIO

"Who bis thee then? Get Off My Land!"

ADVANCED RULES

BUILDINGS If you plan on having buildings that