Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Scrapheap: Start Here!

Scrapheap is a fast-paced and violent tabletop skirmish wargame based around post-apocalyptic gangs in a bleak and desolate (and somewhat radioactive...) future.  Inspired by properties such as Judge Dredd, Mad Max, Necromunda, etc. Scrapheap puts players in charge of opposing gangs of 3-11 miniatures.
 

Gangs battle for territory, loot, and power.  Scrapheap is inspired by warband-building games from the 1990's and allows players to build custom gangs with unique characters, abilities and weaponry.  Gang members will gain powerful abilities and bonuses for victories, while suffering debilitating wounds, injuries and penalties if they fail to survive encounters.


Gameplay is driven by each player's deck of combat cards, as well as a 2D6 dice system using a three-tiered result design borrowed from the PBTA game engine (games such as Dungeon World, etc.).  Scrapheap is intended for play at 28mm, but may be scaled down (or up?) for other scales as needed.  A minimum 3'x3' playing surface is recommended, with 4'x4' being the normal table used during playtesting.
 
 Combat Card decks come in pairs, each with matching tin cases.

Red combat card deck.
 
Scrapheap is sold in two-player starter sets, each featuring two opposing coloured decks of combat cards.  There are three colour combinations available, with a fourth pair available only in the Launch Edition MegaPack (which includes four decks instead of two, and includes the token set - all at a slight discount).
 
Launch Edition MegaPack Contents
 
A set of custom Scrapheap tokens is also available, though not entirely necessary.  If players have a decent amount of game tokens on hand, they can probably get away with just using those.
 
Scrapheap Token Set (double-sided, colour)
 
The PDFs included with each purchase provide a Rulebook and separate set of Appendices.  The Rulebook teaches you the game, while the Appendices are the references you'll be using during your games of ScrapheapScrapheap includes rules for various locations and environment, several scenarios, rules for NPCs (Non-Player Characters), companions, and even Pit Fighting encounters. 
 




Each set of Scrapheap decks includes a PDF download for the Rulebook and the Appendices (the game reference manual).
 
 
Disclaimer: Please be aware that when ordering a set of combat card decks - while the tins arrive in shrink wrap, the cards are sometimes mixed between the two tins and will need to be sorted upon arrival.  Occasionally the person packing them sorts them correctly between the two tins, but not always.
 
 

Monday, December 11, 2023

Print-to-Order Products

For all of my current projects I use The Gamecrafter, a print-to-order company based out of Wisconsin.
 
 
As a one-man shop who does game design as a hobby and not a full-time business, this means I don't have to worry about dealing with factories, stocking, shipments, warehousing, mailing, dealing with returns, etc.
 
The downside is that costs are higher, and products are not shipped for 1-2 weeks once ordered.  This generally depends on your place in the queue of orders.  When placing an order, you can see what number you are on your order details.  It will frequently be between 800-1200, and I find the folks at The Gamecrafter tend to plow through roughly 100 orders per business day.
 
They provide a pessimistic "estimated shipping date" which seems to be based on worst-case scenarios, as I've never had them ship anywhere near the projected date.  They have always shipped far sooner than advertised.
 
There is an option to pay double the price to push your order to the front of the line (sadly the designer gets no cut of this additional 100% profit...), but I don't believe anyone is in that kind of a rush to buy a game or some tokens!

Convention: Siege of Augusta (Jan 12-14, 2024)

TurnStyle Games will be attending Siege of Augusta, a wargaming convention held in Augusta, Georgia on the weekend of January 12-14, 2024.
 
I will be running Shoot N' Skedaddle on Friday afternoon, leading to Scrapheap on Friday evening/Saturday morning, and then Caverns, Crypts, & Catacombs Saturday afternoon/evening.

There are no sign-ups, so simply swing by and let me know you want to get in on a game.

Here is a list of the events as of the time of posting:

 



 

Sunday, December 10, 2023

BATTLEGROUP TOKENS: Start Here!

I have designed numerous sets of tokens for use with PSC's Battlegroup series of games (previously by Iron Fist Publishing).  Below are links for various WW2 sets of tokens, along with four options for the newer NORTHAG/CENTAG games centered around the Cold War.

Details are included on the game pages themselves.












New for June, 2024!
 


 


ZONA ALFA Compatible Tokens

While I don't personally play Zona Alfa at the moment, I designed a set of tokens for a friend who requested some to use with the game.
 
These are not official products, nor endorsed by Zona Alfa or its creators, etc.  These are fan-made supplement, and are suitable for many other skirmish games as well.








SHOOT N' SKEDADDLE: Start Here!

Shoot N’ Skedaddle is a skirmish wargame set in the American Old West.

Shoot N’ Skedaddle makes use of playing cards to create an activation deck – allowing each character in the game to activate twice per turn.  This allows swings of action between Gangs and Posses, while limiting players abilities to ‘foresee’ the turn structure ahead.

Shoot N’ Skedaddle’s character deck includes unique characters for both Lawmen and Outlaws, while providing a large number of neutral characters who can get caught up in trouble with either side – either joining a Posse in search of justice or joining a Gang in search of fame and fortune.

Shoot N’ Skedaddle’s weapons deck includes Old West favourites such as the lever action rifle and the ubiquitous ‘sixgun’.  More rare firearms such as the 8-Gauge Shotgun and ‘Mare’s Leg’ are present, but not nearly as common.  Knives, derringers, sticks of dynamite…even cannons make an appearance (though the cannon is best saved for scenario use only…).

Shoot N’ Skedaddle not only includes decks for characters and their weapons, but Special Decks allowing both Gangs and Posses to generate unique events and situations throughout the course of a turn.  While the two opposing Special Decks share a handful of similar cards, the rest of the decks provide a different set of unique abilities/events.

Shoot N’ Skedaddles dice mechanics revolve around a number of different dice, always seeking a fixed target number.  For play, players will need D6’s, D8’s, D12’s, and D20’s.  Bonuses and penalties push dice up and down in value, while the target number remains fixed.

Shoot N’ Skedaddle’s strength is the randomized generation of Posses and Gangs, as well as randomized equipment.  This allows players to run the same table or scenario multiple times, producing a different game each time.  A game of Shoot N’ Skedaddle can be as simple as setting up a town and simply drawing a number of characters for each player. 

Shoot N’ Skedaddle is suitable for two or more players, though it shines between 4-6.  Players are typically controlling 3-6 miniatures a piece, each representing a single character.  Shoot N’ Skedaddle includes rules for running an ongoing campaign, if desired.

Shoot N’ Skedaddle has two additional products available.  The Snake Oil Expansion provides a few new weapons, characters, and a new deck – the Snake Oil deck.  This provides unique salves, tonics, and bitters which can have “interesting” effects on characters during the game.  The other product is a set of tokens for use with Shoot N’ Skedaddle.  While not necessary, the tokens aid in keeping track of status during the game. 

 








Welcome to TurnStyle Games

I've been a wargamer for the past 30+ years and been designing wargames for almost as long.  It wasn't until 2013 that I actually began releasing products for sale with the first edition of Shoot N' Skedaddle.  While I continued to design other games, I rarely put them on sale - normally keeping the games for personal use.  I started developing other products for other games, and occasionally do commission work for other game designers or friends.

I decided in 2019 to start working on more games for public sale, so I'm currently working on another four or five projects, with one set to launch this week.  As the product range increases, I decided to create a simple blog for the collected work - a landing page.

In the future, all products and their scattered pages will be compiled here under one blog.  Shortly the Shoot N' Skedaddle blog will be removed and its relevant content shifted over to this new blog, etc.

This blog will serve alongside the Facebook page (linked above), and the various threads/forums/discussion groups I'm currently part of.

Thanks for swinging by, and I hope you find something of interest to ya!