THRACK
Thrackdown is now in Open Alpha: a fast-paced skirmish wargame set on the broken colony world of Nova Eden. The rules, starter warbands and introductory scenarios are available now, and they’re free to play.
What is Thrackdown?
Nova Eden was once a thriving colony world. Then came the Collapse: fleshcrafting experiments, machine wars, civil conflict and, eventually, the failure of the systems holding the planet together. What remains is a patchwork of settlements, industrial ruins and fractured powers fighting over what survived. You can explore the setting in more detail on the World page.
Thrackdown puts you in command of a small warband drawn from one of the factions fighting across Nova Eden. Your first game needs only four fighters a side, with larger warbands, equipment and campaign progression introduced as you move into the full rules.
Fighters activate one at a time, creating a constant back-and-forth where a single action can change the course of a battle. Games are quick, tense and personal: small forces fighting over cramped ruins, valuable ground and whatever objective brought them there.
Thrackdown is miniature agnostic. Use the models and terrain you already own, whether they are converted miniatures, kitbashes, old favourites or something built from spare parts. If they fit the part and your opponent knows what they represent, they belong on the table.
What's in the Open Alpha
Everything you need to get a warband on the table:
The rules. The Quickstart Guide gets you playing with four fighters a side, with the full rules, faction rules and campaign systems there when you are ready to go further. New to skirmish games? The first game walkthrough takes you through it step by step. Everything you need to play lives on the Play page.
Six major factions, each with their own rules and unit rosters:
- The Ashen Covenant, faith-bound zealots awaiting the return of Regent Gideon Varr, marching beneath prophets in patched armour and relic-laden robes.
- The Iron Pact, disciplined soldiers built around chain of command, mutual trust and holding the line when everything around them falls apart.
- The Splice, fleshcrafted survivors whose bodies have been rebuilt, altered and pushed far beyond anything their original makers intended.
- Null Protocol, freed domestic and industrial machines that survived the Collapse, severed their old masters’ control and refuse to be owned again.
- The Crimson Veil, gene-forged aristocrats and their thralls, bringing refinement, calculated violence and generations of engineered superiority to the battlefield.
- The Scavver Clades, salvage crews, traders and opportunists held together by practical loyalties, scavenged gear and the need to survive another day.
Custom Faction rules let you forge your own minor power from the wastes, because not every banner on Nova Eden belongs to one of the six major factions.
Scenarios ready to play, beginning with Loot & Scoot and continuing through the three-game introductory series. Start small, learn the rules as you go, then bring a full warband to the table.
The Warband Builder
The centrepiece of the Open Alpha was the Thrackdown Warband Builder, the free browser-based tool for building, checking and managing your warbands. It has since grown into the Battle Companion, but roster building remains at its core.
Pick your faction, recruit your fighters and equip them. The Builder keeps track of Thrack costs, equipment and warband restrictions as you go, including Leader requirements, fighter categories and Juggernaut limits. If something makes the roster illegal, it tells you before you reach the table.
It runs entirely in your browser and does not require an account. Open it and start building.
It works on desktop and mobile, so the same tool can follow your warband from roster building to the tabletop. The Battle Companion now also handles live game tracking and the post-battle sequence, and like the rules, it is free to use.
Free Forever
The core rules and faction rules for Thrackdown are free forever. Not free for now, and not free until launch. Free.
There will be things worth paying for, including printed books, official miniatures and terrain, but you do not need any of them to play the game. The rules stay available to everyone.
The illustrated artwork published for Thrackdown is created by human artists. You can read more about how we work with artists on the Work With Us page.
What's Next
The Open Alpha is a beginning, not a finish line. Development continues across the game:
Official miniatures. Thrackdown is miniature agnostic and always will be, but official miniatures are being developed for the factions ahead of crowdfunding.
Campaign play. Campaign progression is already part of Thrackdown, with fighters gaining XP, suffering injuries, buying equipment and developing across linked battles. Further campaign material and scenarios will continue to grow through playtesting.
Balance updates. Stats, special rules and Thrack costs will continue to change where testing shows they need it. That is one of the main reasons for running an Open Alpha.
More to play. New units, scenarios, tools and world material will appear through the News page, with rules changes recorded in the Changelog.
More players. The most useful thing you can do is put the game on a table. Play it, tell us what worked, what was unclear, what dragged and what you wanted to do again. Find out how to take part on the Get Involved page.
Get Started
- Open the Resources page and grab the Quickstart Pack
- Choose a faction and muster four fighters
- Use whatever suitable miniatures you already own
- Play Loot & Scoot
- Continue through the introductory games or start building your own warband
- Tell us how it went
Nova Eden is waiting. It's not friendly, it's not fair, and it's absolutely worth fighting for.
Play Thrackdown / Open the Warband Builder / Get Involved
Thrackdown is developed by Wargame Geeks Ltd. Core rules and faction rules are free forever.