For What Remains: Blood on the Rails

About this board game

For What Remains: Blood on the Rails is a scenario-driven post-apocalyptic skirmish wargame for 1–2 players, with games lasting about 45 minutes. Released in 2020, it can be played competitively or in solitaire mode.

This standalone set focuses on two factions: the Echo, led by a secretive cabal of humans with psychic powers, and the Soldiers of Light, humans who believe mankind’s fall was caused by its dependence on technology. Players control characters from the game’s six factions across the wider For What Remains series.

Each scenario presents multiple objectives, making combat between factions usually secondary to completing the mission. In a skirmish, players pursue a single victory with no lasting repercussions. Campaigns link a series of skirmishes into a larger narrative, allowing characters to progress through the ranks from Recruit to Veteran and then Elite while improving attributes and gaining new abilities.

• Modular battlefields: Build the default destroyed urban setting from nine tiles, each divided into a 7×7 movement grid.
• Character-driven play: Use counters, character cards, and tokens to represent the forces in each scenario.
• Chit pull activation: Units are activated through a randomized chit pull system.
• Step-loss injuries: Track damage and injuries during skirmishes with a step-loss system.

Blood on the Rails can be played by itself or combined with other For What Remains sets to create a larger narrative. Its modular tiles, objective-focused scenarios, and campaign progression support both focused one-off battles and an ongoing post-apocalyptic story.