Mordheim: City of the Damned

About this board game

Mordheim: City of the Damned is a fantasy skirmish game for 2–6 players, with games lasting about 60 minutes. Released in 1999, it uses a warband of 1–20 models instead of an army of hundreds of miniatures.

Each warband enters battles against other warbands, creating a focused contest in the ruined fantasy setting of Mordheim. The game follows classic Games Workshop-style mechanics and plays in a similar way to Necromunda, while its fantasy theme changes the balance of combat.

• Choose a warband of 1–20 models, with most warbands averaging around 10–12.
• Fight skirmishes against rival warbands.
• Develop your force with money, levels, greater size, and new powers.
• Face lasting deterioration when models die or are dismembered.

Successful play can help a warband grow over time. A warband may gain money, improve its levels, increase its size, and acquire new powers, giving each battle a place within its ongoing development.

Failure carries a very different consequence. When members of a warband die or suffer dismemberment, the force can slowly deteriorate, making its fortunes feel closely tied to the results of each skirmish.

Compared with Necromunda, Mordheim: City of the Damned features fewer long-distance shots and much more hand-to-hand fighting. The result is a fantasy battle game centered on close combat, small warbands, and the risks of building a force that can either prosper or fall apart.