Brawl Arcane 28
A wizard-duel skirmish game by Brett Evans. Two wizards, a few summoned minions, a baying crowd, and random spells every turn, all on a chessboard. Pay what you want.
"My take on this one is coming soon."
What is Brawl Arcane 28
Brawl Arcane 28 is a wizard-duel miniatures game by Brett Evans. Nearly three decades ago a meteorite fell and brought magic into the world, and not long after, the first Brawl Arcane was held in the city of Mirage. Now it’s the 28th tournament, and wizards come from all over to settle scores, humiliate their rivals, and fight for fame in front of a baying crowd.
It’s a two-player game. Each side is one wizard, who summons up to three minions during the fight, and the game ends when one wizard gets knocked out. It needs an 8×8 grid at minimum, so a regular chessboard works, and so does a Blood Bowl pitch or a D&D battlemat. Games take about 30 minutes.
The rules are 28mm and miniature agnostic, and Brett wrote them as a jumping off point for conversions as much as a game. He’s named Turnip28, The Weald, and Blood Bowl as the inspirations.
It was developed in public on itch.io through 2022 and hit v1.0 in October that year.
How it plays
Each player picks a Magic Discipline, which sets your wizard, their signature spell, and the minions they summon. Disciplines include the Necromancer, Mermancer, Green Witch, Artful Trickster, Astral Warlock, Draconic Magus, Flesh Transmuteur, and Noble Scholar.
Every model activates once a turn: a move and one action, then play passes back and forth. The twist is that your spells are rolled at random each turn. You might be stuck with Summon when what you really wanted was Shield, so a lot of the game is making the most of whatever the dice hand you. Magic Missile is always there as a fallback.
The crowd matters too. You earn Crowd Favour when a minion is destroyed, and spend it at the start of a turn.
Beyond a straight duel, the rules have Events to mix things up: grudge matches, a living arena, a crumbling arena, free-for-alls, beast hunts with tables for building your own beast, and a full Grand Tournament with its own sheet.
How to start
- Get the rules. Pay what you want on itch.io. Grab the free Beast Bash expansion while you’re there.
- Grab a chessboard. Anything 8×8 or bigger works.
- Build a wizard and three minions. Four models a side. Any 28mm minis work, and the game is built for converting and kitbashing.
- Or buy some. NeverRealm Industry in Germany sells resin wizard-and-minion sets for several disciplines. In the UK, Meridian Miniatures carries Ana Polanšćak’s resin range (she’s the Gardens of Hecate painter linked below). There are warbands and folk-horror monsters that make great wizards and minions, currently as late-pledge pre-orders.
Community
Discord
Tools & rules
Reviews & videos
Wargamer feature
The game and an interview with Brett
A Gentlemanly Sport review
Full review of the v1.0 rules
Gardens of Hecate
Painted wizards and a battle report
Upturned Table: Learning First Game
Video playthrough of a first game
Creature Conference: Chatting with Quarantine_Miniatures
Video interview with the designer
If you like Brawl Arcane 28, try
Other games in the directory that scratch the same itch.
