SAGA

What is SAGA

SAGA is a skirmish game from the French publisher Studio Tomahawk, written by Alex Buchel. It came out in 2011 and its second edition followed in 2018. In English it’s sold by Gripping Beast, which Goonhammer’s review called its exclusive English distributor.

You play a Warlord at the head of a warband of “around thirty figurines.” Tomahawk pitches it as a game about the heroic ages, “whether they are drawn from history, mythology, or the imagination of men.”

The second edition split the game in two. The core rulebook holds only the rules, with no factions or battle boards. Each era then gets its own supplement, which Tomahawk calls a universe. The current rulebook is the 2022 version, which folds in the FAQs since 2018 and rewrites some passages for new players. Gripping Beast’s listing says the rules themselves “do not fundamentally change.”

The universes on Tomahawk’s site are:

Age of Vikings. The Viking era up to Hastings, with twelve factions: Vikings, Norse Gaels, Jomsvikings, Pagan Rus, Normans, Carolingians, Scots, Irish, Anglo-Danes, Anglo-Saxons, Last Romans and Welsh.
Age of Invasions. Britain, with a semi-historical King Arthur. It used to be called Aetius & Arthur.
Age of Crusades. The Holy Land and the crusades in Eastern Europe.
Age of Alexander, Age of Hannibal, Age of Caesars and Age of Chivalry.
Age of Magic. Fantasy. Generic factions, monsters, war machines and wizards, so most fantasy collections can be fielded.

A separate Book of Battles adds scenarios and extra rules that work with any universe.

How it plays

Battle boards are the heart of it. Every faction has its own board, a sheet of boxes listing activations, basic abilities and advanced abilities. Each turn starts with an Orders phase: you roll your SAGA dice and place them on the board. Then in the Activation phase you spend them to move units and trigger abilities. The boards are open, so both players can see what the other might do.
Your warband sets your dice. The Warlord generates one SAGA die, each Hearthguard unit one, Warriors units of 4 or more one, and Levies units of 6 or more one. Heroes generate what their profile says. Lose units and you lose dice.
SAGA dice carry symbols, not numbers. Each faction has its own set. Tomahawk posts the symbols as free downloads, so you can stick them on ordinary six-sided dice.
Simple army building. A standard game is 6 points, a small one 4 and a big one 8. One point buys 4 Hearthguards, 8 Warriors, 12 Levies or a hero. Your Warlord is free. Legendary units, like Harald Hardrada or Peter the Hermit, can change how a faction plays.
Fatigue is the brake. Units pick up fatigue from extra activations and fights. Your opponent can spend it against you, to raise their armour, lower yours or cancel an activation. At 3 fatigue a unit is exhausted and can only rest.
Quick combat. Roll attack dice against the target’s armour. The defender rolls a die per hit to cancel them: 4+ against shooting, 5+ in melee, and better behind cover or with closed ranks. After a melee both sides take a fatigue and the loser falls back.
Age of Magic is bigger. Its standard game is 8 points, with monsters, war machines and spellcasting. Goonhammer found it “more complex than the historical settings.”

How to start

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SAGA downloads (free)

FAQs, reference sheet, dice symbols, tokens and tournament scenarios from Studio Tomahawk.

Get the rulebook. The SAGA Rulebook (2022 Edition) is a 50-page softback, £14 from Gripping Beast. It has no battle boards on its own.
Pick a universe. Each supplement is £34 at Gripping Beast and holds the factions and their battle boards for one era. Age of Vikings, the original setting, comes with twelve card battle boards.
Get SAGA dice. Gripping Beast sells faction dice in sets of eight, £12 to £16 a set. Or print the symbols from Tomahawk’s download page and stick them on plain dice.
Build a warband. There’s no official miniature range. The game is written for 28mm, and Gripping Beast sells figures with it in mind. Goonhammer’s review built two 6-point Viking warbands out of one Victrix plastic box.
Find a table. Goonhammer says 4’ × 4’ works but 6’ × 4’ is better. You don’t need much scenery.

Community & reviews

Tomahawk’s FAQs thank the Northern Tempest Saga Podcast and the Rodge Rules YouTube channel’s Saga Thorsday show. The download page also carries a tournament scenario booklet.