This Is Not a Test

What is This Is Not a Test

This Is Not a Test, or TNT, is a 28mm skirmish game set in a post-apocalyptic United States. Joey McGuire wrote it, and it debuted in 2015 through his own company, World’s End Publishing. The second edition is published by Black Site Studios. McGuire is clear about the arrangement: “Black Site does not own TNT. They licensed the rights to publish the second edition with my full input.”

The setting is the Tri-State Wasteland. A war called the End War finished in seconds, the nuclear strikes that ended it are remembered as the Great Fall, and the country that’s left is “an unforgiving land of mutants, lost technology and as much opportunity as danger.” The tone isn’t all grim. The book’s own pitch says, “But hey, it’s not all bad.”

You lead a warband through that. The factions in the core book:

Raiders. Murderous ones, per the book.
Mutants.
Caravanners. Traders who run the routes between settlements.
Tribals.
Preservers. They hunt for old technology.
Peacekeepers. Wasteland rangers.

Old tech is part of the loot. The book lists laser carbines, plasma casters and power armor. There are also rules for wasteland hazards like emberquakes and ripwinds, and a bestiary of over 30 creatures, from rad zombies to the landsnapper.

How it plays

Everything is a d10 test. An unopposed test is a d10 plus the relevant stat, and you need 10 or more. An opposed test, like a shot or a melee blow, has both players roll a d10 and add their stat. In the second edition, ties go to the attacker. A natural 10 is a Critical and a natural 1 is a Fumble.
Initiative is rolled every turn. Each player rolls a d10 at the start of the turn, and the highest goes first.
Activating isn’t automatic. A model activates by passing an Activation test against its Mettle. It then spends one or two action points. You try to activate as many models as you can before initiative passes to your opponent, and that back and forth runs until every model has gone.
Warbands are bought with Barter. Each model has a Barter cost. In the preview pages of the book, a Caravanner Trade Master leader costs 80 and an Armored Cow costs 40.
The attack is favoured. McGuire says the biggest change in the second edition is that “the game now rewards going on the offensive.” Melee weapons hit harder and assault rifles cost more.
Built for a campaign. Linked games track injuries, income, experience and new skills, so a warband can grow from “a bunch of softbellies to full wasteland legends.” Mutations, skills and abilities let you customise each model. The second edition has ten scenarios, up from five.
Any 28 to 32mm models will do. The rules don’t fix a basing size and say other scales can work by adjusting ranges. The standard table is 36” × 36”.

How to start

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This Is Not a Test Core Rulebook, 2nd Edition

The hardcover rulebook from Black Site Studios, $59.99.

Get the rulebook. Black Site sells the second edition hardcover for $59.99 and the PDF for $29.99. There’s no free version of the rules.
Use the minis you have. TNT doesn’t need an official range. Any 28 to 32mm post-apocalyptic figures will work.
Or print the official ones. Black Site sells STL files for Mutant, Lawmen and Caravanner warbands at $29.99 each. Its physical Mutants starter warband is being cleared out, because Black Site no longer casts resin minis in house.
Add the extras if you want them. There’s a Wasteland Deck of playing cards that carries the wasteland rules ($19.99), a dice pack, token sets and a roster pad. The Mutant Cannibals expansion ($19.99, or $12.99 as a PDF) adds a cannibal warband, new weapons and armor, and two scenarios.
Build a wasteland. Black Site started as a terrain studio, so the line also has prepainted MDF terrain like the Biscuit Box diner and the Outskirts Raider Camp.

Community & reviews

Black Site’s rulebook page links several play videos from MiniWargaming and Guerrilla Miniature Games. They show the first edition, but as Black Site says, they “should still give you a great idea of what the game is like.”