After a sad encounter with some shady printers left Oakbound without the new rulebooks at Salute things are finally looking up. The second edition of The Woods, a folklore fantasy miniatures game, finally launched at Legionary last Saturday. The long-awaited volume has already proved very popular, selling half the first print run over the weekend.#

With artwork from 80s GW veterans John Sibbick and Tony Hough alongside a host of other talents this is a beautiful and somewhat nostalgic tome, capturing the essence of very British low-fantasy. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is an old-school retroclone though. beneath its classic skin is something far more interesting…

The innovative diceless ruleset, refined and expanded from the first edition, encourages strategic play and the subtleties of command chains, coercion, stealth and manipulation of the environment alongside the usual shooting and smiting dynamics. The game has three distinct modes- Roleplay, Skirmish and Battle, with characters and warbands easily transferred between them. This is a game designed with narratives and campaigns in mind, with development, injuries and a heavy focus on objectives. If you’re looking for a skirmish game with a bit more depth than the average or a sandbox system for roleplay/skirmish crossover this will be right up your street.

Available now at Oakbound.co.uk