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 TUSK (pdf edition)
Contents
Introduction 4 Basic Scenarios 8

Scales and basing 4 The hunt 8

Basic rules 4 The king is dead 8

Hunting parties 4 Prehistoric beasts 9

Turn sequence 5 Brontosaurus 9

Action points 5 Tyrannosaurus rex 10

Fire 5 Victorian adventures 10

Movement 6 Gun and artillery fire 11

Missile combat 6 Victorian adventure scenarios 11

Close combat 6 Specimens 11

Beast reaction 7 Escape from island x 11

Terrain effects 7 Miniatures 12

Acknowlegements 12
Credits
Written by: Matthew Hartley
Photos: Steve Blease
Miniatures: 15mm Tusk range from Irregular Miniatures
Thanks to: Ian Kay for agreeing to the idea of a PDF edition.

TUSK (pdf edition), all rules, text, graphic and photos are Wessex Games 2009.
TUSK (original edition), Irregular Miniatures 1994.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced in any form or by any means without the prior permission
of the publisher.
This publication is sold subject to the following conditions:

1. It shall not be by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold or hired out or in otherwise circulated without the publishers
prior permission in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition
being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
2. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording scanning or otherwise without prior permission of the publishers.
Published 2009 by Wessex Games
Remember illegal copying is theft and every penny you steal from us by doing it, impacts another project we are working
on for wargamers.

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Introduction
Tusk is a fun simulation of mammoth hunting
during the late Stone Age. It can be played
either as a solo game or multiplayer with any
number of players.
Each player represents the leader of a hunting
faction within a tribe, and as such will control
spear- and bow-armed hunters, hunting dogs,
and those mysterious individuals who have
harnessed flame - the Firemakers.
Players determine amongst themselves the
terrain and objectives of each game (although
examples have been included in the rules), so
no game need be the same as the last.
Additional rules are included for "fantasy"
games allowing players to hunt Brontosaurus
and Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as for
firearms, so players can recreate scenes from
the Victorian Science Fiction novels of H G
Wells and such movie classics as The Land
That Time Forgot.
Scales and basing
These rules have been written for use with
15mm or 6mm scale figures. Official Tusk
miniatures are produced by Irregular
Miniatures in both scales.
Clearly marked card counters can be used as
a substitute for figures (but that wouldnt be as
much fun!).
Matt D'Amico (order #4316469)
TUSK (pdf edition)
All human and dogs bases should be of the
same dimension and the beasts should be
based on a base as appropriate for the model.
Basic rules
The basic rules allow for games of mammoth
hunting by Stone Age hunters.
Hunting parties
Each player has a certain number of points to
"spend" on building his particular hunting
faction. Points are spent buying bases of
different types. The points costs vary
according to base type:
Hunters with spears/axes 2
Hunters with bows/slings 3
Firemakers 4
Og the Hero 3
Dogs 1
There are no limits on the mix of bases in any
hunting party. Hunters can either enrage or,
possibly, kill outright their prey. Dogs merely
enrage, whereas Firemakers can make fire
which scares the beasts and could herd,
entrap, and kill them.
Og the Hero represents individuals who are
desperate to prove their courage or,
alternatively, have had a few too many "magic"
mushrooms....They either kill their quarry with
a single blow or get stomped on in the
process.
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Turn sequence

The game is played in a series of turns. Within

these turns events unfold in a particular order:

i) Fire progresses
ii) Players roll 1d6 for Action Points.
iii) Hunters move.
iv) Firemakers light fires
v) Hunters with slings/bows shoot
vi) Hunters with spears/axes fight
vii) Beasts roll on their reaction tables.
viii) Fire deaths.
Action points
Action Points indicate how much control you
have over your hunting party.
Each player rolls 1d6per turn to discover his
Action Point allowance for that turn.
Action Points allow you to move bases (1 point
per base), increase the movement distance of
some bases, and make Firemakers light fires
(for 1 point).
In multiplayer games, Action Points not used
for movement are used to determine who
attacks first in combat.
Action Points cannot be stored from one turn
to the next, and are diced for again each turn.
Fire
Fire is represented in this game using 2 cm
square card markers. Each counter should be
marked on one side Fire and on the other
Burned Out.
Fire can only be produced by Firemakers.
At the beginning of every turn, use directional
dice to determine wind direction.
All existing Fire markers are flipped over to
their Burned Out side and new Fire markers
are placed adjacent to them in the same
direction as the wind.
Additionally, fire spread is determined by
rolling once for each fire on the table below:
1 or 2 Fire goes out. Fire marker flipped
over.
3 or 4 Fire remains. No fire spread.
5 or 6 Fire spreads. Place one additional
marker adjacent to the existing
fire marker in the direction
determined by the wind.
Fires may not move across areas which are
already Burned Out or on to water, or marshes
or over cliffs. A Fire marker may partially
occupy a Burned Out, water, marsh, or cliff
edge area, but only the part of the marker not
over such areas will be considered as harmful
for reaction, movement and killing purposes.
Any base that is on a Fire marker at the end of
a turn is destroyed and removed from play.

Firemakers can produce fire on turns on which

they did not move and their controlling player
has spent one Action Point on them, if they roll
a 5 or 6 on a 1d6.

If the roll succeeds, the player can place a 2

cm square Fire marker anywhere adjacent to
the Firemaker base, except on an area with a
Burnt Out marker on, or containing either
humans or dogs.

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Movement
Any base in a hunting party which has an
Action Point spent on it may move in a turn.
Beasts may move, according to a reaction die
roll.
In a multiplayer game the player with the most
Action Points moves first (roll a die again to
determine the order of ties).
Different bases have different movement
speeds:
Humans (all types) 5cm per turn
Dogs 15cm per turn
Mammoths 8cm per turn
Humans and dogs can move up to another
5cm in a turn if 1 additional Action Point is
spent on them.
Movement can be in any direction but cannot
take a base over a cliff edge or through a fire
marker. Water features can be designated as
impassable if so desired.
Missile combat
A base of hunters armed with spears/slings
can attack a beast within 10cm or less of any
part of its base. Each base should roll 2d6.
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On a roll of 12 the beast is killed outright,
otherwise it is eligible to roll on the missile
attack column of its reaction table in the beast
reaction phase.
If bases from two or more different hunting
parties are shooting at the same beast, then
the base whose leader has the most remaining
Action Points goes first (roll a die to decide
ties).
Close combat
A base of hunters armed with spears/axes can
attack a beast within 2cm or less of any part of
its base.
Each base should roll 2d6. On a roll of 10, 11,
or 12 the beast is killed outright, otherwise it is
eligible to roll on the close combat column of
its beast reaction table in the beast reaction
phase.
If bases from two or more different hunting
parties are in close combat with the same
beast then the base belonging to the leader
with the most action points goes first.
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Og the Hero rolls only 1d6 when within 2cm of
a beast. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6 the beast is
killed, otherwise Og is removed as a casualty.

Irrespective of other results, the beast rolls

2d6. On a roll of 8 or more, a randomly
determined base within 2cm of the beast is
killed and removed from play. This roll is made
even if none of the bases within 2cm have
attacked the beast.

Beast reaction

Beasts are not controlled by players but by a The reaction table conditions are read from left
preset reaction table. Each beast is rolled for to right and the roll is made on the first
only once per turn on the reaction table. applicable column:

Score Fire Close Dogs Missile Humans Humans

< 7cm Combat < 2cm Combat <12cm >12cm
1 W A G A G G
2 W A G A G G
3 F A A W G G
4 F W A F W G
5 PF F W F W W
6 PF PF W PF F W

W (Withdraw): move 1/2 maximum movement Terrain effects

(rounded down) away from nearest human,
dog or fire base, avoiding marshes, water or Water and marshes half movement for all
cliff edges. Must end movement no closer to bases.
any human base than it started. If this is
impossible then the beast has an Attack result. Beasts become stuck in marshes and
therefore humans add 2 to Close Combat rolls
F (Flight): move maximum movement against beasts in marshes.
distance away from the nearest human, dog or
fire base. Movement avoids cliff edges and Cliffs and pits are fatal to anything that falls in
must end no closer to any base than it started. or over them.
If this is impossible then the beast has an
All other terrain enhances the visual
Attack result.
appearance of the game but does not affect
PF (Panic Flight): move maximum movement play.
distance directly (180 degrees) away from
nearest human, dog, or fire base. Any human
or dog base in the way of the fleeing beast is
trampled to death. If the beast crosses a fire
marker it is killed.
A (Attack): move maximum distance towards
nearest human or dog base.
G (Graze): move 1cm in a random direction
(determined as per wind direction), avoiding
water, marshes, cliff edges, or human or dog
bases.

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Basic scenarios
Here are two basic scenarios for Tusk, the first
for solo play, the second for a multiplayer
game. Players should feel free to design their
own scenarios.
The hunt
TUSK (pdf edition)
This is the basic solo game which pits one
hunting party against a single mammoth.
Each game should take roughly 30 minutes to
play. The player has 10 points to build his
hunting party.
The 60cm square play area should be set up
as indicated below.

The mammoth should be placed in the centre

of the area. The bases of the hunting party can
enter from any direction.

The game ends when either the Mammoth is

killed, or all the hunting party is dead, or the
mammoth moves off the play area.

The king is dead

The tribal leader has died and the players are

vying to replace him. The leader who proves
his worth by having his hunting party kill the
most mammoths out of a small herd will There should be twice as many, plus 1,
become the next chief. mammoths as there are players.

Each player has 15 points to build his hunting The mammoths are placed in the centre of the
party. 120cm square play area.

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Prehistoric beasts
Hunting parties can enter the play area from
any direction but all the bases in a party must
Whilst we all know that cavemen and
enter at the same point. If a mammoth dies
dinosaurs did not exist at the same time, the
from falling into a pit or off a cliff, or from fire,
idea is so rooted in Hollywood lore that it
the leader with the nearest human base to the
cannot be ignored, so here are the dinosaur
beast at place of death counts the kill of that
reaction tables for the herbivorous
beast. If a mammoth moves off the play area it
Brontosaurus and the carnivorous
is considered out of the game.
Tyrannosaurus Rex. Players should feel free to
invent their own reaction tables for their
These games can be easily varied by altering
favourite dinosaur.
terrain, beasts, or points to build up the hunting
parties.

Brontosaurus
Score Fire Close Dogs Missile Humans Humans
< 7cm Combat < 2cm Combat <12cm >12cm
1 W A G A G G
2 F A G W G G
3 F W A W G G
4 F W W F G G
5 F F W F W G
6 PF PF F PF W W

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Tyrannosaurus Rex
Score Fire Close Dogs Missile Humans Humans
< 7cm Combat < 2cm Combat <12cm >12cm
1 W A G A G G
2 W A G A G G
3 W A A A A G
4 F A A W A G
5 F W A W W G
6 F W A F A A

The maximum move distance of a Adventurers are the starring characters. They
Brontosaurus is 6cm per turn, and 8cm for a all carry guns and can act as Firemakers.
Tyrannosaurus Rex. These beasts can be
introduced into the basic scenarios, replacing Stalwarts are brave regular soldiers or sailors,
mammoths on a one-for-one basis or lesser big game hunters. They all carry
guns.
Victorian adventures
Rabble are native porters, scared soldiers or
All the basic rules apply. There are however terrified citizenry and even if carrying firearms
some more base types with their own points they are too scared to use them. They fight in
cost: close combat as per hunters with spears/axes
but with a - 2 on their die roll (so they need to
Adventurers 6 roll 12 to get a kill).
Stalwarts 4
Rabble 1 Sir Harry is the Victorian equivalent to Og the
Hero, and the same rules apply.
Sir Harry 3
Artillery 8

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Artillery represents anything from a Gatling
machine gun to a 7-pounder mountain
howitzer to a submarines automatic cannon.
Artillery moves 2cm per turn and cannot fire in
the turn it moves.
Gun and artillery fire
Guns have a range of up to 12cm, artillery of
up to 20cm. Distances are measured as per
normal missile combat.
Guns kill beasts on a roll of 10, 11, or 12.
Artillery rolls 1d6 and kills on a roll of 5 or 6.
Beasts shot at by guns or artillery are eligible
to roll on the fire reaction column with a +2 on
the die roll, treating the closest shooting base
as the nearest base for determining Panic
Flight results.
Victorian adventure scenarios
Here are a solo and a multiplayer scenario
using the new base types and new rules
above.
Specimens
You lead a party working for the Natural
History Museum, London. During your
exploration of the Peruvian jungle, you come
across a small herd of extraordinary creatures.
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Determined to take at least one living
specimen back to England, you have a couple
of net-lined pits dug. Now all you need do is
entice the beasts into the trap.
You have 12 points to construct your hunting
party. Remember you want to try to capture
the creatures alive in the pits. If the base of a
beast partly or wholly covers a pit the beast is
taken to have fallen in and been successfully
captured.
The 60cm square play area should be set up
as indicated below, three beasts should be
placed in the centre of the area. Any three
beasts can be used, but I recommend starting
with Brontosaurus.
Escape from island x
HMS Unconquerable with her passengers - all
leading members of the Great Britain and
Empire Archeological and Exploratory Society,
1

is anchored off a small island somewhere in
the South Pacific. The discoveries by the
eminent explorers of supposedly extinct
creatures would have electrified the scientific
communities in Europe, however their visit has
coincided with an upsurge in volcanic activity
that threatens to destroy the island. As the
very ground shudders beneath their feet, the
different parties of researchers and their
escorts must flee back to the ship.
Unfortunately, their path is blocked by an
agitated herd of Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Each player must lead his party to shore to be
picked up by the Unconquerable. Each player
has 15pts to build his party. The 120cm by
60cm play area should be set up as shown
below. The players can start anywhere in the
area indicated, the Tyrannosaurus, twice as
many as the number of players, start half way
between the players and the shore.
The two artillery bases on the Unconquerable
will fire every turn at the nearest beast within
range. On the fire progress phase of each turn
roll 2d6, if a score of 10, 11, or 12 is rolled the
Island is in imminent danger of destruction and
the players have 6 turns after the current to
evacuate bases. Any base which reaches the
shore is assumed to have been rescued,
bases not evacuated after the time has expired
are left to an unpleasant fate as the
Unconquerable is forced to abandon them.
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The player who evacuates the most bases
from his party wins the game.
Miniatures
Irregular Miniatures, publishers of the paper
edition of Tusk, also produce two ranges of
supporting white metal miniatures in 15mm
and 6mm scales. Their website is:
www.irrgeularminiatures.co.uk
Whilst the miniatures in this PDF edition are
based individually, there is no reason why you
cannot base your figures in groups as Nick
Whittock has done here. After all, a base is a
base in the rules, regardless of how many
cavemen or Victorian explorers are on it.
Acknowledgements
Okay, so who have I pinched mechanisms
from ? Mostly from Jim Webster, from his
excellent Sci-Fi rules Hellfire and Hell By
Starlight (published by Wessex Games), but
also from Phil Barker and Richard Bodley
Scott' ground breaking De Bellis Antiquitatis
(published by the Wargames Research
Group). Any glitches in the game are, of
course, my responsibility.
If you are interested in Victorian Science
Fiction or "alternative" games like Tusk, you
should join the Society of Fantasy and
Science Fiction Wargamers. Please visit
www.sfsfw.org for more details.
Matthew Hartley
July 1994
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