Our thanks to Modiphius for providing us with a copy of these rules so that we can review them!

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a modern-day military unit got dropped into a world full of orcs, dragons, and fairy tale nightmares, Forgotten Ruin has you covered—and honestly, it’s a bloody good time.

First Impressions

The theme takes after the book of the same name, and is very loyal to its source material. You’re not just commanding faceless soldiers, you’re creating a proper squad with backstories and quirk. I went the whole hog: giving names to each of my characters as well as including minor personality traits that are within the book like “always thinking about food” or “always has a bad feeling about this”. I actually went a step further and even used location generators to give them a hometown and flesh them out. It genuinely felt like I was building a cast for a gritty Netflix series set in Middle-earth with guns.

The game’s campaign system is where it really shines. You’ve got three core characters, and a roster of grunts. If this were a TV series, those three characters are your starting stars, and have their personalities fleshed out. After each game you get to roll up the personalities of another character, slowly adding further details to your squad. As the mission go on, you’re also able to give the unit magical weapons and spells. But on top of that they may change their appearance as the fantasy realm they find themselves in gradually changes them.

The campaign is completely geared up to telling a story, and when a mob champion evolves into a villain? Chef’s kiss.

There are three introductory missions that walk you through the rules, which are great for those new to miniature wargaming. The rulebook itself is nicely laid out, with some fantastic artwork—modern soldiers squaring up against fantasy horrors is always a good.

Plus, it’s miniature and scale agnostic – meaning you can use any minis in your collection. I used 40k Astra Militarum for my soldiers and Kruleboyz from Age of Sigmar when I played my first few games.

I enjoyed it so much I’ll be doing a full campaign playthrough on the site, so watch this space!

The Rough Edges

Now, if you’re a tactical heavyweight looking for deep mechanical crunch, you might find the combat system a bit lightweight. It’s deliberately streamlined, perfect for storytelling, but some will find it a bit too simple on the tabletop.

Also, be warned: there are a lot of tables. Rolling for events, for injuries, enemy mobs, for objectives, for what your squad had for breakfast (okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea). It’s all very flavourful, but it does mean keeping notes becomes essential. That might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Who’s It For?

This is tailor-made for solo gamers, especially those who don’t always have a local group or FLG scene. It’s also great for hobbyists who love kitbashing and personalising their minis—since your models evolve and change throughout the campaign, there’s loads of room to visually reflect that in your army.

If you like story-rich gameplay, light mechanics, and have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic fantasy, it’ll be right up your alley.

Comparison

To me, Forgotten Ruin feels like a tabletop blend of XCOM and The Silver Bayonet. Like XCOM, you’ve got a squad that grows, suffers, dies, and evolves. Losing a soldier actually hurts, because you’ve spent time building them up and giving them a background, and then you’ll have to bring in replacements, green as hell, to fill their boots. Plus, you only have so many replacements you can actually bring in.

Mechanically, it shares some aspects of The Silver Bayonet, particularly with its game phases. Each soldier rolls to determine whether they act in the quick or slow phase, with monsters piling in between (In Silver Bayonet half your unit goes before the monsters and half after).

Final Thoughts

Forgotten Ruin aim is simple, it’s trying to tell a story, your story. It’s cinematic, it’s brutal, it’s occasionally hilarious, and above all, it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Highly recommended for solo gamers, narrative fans, or anyone who’s ever wanted to see Special Forces face off against a Dragon.

Forgotten Ruin is currently on Pre-order at Modiphius but will be shipped next week!