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Gun Batteries: Each Scab Steamer will need a Gun Battery. The gun
battery must be built in such a way that it can be aimed to Port or
Starboard (left or right side). This could be represented by swilling
gun turrets, broadsides of cannon or feckless crewmembers running
from one side to the other. Whatever your Scab Steamer is armed
with, your opponent must be able to tell which direction your Gun
Battery is aiming.
Graveyard of Lost Souls: The Abyss is not just home to Swill’s
Scab Steam pirates. Players are encouraged to build their ships
to represent any of the varied cults and cultures of Turnip28.
Ramshackle caravels, root laden junks, crude rafts or heavily armed
Dark Doldrums: On moonless nights, when the air is still, triremes. All are welcome in the Abyss.
vessels from across the Turnip world disappear, sucked
down the rusty plughole of death to a forgotten ship’s
graveyard far below the world known as the Abyss. How To Play
In Scabz, 2-8 players fight ship to ship combat, battling Scatter the pieces of terrain around the board so
for survival against each other and the terrifying Scab that every Scab Steamer can move between them.
Steam pirate fleets of Swill. Obstructions block line of sight and your vessels cannot

ALL HANDS ON DECK shoot through them. There may be scenarios to follow in
future, but for now it’s just a fight.
• A 3x3’ flat playing surface, representing a vast lake of hateful oil. To begin with, all players place their Scab Steamers in
• 3-7 Pieces of terrain measuring roughly 5”x 5”, representing different corners of the play area with the rear touching
wrecked ships, sunken row houses, corroded naval mines, the corner and the vessel pointing into the middle of the
decaying docklands or islands of rotting fish. battlefield. For 2 players start with opposite corners. If
• A handful of 6 sided dice (referred to as D6s). playing with more than 4 players use the midpoints of
the edges as starting positions too. Everyone’s must also
• A tape measure marked in inches.
start with their Gun Battery aiming Port or Starboard.
• 3 x 25mm Torpedo Tokens per player. Each Torpedo Token
must clearly illustrate which direction the torpedo is facing.
• 4 Blast Markers per ship, these can be represented by plumes of
cotton wool or other suitably distinct token.
• 1 x Scab Steamer and 1 x Gun Battery per player.
Tin Can Iron-Clads: A typical Scab Steamer is crafted from a can
of tinned fish. Each Scab Steamer will need 4 distinct sides: the
PHASES
Fore, the Aft, the Port, and Starboard. Players using Scab Steamers Games of SCABZ! are played in rounds.
made from oval or round tins should divide the edge of the ship into Each round has 3 phases:
quadrants from the centre point.
1. ROLL INITIATIVE
At the start of each round, each player rolls a D6. The
highest scoring player goes first. Reroll any ties. Play
proceeds clockwise from that player.
2. MOVE TORPEDOES
In this phase, players move their torpedoes in order of
LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN: ALEXEI VELLA.

initiative (see page 3).

3. BATTLE STATIONS
Players each take turns to perform 3 actions with their
ship in order of initiative.

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BATTLE STATIONS Scab SteamerS
When it is your turn, declare which 3 actions, from the SCAB STEAMERS have the following profile:
list below, your ship is going to take and then perform
SCAB STEAMER
them in order. You may repeat each action any number
of times, i.e. Full Steam Ahead! - Full Steam Ahead! HULL POINTS ARMOUR
- Full Steam Ahead! or Fire Broadside! - Reload! - FORE: 6
Fire Broadside! 6 PORT/STARBOARD: 5
AFT: 4
ACTIONS
FULL STEAM AHEAD! Players may wish to use a D6 on the deck of their ships
to track their Hull points.
Move your Scab Steamer up to 3” in the direction it’s
facing, and then rotate the steamer up to 45 degrees.
Engines Reverse!: A steamer may instead move
Broadsides
backwards 1”, but may not rotate at the end of its move. Targeting: To fire your Gun Battery, you must be able to
see your target.
Ships cannot move through terrain or other ships. If a
ship would move so that it comes into contact with a Draw an imaginary line from the centre of your ship to
piece of terrain, it crashes! The steamer stops and loses 1 the centre of the target. We call this imaginary line, your
Hull point. ship’s Firing Line. If your firing line is unobstructed, and
not crossing another ship or piece of terrain, you may
If a ship’s move would take it into contact with another fire at your target.
Scab Steamer, the enemy steamer has been Rammed!
(see ramming.) You may only fire a broadside in the direction your Gun
Battery is pointing, to Port or Starboard (left or right).
FIRE BROADSIDE! your firing line must travel through that side of your ship
Fire your ship’s Gun Battery at a visible target within on its way to the target. You may NEVER fire from your
line of sight. Terrain and other Scab Steamers block line Fore or Aft (front or back).
of sight.
If your ship does not have a Blast Marker when it fires a
broadside, your ship receives 1 Blast Marker.
RELOAD!
Remove a single Blast Marker from your ship.
AIM THE GUNS!!
Reposition the Gun Battery so it is facing the opposite
side of your ship.
LAUNCH TORPEDOES!
Place a Torpedo Token in base contact with the front of
your ship, pointing in the same direction your ship is
facing. You may only use this action ONCE a round.
DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!
Immediately remove your ship from the board. At the
beginning of the next round, after players have rolled
initiative, place your ship anywhere on the board, not To fire a broadside from your Gun Battery follow
within 1” of a ship or piece of terrain. Players’ ships this sequence:
return in the order they left the table. 1. Determine which part of the target’s hull you’re shooting at.
Follow your firing line to where it meets the target’s hull. This is
Desperate Measures: If this action is used, you can take the part of the hull you’re hitting.
NO other action this turn and your ship lose 2 Hull In the above diagram, Ship B fires at A! Its broadside will hit A’s
points! You may only use this action ONCE per game. Starboard side.

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2. Roll to see if your guns penetrate the target’s armour. To
successfully damage the target, you must roll equal to, or higher,
than the target’s armour.
Ramming
If your ship moves so that it comes into contact with
HULL ARMOUR: Each part of the ship has a different another vessel, your ship has rammed it. Your ship
armour value.
immediately stops and both players roll a D6.
FORE PORT/STARBOARD AFT
• If the result of the roll off is a tie, nothing happens.
6+ 5+ 4+
For example, successfully damaging the Starboard side of a • If one player rolls 1 higher than the other, their
target will require a roll of a 5 or a 6. opponent receives 1 Blast Marker.
If your roll was successful, the target has been damaged and • If one player rolls 2 higher than the other, their
loses 1 Hull point. opponent loses 1 Hull point.
Fish in a Barrel: If your ship is within 4” of the target, you may
• If one player rolls 3 or more higher than the other,
reduce the target’s armour by 1 until the end of your broadside.
For example, a target’s Fore armour would become 5+ instead their opponent loses 1 Hull point and immediately
of 6+. rolls on the Something Horrific Happens! chart.
3. If the target was damaged, roll D6. If the result is a 5+, the target Armoured Prow: If the Fore of your ship rammed the
has suffered a catastrophic blow. enemy’s Port, Starboard or Aft, you may increase the
The target must roll on the Something Horrendous result of your roll by 1.
Happens! chart.
Ships already in contact cannot ram, and must move at
4. Place a Blast Marker on your ship to show it has fired
a broadside.
least 1” away before being able to ram again.

BLAST MARKERS: Ships with Blast Markers may not fire.

The player must instead Reload! to remove all Blast Markers,
SINKING
one at a time, before firing. When your ship loses its last Hull point, it is lost, you
must roll a D6.
Torpedoes 1-2 GLUG, GLUG, GLUG
Devastating underwater missiles, hopelessly piloted by Your ship sinks below the oily waves and is
the unfortunate prisoners of Swill. removed from the board.
To launch a torpedo, place a Torpedo Token directly in 3-4 WRECKED
front of your ship. The torpedo must start touching, and An inferno rips through your ship incinerating
facing in the same direction as, your ship. the crew. Place several Blast Markers on your ship.
It can no longer take any actions and counts as a
A ship can only fire a maximum of 3 torpedoes a game.
piece of terrain for the rest of the game.
Move Torpedoes: When it comes time to move
5-6 DETONATION
torpedoes, players take it in turns, in initiative order, to
move their torpedoes D6” directly forward in a straight Your ship explodes in a cloud of rusted shrapnel.
line. Torpedoes may NEVER change direction. Starting with the closest, make a broadside attack
against all other ships within 12”. The ships must
Impact!: If a Torpedo Token, at any time, comes into still be visible, but do not need to be within your
contact with a Scab Steamer, the torpedo explodes. The firing line.
Scab Steamer loses 1 Hull point and immediately rolls on
the Something Horrendous Happens! chart. Any further detonations are resolved AFTER all
broadside attacks from this ship are complete.
Terrain: If a torpedo would impact a piece of terrain,
roll a D6. On a 6+ the piece of terrain is destroyed and
removed from the board.
If a torpedo would move off the edge of the board, the
torpedo travels harmlessly off into the night never to be
seen again. Remove the Torpedo Token from the board.
Arming Distance: Torpedoes are only armed after
the next Move Torpedo Phase. If the torpedo impacts
anything before it is armed, the prisoner inside has
not had time to prime the explosives, and the token is
removed from the game.

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Something Horrendous Happens!
Roll a D6. If the result is 1, 2 or 3, roll again on Table 1. If the result is 4, 5 or 6, roll again on Table 2.
TABLE 1
1 RUDDER JAMMED
Something snaps below the swill-line!
Roll a d6:
1-3 Your ship can only turn to Port until the end of
the game.
4-6 Your ship can only turn to Starboard until the
end of the game.
2 CRASH DIVE
The Scab is spooked by incoming fire! TABLE 2
Your ship is removed from the board. At the start of 1 TINNED HATE
the next round, the player to your left places your The Scab, undeterred, shrugs off the wound.
ship back on the board anywhere, not within 1” of Your ship may immediately make 1 action of
another ship or piece of terrain. your choice.
3 FAT FIRE 2 SWILL IN YOUR EYES
The thick coat of lubricants on your ship’s A spray of swill dissolves the eyes of half your crew!
deck ignites!
Your ship no longer benefits from the ability Fish in
Your ship gains 1 Blast Marker. a Barrel when firing a broadside.
4 ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE 3 PROPELLER BUCKLED
Your ship spasms and involuntarily launches One of your many swill turbines is off balance!
a torpedo!
Every time you make a Full Steam Ahead action,
Place a Torpedo Token in front of your ship as if it roll a D6. You must move your ship exactly that
had been launched. If your ship has no torpedoes amount in inches, no more or less. You still stop
left, it gains a Blast Marker. when your ship crashes or rams.
5 GUN BATTERY JAMMED 4 TAKING ON SWILL
The Gun Battery is locked in position! Huge holes torn from your ship are affecting
You may not take an Aim the Guns! action for the its buoyancy.
rest of the game. At the end of every Move Torpedoes Phase roll
6 DISOBEDIENT MEAT a D6.
With much grinding and gurgling your Scab steers 1-3 You fail to plug a leak. Your ship loses 1
recklessly out of control. Hull point.
Your ship immediately makes a Full Steam Ahead 4-6 You manage to plug a leak and nothing happens
this phase.
action. The player to your right chooses the
direction you travel and turn. 5 MEAT MEAT MEAT
The Scab’s flesh bulges, plugging the holes in your
ship’s severely damaged hull.
Your ship regains D3 Hull points. You may not
exceed your starting Hull point total.
6 RICOCHET
The round bounces harmlessly off your ship’s hull!
Your ship immediately fires a special broadside
against a target within line of sight. The target
does not need to be in your ship’s firing line and
you can still fire even if your ship cannot shoot for
any reason.

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Flotsam & Jetsam
You spit soaked, cock-eyed guillemots. The ‘Invincible’ GUILD HULK LEVIATHANS
cannot be defeated!
A scab is a seething mass of sentient flesh trapped in a
- Admiral Bladderwrack on the eve of the great latrine disaster. submersible iron cage. The guild’s scab-steam hulks rely on
Armada’s of the Abyss: Advanced and exciting new ways their prisoner crews, who have to serve time in the innards
to play Scabz. Armadas provide experienced players with of the enormous beings.
new ships, powerful abilities and tactical challenges to Scavengers of the Abyss: Penal battalion dredgers, armed
face on the oily waves. with eel hooks and harassed by flocks of trained gulls,
When playing a game of Scabz, players can agree to scavenge the burning wreckage of defeated ships to pay
use Armadas. Each player picks one of the following back their debts.
Armada’s to swear fealty to, and sets sail with their newly Whenever another player’s ship loses its last hull point,
fitted vessel. this ship gains 1 Hull point.
Whenever another player has Something Horrendous
Happen to their ship, roll a D6. On a 6+ this ship gains 1
Hull point.
THE TURNIP EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
This ship may never have more than 6 Hull points.
Singing mournful shanties from under rusted helms,
beleaguered turnip mariners swarm the decks of a doomed Overworked Offal: Leviathans start the game with only
flotilla of root-oak carracks, the weight of their cannon 3 Hull Points
dragging the ships dangerously low in the Swill. Prison Ship: This ship starts the game with 5
Devastating Volleys: Ancient stump gun batteries fire Torpedo Tokens.
crashing broadsides. LIMPET COG CORSAIRS
When this ship fires a broadside, roll a D6 for each of the Driftwood trade fleets defended by crews of sneering
ship’s remaining Hull points, instead of the usual 1. For archers, bows strung with the sinews of drowned men.
example, if a ship had 4 Hull points remaining, roll 4 dice Their barnacle-covered hulls built around the wrecks of
when firing your broadside. other scab steamers.
No matter how many dice you roll, you can only score Wretch-gut Longbows: A rain of flaming pitch arrows fell
1 successful hit for broadside attack, all other successful upon the scab’s exposed flesh. It screamed.
hits are discarded.
This ship does not generate Blast Markers when it fires
Make Room for Rations: This ship starts the game with a broadside.
only 1 Torpedo Token.
This ship still cannot fire a broadside if the vessel has one
Root Timbers: When this ship is fired upon, Something or more Blast Markers.
Horrendous Happens on a 4+ instead of the usual 5+.
Barbed Points: Treat the armour of enemy ships as 6+
THE WHALE FALL FLENSERS when firing a broadside, no matter what side you are
“Skinning teams, get ready to Board!” hitting. For example, the Aft of a targeted ship would
become 6+ instead of 4+.
Blubber obsessed whaling crews made from the most
violent and bloodthirsty butchers of Swill. Oil Soaked Strings: You may only target ships within 8”
of your ship when firing a broadside.
Whale Axe Prow: This ship starts with 8 Hull points.
This vessel cannot fire a broadside. Instead it may make a Galley Wretches: This ship moves D6+1” instead of the
Boarding action. usual 3” when using Full Steam Ahead.
Boarding: Target another visible ship within 3”. Target
ship loses 1 Hull point and must roll on the Something
Horrendous Happens! chart. Your ship loses 1
Hull point.
Master Whalers: The player controlling this ship does
not need to declare all their 3 actions at once, and instead
may state them one at a time, after the previous action
has been completed.