
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Pike & Shotte: The Devil's Playground
- 2 players
- 2015

2012
Rules assistance for Pike & Shotte
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Pike & Shotte is a board game released in 2012 for 2–4 players. It was designed by Rick Priestley and Steve Morgan and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Variable Set-up, and Simulation.
From Warlord Games website: "Pike & Shotte" is Warlord Games' third rulebook publication. It is a beautiful book in its own right with hundreds of colour photo of the most exquisitely painted model soldiers taken from the world s foremost collections. The rule book's intention is to inspire a collector to play gentlemanly games with their collections of soldiers with friends where the emphasis is on the spirit of the period, not the letter of the rule. It is a hearty publication and not for nitpickers or miseries. There are some good gags in it, but it also plays well and enables players to conduct a very big battle in a reasonable period of time, leaving them more time to chat about the highs and lows and what ifs..." Pike & Shotte closes the gap that Warlord Games left between the "Hail Caesar" and the "Black Powder" rulebooks. Using the hallmark Warlord Games orders system (a player must state what his units are about to do, then make a leadership roll dice to check the efficiency with whom of the order given is received), with a 3-phases turn modality that clearly brings the Rick Priestley firm, the game is very smooth, fast and less detailed and mechanic than its stronger competitor, the Field of Glory Renaissance system.
Pike & Shotte supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
Pike & Shotte has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Pike & Shotte belongs to these categories: Wargame, Miniatures, and Renaissance. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Variable Set-up, and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Pike & Shotte are: Rick Priestley and Steve Morgan. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Pike & Shotte as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.