
- BGG rating
- 8.4
The Reckoners: Steelslayer
- 1–6 players
- 60–100 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2022

2018
Rules assistance for The Reckoners
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Reckoners is a board game released in 2018 for 1–6 players, 60–100 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Brett Sobol and Seth Van Orden and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Push Your Luck, and Dice Rolling.
The Reckoners, a game based on the young adult fantasy novels by Brandon Sanderson, allows players to take on the roles of the novels' protagonists and work together to save the world. Background: 10 years ago... A mysterious burst in the sky gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. They're called Epics. But, every Epic turned out to be evil. Today, in the city once known as Chicago (now Newcago), an all-powerful Epic named Steelheart reigns supreme! Nobody fights back... nobody but the Reckoners! This is where you come in. You are a member of the Reckoners, a skilled group of normal humans who assassinate Epics. Your mission is simple, but not easy. Take down Steelheart and his Epics and save the city. Gameplay: The Reckoners is a simultaneous, co-operative game for 1-6 players that plays in 75 minutes. You win by defeating Steelheart. But before you can defeat him, you must first discover his weakness. Throughout the game, you will work with your fellow Reckoners to research and attack Steelheart, but he is not alone. Numerous Epics are scattered throughout the city, and they will wreak havoc upon the population, if left unchecked. If the Epics manage to destroy Newcago by reducing the population to 0, then all Reckoners lose. The Reckoners determine which actions to take primarily through a simultaneous, dice rolling mechanism, where each player can keep and reroll results up to three times at their own pace. Equipment Cards and Plan Tokens will also allow you to gain extra actions or improve/manipulate the results of your dice. Actions are resolved simultaneously as well, so communication and collaborative planning are key to ensuring optimal outcomes. Your dice can be used to attack Epics, research Epics, contain Epics, attack Enforcement, earn money, acquire Plan Tokens, move around the game board, remove barricades, and activate special equipment powers. Researching and Attacking Epics will help you earn valuable rewards, including clues about Steelheart's weakness. But, there will always be more Epics than you, so you have to choose your battles wisely. When all actions have been taken by The Reckoners, then it's the Epics turn. Each round, all of the Epics are going to activate, performing an array of actions and then powering up to be even more devastating next round. Each Epic also has a unique set of actions it performs, so you're always facing multiple threats that function very differently. The crux of the game is deciding how to resolve these competing threats and prioritize your actions together to eliminate Epics and ultimately win the game. How, when, and where you act will determine your victory or failure. Summary: In short, The Reckoners plays like a challenging, ever-shifting puzzle. If you like co-operative games where you carefully manage resources, build powerful action combos, create tactical plans with your teammates, and work together to take down the bad guy while on the brink of defeat, then be sure to check out The Reckoners. —description from the publisher
The Reckoners supports 1–6 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.
The listed playing time for The Reckoners is 60–100 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Reckoners for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Reckoners has a complexity rating of 2.7 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.
The Reckoners belongs to these categories: Dice, Science Fiction, and Novel-based. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Push Your Luck, and Dice Rolling. 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 The Reckoners are: Brett Sobol and Seth Van Orden. 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 The Reckoners 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.