It’s time for the month of Ork-tober 2025 at Drawbridge Games. And we’ve got some fun planned with a month-long event that culminates in an all-day (and maybe much of the night) Mega-Battle on November 1st–which happens to be the Extra Life charity fundraiser day this year. We’re calling the whole thing “Loota Island” and there are going to be a lot of ways for players to participate, from painting to skirmish battles to the big event.

This Orktober we’ll be telling the tale of Loota Island, an Ork invasion of an Imperial Planet that gets supported by some Xenos races cooperating owing to the mass threat of the Orks.

(Don’t worry Chaos folks, a Daemon-cember event will happen again this year and be your change to field some forces; and Tanksgiving will be a time for any and all forces to be a part of one of our big events).

There will be two phases: the building (painting) and loota raids phase, and then the final invasion mega-battle. Participants can field any type of Orks army they like if they want to play on the Orks side, and can choose any of the following to fight on the Imperials+Helpful Xenos side: Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Custodes, Imperial Knights, Imperial Agents, Astra Militarium, Genestealer Cults, Leagues of Votann, T’au Empire, Aledari, and Drukhari.

Participation in various events gives players chances at entry for the prize draw done on the final day at Drawbridge, done in our usual door prize style.

The Loota Raids – Month of Orktober

During the month of Orktober, participants can earn draws in the final drawing in three ways: Painting Progress, playing Loota Raid skirmish missions, and converting (and painting) Looted Vehicles.

For those playing Orks, every squad of Ork infantry (between 3-12 models depending on the box set) that you newly paint during the month of Orktober earns you a draw. Post a pic of the squad assembled/primed either in the store 40k Painting Chat or the Painting section of the Discord, then a pic of the final painted squad.

For those not playing Orks, you get a draw for every vehicle you newly paint during the month of Orktober. Same rules apply: share a before and an after pic to get your draws counted (I’ll track them here on this site).

Players can also do a Loota Raid skirmish mission. This is designed to be a small number of points, and entirely infantry units except for one vehicle on the non-Ork side. Players should discuss points value and match each others’ points as well as they’re able. We recommend no more than 300 points per side of Infantry (the vehicle can be any points value). Players need not field any characters to lead the force, and any characters used cannot be more than 3 wounds.

The scenario runs 5 rounds. The deployment map is below, and uses a smaller board size (36″x36″). If the Ork player fields any Kommandos they can be placed in the advanced zone indicated upon deployment.

For the purposes of this mission each model in the unit acts as it’s own unit with separate activations. Think like Kill Team. If the unit has one-use upgrades like Bomb Squigs, those go with a specific model and can only be used by that model. This also includes deployment, so models from the same unit can be spread out all over the battle area as desired. The limitation of not deploying within 9″ of an enemy model is reduced in this mission–models cannot be deployed within 6″ of an enemy model. The defending player deploys a model first and then sides alternate placing models until all are deployed. Models may be placed in reserve as normal with any rules they have. Players then roll off for first turn.

The vehicle begins in the control of the non-Ork defender, but is not “active” at the start of the game. Starting round 2 onward the player can try to “activate” the vehicle by rolling a d6 at the end of the command phase. On turns 2 and 3 the vehicle starts on a 6. Turn 4 it starts on a 5. Turn 5 it starts on a 3. Once a vehicle is activated it can fight as normal in the battle. However, the Ork player can also seize the vehicle. If there is no enemy model within 1″ of the vehicle, an Ork model within 1″ of the vehicle can take an action during the shooting phase instead of shooting to try and commandeer it. They roll a d6. On a 4+ they take control and activate the vehicle (it cannot charge during that turn’s charge phase). The Ork model can commandeer an activated vehicle as well. If the Ork model inflicts 1 or more unsaved wounds on an activated vehicle in melee, then they can roll a d6. On a 6 they get inside and manage to take control. A vehicle under Ork control uses it’s normal stats but replaces all ballistic still values with a 5+, and it loses any special qualities of a vehicle that would come from the nature of the crew of the vehicle (players should agree in advance what those are), and adjust any special rules that mention buffing one’s own army to count for the Orks. If the vehicle is destroyed by either side leave it on the table–it becomes a wreck and counts as impassible terrain for the rest of the game.

The game is a victory for the Orks if they control the vehicle at the end of the game. It’s a narrow victory for the Orks if the vehicle is destroyed (by either side) but no enemy models remain within 12″ of the vehicle at the end of the game. It’s a draw if the vehicle is destroyed (by either side) and enemy models are within 12″ of the vehicle. It’s a victory for the non-Orks if they control the vehicle at the end of the game. Also, note that this mission is likely to be very random and silly, so don’t take it too seriously–and if something is funky and not working right, agree with your opponent how to handle it and focus on having fun.

Playing the mission gains each player one draw in the final drawing. Update the organizers (Andrew) when a game has been played so we can keep track.

If the Ork player gets a victory or a narrow victory they then have the option to “loot” that vehicle for the Extra Life game. The player should acquire their own kit of that vehicle, convert it to a suitably Ork-y version (I encourage thinking about what Ork model it might proxy as, and having those weapon options present too). If they field it at the Extra Life game then it can use the Looted Vehicle rule for the event, and operate with the same rules as the vehicle would normally have except with a 5+ ballistic skill, and would again lose any rules that are dependent upon the nature of the crew (confirm with the organizers). Fielding a vehicle looted in this way nets an Ork player 5 draws in the prize drawing (as winning, then converting, then painting is a big undertaking!).

The Extra Life Invashun Extravaganza

More details on the big event will follow when we get closer to it, but here are the basics. Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming marathon where players can donate money to the Extra Life charity (through the sponsor Drawbridge) for minor advantages in games like re-rolls. It’s a great charity event and Drawbridge has raised thousands of dollars for various charities in the city as a part of it in prior years.

We won’t do a full 24 hours, but we intend to do a pretty long time for the event. The games will be drop-in, drop-out, with an island defended by Imperial forces with contingents of “good” Xenos assisting them being invaded by a flotilla of Ork attackers from both sides. There will be rules for returning destroyed models to play, and players can join for as long or as little as they would like through the day and evening (and maybe early morning). Players can earn draws in the final prize drawing for participating in the event as an Ork player, for participating as an Imperial or Xenos player, and for event-specific missions: every player will get a randomly assigned mission card detailing what they need to do during the mega battle to get their extra draws.

It should be silly fun as always, and we’ll have the full list of how players join, what the possible missions are, and how donations to the Extra Life cause can be used for in-game bonuses. We’ll do the drawing at the end of the event, and participants do not need to be present to win (so even if you cannot make the big event, you can still paint to get draws or play the Loota Raid mission).

So mark November 1st on your calendars to attend during the day and/or evening, and in the meantime get those models built and ready to paint for the month of Orktober!

Ork players please do inform the organizers (Andrew) that you’re planning to play Orks for the event so we can have a good list of who is able to bring what for the event (as we’ll match the size of what forces the Imperials+Xenos side can bring based around our Ork presence). Ork collaborators will get a bonus draw in the drawing, and two draws if they do at least 300 points of Ork infantry new for Orktober (to play the Loota Raid mission!).

• Warhammer 40k