This article is the write-up of a rapporteur talk given at the 34th ICRC in The Hague, Netherlands. It attempts to review the results and developments presented at the conference and associated to the vibrant field of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. In total, it aims to give an overview of the 19 gamma-ray sessions, 84 talks and 176 posters presented at the 34th ICRC on this topic. New technical advances and projects will be described with an emphasis given on the cosmic-ray related studies of the Universe.