War - Never been so much fun (Warhammer 40 000)

Member Name: Waagh

Product:	Warhammer 40 000
Date:	20/06/01 (476 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, Easy, Nice Models

Disadvantages: Expensive, Flawed Rules

Warhammer 40,000 is a futuristic, tabletop wargame. It is also a lot of fun.

Following hot on the heels of the first and second editions, Games Workshop stuck with tradition and bravely brought out a third edition of this popular game. With the third edition, though, things changed. Gone were the intricate rules, the detailed statistics, the over powerful heroes and the downtrodden foot soldiers. Arisen in their place was a game that is quick to play, easy to learn and never ending in it's surprises.

I am a huge fan of Warhammer 40,000 and feel that the third edition is the best yet. Very different from Rogue Trader (the first edition), it does away with the intricacies, the role playing and the individual customisation to produce a fast, easy and fun wargame, focussing on your army as a whole, rather than the more individual style of earlier versions.

With that in mind, let's go through some of the good, and bad, points about the current edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Good Point: It's easy to learn, and simple to play. The rules are reasonably well explained and, being a popular game, there are plenty of players out there to help with early games.

Bad Point: It's inconsistent, and the rules are all over the place. There are a number of rules holes and grey areas. Partially to get round this, Games Workshop publish clarifications on the net, and in White Dwarf. This leads to a form of information race, where, in order to compete on a level playing field, you can find yourself carrying around a rule book, fourteen issues of white dwarf and three, forty page, printouts from web pages. Not ideal.

Good Point: Games Workshop provide good support, particularly within the UK. With over 200 retail outlets, Games Day and (approximately) quarterly open days at the Nottingham head office, there is plenty of visible support for players.

Bad Point: It's expensive. There is no ge
tting around this, Games Workshop games tend to be up to twice as expensive as other games systems. The reasons for this are many, but it is not going to change.

Good Point: The models are nice. The models are in fact, some of the nicest you can get, and are undoubtedly the best range of figures. Though there are a fair number of bad figures (Winged Nightmare, Nagash), the range as a whole is excellent, and very, very large, particularly when the mail order service is taken into account.

Good Point: There are lots of opportunities to play. Most games clubs will have at least a couple of players, and there are a large number of tournaments, organised by Games Workshop and other clubs and societies.

Overall, I give the game a good rating, for being fun, and quick to play.

Summary: