40K - Toes in the Water

Yesterday morning I had my first game of the new edition of 40K. I tried to play 7th Ed earlier in the year but gave up after two games. The rules were bloated, overcomplicated and added levels of detail for no discernible purpose.

So how did I find the new rules? In a word "Great".

Having played KoW for the past two years, I have been spoilt by having clear, logical and concise rules. The rules flow naturally and there is little need to go to the rulebook during the game - usually it is to check scenario specifics. Well the "new" 40k was very much the same.

I was able to play the game straight off using the 8 page leaflet from Dark Imperium backed up with my tagged datasheets from the Index book. With no prior experience - apart from those two games earlier this year - of the previous nine years, I was able to play "40K".

What I particularly liked was the new turn sequence. It was easy to pick up and importantly streamlined the game. Moving the Morale phase to the end of the turn allows a lot of "muddle" to be stripped out of the game.

And this concept was all pervading in the game. The removal of templates, the Advance move etc were all designed to speed up the game and shift the focus to tactics rather than mechanics.

The Psychic Phase has been cleaned up and is logical and most of all simple. Again a 30 second consideration in our game but impactful all the same. The Shooting mechanics work well. The ability to shoot all weapons and split fire is great and makes multi weapon platforms much more logical.

I enjoy the new treatment of vehicles as having no arcs and Wounds instead of armour. Again, logical and allows so much extraneous detail to be stripped out.

Combat was straightforward and I enjoy the Activation mechanic. I also think the Fall Back rule works well and makes logical sense.

Command Points are a great inclusion. You have an ability to make tactical choices but they don't overwhelm the game, though judicious use can be crucial.

And finally, the Datasheet presentation makes everything so much easier, Having all the pertinent rules in one place is a far, far superior method of presentation as is the use of keywords.

Overall, I am very impressed with what Games Workshop have achieved. Compared to the corpulent mess I experienced earlier in the year, the complete reset has removed the barriers to entry. It has also revalidated/reinvigorated the armies that have sat unused on my shelf for 10 years.

I'm excited.

Thanks to Ryan for his patience in playing through the rules step by step with me.