by Ed Fortune
Games Workshop’s Space Marine: The Board Game is the latest in the many, many games inspired by the world of Warhammer 40,000, a sort of ‘dark ages in space’ fantasy setting. Specifically, Space Marine: The Board Game is inspired by Space Marine Two, a forthcoming video game, which in turn was inspired by Warhammer 40,000, a grim, dark miniatures game famous for its indomitable super soldiers, the titular Space Marines.
When a copy of this game turned up for review at STARBURST’s Secret Gaming Thunderdome, we quickly got to work assembling and painting the various models for the game, and it was a very straightforward and fun experience.
Space Marine: The Board Game is a two-player game in which one Space Marine fights a horde of monsters. One player gets the very impressive super soldier; the other gets a horde of gribbly beasties that are weak individually but stronger together. This is not an unusual set-up for a Games Workshop product; their Hall of Fame classic board game, Space Hulk, uses a similar asymmetric set-up. Both sides have very different powers, so who wins boils down to a mix of tactics and luck.
The box (which is quite full and fits neatly on a normal shelf) comes with some unremarkable dice, a ruler (for measuring movement and the like), a double-sided game board and 23-push fit miniatures. Twenty-two of those are Tyranid’s, both Termangant and Ripper Swarm models. The former is a kind of insectile velociraptor; the latter are just very angry space slugs. These can be assembled without glue and painted with minimal skill. The other model is Lieutenant Titus, a character model of a heroic Ultramarine (and yes, he’s meant to be painted blue). It’s a nice model, and the most striking piece in the box, and many gamers might want to pick up the game just for Titus. This is a pity because this box is a great way to introduce new players to Warhammer.
When it comes to the rules, this is a fairly simplified version of Warhammer 40,000 Tenth Edition, squeezed into a handful of scenarios. They all boil down to the same thing: Captain Titus faces hordes of alien monsters, and either the alien player overwhelms the heroic Space Marine, or the Titus kills all the beasties and wins. This is easy to learn and tricky to master. The rules are a little murky in places, but that’s normal for wargames; common sense and a willingness to have fun are required. The game does a very good job of introducing you to miniatures-based wargames.
To be honest, all this box needs are some paints and a brush, and it’s a pretty good starter set. The models are very good, and let’s be honest, they could have put any Space Marine model in this box, and it would have worked, so it’s nice they’ve added something as eye-catching as Titus. The rule book is glossy and comprehensive, covering the game’s backstory, instructions on assembling and painting the models, and actual rules for the game. The board is thick and, though sparse in details, is very suitable for this kind of game. The only thing that lets down the production is that you have to cut out the counters yourself. But that’s a very minor thing.
Space Marine: The Board Game is a good choice for those looking to get into the world of Warhammer and one to add to the Christmas gift list if you can find a copy.
