One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” -Hunter S. Thompson


Friday, March 17, 2017

Review: Space Hulk Board Game (2016)

Game over man! GAME OVER!
Games Workshop has been on a tear pumping out board games new and old. One game that I was super excited about getting was Space Hulk. This two player game (sad face) pits the Blood Angels chapter of the space marines against Genestealers that are infesting a space hulk that is moving dangerously close to a new planet to spread their infestation. DEATH TO THE XENOS!

The Contents
Like Wizards of the Coast, Games Workshop knows how to make pretty games. Everything in this set is of high quality and really nice to play with and read. The cardboard pieces that make the board are of an extremely thick cardstock with a nice raised aspect that will last a life time of play and look amazing when set up. The miniatures are the snap together kind and not as detailed as if they were bought individually. This does mean they are easier to assemble allowing you to play faster. Also, you don’t need glue, but I did glue mine to ensure that they would stay together no matter what. Also the fact that the space marines are red and the Genestealers are black, means that you can get away without painting them and still be able to identify both sides easily.

Game Play
In the game each player controls one faction and then plays out one of the 16 missions outlined in the game guide. The guide outlines how to set up the space hulk (which ends up looking like a futuristic dungeonscape), which space marines participate in the mission and the win conditions for both sides. Each player takes a turn activating all their dudes with actions points. The space marines have a lot of options and additional command points they can spend on their turn or the Genestealers. The space marines are best when they attack from range and the Genestealers have no choice but to move into close combat which most times means they will rip the face off of a space marine if they can close with them. After playing three games my buddy and I concluded that both sides really benefit from just sitting back and waiting for the other to come to them, which makes for a pretty boring ass game.

The Verdict

Despite a few flaws (mostly above issue with both sides deciding to hunker down and wait for the other to come to them), I really enjoyed playing the game. I can see a lot of potential to expand the game. For example, it would be cool for an option to add more factions, more equipment and new missions and especially multiplayer options for three plus players. I saw that there are three expansions available on the games workshop website, but the reviews I read about them leads me to believe that they are not worth the money. All they really do is allow you to play new space marine chapters (which I suppose is cool). But in the 40K universe there are so many cool factions it would be nice to see more options. I still have Deathwatch: Overkill to assemble and play so its possible that some of the issues with Space Hulk are addressed in that game. I would recommend this game to anyone who wants to play a relatively fast and fun miniatures game but doesn’t want to fuss with a lot of assembly.

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