"Which version of 40K was or is the easiest to teach." Topic

So which version of 40k was or is the easiest to teach a new player.

3rd was easy, but 2nd had a certain charm. I remember fewer special rules. Mostly it used the stat lines…though I could be wrong.

If you have access to it I would suggest space hulk as a gateway into 40k (or as a general gateway into mini argaming). Easy rules, well balanced games, and quite intense.

I enjoyed 3rd and 4th edition. 40k as it stands now is a beast of a ruleset.

I agree with using Space Hulk instead.

3rd is the easiest. It was far easier than 2nd which didn't have many special rules, although it had some, but had some of the most byzantine methods of figuring out armour penetration plus it had a lot of other stuff that was streamlined for 3rd.

When I got back into 40K last November I picked up the most recent rule book from its position on the shelf where it had been mostly untouched since I bought it and tried reading through it. I gave up pretty quickly and hunted up my 3rd edition rulebook and read through that in about 30 minutes.

Then got myself another two copies of it. Now I have three copies. I keep one in the car because you never know.

Space Hulk would be good unless he specifically wants to teach him 40K in which case it is useless.

Yeh, 3rd Edition, followed by 4th. I think 4th is the best of the post-2nd Edition rulesets.

… But how do you tell which edition is which ?

3rd

… But how do you tell which edition is which ?

I had the same issue trying to figure out which Codex went with which edition when we decided to go back and just use 2nd and 4th editions for our occasional excursions into 40K.

3rd through 5th edition Codices can be especially confusing on which editions they belong to because some spanned multiple editions and some had multiple Codecis over the span of one edition. I actually went and wrote the edition version in all my old Codices and rule books.

The Lexicanum is your best friend for determining the different editions of 40K.

Which 40K edition rulebook

Which 40K edition Codices

As to the OP, 2nd Edition is the easiest for me to teach because that's what I played the most of. But after that, as others have said, 3rd and 4th.

Does not 3rd come with the army lists in the book? Main reason I loved it.

As a "new" sixth edition player (waiting for 8th, so we did not update to 7th), I agree that the rules are voluminous, hence the claim by GW that it's hobby unto itself. BTW I picked up my old copy of Rogue Trader (mint) and it's a good read (never played it). If you're not going to play a current version, might as well go with one of the other rule sets out there. My opponent decided to drink the cool aid, but that's just our choice. Gives us access to more players.

We started with very small games (250 points). At that level the rules are not difficult. Over time we added more and more rules as we built up units. We each stick with a main army. He plays IG and Tau, and I play orks.

6th ed. is cheap now. And the 5th ed. codices pretty much work.

But it's fun whatever edition you choose.

3rd does come with the army lists in the books. The rulebook can be found for about $5 USD and has everything you need to play.

I'd say some of the lists in the book are a little anemic but you can usually find the codecies somewhere for cheap too.

The space marine and CSM lists in the book are about as good as in the codecies. The Orks and tyranid lists in the book are the weakest/most boring.

3rd edition is by far the easiest. The rulebook is written in a very simple manner, army lists are provided in the main rule book, and there's very little in the way of clutter.

I also happen to think 3rd is the most fun, but that's very debatable. Many find 4th or 5th to be the best, others 2nd, and a few are diehards for Rogue Trader. There's enough variety that anyone can pick and choose the right edition for themselves.

3rd edition all day for me. But I'm playing 7th(rarely) because my main game buddy has a "thing" about playing current rules versus old rules…
My advice is to play 3rd for now but wait for the 8th edition as it should drop in the spring, and may likely bring some of Age Of Sigmar streamlining and simplicity to the behemoth that is 40K these days.
Or. go with the Horus Heresy, 40K done right!