"Thinking of starting 40K" Topic

So I've always had a mild interest in 40K, probably because I'm a science fiction nerd, and I was finally thinking of taking the plunge. I do about 70% of my gaming solo so I was curious how 40K would play solo.

Thanks much!

So I've always had a mild interest in 40K, probably because I'm a science fiction nerd, and I was finally thinking of taking the plunge. I do about 70% of my gaming solo so I was curious how 40K would play solo.

Thanks much!

The small scale versions ( Necromunda,Kill Teams and Even Adeptus titanicus) Would work for solo play. You have small numbers of figures and Mission driven games.

While this statement might be the equivalent of wearing a MAGA hat in Berkley, GW has really upped their game in the last few years. Also, the sheer number of tie in media items (books, audio dramas, podcasts, video tutorials etc) means that it's pretty easy to maintain one's interest. 8th ed is fun, and there's any number of ancillary games to to try as well.

I think it works reasonably well – good thing is, if you are like me and love to paint, there are lots of good things for creative brushwork

As popular as 40k is, it's not the only ride at the fair.

Make sure you check out the other games available. Some may also be better suited to solo play?? Many are not as expensive. Also 40k is, mostly Gothic sci Fi. Others offer this, or more traditional retro or realistic sci Fi.

Some games are flash in the pan. Others, like 40k have been around for years and most likely will be for a many more.

A few alternatives that spring to mind:

Mantic games. GWs cheaper cousin, having their 10 year anniversary. They have Warpath which may appeal. Also dead zone as a skirmish variant and star saga, a board based realistic looking sci Fi "dungion crawl". They also did Mars Attacks for some fun.

Warlord games have Beyond the gates of Antares. That are also doing Doctor Who. Worth a look.

Both these companies were started by ex GW staff and have been around for yonks. Unlike GW, Warlord cater heavily to the traditional historical crowd also, so are not going anywhere in a hurry.

There are many other games out there. But as many die hard GW fans would tell you, "there are none that matter". Their loss.

Also check out the solo wargamers message board on tmp.

If your lucky, a tmp editor may cross post this for you there.

I'd suggest starting with Kill Team. Many similarities to 8th edition but small starting forces and probably easier to adapt to solo play.

You could also check out Grimdark Future/Grimdark Future Firefight by onepagerules.com for a free, easy, quick playing sci-fi inspired by40k and other sci-fi settings. They are also working on AI rules for solo play.

You could just use any rules to play 40k. I really dislike the basic to hit, to wound and save rolls, and all of 40k games use that. Why can't they be more simple, like Age of Sigmar smaller games (Warcry & Underworld)?

(I own a company of Space Marines, 100+ more power armor!)

I would heartily recommend it. Especially if you are a sci-fi nerd. The best thing about 40K, which a lot of other sci-fi games lack, is that they have basically taken a whole bunch of different sci-fi stuff, crammed it into one thing and made it their own.

IF you want alien bug hunts, you can do that. If you want power armour guys fighting each other you can do that. If you want super alien tech vs, ground slogging humans you can do that. If you want ancient alien evil machines with death rays you can do that.

I think 40K is well adapted to solo play, especially the current edition. Some armies will work better for that than others.

I have test played some of the smaller scenarios I run and it is a pretty enjoyable time.

come on dip into the darkside

Thanks guys! I've ordered a copy of the rules (for some "light" reading on an upcoming European trip) and I'll take a look and decide on next steps, i.e. which armies to do!

check out the Independent Characters podcast: very professional and goes over all areas of the 40k hobby.

In the Emperor's name 2 is free and has a small generic campaign that can be played solo with little tweaking.

There are very few games that don't work solo. You just have to put yourself into the proper frame of mind :) But 40K should work just fine solo.

So you mean solo, as in you have the other turn, as opposed to the game having a turn? Tricky, if you like setting traps.

You may want to consider this, though: onepagerules.com

Highly recommended.

Popular as a MAGA hat in Berkeley (or "Berserkely" as we used to call it) is the quote of the week.

I think that the two Horus Heresy/30K games might lend themselves better to solo play than straight 40k does.

While the games are OOP and, with minis, are fairly expensive, you can get the game content without minis fairly inexpensively on the secondary market, and just use whatever minis you like (even GW minis you pick up elsewhere) to play them.