Ive played many of GWs games since getting into the hobby in 2020, from 40k to many versions of KT, Aeronautica, Legions, Space Hulk and finally Blood Bowl recently. My god it is amazing to me how good blood bowl is as a game. I do think it is by far GWs best design and the rules being mostly the same after decades from what I can tell just makes it even more clear how well tested it is.
Space Hulk is awesome and the rules are not written by mentally ill people like the standard 40K rules are, so this game is actually playable just like One Page Rules.
Agreed! Space Hulk got me interested in 40k, used to play fantasy battles back then. But Blood Bowl is the better game in the long run in my opinion, eventhough not as easy to pick up.
I love the design of the genestealers being blips on the board until they enter the FOV. Some blips contain no genestealers and some are absolutely packed. The asymmetry is absolutely brilliant.
Nuts! wargame has similar mechanic where you throw dice on every encounter with potential enemy. Result from the table can vary from nothing to enemy heavy tank.
Space Hulk was my way into Games Workshop, many moons ago. I painted lots of the genestealers. I quit the hobby in the early 90s so was blown away by the quality of the modern miniatures when I started again, during the Pandemic.
The 1995 edition of Necromunda was an AMAZING starting point for tabletop gaming. Simple minis, investment in making your squad your own with the light RPG elements, and a game you could play in 45 minutes rather than hours. Quick and portable 3D terrain with the bulk heads and cardboard system they had
@@photonfartsqueeze6694I loved the first edition of Necromunda as it followed the exact same rules with a few extras as 2nd edition 40K. And I think that was great! And I still think those were the best rules, when every single miniature counted as an individual. And when Games Workshop announced the 3edition of 40K I played it once, did not like it at all and immediately dropped the hobby out of protest. Wisest move ever! 😂
Vengeance of the blood angels for the playstation was my introduction into 40k. The manual was a phonebook and it BLEW MY MIND that there was so much lore about the universe the game was in and the lifecycle of the genestealers. Then I popped the game in and played the intro. In my basement, at night, in the dark. Which in retrospect was probably not a good idea.
Space Hulk and Space Crusade were my introduction to the 40k universe...never got into the tabletop side of 40k...but I'd play either SH or SC in a heartbeat today
The dead terminator marker is still one of my favorite molds GW has ever made! Another great video, also will the Atle miniature ever be restocked on your website?
There is an idea for you Squidmar. Build a 3d Space Hulk board set, sectional and plug and play like the game's flat cards. Me and a friend did a set like that sculpted from appliance styrofoam for corridors and painted them for a bit more 3d feel to the landscape. Which we donated to the game store for their gaming room. It was actually fairly simple doing them section by section like the flat game cutouts. At local conventions we used to use both our sets to run double blind Tournament. We had 2 tables with matching maps and a divider between them. Meaning other than the blip markers, you couldn't see the opponents unless it was in line of sight. It was always a hit when we ran it. That and Death World free for all match we'd run. There are old rules for regular non-Terminator marines, and other Tyranids. We even did a Chaos Marine version, with it being a Chaos hulk. Sure you could adapt any faction to it. The hard part would be figuring out troop sizes for each side. You'd need a lot of Guardsmen to face Genestealers with the close combat nature to even have a chance, but that could be really fun.
I LITERALLY went on a shopping spree in the past few months buying Blood Angels Space Hulk minis because of "Vengeance of The Blood Angels" on Playstation. I now have 21 Space Hulk Terminators & barely painted 2. & when I say "Painted" I mean just primed black lmao
black prime- you already did that step so drybrush white-then use speed paint, i love army painter speed paint, I think its the best (sometimes called translucent paint) one layer of whatever colors you want to use, thats all- done. Its called the slap chop and its easy and fast- just learning how to dry brush properly is the only thing you actually have to do(if you want it to look better)- speed paint hides alot of mistakes and looks like you're way better than you actually are.
When this launched back in 1989 - it was an instant purchase. Followed by the expansions Genestealer and Deathwing. Still have the three and they are still epic.
I remember playing Space hulk when it came out in 1989 and loved it. You should have seen the 3D game board layout we made, it was huge sometimes 6 levels with several different objectives and took up a whole 4' × 8' table
I still have Space Crusade which was the brother to Heroquest. Such a great game. Actually to be honest both Heroquest and Space Crusade were both great games. Very easy to follow gameplay and just the right amount of lore and rules. They were both marketed at the family and kids level and I can remember walking into KMart and seeing them both on the shelf and being blown away by the box art and the minis. I convinced my mum to get me Heroquest for my birthday but I missed out on Space Crusade. Years later though I picked it up at a flea market complete and I still have it. Great game. Will have to look into Space Hulk.
Best game ever. Love it. I have the first edition and expansions. I leave out all the nutty aliens with guns and powers stuff. That said the game is a good time
I really like the psychic system though its like marmite. You either love or hate it . Ive started running librarians or hybrids as level 1 so powers don't dominate as much. Recently playd chaos terminators vs genestealers and included a space crusade dreadnought using some fan rules.
Its one of those games you can pick up when the mood takes you and play a quick game. No massive set up, huge table, scenery hundreds of models.... Its tactical, challenging, atmospheric and ultimately great fun. What mkre do you want 🎉
It blows my mind why GW will put stuff up for preorder and let them run out, and not make them made to order afterwards, theyre literally saying no to money, certain items I can understand, but for games and big popular boxes in general it blows my mind
The barbarian, dwarf, elf and wizard carving through waves of Genestealers in the narrow confines of a space hulk while a squad of Terminators smash through hordes of skeletons, fimirs and furniture in a dungeon.
I have never been able to get a copy. I was in the Navy from 2001 to 2022 and was always at sea during the release and missed it and didnt know about the game until it was out of print. but I spent many and evening with a Rogue Trader book and some minis playing homebrew space hulk with a mash up of white dwarf and rogue trader rules. if it is released again and I know about it I will get it by god!!!
Still have my 1st and 2nd edition... Love it for the setting, the gameplay and everything else you can imagine. Stopped buying from GW because of this BS with the 3rd edition.
I spent 2 summers playing this, Dark Future, Blood Bowl, Talisman and Hero Quest, there was also a epic scale introduction to wargaming with Titans, I can't for the life of me remember the name of that one.. The Space Hulk really caught our imagination, 3 out of 4 of my gaming friends bought it and yes, we amalgamated all 3 board games for a extra large hulk.
I absolutely love Space Hulk. I have a copy of Space Hulk v2 and two copies of Space Hulk v3. It is just a fantastic, tense and thematic time. Tight, economical rules and incredible atmosphere. I will never tire of this game.
I must dig out my boxed set. Bought it in 2009, stopped painting/playing/collected just after it arrived (kids!!) I still have half of the Termies (gave a few to a mate) and the stealers.
I'd love for there to be a new edition of Space Hulk. I know it doesn't have as much room for faction expansion as other GW games, but it does look like the most approachable and most like a classic "board game" even more-so than Killteam. I feel like it could easily be their most budget-friendly into to 40k than killteam.
I remember getting the 2nd edition on release day in 1996, wish I still had it. Keep saying I'll but it again when/if they re-release it but never get it. They should release this again it's a great and easy to understand introduction to 40k, Great video.
Blood Bowl, Dark Future and Space Hulk were weekly game nights between my friends group in the late 80s/early 90s. Dark Future was my favourite, then Blood Bowl.
Man I bought the 2009 Space hulk at my local store. Was the first 40k miniatures I painted! not counting a bunch of tau guys I didn't really paint as I had no idea what I was doing in 2004
Back in '89, Space Hulk introduced me to GW. I'd painted minis for about 5 years before then, but never GW minis. I'm still painting and playing them! But seriously, When Space Hulk launched, "Aliens" was still kind of fresh, so the 'blips' got your heart racing! Great game. Still have a copy of the 2009 edition, and my current Tyranids army is using a unit of 10 Genestealers from that edition :)
Well this is the game that got me started in Warhammer 40K back in 1989. Had gone to the Origins gaming convention back in 1989 in Los Angeles and Game Workshop was showing this as a demo. Well I picked up a copy (which I still have) along with few blisters of Eldar and Space Marines (I still have those Eldar but sold the Space Marines). Well that game led me along a path to where I have five different 40K armies and later into 5 WFB armies.
Just played a large 12 player game a couple of weekends ago at a local convention and had a blast. I've painted up many a terminator and my friend runs games at Origins and Gencon occasionally.
Man, I remember the tabletop games so well. I was so glad you could play them solo, as I could rarely convince anyone to play it with me :( The computer versions were ok.. There was actually a Space Crusade game for early home computers that predated the Space Hulk one, could well be the first ever GW licensed game.
Argument of being able to play it in five or ten years is pretty strong I think. It’s what made me go big on 10th edition combat patrols. I have almost every one of them by now, printed the PDF’s and got the general rule book of 10th edition. I’ll put all of this in a nice box so i can get it out for the rest of my life to play a nice game of combat patrol with friends and have a ton of variety to play with.
What was the mad max 2 style one they made with the cars? I remember playing it at school in 1996. The models were cool to paint. Necromunda was fun as well. I remember photocopying the rules out of White Dwarf. Man have games workshop just become a money grabbing bunch of turds since then.
I still use all of the 3 edition terminators for my Blood Angel terminators, and I always get asked how I got such awesome and unique Blood Angel terminators.
1e SH supplement Deathwing had ambush counters, while 1e SH supplement Genestealer has 4, 5, and 6 Genestealer blips. And 1e SH had solo and campaign rules available. And all kinds of add on for using regular Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and even Eldar to face down the Genestealers, hybrids, or Chaos Space Marine Terminators! 2e+ SH seriously dumbed down the options. I did not buy 1e SH when it came out but thought the early 2000s I assembled full sets of 1e Space Hulk, Deathwing, Genestealer, and Space Hulk Campaigns (the full collection of WD articles) via eBay. They are my most prizes board gaming. ❤
I used to have Space Hulk 1st Edition when I was a kid. I used superglue to assemble everything (poorly), but I really loved all the pack-in extras. The books, the lore, the art... all top notch. One thing I remember from that was the rules for the flamer were... rather unclear. I now, years later, have a box of 4th Edition sitting on my shelf. I just need to work up the courage to paint the models with the time and care they deserve. Also probably why I like GSC these days... for better or worse!
Purely from a playing enjoyment point of view, the best game GW ever released was Man'o'war. The minis were largely questionable, but it played like a dream. Smooth, fluid and despite seeming simplicity allowed for real strategy and tactics.
I bought Space Crusade and 2nd edition Space Hulk but Warhammer Quest was / is my all time favourite - SO MUCH STUFF IN ONE BOX!!!! Although relatively expensive at the time, I really wish I had bought two copies.....sigh
Space Hulk was my gateway drug (looks lovingly over at the 1st ed box in the cupboard) to GW. I played it in their stores. I was instantly sold on the Tyranid/Genestealer faction... and yet, I've only just started playing 40K with the release of 10th edition. Unlike every other game, it was self-contained in one box. Buy a box, play the game. That's it. No extra teams, no extra rules, nothing. Box = game. I love Blood Bowl and Necromunda, both of which I played to death in the 90s, but money was always the constraint. Not so with Space Hulk.
Excellent video. First edition Space Hulk was pretty much my introduction to 40K back in the early 90's. I think Space Hulk's enduring appeal is a mixture of different things, you don't have to know anything about 40K to play it , it's a self-contained game in a box. You don't need anything else and it's a pretty simple game that's pretty quick to play. Whilst I think the production value on 3rd/4th edition is considerably better than 1st/2nd I really don't like the Genestealer minis in 3rd/4th. They'd be great in a diorama but for a game where you're moving pieces around it just looks weird having a Genestealer coming out of the floor. I use first edition Genestealers for my games with my 3rd edition copy.
To all those in the comments saying Necromunda? Naaaaah. Confrontation in White Dwarf was fair superior. Based on Bryan Ansell's Laserburn, it got shelved after Ansell's buyout by the managers. It would later be released as Necromunda with a Priestleyan ruleset. But Confrontation kicked ass. When I used to own Space Hulk first edition (I'm not crying, you're crying) I used to use the Space Hulk tilesets for Confrontation.
I liked that you put in the video from the best game on Amiga back in the day :P (note I have it on pc now). I think one point you touched on though in the video that "you can play it solo even" is kind of a thing that makes this game also abit more appealing. Not quite the same "exitment" in a Wh40k with so much to move and roll etc. This is simple, blips - you never know what you get - like a Kinderegg! The other aspect is that its "simple" enough that kids can play. Meaning I played at times with my nephew that is 10 yrs younger than I, so he was what mabye 8-9 years old(so in 92-93?). Tried playing Wh40k with him, but that was just too much.(we played that as he got older, but he was more into HQuest so we did play that later on). As for suggestions, well there is an obscure game, maybe? from GW - Blood bowl. I also think that was a more "fun & silly game", less serious in a sense than the "Grim darkness there is only war". I dont know if its "profitable to make a video about that, as its most likely way niche" - and or if that you would find it intresting for yourself(which tbh imo is the most important aspect). I loved Space Hulk back in the day, and I would still enjoy it if I had the game, but alas that was destroyed by some other nephews later on when I was in the army d'oh!
Space Hulk was my way into and then right back out of Games Workshop. 5 minutes in, I couldn't stop yawning. I am impressed though that someone who spends a lot of time painting GW product finally actually said something about the game play, something noticeably absent from just about every other 'content creator' who gloms onto GW for likes and subscribers (nothing personal squiddy, we all know about the GW viscious cycle as a requirement to be a successful content creator in this genre - too bad for the many more worthy games out there, I guess). Anyway, I have always taken that to mean the rules and game play weren't worth talking about (in my mind, confirmed by my experience with Space Hulk). Despite the GW content, I enjoy your videos squidman and will be sticking around.
Space Hulk and Warhammer Quest: two games I would kill for. Seriously, if GW decides to release them (not the 40k WHQ! Though that one isn't bad, either!) again, I'm going to throw my money at them with such absurd force that a category 4 hurricane will appear above my head.
Great video! Space Hulk was and is a fun game and Games Workshop should definitivly bring it back! Other GW games worth a look are Blood Bowl, the first Dungeon Bowl, and the newer Blitz Bowl. The pretty obscure Man o' War deserves a mention. If you want a real challenge, try Warhammer Underworlds.
There's "unoficial" GW rules for playing Space Hulk with Imperial Guard (aka Astra Militarum) and Harlequins. Playing as Imperial Guard and Kasrkin is even more difficult! Imperial Guard rules are in Citadel Journal 25 and Harlequins, Citadel Journal 2.
Best GW game ever, and most likely my favorite 2 player game to ever hit a tabletop... after almost 40 years of gaming. When I introduce people to it, the percentage of people who go right to "HOW CAN I BUY THIS!?" is really insane.
Title: Are you kidding? People can't stop yammering on about this game. Every Kill Team teaser or anything that might remotely look like a space ship: "SPACE HULK IS COMING BACK!!!"
I mean... you can kind of have your favorites, and make different kinds of arguements. The big two setting wargames, fantasy/40k have obviously been the most important from a sorta scale perspective. If you are talking about most important, or most impactful to their game design, it has to be blood bowl. The league dynamic just flavors so much of their "skills and abilities add -X" mechanics. Necromunda, gorka-morka, and mordheim just straight used iterations of the bloodbowl system. It has had relevant video games for years. It has had continuous player base regardless of whether or not gw was supporting it. BB is their "Best" somehow. Their best foot forward as it were, and everything we've played from then on since has been in a post bloodbowl world.
Great love song to space hulk! Have you ever played the small box FFG card game based on space hulk : death angel by the famous Corey konieczka. It plays 1-8 players, but actually it’s an amazing solo puzzle with thriller dice rolls and some push your luck elements. Similar to space hulk, the terminators (players) generally lose to the genestealers (game engine). I have it sleeved with all expansions in a single TCG card box and often take it on business trips.
First tabletop GW game i bought... for a dollar! (First overall was WFRP) I have both expansions. It sounds like if i got one of the newer editions, the expansions would still be playable. 30 minutes for a game sounds a bit optimistic. Definitely doesn't include set up / breakdown time.
I had the 1st edition in 89 with expansions. I let those go on eBay after I got the 2nd edition, which I still have. I should have kept the 1st edition, but... We added Termagants. They moved like Genestealers and fired weapons like a Terminator. I think the Termagants models had fleshborers. One Termagant showed up with the 0 (zero) blip. The 80's and 90s were a great time for gaming.
The original Necromunda was the best game GW made for me. Enough depth to be satisfying, but easy to get started since squad sizes were small. Then it had the Warhammer Quest / Advanced Heroquest style satisfying RPG progression elements too, making campaign play really fun. And the included terrain was just wonderful. Space Hulk has good tension as a game, but it is far too dependant on dice rolling and with relatively little skill. I still have three editions in my loft though, because I'm a sucker for nostalgia like everyone else.
Worth a mention is Bill King's wonderful back story for the Deathwing expansion. I don't think it's ever been made available anywhere else (and has in any case been heavily retconned) but for me it's some of the best 40k fiction ever written. That aside, the game is great fun, quick and easy to play, and the miniatures for the 3rd/4th edition are amazingly good. It's not the best GW standalone game ever - that honour belongs to Aeronautica Imperialis 2nd edition - but it's certainly near the top of the list.
Sadly never owned the board game itself, but I do the first Space Hulk game from '93 and the card game - both are really good. I also own the "lite" alternative Lost Patrol, which is stupidly unbalanced with the tyranid player feeling bored and the marine player frustrated. Despite this, Lost Patrol is easily modified into both a solo-experience and an enjoyable game. Space Crusade was very much the more commerical alternative by MB games and it too was very good and got a lot of us into Warhammer back in the day. Blackstone Fortress is also somewhat of a modern spaceship-crawler, as it were. Its a different game to Space Hulk, but its got a similar atmosphere and comes with the bonus of solo-play. I was hoping that Space Hulk would have been re-released by now, and unfortunately the wait continues...
You will no doubt see the passion for this game in the comments. It is more than just a classic, for me it is simply THE BEST GAME EVER INVENTED. That review you mention is not representative at all, it is a design classic. And it's also not true to suggest it's unbalanced. Novice players tend to do better as the Genestealers, experienced players do better as the Space Marines, but it also depends on whether you use the egg-timer or not, it's a lot harder for the Space Marine player if time limited.
terminator captain with lightning claws could not be defeated from the front. +3 bonus for being a captain, +2 bonus for lightning claws. lowest score was a 6. Sadly unless you disregarded the rules for squads you couldn't actually have a marine like this. We only discovered it when playing a huge campaign where each marine got XP and could be "levelled up", thus increasing their rank etc. We did casually mention this during games day 92 to one of the GW staff (senior staff) and they said no, its not allowed.
I had this game as a kid in the 90's. Not only did it remind me of Aliens there was also an expansion pack with an ED-209 (Robocop) mech. EDIT: I misremembered, I had Space Crusade.
Space Hulk is awesome. We love it so much, we upscaled the whole game board to fit 30k Horus Heresy models for one of our videos. Super simple and really fun quick game.
An interesting review of the history of the game, though “The game nobody asked for” seems an odd title. I’m sure a lot of people wanted an Aliens style game back then. I know I did. More realistically, I think that WH40K 10th edition would be a more likely candidate for a game nobody asked for…
First ed. Space Hulk was not unbalanced. (Only mission 2 is impossible for the Genestealers to win.) The thing with Space Hulk is that when neither player understands the game, the Stealers tend to win. When the players become good, it is tense and difficult for both sides. 3rd and 4th ed. rules made it impossible for the marine player to lose, if knows what he is doing. Luckily you can find the 1st ed rules online. Also the fluff was far superior in 1st ed. It is a great game, but suffers from lack of new missions. Once you have the optimal strategy for a mission figured out, it becomes less interesting.
I have the first edition and the third edition. I am a great fan of this game, for my point of view Space Hulk was one of the best game of GW. At this era (80s/90s) GW has a great universe (Warhammer fantasy and W40K) with very powerfull art design but most of their games have very bad rules, completely unbalanced... Space Hulk at this time was the exception, the rules of the game is quite simple, it has random but instead of many other GW games the balance of the game was excellent, the game is very tactical. For the marine player is a great challenge to place his squad in the most effective position, create a secure perimeter... and keep moving through the space hulk to accomplish the mission. For the genestealer is may be a little more easy but he must also often think how to use the best of his blips and stealers. The two sides are asymetric but they are well balanced with their advantage and disadvantage. At this era, no other tactical game with miniatures was at this level of gameplay and pleasure to play (even if Space Crusade was not bad at all at the same time but more oriented "casual players") and the theme of the game was quite appealing. Of course may be today you could found some others good games but in this category Space Hulk is always one the best. Space Hulk have solid rules which are not obsolete even today instead of Heroquest for example. Just my two cents.
Space quest and the first video game of space hulk were my introductions to the world of warhammer. Loved 2nd edition 40K to death but dropped out when they released 3rd edition... All of us were stupidied games workshop just changed the game we were all so invested in. The rule changes were supposed to make the game more streamlined and give faster play. But to most if us it ruined the essence of the game... The focus on details and stategics in gaming. I still love the way the hobby evolved beyond anything we could dream of, and became a huge thing with the books and all. But everything has a price to it... And when i learned today it is the tenth edition of 40K already, and how it actually plays. And the price you pay today for plastics is insane and I think I'm glad I'm out... Nothing felt as badass as handing a person unfamiliar with the hobby a metal dreadnought, and see the surprise in their face when they feel how heavy it was. Just enjoying from the sidelines now...
I got a second hand copy of space hulk, its a great game and I have the added bonus, if GW re-release Space Hulk, I dont have to FOMO out trying to get one of the limited production run. I think it should be a core product of theirs, just keep them on the shelf, its such a great gateway game. I can play it with my 7 year old so I certainly agree with rules are easy to pickup and would recommend Space Hulk based solely off this. Space Hulk and Warcry are two great games for this reason.
I got Space Hulk when it came out in 1989. It was so much fun. I played it solo several times. Surviving is intense when the Genestealers are unlimited and spawn everywhere. Balanced games are over rated. Check out The Fury of Dracula, too.
If your going to do another retrospective, you have to do Blood Bowl! One of GWs greatest games, and probably the crown holder for most fan supported boardgame ever ( just check out Kickstater, I bet there will be at least one campaign for a "Fantasy Football" team that closely aligns with at least one BB team rules).
I remember the first edition that came out in the late 80's. The reason it was popular was because it was a lot more simple to learn the rules and play it. It was more a board game than a role playing war game, like 40k or dungeons and dragons. And you didnt have to go to a Games Workshop store, or specialist model shop to buy it. Places like Argos and woolworths sold it too, along with other simpler GW games like Talisman Timescape and Hero-quest. GW had a little marketing strategy to get younger kids into their war gaming products without having to read 500 page complicated rule books with complicated strategies, that may put off some impatient kids at first I know its a very simple board game (like snakes and ladders) but as a kid, i used to spends hours playing Talisman timescape, anyone could play it, from 5 year old kids to 80 year old grand parents. The rules where so simple , we used to love playing it in the evenings all through the school summer holidays. I probably still have it in the attic at my mum and dads house. They never did like to throw things away. One day when the house has to be cleared out, i will find many valuable toys and collectors items. My star wars toys will be worth a fortune because i know they are complete and in good condition, some even have the original boxes and packaging. It is a big collection that hasnt seen sunlight in over 40 years.
When it first came out, it was the most playable of GW's games. RT's rules sucked hugely, and the game was hard to play. Spacehulk 1st ed. was tight, it looked so cool, the mechanics were spot on and those genestealer tokens were epic. I played so many games. The timing of the expansions was great, too. Each arriving at the right moment to invigorate and keep the game being played. There was also the release of the metal models that went with it, and those white dwarf articles were brilliant. the airbrush distended skulls hit a good vampiyr / alien vibe, the lore was engrossing and the space wolf stuff was stylish. Autocannnons with little animal tails hanging off the front! My original metal librarian model is still one of my favourite GW sculpts. So yeah. the game was of its time and excellent. can't speak for youngsters, tho
I honestly think that MESBG is GW's best underrated game. The community is strong despite the game not getting as much attention from GW. It's still using mostly the same miniatures they relesed way back in 2003. The rules are simple, the game is well balanced, and the rules have been updated only twice since 2003. Honestly, the only thing the game is lacking is a good update to the miniature lineup in plastic, as many of the miniatures are either resin or metal.
Actually, Space Hulk 3rd edition had a much higher standing on BGG(it was the highest non euro game on the site at this time) but got review bombed when GW started carpet bombing C&D requests. SH3 is indeed easy to explain, even to kids, and very tense to play. For me, its main issue is that the game is much more interesting for the Space Marine player than for the Genestealer one, but that also makes it easier to play with someone unfamiliar with the game.
Spent all my paper route money on this one in the summer of 1989 and absolutely loved it. The Deathwing expansion was icing on the cake and both got me super deep into playing 40k at the time. Not sure where my copy ended up, along with all the lead chaos daemons and all the rest it got shifted along somewhere along the way... But, you aren't wrong, Kill Team is and was the best GW game hands down!
Squid, it’s a legendary game. 90% of us just paint minis and never get to actually play. At least we can still play space hulk at home with a few beers :) with very little effort AND still be Space Marines.
My friend and I each bought a copy of the 2009 edition. We played with his on several occasions. Very fun game. Funny enough, my own copy of it is still shrink wrapped! LOL
Though the rules and scenario are in a similar vein, Blackstone Fortress I think is GW best board game. But it's certainly not a 30min play through. Kill Team is 2nd , Space Hulk 3rd.
GW seems to have an allergy to money. If only they could get their heads out of their arses and make enough stock for people to buy. And this doesn't just apply to Space Hulk
They are coming up with more ways to make 40k inaccessible and overly craptastic to get in to. Nothing like forcing someone to get a $70 book as a starting point. And selling "starter" boxes that aren't actually starter boxes and have models that aren't valid because they are smaller than what they just released.
Its because they like money that they arent reprinting it. The price of the models inside were too cheap, undercutting their main 40k models. Cardboard only sales on the secondary market were huge for both 3rd and 4th ed.
Space Hulk is a fantastic game. It's pretty esoteric though, and it's not really a true 2 player game. More like 1.5 players, because the Genestealers are pretty deterministic. You have a little choice of which blips to place where, but otherwise it's a lot like being the dealer for blackjack. The good news is that this setup is *great* if you (the person who owns the game) know the game really well, it can still be a pretty fun experience for guests to play the stealers, because they have such a huge advantage that only a highly skilled marine player has much of a chance at winning. (And the stealers will probably still get some kills.)
I never played this but my all-time favorite GW game by far is Bloodbowl. You don't have to paint a ton of figures and the game is really strategic. Played it online a lot too. Normal Warhammer (40k) is just boring to play in comparison or maybe i just never really got into it.
As a kid, I bought the 1st edition of Space Hulk from GW with a mail in order form that I found somewhere. This must have been late 1995/ early 1996. I had no idea the game was old or that a new 2nd edition was about to come out. So I would assume that the 1st edition was always available throughout its time and certainly didn't sell out instantly like the later editions in the era of online preordering and fomo marketing.
A lot of the old specialist games are nice. Necromunda, Warmaster, 40k Epic, Blood Bowl, Gorkamorka, Space Hulk, Mordheim etc. Often ones with an entire different scope and scale to the main game of the time. Space Hulk is about lanes of fire and action point management for the marines, and tryin to overcome said lanes of fire or delaying the marines fr the aliens.
The card game version, Death Angel , is fun and portable. It had several expansions, too. Lot of fun, and you would get your @$$ kicked, but keep coming back for more.
I had one from the 90's with red yellow and blue plastic Space Marines figures against Genestealers. I think it had a Dolf Lundgren looking guy on the front wearing, i think, white power armour.
'Space Hulk' was popular because it was simple and didn't require a lot of time, money or effort to get in to. It was also a bit more "mature" and lore friendly than 'Space Crusade, which was basically its younger brother.
The "flaw" with the original Space Hulk is that the aliens... sorry, the genestealers are pretty easy to play while the marines have a steep learning curve. Thus if you play only a few games you're likely to think the balance is lopsided in favor of the stealers. Additionally, the scenarios are more like puzzles, once the marine player figures out the winning strategy it can be very hard for the stealer player to win -- especially in the scenarios where the marines get to defend.
Looking forward for your Mordheim content with much enthusiasm. Being and incurable oldhammer fan I managed to collect over 30 original Sisters of Sigmar miniatures for an upcoming campaign in my local gaming club...
Isn't Space Crusade the first video game made in the 40k universe or is there some loop hole where that fact is wrong. Space Crusade was 1992 and Space Hulk was 1993
The first 40k video game is Space Crusade not Space Hulk. Tbf Space Crusade in both board and digital is better than the Space Hulk of the era. Unless you are a Genestealer fanboy then it wins because you get to gobble up tons of terminators. Space Crusade is a lot nicer to the Marines. (Unless the alien player is being a douche with initial setup.)
It doesn't sell in droves, as it is out of print. The last time it was in print was 2008. If GW were smart, it would be an evergreen and on the Target and Walmart game shelf right next to Sorry, Risk, and Monopoly.
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Still GW's best gateway game together with Blood Bowl.
Ive played many of GWs games since getting into the hobby in 2020, from 40k to many versions of KT, Aeronautica, Legions, Space Hulk and finally Blood Bowl recently. My god it is amazing to me how good blood bowl is as a game. I do think it is by far GWs best design and the rules being mostly the same after decades from what I can tell just makes it even more clear how well tested it is.
Space Hulk is awesome and the rules are not written by mentally ill people like the standard 40K rules are, so this game is actually playable just like One Page Rules.
Agreed! Space Hulk got me interested in 40k, used to play fantasy battles back then. But Blood Bowl is the better game in the long run in my opinion, eventhough not as easy to pick up.
Yeah, BB first then SH second :)
Actually space hulk and talisman far predated blood bowl.
I love the design of the genestealers being blips on the board until they enter the FOV. Some blips contain no genestealers and some are absolutely packed. The asymmetry is absolutely brilliant.
The blips mechanic is one of my absolute favorites of any board game ever.
Exactly. The game is incredibly asymmetric but surprisingly balanced.
Nuts! wargame has similar mechanic where you throw dice on every encounter with potential enemy. Result from the table can vary from nothing to enemy heavy tank.
Space Hulk was my way into Games Workshop, many moons ago. I painted lots of the genestealers. I quit the hobby in the early 90s so was blown away by the quality of the modern miniatures when I started again, during the Pandemic.
sounds exactly like my story. got the game start of the 90s and only just returned to minis and GW
Same here! I haven't started collecting again but was amazed to find that GW & 40k had turned into massive thing 30yrs later.
The 1995 edition of Necromunda was an AMAZING starting point for tabletop gaming. Simple minis, investment in making your squad your own with the light RPG elements, and a game you could play in 45 minutes rather than hours. Quick and portable 3D terrain with the bulk heads and cardboard system they had
I wish they would go back to that thinking with Necromunda. Its rules are kind of a mess.
And don't forget the crazy Gorkamorka for Spaceorc Fans ;-)
@@photonfartsqueeze6694I loved the first edition of Necromunda as it followed the exact same rules with a few extras as 2nd edition 40K. And I think that was great! And I still think those were the best rules, when every single miniature counted as an individual. And when Games Workshop announced the 3edition of 40K I played it once, did not like it at all and immediately dropped the hobby out of protest. Wisest move ever! 😂
Vengeance of the blood angels for the playstation was my introduction into 40k. The manual was a phonebook and it BLEW MY MIND that there was so much lore about the universe the game was in and the lifecycle of the genestealers. Then I popped the game in and played the intro. In my basement, at night, in the dark. Which in retrospect was probably not a good idea.
Same except the PC version. I absolutely loved it. What an amazing game!
I still play it. Made Blood Angels my chapter of choice.
Space Hulk and Space Crusade were my introduction to the 40k universe...never got into the tabletop side of 40k...but I'd play either SH or SC in a heartbeat today
The dead terminator marker is still one of my favorite molds GW has ever made! Another great video, also will the Atle miniature ever be restocked on your website?
There is an idea for you Squidmar. Build a 3d Space Hulk board set, sectional and plug and play like the game's flat cards. Me and a friend did a set like that sculpted from appliance styrofoam for corridors and painted them for a bit more 3d feel to the landscape. Which we donated to the game store for their gaming room. It was actually fairly simple doing them section by section like the flat game cutouts.
At local conventions we used to use both our sets to run double blind Tournament. We had 2 tables with matching maps and a divider between them. Meaning other than the blip markers, you couldn't see the opponents unless it was in line of sight. It was always a hit when we ran it. That and Death World free for all match we'd run.
There are old rules for regular non-Terminator marines, and other Tyranids. We even did a Chaos Marine version, with it being a Chaos hulk. Sure you could adapt any faction to it. The hard part would be figuring out troop sizes for each side. You'd need a lot of Guardsmen to face Genestealers with the close combat nature to even have a chance, but that could be really fun.
I LITERALLY went on a shopping spree in the past few months buying Blood Angels Space Hulk minis because of "Vengeance of The Blood Angels" on Playstation. I now have 21 Space Hulk Terminators & barely painted 2. & when I say "Painted" I mean just primed black lmao
black prime- you already did that step so drybrush white-then use speed paint, i love army painter speed paint, I think its the best (sometimes called translucent paint) one layer of whatever colors you want to use, thats all- done. Its called the slap chop and its easy and fast- just learning how to dry brush properly is the only thing you actually have to do(if you want it to look better)- speed paint hides alot of mistakes and looks like you're way better than you actually are.
Saddest day of my life was when I found out my Mum gave my second edition copy away…
When this launched back in 1989 - it was an instant purchase. Followed by the expansions Genestealer and Deathwing. Still have the three and they are still epic.
I remember playing Space hulk when it came out in 1989 and loved it.
You should have seen the 3D game board layout we made, it was huge sometimes 6 levels with several different objectives and took up a whole 4' × 8' table
these are some of my favorite Squidmar videos, I love when Emil geeks out over a game. Also love learning the history of this stuff!
I still have Space Crusade which was the brother to Heroquest. Such a great game. Actually to be honest both Heroquest and Space Crusade were both great games. Very easy to follow gameplay and just the right amount of lore and rules. They were both marketed at the family and kids level and I can remember walking into KMart and seeing them both on the shelf and being blown away by the box art and the minis. I convinced my mum to get me Heroquest for my birthday but I missed out on Space Crusade. Years later though I picked it up at a flea market complete and I still have it. Great game. Will have to look into Space Hulk.
Best game ever. Love it. I have the first edition and expansions. I leave out all the nutty aliens with guns and powers stuff. That said the game is a good time
I really like the psychic system though its like marmite. You either love or hate it . Ive started running librarians or hybrids as level 1 so powers don't dominate as much. Recently playd chaos terminators vs genestealers and included a space crusade dreadnought using some fan rules.
Its one of those games you can pick up when the mood takes you and play a quick game. No massive set up, huge table, scenery hundreds of models....
Its tactical, challenging, atmospheric and ultimately great fun. What mkre do you want 🎉
I love this type of video going over older games. History keep up the good work
It blows my mind why GW will put stuff up for preorder and let them run out, and not make them made to order afterwards, theyre literally saying no to money, certain items I can understand, but for games and big popular boxes in general it blows my mind
Space Hulk and Hero Quest are the two legendary games !
How about a little diorama to celebrate ?
The barbarian, dwarf, elf and wizard carving through waves of Genestealers in the narrow confines of a space hulk while a squad of Terminators smash through hordes of skeletons, fimirs and furniture in a dungeon.
Space Hulk wasn’t the first Warhammer 40k video game. Space Crusade was released earlier.
I have never been able to get a copy. I was in the Navy from 2001 to 2022 and was always at sea during the release and missed it and didnt know about the game until it was out of print. but I spent many and evening with a Rogue Trader book and some minis playing homebrew space hulk with a mash up of white dwarf and rogue trader rules. if it is released again and I know about it I will get it by god!!!
Still have my 1st and 2nd edition...
Love it for the setting, the gameplay and everything else you can imagine.
Stopped buying from GW because of this BS with the 3rd edition.
I spent 2 summers playing this, Dark Future, Blood Bowl, Talisman and Hero Quest, there was also a epic scale introduction to wargaming with Titans, I can't for the life of me remember the name of that one.. The Space Hulk really caught our imagination, 3 out of 4 of my gaming friends bought it and yes, we amalgamated all 3 board games for a extra large hulk.
That's why i bought 2 sets of lost patrol. Now i can do 4 player matches.
Adeptus Titanicus?
Dark Future, god I miss that game. The Les Edwards artwork was amazing.
@@SnakeWorksStudio That's the one!
@@SussexMatt Agreed, I also loved the lore behind it, I still still have Jack Yeovil's route 666 book of short stories based on the game world.
I absolutely love Space Hulk. I have a copy of Space Hulk v2 and two copies of Space Hulk v3. It is just a fantastic, tense and thematic time. Tight, economical rules and incredible atmosphere. I will never tire of this game.
Necromunda is amazing. Really indepth and super thematic. Love it so much. Plus the models look great and give a great vibe
iirc, the Space Crusade and Hero Quest video games pre-date the Space Hulk one by a year or two... Interesting games in their own rights.
I must dig out my boxed set.
Bought it in 2009, stopped painting/playing/collected just after it arrived (kids!!)
I still have half of the Termies (gave a few to a mate) and the stealers.
I'd love for there to be a new edition of Space Hulk. I know it doesn't have as much room for faction expansion as other GW games, but it does look like the most approachable and most like a classic "board game" even more-so than Killteam. I feel like it could easily be their most budget-friendly into to 40k than killteam.
I remember getting the 2nd edition on release day in 1996, wish I still had it. Keep saying I'll but it again when/if they re-release it but never get it. They should release this again it's a great and easy to understand introduction to 40k, Great video.
Blood Bowl, Dark Future and Space Hulk were weekly game nights between my friends group in the late 80s/early 90s. Dark Future was my favourite, then Blood Bowl.
Man I bought the 2009 Space hulk at my local store. Was the first 40k miniatures I painted! not counting a bunch of tau guys I didn't really paint as I had no idea what I was doing in 2004
I agree with your editor, it’s Kill Team (2021 edition)
Back in '89, Space Hulk introduced me to GW. I'd painted minis for about 5 years before then, but never GW minis. I'm still painting and playing them! But seriously, When Space Hulk launched, "Aliens" was still kind of fresh, so the 'blips' got your heart racing! Great game. Still have a copy of the 2009 edition, and my current Tyranids army is using a unit of 10 Genestealers from that edition :)
Well this is the game that got me started in Warhammer 40K back in 1989. Had gone to the Origins gaming convention back in 1989 in Los Angeles and Game Workshop was showing this as a demo. Well I picked up a copy (which I still have) along with few blisters of Eldar and Space Marines (I still have those Eldar but sold the Space Marines). Well that game led me along a path to where I have five different 40K armies and later into 5 WFB armies.
Blood bowl is definitely the best GW game, would love a video on that please!
Best miniatures boardgame Games Workshop ever created.
Original Warhammer Quest, Underworlds and Blitz Bowl are the best GW games :)
WQ!
Just played a large 12 player game a couple of weekends ago at a local convention and had a blast. I've painted up many a terminator and my friend runs games at Origins and Gencon occasionally.
Man, I remember the tabletop games so well. I was so glad you could play them solo, as I could rarely convince anyone to play it with me :(
The computer versions were ok.. There was actually a Space Crusade game for early home computers that predated the Space Hulk one, could well be the first ever GW licensed game.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of the Original Space Hulk in a contest in White Dwarf magazine back in 1989. Loved this game, and Adeptus Titanicus.
Argument of being able to play it in five or ten years is pretty strong I think. It’s what made me go big on 10th edition combat patrols. I have almost every one of them by now, printed the PDF’s and got the general rule book of 10th edition. I’ll put all of this in a nice box so i can get it out for the rest of my life to play a nice game of combat patrol with friends and have a ton of variety to play with.
What was the mad max 2 style one they made with the cars? I remember playing it at school in 1996. The models were cool to paint. Necromunda was fun as well. I remember photocopying the rules out of White Dwarf. Man have games workshop just become a money grabbing bunch of turds since then.
gorkamorka
Boy did that bring back memories. Great video concept and excellent video as always. Would love to see one on history of Blood Bowl.
I still use all of the 3 edition terminators for my Blood Angel terminators, and I always get asked how I got such awesome and unique Blood Angel terminators.
1e SH supplement Deathwing had ambush counters, while 1e SH supplement Genestealer has 4, 5, and 6 Genestealer blips.
And 1e SH had solo and campaign rules available.
And all kinds of add on for using regular Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and even Eldar to face down the Genestealers, hybrids, or Chaos Space Marine Terminators!
2e+ SH seriously dumbed down the options.
I did not buy 1e SH when it came out but thought the early 2000s I assembled full sets of 1e Space Hulk, Deathwing, Genestealer, and Space Hulk Campaigns (the full collection of WD articles) via eBay.
They are my most prizes board gaming. ❤
I used to have Space Hulk 1st Edition when I was a kid. I used superglue to assemble everything (poorly), but I really loved all the pack-in extras. The books, the lore, the art... all top notch. One thing I remember from that was the rules for the flamer were... rather unclear. I now, years later, have a box of 4th Edition sitting on my shelf. I just need to work up the courage to paint the models with the time and care they deserve. Also probably why I like GSC these days... for better or worse!
Purely from a playing enjoyment point of view, the best game GW ever released was Man'o'war.
The minis were largely questionable, but it played like a dream. Smooth, fluid and despite seeming simplicity allowed for real strategy and tactics.
I bought Space Crusade and 2nd edition Space Hulk but Warhammer Quest was / is my all time favourite - SO MUCH STUFF IN ONE BOX!!!! Although relatively expensive at the time, I really wish I had bought two copies.....sigh
Space Hulk was my gateway drug (looks lovingly over at the 1st ed box in the cupboard) to GW. I played it in their stores. I was instantly sold on the Tyranid/Genestealer faction... and yet, I've only just started playing 40K with the release of 10th edition. Unlike every other game, it was self-contained in one box. Buy a box, play the game. That's it. No extra teams, no extra rules, nothing. Box = game. I love Blood Bowl and Necromunda, both of which I played to death in the 90s, but money was always the constraint. Not so with Space Hulk.
Excellent video.
First edition Space Hulk was pretty much my introduction to 40K back in the early 90's. I think Space Hulk's enduring appeal is a mixture of different things, you don't have to know anything about 40K to play it , it's a self-contained game in a box. You don't need anything else and it's a pretty simple game that's pretty quick to play.
Whilst I think the production value on 3rd/4th edition is considerably better than 1st/2nd I really don't like the Genestealer minis in 3rd/4th. They'd be great in a diorama but for a game where you're moving pieces around it just looks weird having a Genestealer coming out of the floor. I use first edition Genestealers for my games with my 3rd edition copy.
To all those in the comments saying Necromunda? Naaaaah. Confrontation in White Dwarf was fair superior. Based on Bryan Ansell's Laserburn, it got shelved after Ansell's buyout by the managers. It would later be released as Necromunda with a Priestleyan ruleset. But Confrontation kicked ass. When I used to own Space Hulk first edition (I'm not crying, you're crying) I used to use the Space Hulk tilesets for Confrontation.
Space Hulk is the best thing GW ever did. 2nd place: Rogue Trader (the 1989 hardback, I mean). 3rd place: Blood Royale/Tie with Blood Bowl.
I liked that you put in the video from the best game on Amiga back in the day :P (note I have it on pc now).
I think one point you touched on though in the video that "you can play it solo even" is kind of a thing that makes this game also abit more appealing.
Not quite the same "exitment" in a Wh40k with so much to move and roll etc.
This is simple, blips - you never know what you get - like a Kinderegg!
The other aspect is that its "simple" enough that kids can play.
Meaning I played at times with my nephew that is 10 yrs younger than I, so he was what mabye 8-9 years old(so in 92-93?).
Tried playing Wh40k with him, but that was just too much.(we played that as he got older, but he was more into HQuest so we did play that later on).
As for suggestions, well there is an obscure game, maybe? from GW - Blood bowl.
I also think that was a more "fun & silly game", less serious in a sense than the "Grim darkness there is only war".
I dont know if its "profitable to make a video about that, as its most likely way niche" - and or if that you would find it intresting for yourself(which tbh imo is the most important aspect).
I loved Space Hulk back in the day, and I would still enjoy it if I had the game, but alas that was destroyed by some other nephews later on when I was in the army d'oh!
Space Hulk was my way into and then right back out of Games Workshop. 5 minutes in, I couldn't stop yawning. I am impressed though that someone who spends a lot of time painting GW product finally actually said something about the game play, something noticeably absent from just about every other 'content creator' who gloms onto GW for likes and subscribers (nothing personal squiddy, we all know about the GW viscious cycle as a requirement to be a successful content creator in this genre - too bad for the many more worthy games out there, I guess). Anyway, I have always taken that to mean the rules and game play weren't worth talking about (in my mind, confirmed by my experience with Space Hulk). Despite the GW content, I enjoy your videos squidman and will be sticking around.
Space Hulk and Warhammer Quest: two games I would kill for. Seriously, if GW decides to release them (not the 40k WHQ! Though that one isn't bad, either!) again, I'm going to throw my money at them with such absurd force that a category 4 hurricane will appear above my head.
Great video! Space Hulk was and is a fun game and Games Workshop should definitivly bring it back!
Other GW games worth a look are Blood Bowl, the first Dungeon Bowl, and the newer Blitz Bowl. The pretty obscure Man o' War deserves a mention. If you want a real challenge, try Warhammer Underworlds.
There's "unoficial" GW rules for playing Space Hulk with Imperial Guard (aka Astra Militarum) and Harlequins. Playing as Imperial Guard and Kasrkin is even more difficult! Imperial Guard rules are in Citadel Journal 25 and Harlequins, Citadel Journal 2.
Best GW game ever, and most likely my favorite 2 player game to ever hit a tabletop... after almost 40 years of gaming.
When I introduce people to it, the percentage of people who go right to "HOW CAN I BUY THIS!?" is really insane.
Title: Are you kidding? People can't stop yammering on about this game. Every Kill Team teaser or anything that might remotely look like a space ship: "SPACE HULK IS COMING BACK!!!"
I mean... you can kind of have your favorites, and make different kinds of arguements. The big two setting wargames, fantasy/40k have obviously been the most important from a sorta scale perspective. If you are talking about most important, or most impactful to their game design, it has to be blood bowl. The league dynamic just flavors so much of their "skills and abilities add -X" mechanics. Necromunda, gorka-morka, and mordheim just straight used iterations of the bloodbowl system. It has had relevant video games for years. It has had continuous player base regardless of whether or not gw was supporting it. BB is their "Best" somehow. Their best foot forward as it were, and everything we've played from then on since has been in a post bloodbowl world.
Great love song to space hulk!
Have you ever played the small box FFG card game based on space hulk : death angel by the famous Corey konieczka. It plays 1-8 players, but actually it’s an amazing solo puzzle with thriller dice rolls and some push your luck elements. Similar to space hulk, the terminators (players) generally lose to the genestealers (game engine). I have it sleeved with all expansions in a single TCG card box and often take it on business trips.
First tabletop GW game i bought... for a dollar! (First overall was WFRP)
I have both expansions. It sounds like if i got one of the newer editions, the expansions would still be playable.
30 minutes for a game sounds a bit optimistic. Definitely doesn't include set up / breakdown time.
I had the 1st edition in 89 with expansions. I let those go on eBay after I got the 2nd edition, which I still have. I should have kept the 1st edition, but...
We added Termagants. They moved like Genestealers and fired weapons like a Terminator. I think the Termagants models had fleshborers. One Termagant showed up with the 0 (zero) blip.
The 80's and 90s were a great time for gaming.
The original Necromunda was the best game GW made for me. Enough depth to be satisfying, but easy to get started since squad sizes were small. Then it had the Warhammer Quest / Advanced Heroquest style satisfying RPG progression elements too, making campaign play really fun. And the included terrain was just wonderful.
Space Hulk has good tension as a game, but it is far too dependant on dice rolling and with relatively little skill. I still have three editions in my loft though, because I'm a sucker for nostalgia like everyone else.
Worth a mention is Bill King's wonderful back story for the Deathwing expansion. I don't think it's ever been made available anywhere else (and has in any case been heavily retconned) but for me it's some of the best 40k fiction ever written.
That aside, the game is great fun, quick and easy to play, and the miniatures for the 3rd/4th edition are amazingly good. It's not the best GW standalone game ever - that honour belongs to Aeronautica Imperialis 2nd edition - but it's certainly near the top of the list.
Sadly never owned the board game itself, but I do the first Space Hulk game from '93 and the card game - both are really good. I also own the "lite" alternative Lost Patrol, which is stupidly unbalanced with the tyranid player feeling bored and the marine player frustrated. Despite this, Lost Patrol is easily modified into both a solo-experience and an enjoyable game. Space Crusade was very much the more commerical alternative by MB games and it too was very good and got a lot of us into Warhammer back in the day.
Blackstone Fortress is also somewhat of a modern spaceship-crawler, as it were. Its a different game to Space Hulk, but its got a similar atmosphere and comes with the bonus of solo-play.
I was hoping that Space Hulk would have been re-released by now, and unfortunately the wait continues...
You will no doubt see the passion for this game in the comments. It is more than just a classic, for me it is simply THE BEST GAME EVER INVENTED. That review you mention is not representative at all, it is a design classic. And it's also not true to suggest it's unbalanced. Novice players tend to do better as the Genestealers, experienced players do better as the Space Marines, but it also depends on whether you use the egg-timer or not, it's a lot harder for the Space Marine player if time limited.
terminator captain with lightning claws could not be defeated from the front. +3 bonus for being a captain, +2 bonus for lightning claws. lowest score was a 6. Sadly unless you disregarded the rules for squads you couldn't actually have a marine like this. We only discovered it when playing a huge campaign where each marine got XP and could be "levelled up", thus increasing their rank etc. We did casually mention this during games day 92 to one of the GW staff (senior staff) and they said no, its not allowed.
I had this game as a kid in the 90's. Not only did it remind me of Aliens there was also an expansion pack with an ED-209 (Robocop) mech.
EDIT: I misremembered, I had Space Crusade.
Space Hulk is awesome. We love it so much, we upscaled the whole game board to fit 30k Horus Heresy models for one of our videos. Super simple and really fun quick game.
An interesting review of the history of the game, though “The game nobody asked for” seems an odd title. I’m sure a lot of people wanted an Aliens style game back then. I know I did. More realistically, I think that WH40K 10th edition would be a more likely candidate for a game nobody asked for…
First ed. Space Hulk was not unbalanced. (Only mission 2 is impossible for the Genestealers to win.) The thing with Space Hulk is that when neither player understands the game, the Stealers tend to win. When the players become good, it is tense and difficult for both sides.
3rd and 4th ed. rules made it impossible for the marine player to lose, if knows what he is doing. Luckily you can find the 1st ed rules online. Also the fluff was far superior in 1st ed.
It is a great game, but suffers from lack of new missions. Once you have the optimal strategy for a mission figured out, it becomes less interesting.
I have the first edition and the third edition. I am a great fan of this game, for my point of view Space Hulk was one of the best game of GW. At this era (80s/90s) GW has a great universe (Warhammer fantasy and W40K) with very powerfull art design but most of their games have very bad rules, completely unbalanced... Space Hulk at this time was the exception, the rules of the game is quite simple, it has random but instead of many other GW games the balance of the game was excellent, the game is very tactical. For the marine player is a great challenge to place his squad in the most effective position, create a secure perimeter... and keep moving through the space hulk to accomplish the mission. For the genestealer is may be a little more easy but he must also often think how to use the best of his blips and stealers. The two sides are asymetric but they are well balanced with their advantage and disadvantage. At this era, no other tactical game with miniatures was at this level of gameplay and pleasure to play (even if Space Crusade was not bad at all at the same time but more oriented "casual players") and the theme of the game was quite appealing. Of course may be today you could found some others good games but in this category Space Hulk is always one the best. Space Hulk have solid rules which are not obsolete even today instead of Heroquest for example. Just my two cents.
Space quest and the first video game of space hulk were my introductions to the world of warhammer. Loved 2nd edition 40K to death but dropped out when they released 3rd edition... All of us were stupidied games workshop just changed the game we were all so invested in. The rule changes were supposed to make the game more streamlined and give faster play. But to most if us it ruined the essence of the game... The focus on details and stategics in gaming. I still love the way the hobby evolved beyond anything we could dream of, and became a huge thing with the books and all. But everything has a price to it... And when i learned today it is the tenth edition of 40K already, and how it actually plays. And the price you pay today for plastics is insane and I think I'm glad I'm out... Nothing felt as badass as handing a person unfamiliar with the hobby a metal dreadnought, and see the surprise in their face when they feel how heavy it was. Just enjoying from the sidelines now...
I got a second hand copy of space hulk, its a great game and I have the added bonus, if GW re-release Space Hulk, I dont have to FOMO out trying to get one of the limited production run.
I think it should be a core product of theirs, just keep them on the shelf, its such a great gateway game. I can play it with my 7 year old so I certainly agree with rules are easy to pickup and would recommend Space Hulk based solely off this. Space Hulk and Warcry are two great games for this reason.
I got Space Hulk when it came out in 1989. It was so much fun. I played it solo several times. Surviving is intense when the Genestealers are unlimited and spawn everywhere. Balanced games are over rated. Check out The Fury of Dracula, too.
If your going to do another retrospective, you have to do Blood Bowl! One of GWs greatest games, and probably the crown holder for most fan supported boardgame ever ( just check out Kickstater, I bet there will be at least one campaign for a "Fantasy Football" team that closely aligns with at least one BB team rules).
I remember the first edition that came out in the late 80's. The reason it was popular was because it was a lot more simple to learn the rules and play it. It was more a board game than a role playing war game, like 40k or dungeons and dragons. And you didnt have to go to a Games Workshop store, or specialist model shop to buy it. Places like Argos and woolworths sold it too, along with other simpler GW games like Talisman Timescape and Hero-quest. GW had a little marketing strategy to get younger kids into their war gaming products without having to read 500 page complicated rule books with complicated strategies, that may put off some impatient kids at first
I know its a very simple board game (like snakes and ladders) but as a kid, i used to spends hours playing Talisman timescape, anyone could play it, from 5 year old kids to 80 year old grand parents. The rules where so simple , we used to love playing it in the evenings all through the school summer holidays. I probably still have it in the attic at my mum and dads house. They never did like to throw things away. One day when the house has to be cleared out, i will find many valuable toys and collectors items. My star wars toys will be worth a fortune because i know they are complete and in good condition, some even have the original boxes and packaging. It is a big collection that hasnt seen sunlight in over 40 years.
When it first came out, it was the most playable of GW's games. RT's rules sucked hugely, and the game was hard to play. Spacehulk 1st ed. was tight, it looked so cool, the mechanics were spot on and those genestealer tokens were epic.
I played so many games. The timing of the expansions was great, too. Each arriving at the right moment to invigorate and keep the game being played. There was also the release of the metal models that went with it, and those white dwarf articles were brilliant. the airbrush distended skulls hit a good vampiyr / alien vibe, the lore was engrossing and the space wolf stuff was stylish. Autocannnons with little animal tails hanging off the front! My original metal librarian model is still one of my favourite GW sculpts.
So yeah. the game was of its time and excellent. can't speak for youngsters, tho
I honestly think that MESBG is GW's best underrated game. The community is strong despite the game not getting as much attention from GW. It's still using mostly the same miniatures they relesed way back in 2003. The rules are simple, the game is well balanced, and the rules have been updated only twice since 2003. Honestly, the only thing the game is lacking is a good update to the miniature lineup in plastic, as many of the miniatures are either resin or metal.
Actually, Space Hulk 3rd edition had a much higher standing on BGG(it was the highest non euro game on the site at this time) but got review bombed when GW started carpet bombing C&D requests.
SH3 is indeed easy to explain, even to kids, and very tense to play. For me, its main issue is that the game is much more interesting for the Space Marine player than for the Genestealer one, but that also makes it easier to play with someone unfamiliar with the game.
Spent all my paper route money on this one in the summer of 1989 and absolutely loved it. The Deathwing expansion was icing on the cake and both got me super deep into playing 40k at the time. Not sure where my copy ended up, along with all the lead chaos daemons and all the rest it got shifted along somewhere along the way... But, you aren't wrong, Kill Team is and was the best GW game hands down!
Squid, it’s a legendary game. 90% of us just paint minis and never get to actually play. At least we can still play space hulk at home with a few beers :) with very little effort AND still be Space Marines.
My friend and I each bought a copy of the 2009 edition. We played with his on several occasions. Very fun game. Funny enough, my own copy of it is still shrink wrapped! LOL
Though the rules and scenario are in a similar vein, Blackstone Fortress I think is GW best board game. But it's certainly not a 30min play through. Kill Team is 2nd , Space Hulk 3rd.
GW seems to have an allergy to money. If only they could get their heads out of their arses and make enough stock for people to buy. And this doesn't just apply to Space Hulk
They are coming up with more ways to make 40k inaccessible and overly craptastic to get in to. Nothing like forcing someone to get a $70 book as a starting point. And selling "starter" boxes that aren't actually starter boxes and have models that aren't valid because they are smaller than what they just released.
Its because they like money that they arent reprinting it. The price of the models inside were too cheap, undercutting their main 40k models. Cardboard only sales on the secondary market were huge for both 3rd and 4th ed.
OFF TOPIC - What was the wax fabric you used in this 7 household items video from years ago... Polar twist? Looking for vines in USA....
Space Hulk is a fantastic game. It's pretty esoteric though, and it's not really a true 2 player game. More like 1.5 players, because the Genestealers are pretty deterministic. You have a little choice of which blips to place where, but otherwise it's a lot like being the dealer for blackjack. The good news is that this setup is *great* if you (the person who owns the game) know the game really well, it can still be a pretty fun experience for guests to play the stealers, because they have such a huge advantage that only a highly skilled marine player has much of a chance at winning. (And the stealers will probably still get some kills.)
I never played this but my all-time favorite GW game by far is Bloodbowl. You don't have to paint a ton of figures and the game is really strategic. Played it online a lot too. Normal Warhammer (40k) is just boring to play in comparison or maybe i just never really got into it.
As a kid, I bought the 1st edition of Space Hulk from GW with a mail in order form that I found somewhere. This must have been late 1995/ early 1996. I had no idea the game was old or that a new 2nd edition was about to come out. So I would assume that the 1st edition was always available throughout its time and certainly didn't sell out instantly like the later editions in the era of online preordering and fomo marketing.
A lot of the old specialist games are nice. Necromunda, Warmaster, 40k Epic, Blood Bowl, Gorkamorka, Space Hulk, Mordheim etc. Often ones with an entire different scope and scale to the main game of the time.
Space Hulk is about lanes of fire and action point management for the marines, and tryin to overcome said lanes of fire or delaying the marines fr the aliens.
The card game version, Death Angel , is fun and portable. It had several expansions, too. Lot of fun, and you would get your @$$ kicked, but keep coming back for more.
I had one from the 90's with red yellow and blue plastic Space Marines figures against Genestealers. I think it had a Dolf Lundgren looking guy on the front wearing, i think, white power armour.
'Space Hulk' was popular because it was simple and didn't require a lot of time, money or effort to get in to. It was also a bit more "mature" and lore friendly than 'Space Crusade, which was basically its younger brother.
The "flaw" with the original Space Hulk is that the aliens... sorry, the genestealers are pretty easy to play while the marines have a steep learning curve.
Thus if you play only a few games you're likely to think the balance is lopsided in favor of the stealers.
Additionally, the scenarios are more like puzzles, once the marine player figures out the winning strategy it can be very hard for the stealer player to win -- especially in the scenarios where the marines get to defend.
Looking forward for your Mordheim content with much enthusiasm. Being and incurable oldhammer fan I managed to collect over 30 original Sisters of Sigmar miniatures for an upcoming campaign in my local gaming club...
Isn't Space Crusade the first video game made in the 40k universe or is there some loop hole where that fact is wrong. Space Crusade was 1992 and Space Hulk was 1993
The first 40k video game is Space Crusade not Space Hulk. Tbf Space Crusade in both board and digital is better than the Space Hulk of the era. Unless you are a Genestealer fanboy then it wins because you get to gobble up tons of terminators. Space Crusade is a lot nicer to the Marines. (Unless the alien player is being a douche with initial setup.)
It doesn't sell in droves, as it is out of print. The last time it was in print was 2008. If GW were smart, it would be an evergreen and on the Target and Walmart game shelf right next to Sorry, Risk, and Monopoly.