Dad.i.Y

So after finishing up the first scenario, I think I’m totally ready to roll this out with my regular group.  Scenario 1 took about an hour to complete mainly due to a little rule mining and adjusting for the solo game (which, incidentally, ended in a Blood Angels victory — one lone Space Marine flaming a room as fifteen or so genestealers rushed in from all sides).  Handily, nearly all of my questions were answered  by the player aid at the back of the rulebook.  In fact, the game was so easy to learn that I spent the next hour designing a large map with multiple objectives for a multi-player game I hope to run this weekend.  I’m not sure why GW limited Space Hulk to two players.  With very little tweaking, I think I’ve got a pretty solid setup for three four-man Marine squads vs. one Genestealer controller.  And if this works, I may even get a chance to roll out Middle-Earth Quest (another game that uses the co-op against one engine) in another couple of weeks… ahhh, ulterior motives…

Frankly, after finally getting this game, it only swells my regard for Fantasy Flight for releasing the card game version.  Games Workshop’s Space Hulk deserves another print cycle — though it seems unlikely that one will ever happen.  Some of the current prices floating around Ebay and the BGG Marketplace are pretty ridiculous.  I was lucky to get a new-in-shrink copy at MSRP when most sellers are asking twice to three times that amount.  But if you can’t or won’t get a copy of the board game proper (or even if you can, will, or have already, for that matter), you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of FFG’s Death Angel .  It definitely scratches the itch for a lot less cash.  It’s a well-designed game that is highly portable, easy to teach, and can be played solo right out of the box.  And while your glossing the website and checking out the game, go ahead and place an order for the two expansions they just released when you order the game itself.  I haven’t had a chance to break them out yet, but they look fantastic.