Years ago I played a little game called Warhammer 40k by Games Workshop. While I only had the two starter armies (Space Marines and Orks) I enjoyed playing out futuristic war scenarios and thinking through the best tactics I could. Fun times!
I’ve been thinking of getting back into war gaming. Since Warhammer 40k was in my blood I’ve spent some time looking at the army lists and what options are available for army building. But to be honest I’m not totally sold on coming back to GW due to two main reasons: price and copyright bullying.
Price is the easy one to talk about. Warhammer 40k supplies are expensive. Not only do you need to pay about $30 for each squad of miniatures but also fork over a good bit of dough for the current rule book. Add another $30 if you want to keep a codex for your army (hint: you do). In effect one must drop around $200 to start playing.
The second thing is copyright bullying. Earlier this month it made news that Games Workshop believes it owns the term “Space Marines” and blocked an author on Amazon from selling an unrelated book. Isn’t that crazy? It’s as silly as someone thinking they own the term superhero! Luckily Amazon reversed it’s block decision but the whole thing leave s a bad taste in my mouth. Would my purchases help reward the previous behavior or, worse, aid in funding such overreaching behavior in the future? Either way I’m not sure it’s a good idea.
So, what games are good alternatives to Warhammer 40k? Do things like Dust Tactics cut it? Or am I stuck picking up GW games with a hope they don’t further such overreaching and unfair ownership tactics?
Steve's Blog 
I’d like to know the same thing. I’ve been playing 40K for 20 years. I’ve invested so much over that time that it’s hard to imagine going to a new game, investing more money and home space into yet a new, but similar hobby. I’m tired of GW revamping the product lines as often as they do. While I’ve decided I’ll never move to a 7th ed. I’d like to know what alternatives there are.
See Monkey’s Blood’s comment. At quick glance both recommendations look pretty fun! Ever play much Blood Bowl?
Never got into Blood Bowl. I do play the PC version, but never had a chance to do the tabletop.
I can recommend War Machine/Hordes. It’s still not cheap but the armies are smaller and its’s a very fun came with some lovely models, and finding opponents isn’t too much of a chore.
My other two favourites at the moment are Blood Bowl and DreadBall…
Very cool. I’m going to look into War Machine as well as DreadBall. I started playing the PC version of Blood Bowl. Not perfect but still fun. DreadBall looks like it could be a good stand in for miniature play. Thanks!
I’m a painter first, player second, and the models for it don’t appeal to me as much as the GW minis do. The aesthetic of the minis is the first thing I look for in choosing a tabletop game/hobby.
Same for me, it just so happens I like their look. Have you seen some of the newer skirmish games like Bushido or Deep Wars? Some lovely models there which I think would be a joy to paint.
The Bushido is nice, but doesn’t interest me. I hadn’t heard of Deep Wars though. I’ll check it out.