Space Hulk 101: A History of Alien Huntin’
September 10, 2014 by dracs
Space Hulk is, arguably, one of the most popular board games of the past three decades. It has gone through three versions since it first appeared, helped to influence the main game of 40k and has a special place on the shelf for many gamers. With the new version just around the corner, we thought we'd step in the Beasts of War TARDIS and go back in time to see just how this classic has come along.
First published in 1989, two years after Warhammer 40,000 first came into being, Space Hulk brought gamers a simplified form of the Games Workshop miniatures in a board game format. As opposed to the grand, sweeping conflicts of Warhammer 40,000, Space Hulk placed players in the claustrophobic confines of a Space Hulk derelict, with one player taking command of ten Space Marine Terminators (in their first gaming appearance) and the other the endless tide of Tyranid Genestealers.
The game drew upon films like Alien to create an atmospheric gaming experience, making use of hidden play elements with the Genestealers initially being represented by blips to help instill tension. Space Hulk's simple play style was much praised and it won the 1989 Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board Game.
The following year saw two expansions added to the game. The first of these, Deathwing, let players take on the role of the Dark Angels now famous first company.
This expansion brought in much more than a simple paint change, providing rules to allow solo play, as well as multi-level environments, adding a new dimension to Space Hulk with the inclusion of ladders and pit falls. Most excitingly, Deathwing also saw the introduction of new special weapon options, such as power swords and grenade launchers, and the appearance of Librarian and Captain. Not only did this revitalise the simple game play, but it also helped give the game a new sense of narrative depth and character.
After Deathwing came the Genestealer expansion, bringing all manner of psychic carnage to game.
This expansion introduced the Grey Knights to the game, as five librarians with force halberds go up against what has to be one of my favourite parts of Warhammer 40k lore, a Genestealer Cult and its hybrid forces. Now you're up against Genestealers with guns!
Genestealers introduced a complex psychic system using 44 psychic combat cards to represent their power. This added an interesting new tactical challenge to the game, and the fact you were now facing Genestealer hybrids mixed it up from the endless wave of bloodthirsty aliens that had come before.
Various campaign and expansion rules were later published in White Dwarf and compiled together. Rules are available letting players field forces of Eldar, Eldar Harlequins, Traitor Marines and Imperial Guard. Later Games Workshop board games would draw heavily upon the Space Hulk formula, with Space Crusade and Tyranid Attack both featuring similar elements. However, players would have to wait until 1996 for a new edition of Space Hulk.
The second edition of Space Hulk featured revamped artwork on the tile sections and new sculpts for the miniatures, with the terminators now split into two five man teams, complete with assorted weaponry, each led by a sergeant.
This new edition also saw a number of changes to the rules from the first edition. Space Marine players could no longer use their action points during the Genestealers go, while the sand timer which had been used to limit turn time in the previous edition was done away with completely.
Changes like these reduced the game's tactical complexity, making it even more accessible to new players. However, many reportedly preferred the challenge of the first edition game, viewing second edition Space Hulk as suffering from something of a dumbing down of the rules.
Unlike its predecessor, the second edition of Space Hulk didn't receive any cool expansion, although new scenarios and rules were published in White Dwarf, letting players use Wolf Guard Terminators and even introducing air ducts to the games.
Unfortunately, fans were in for an even longer wait for the third edition, which wouldn't see the light of day until 2009.
Produced as a limited release, Games Workshop sold out of this new board game three days before it had even been released! The game went back to the first edition rules, with only a few changes, such as the addition of "on guard" actions, the equivalent of a close combat overwatch for the marines. It went on to win another Origins Award, as well as a Golden Geek award, and was nominated for a number of others as well.
What really marked this game out was the increase in the level of production from its predecessors, featuring, in my opinion, some of the best game pieces of any board game, and even of Games Workshop miniatures in general.
With sculpts like these, it is no wonder I still occasionally see them pop up as part of people's armies. Each of the Terminators was also assigned their own identity, once again adding to the narrative feel of the game and bringing in an extra level of investment as you tried desperately to keep your Terminators alive.
It was just a shame that this game was a limited edition release, meaning that instead of a new gateway board game supplemented with interesting and imaginative expansions, it proved to be a purely collector's piece.
Over the years, Space Hulk has maintained a strong following among gamers. It has been turned into a card game by Fantasy Flight Games, a number of different video games, and let's not forget, a cartoon by FlashGitz.
All three of these different versions of Space Hulk can now fetch as much as £100 on eBay, with an unused copy of the third edition set fetching a whopping £260 on Amazon.
It has taken a long time for Space Hulk to once again return to our gaming tables. Although it looks as if this new one is essentially a reprint of the third edition, it is still a welcome sight. Personally, digging through its past has left me really wanting to try out the previous editions to see how they hold up, especially using some of the rules for other races and the Genestealer Cult. I can but hope that Games Workshop will continue to support the game after the initial release.
Which version of Space Hulk is your favourite? For that matter, which Games Workshop board game are you most fond of?
All images used from BoardGameGeek
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
My favourite was Block Wars 🙂
As someone who played the 1989 version I really think I need to pick up the latest version if only for nostalgia sake.
I would like to see the game stay on the shelves and you would think that they would continue to make the game. But it is GW we are talking about, when has any of their business decisions in the last five to eight years made any sense?
wasnt there also an expansion which had space marine scouts?
i believe that was a space crusade expansion. tyranid assault I think
Advanced space crusade 🙂
Tyranid Attack was a standalone.
Wasn’t that Advanced Space Crusade?
Advanced space crusade had scouts
Advanced space crusade was the one with space marine scouts fighting inside tyranid hive fleet vessels. It also reimagined tyranids from dinosaurs to insects and introduced such creatures as screamer-killer (carnifex), hunter-slayers (termagants) and is the last time Zoats were seen.Tyranid attack was a much simplified intro-level game made some years later with many of the same plastics. They made several such intro version games, for blood bowl, adv. hero quest and space fleet at least.
Sounds likely, I bow to your superior knowledge. I remembered that my friend Ian had a copy of Tyranid Attack hence my assertion that it was a standalone.
I still have advanced space crusade and I think it’s a great game, lots of people knocked it but I think it’s brilliant.
I still have my copy from ’89 brilliant game. still have heavy converted terminators in to my grey knights army.
Awesome artical @bowsam
Awesome artical @dracs
My favorite GW boardgame is without question Blood Bowl. I still run a season every year. The fact that the players community has taken possession of the rules makes it even better. You can find the rules on the internet and take any miniature you want to play the game.
Great article, by the way! A shame this game won’t receive the support it should (and a shame I’m low on cash at the moment fot I won’t be able to get my hands on this edition either)…
It may be worth getting just for the miniatures.
I doubt anyone will actually say this but I actually really liked Dreadfleet yeah it had problems but it had great mini with very different gameplay so all in all a lot of fun.
I have great memories of playing the 89 edition of Space Hulk with some mates after school and on weekends. I bought the 2009 edition and had some great games with that one as well.
I bought the first edition from the GW shop in Luton, then the biggest in the country. I would be there with my four children almost every Saturday. The shop would be heaving with customers, painters, modeller, gamers etc each fervently discussing their particular favourite games. There would be games of 40K, Bloodbowl, WH Fantasy being played. Now relegated to nostalgia. The shop is now a charity shop, so the ground rent must have been ridiculously too high for GW to manage as well as pay their leadership massive salaries and bonuses. Do I sound cynical? Bloody right I am!… Read more »
I loved blood bowl and space hulk, sold my last limited release due to cash shortages and the wife has flat out refused to let me get the new one. Time for a shoe bribe 😉
Warhammer Quest and Blood Bowl were the 2 board games I sank the most time into as a youngster. Heroquest and Space Crusade were my intro to the hobby and were awesome games too (although they are a little simplistic for more mature tastes). Speaking of GW board games. Does anyone remember the Horus Heresy board game that came free with White Dwarf? It was a card punch and play type game, IIRC called Warmaster. Set aboard Horus’ ship at the climax of the battle for Terra? Was an awesome little game considering it was free. Why don’t you make… Read more »
oh yes! I had completely forgotten about that! Played it to death back in the day
in the same kind of cardboard-tokens instead of minis games they made “Battle for Armageddon”, “Horus Heresy” and “Doom of the Eldar” I believe at least one of these also had an expansion.
Simple but fun games!
I am pretty sure the expansion was for Armageddon. It let players recreate the first war on the world by Chaos, instead of Thraka’s Orks.
Did you ever play brewhouse bash? That was another one of those games that was free with White dwarf back in the day. Used to play loads of it. Me and my mates even made some rules to let your brawling orks level up and become different. I remember one was an ork wizard type thing and one of his powers was to use telepathy to hurl bear mats at his opponents
Beer mats… it seems I can’t spell today
I still love my 1st ed game.
It’s clean simple and fast. It didn’t really need the expansions. It could have used more published scenarios, but especially under timed play the less rules you have to remember the better.
DARK FUTURE was my favourite game. They should bring that back.
Dark Future! I had a kind of love/hate relationship with that. I just remember it being, ironically, really slow to play. Just couldn’t get my mates interested enough in it. Would love to give it another go though.
I have that as well… it was kinda fun but capped out really easily.
It was simple to get enough bonuses to always hit on 2+ and heavy enough weapons that you usually blew everything off in one or two hits…
Very fond memories of 2nd Edition Space Hulk, looking forward to the chance to grab myself a copy of 3rd/4th edition
the chink that got me hooked on GW 40K.