Games Workshop has announced a board game based on Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, but, uh, maybe don't get too excited

GamesFPSWarhammer 40,000: DarktideGames Workshop has announced a board game based on Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, but, uh, maybe don’t get too excitedWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Image for Games Workshop has announced a board game based on Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, but, uh, maybe don�t get too excited

If you’ve ever been playing Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and thought “I wish there was a tabletop version of this”, it’s possible there was a monkey’s paw in the vicinity. Games Workshop has granted your wish with the newly announcedDarktide board game, but whatever you’re imagining in your head right now is probably cooler than what’s on offer here.

To get it out of the way early: there are no new miniatures in this box. The models are simply recycled from other Warhammer releases, rather than being custom sculpts based on the videogame, which gives it all a bit of an uncanny valley feel. Sure, those are traitor guardsmen, but they’re notquitethe Moebian 21st.

The worst offenders are the four heroes, who while technically embodying the roles of Ogryn, Psyker, Veteran, and Zealot, don’t match the game at all and don’t look remotely cohesive with each other. Half of them are even holding weapons that aren’t in the game. More appropriate paint jobs would go a long way, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a disappointing offering.

The game itself looks like a modest little combat game, played on a small pair of boards with cards describing the stats and abilities of each character. Though there are 20 miniatures included, it’s not the kind of elaborate box you might expect from Games Workshop—but this likely isn’t going to be something you find in its stores.

(Image credit: Games Workshop)

Miniatures on a board with stat cards laid out alongisde in the Darktide board game.

So taken for what it is, rather than what fans might have hoped for, do I think the Darktide board game will be worth a go? Well… if you like the miniatures included, this’ll be a cheap way of getting them, and though they aren’t faithful to the videogame, they’re still lovely in their own right.

The game itself, however, I would expect to be pretty lightweight and unremarkable—none of these smaller releases have really set the world on fire so far. A more accessible alternative to the complex mainline games of Warhammer is a fine idea in theory, but these days there are so many really good board games out there you could be buying instead, and it’s unlikely there’ll be much to recommend about this one outside of the IP.

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The icing on the cake is that it may also be difficult to get hold of in certain territories depending on what stores it’s set to be stocked in. Many of these releases so far have been exclusive to the US and/or Germany, which has players in Games Workshop’s homeland of the UK unable to buy them. Is that enough moaning about a pretty throwaway board game? Probably. Let’s end on a more positive note with some recommendations.

If you want an accessible board game with some miniatures to have a go at painting, giveexcellent card-based battler Unmatcheda try. If you’re keen for it to be Warhammer specifically,Warhammer Underworldsin the main range is a great board game disguised as a miniatures game—grabthe current core setand you’ll have everything you need in one box. Or if you’re trying to find a cheap and easy way into wargaming, just buy a set ofplastic fantasy minisand a simple skirmish game likeSong of Blades and Heroes(orsci-fi minisandMutants and Death Ray Guns) and you’ll be having epic battles in no time.

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