Some time before Christmas, Christian discovered Warhammer 40,000. He’s been listening to podcasts telling the lore of the game and asked for a starter set for Christmas.

I knew enough to know that Warhammer 40K is a pretty deep and intricate game. There are three starter sets to choose from. Unsure how much we will end up playing this game, Santa Claus opted to get Christian the Elite Edition, the not-the-smallest and not-the-biggest set. A good selection of miniatures and a basic piece of landscape (a cardboard insert essentially) along with everything else needed to get started.

He spent a good portion of the break putting together and painting his new miniatures. He’s about two thirds of the way through them now with the larger more detailed ones still to be done. I’m pretty impressed with his first painting attempts. But today was the day when he finally took the plunge into the game itself.

The first introductory mission is an ambush where the Space Marines have to get through a line of Necrons. We played two games, taking turns playing the Marines. In both games, at least two Marines made it through and survived the Necron ambush.

As I write this, Christian is introducing his brother to the same mission. Then the plan is to replay the mission with the optional more advanced rapid fire rule that might give the Necrons a bit more of an edge. And then, we’ll be on to the next mission.

If we all (or even some of us) get more serious about this game, we are going to need a bigger gaming table! I don’t think that Sarah will agree to turning the living room into a massive battle ground.