Introduction to Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop battle game where two players command armies of miniatures and fight across a terrain-filled battlefield until, after five battle rounds of movement, shooting and close combat, one commander stands victorious.

This series walks through the Core Rules one section at a time, in plain instructional language, so you can learn to play correctly from a standing start or brush up on a rule you have forgotten mid-game.

What the game is

Each player controls an army of miniatures drawn from one of the game's many factions, the forces of the Imperium or one of its numerous enemies. Over the course of a battle you manoeuvre your models, unleash ranged firepower and lock units into hand-to-hand fighting, all with the goal of completing your mission's objectives and breaking the enemy before they break you.

A game is not won purely by wiping out the opposing army. Every game is played using a mission, which you generate before you begin. The mission tells you how to set up, how large each army should be, what special rules are in effect and, above all, exactly what you must do to win. Holding ground and scoring objectives usually matters far more than raw destruction.

What you need to play

To get a game going you need a few things:

• An army of miniatures. You muster your force from your collection up to the total size the mission specifies. Building a themed, effective army is a rewarding hobby in its own right.
• A battlefield with terrain. Any flat surface works, a table being ideal. Your mission guides the size of the playing area and the amount and placement of terrain.
• A mission. This defines your objectives and the conditions of the battle.
• Dice and a tape measure. The game uses six-sided dice (D6) for its rolls, and all distances are measured in inches.
• Your rules. The Core Rules cover the shared framework; each faction's own rules describe what its specific units can do.

Battle rounds, turns and phases

A battle is structured into battle rounds, and a game usually lasts five of them. Within each battle round, both players take a turn, first one player and then the other. The player currently taking their turn is doing so while their opponent waits and reacts.

Every turn is divided into five phases, worked through in a fixed order:

• Command phase: resolve start-of-turn effects, generate Command points, and take Battle-shock rolls where required.
• Movement phase: reposition your units across the battlefield.
• Shooting phase: fire ranged weapons at the enemy.
• Charge phase: launch units into close combat with the foe.
• Fight phase: resolve melee attacks, with both players' engaged units taking part.

When the first player finishes all five phases, their opponent takes a turn running through the same five phases. Once both players have completed a turn, the battle round ends and a new one begins, until the game reaches its conclusion and the winner is decided by the mission's scoring.

How this series is organized

The guides ahead follow the structure of the Core Rules. We begin with the foundational Basic Rules, the core concepts that underpin everything and how to read a datasheet, then move through each phase of the turn in play order, followed by the deeper systems that sit on top: leaders, transports, terrain, Battle-shock, Stratagems and more. Read them in order for a full grounding, or jump to the section you need. Keep your dice handy.

Frequently asked questions

How do you win a game of Warhammer 40,000?

On victory points, which the mission pays out for holding objectives and completing tasks across the game rather than in a lump at the end. Wiping out every enemy unit does not end the battle early in itself, and it is possible to lose after doing so if the opponent banked a lead in the early rounds.

How long does a game of Warhammer 40,000 last?

Five battle rounds, so ten player turns. At the standard 2,000-point size that is typically two and a half to three hours for players who know their armies, and longer for a first game. A missed phase cannot be replayed once the next has started, so keep the five phase names written beside the table for your first few games.

What do you need to play Warhammer 40,000?

Apart from models, dice and a tape measure, the practical minimum is a 44" by 60" table and enough terrain to block some lines of sight across the middle, since a bare table makes shooting armies far stronger than the game intends. A copy of your faction's datasheets and the current points values completes the kit. The Core Rules themselves are free to download from Games Workshop.

What are the phases of a turn in Warhammer 40,000?

Command, Movement, Shooting, Charge and Fight, always in that order. Everything you do lives in one of them: there is no "any time" window, so a rule that does not name a phase or a trigger cannot be used. The Fight phase is the odd one out, because your opponent's units fight back in your turn and yours fight back in theirs.

What happens in the Command phase in 40k?

It is the housekeeping phase. Both players gain a Command point, any start-of-turn abilities are resolved, and units that have been reduced to half strength take a Battle-shock roll. Nothing moves and nothing shoots, so it is also the moment to check the score and decide which secondary missions you are pursuing this turn.