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Hi ,

Just a quick question.
Got my copy of space Hulk box today.
My wife saw it and said... " Hey if Never been into
Your miniatures stuff but this one looks funny " and she
Wants to do a game with me... *dreamscometrue*.
Ive been playing 40 k for 7-8 years but Never played space
Hulk before.
Is it difficult ruleswise?!? Also whats best for her... Play the symbs or angels?!?
Can i read the rules ( english, she only speaks German and french), and explain em to her quicklY so
We can have some fun this evening?

Played the PC Space Hulk game and just reading through the acutal rules from the boxed set. Very similiar, so I would say: easy to learn. I will also be playing this with my wife who likes board and card games, but not tabletops.
Switch side after one mission, as suggested in the rulebook.

Nope, it's very easy.

It is very easy to learn.

Play both factions. Play the first mission, then switch sides and try to do better.
Let her decide, of course. If she wants to play again with the same faction....that's how it's going to be.

It's very straight forward compared to 40k. The Genestealers have no time limit and get reinforcements each turn in most missions, and don't have as many different rules as the Terminators, so have her play as them at first.

My wife played her first game of Space Hulk with me at the weekend and quite enjoyed it.

Make sure you explain Command Points and overwatch, my missus didn't like me doing things in her turn at first!

She did like telling me my time was up when then egg timer expires though. ;-)

Oh, and point out that after mission 1 the genestealers get 6 AP instead of 3, because that can feel like quite a limitation in that first mission.

SolentSanguine wrote:


Oh, and point out that after mission 1 the genestealers get 6 AP instead of 3, because that can feel like quite a limitation in that first mission.

That only applies to the first two turns of mission 1.

As others have said, very easy. For the first few times if leave out the Timer as you'll be slowing down to explain stuff. Also, is suggest starting with one of the 5-man missions rather than the full 10. Mission 2 is good for this, with a simple setup and objective and over quite fast.

I'd suggest you take the SM first time round as there's a big learning curve when them. Just be sure to explain that the Genestealer player will take massive casualties, but can deal with it, while one man down to early or in the wrong place can put the SM player in a world of hurt.

SolentSanguine wrote:

Oh, and point out that after mission 1 the genestealers get 6 AP instead of 3, because that can feel like quite a limitation in that first mission.

They only have 3 APs for the first two turns, after that they have had a shot of coffee and shaken off the sleepy eyes.

Franko wrote:

SolentSanguine wrote:

Oh, and point out that after mission 1 the genestealers get 6 AP instead of 3, because that can feel like quite a limitation in that first mission.

They only have 3 APs for the first two turns, after that they have had a shot of coffee and shaken off the sleepy eyes.

Doh! Think I owe the wife a rematch...

Franko wrote:

SolentSanguine wrote:

Oh, and point out that after mission 1 the genestealers get 6 AP instead of 3, because that can feel like quite a limitation in that first mission.

They only have 3 APs for the first two turns, after that they have had a shot of coffee and shaken off the sleepy eyes.

Don't recall that in first edition, probably why it seemed so hard.

OP, no space hulk isn't sifficult to learn, it's still very similar to its 1st release and I was 8 when I had that.

It's pretty easy to learn. I find it's easier to play as stealers than it is to play as terminators. My friend and I used to play each mission twice, swapping in between, but it was still an advantage to play stealers first as then you could watch all the mistakes the terminator player made and try and do it better when it came your chance

Its a great quick game to pick up and play... Easy to learn even to people new to mini games.


The Genesteeler side is more forgiving... A mistake or three usually isn't going to doom you.

The Marine side can be done in by a bad mistake or three... Its not quite as forgiving... but you get the benefit of guns.

I taught my wife to play and she seemed to like it.

My wife enjoys the game, but she will only play as the genestealers.

Does the game still use the timer for the marine player? Don't bother with that, it's not fun if you're just playing casually.

I disagree; the timer is an integral part of putting the marine player on the spot. If you have the time to carefully consider your moves, it makes the game a lot easier.

Well, I never used the timer until the player kinda knows how to play; but once they do I agree that the timer is essential.

I don't think I ever ran out of time with the timer. I usually planned while the genestealers worked. I've won most of my matches too. Lost the first couple.

winterdyne wrote:
I disagree; the timer is an integral part of putting the marine player on the spot. If you have the time to carefully consider your moves, it makes the game a lot easier.

Right, because being put on the spot is a fun thing. I want more boardgames to feel like midterms I never studied for.

Ditch the timer.

I've never really liked the timer. Ditch it when you're initially learning the game because otherwise it's a hindrance to learning the game. Once you've got a decent grasp on the game you don't really need a timer unless you're playing some annoying person who slowly counts out all his AP before moving anything which has only happened to me once when I was playing against some random guy in a store many years ago.

It is relatively simple as wargames but you need to know how both sides work as they are very different.

It is very easy, but like everything else, it helps if you have someone around to talk you through it. I can understand it being a bit confusing if you only have the rulebook to learn from.

I highly recommend a game program called Space Hulk SP, if you'd like to play a few rounds against Ai to get a feel for the game. It's a free game you can download (doesn't even need installing), and it's really good. The only thing is it uses the 2nd edition rules, so there some differences with the way the flamer and overwatch works, but otherwise it's very similar. (just remember to hold shift for the nifty move and fire option)

It's quite easy to learn, but can be rather hard to master.

For the Marine player, in particular, some missions are akin to a puzzle. There's basically one way to play it, and that's it.

I tend to throw the timer away entirely. I play for fun and don't like being rushed. There has to be time to down a beer, munch on a few pretzels, and laugh at the antics of the dice. Otherwise, why play?

Because the marine side is really really easy without the timer.

Maybe in some scenarios.

 Bookwrack wrote:
Because the marine side is really really easy without the timer.

Some, maybe. Others are hard enough without the timer.

In any case, as I said: there has to be time to have fun. Otherwise I just can't see the point. But each to his own, of course...

Part of the fun is the feeling of time pressure.

However of course you can use it as an option.