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I just realized, after trying to find out if the new Cities of Death rules from Shield of Baal actually mean that the older book is "replaced", that there generally actually is no way of knowing for what edition a certain book is valid, is there? I mean GW does not keep a list of which books (Codexes, supplements etc) are valid for 7th edition 40k now do they. In some ways that would make sense if they did, to sort of clean up the community and gaming, but commercially - how can they tell a customer that a book that he/she has bought is no longer valid to use..?

And, thinking that they already sort of opened up 40k to be whatever you like with the whole bring-whatever-you-want-unbound in 7th, why not take it further - what's stopping me from playing e.g. using my older version Codex Eldar or Marines if I wanted to..?

Or, if you liked 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd or even 2nd ed better, what's stopping you from playing that with your friends?

Usually nothing but player convention and agreement.

However, many events will specify "latest" codex, and GW stores often have rules on what you can play. I remember when 5th ed came out and the LA Battle Bunker very quickly established that only 5E could be played within like a week, no more 4E games.

That said, also trying to use older codex books in newer editions doesn't always work. Trying to use a 2E book in 3E+ wouldn't work. Trying to use a 3E codex in 7E would leave you without warlord traits, lots of non-functional wargear, and generally far more expensive and less capable units (hooray 35pt Chaos Raptors!). and a smaller unit selection in general.

Nothing is the answer, with a little extra effort of forming a local gaming group of likeminded players or friends, you can play the game in whatever edition or way you like.

There is nothing stopping you. I found that the game is FAR more enjoyable when you arent uptight about editions and sets of rules and whatnot using the set/amalgamations that you and your friends enjoy the most and can agree on.

For "public" playing its often best to go with whats "current" and "official" because it saves time but if you and your opponent have the time and are familiar enough, there is nothing stopping you then either.

Tournament play needs to have a standard that is across the board for the tourney in particuler but even then, there is nothing wrong with a "retro" 2nd ed tourney or whatnot so long as all players are familer and all "equipment" is provided (such things as sustained fire dice). But then, you'll find less players familier with the rules as there are HUGE numbers of players who stopped playing when the younger editions such as 4th and 5th came out.

Going back to 5th ed or before would involve re-teaching the entire game almost everyone I play with.

When we all played Apocolypse I house-ruled that anyone could use any unit from any edition. Mostly people used the current edition because the stats were better. But one player was really interested in fielding some models from Edition 2E - a certain kind of Grot who kicked butt in hand to hand. It was awesome. Even so, they were expensive points-wise, so really, this was an exception.

If you play in public, you're better off using the latest edition if you want to get game. If you have a private group, you can play any edition you want (and getting your hands on the older books can save you money! BTW if you are after any of the older rules, see my Swap Shop Thread!)

So right, the edition you play is a matter of choice. Of course, you sort of have to make the choice as a group.

The fact that the 5th ed BA codex aged worse than practically any codex in GW history.

I still play 6th, with an admittedly smaller number of gamers. There isn't any real reason that one 'cannot', aside from possible incompatibilities... and we haven't found anything that can't be house ruled or modified yet!

Nothing, but my Heldrake doesn't do as well under 2nd Edition Realm of Chaos lists. OTOH, it's nice having medics.

Nobody I know still has 5 or 6E rule books, the GW I play casual games at prefers we play 7th, I mostly play leagues and tournaments which specify that I must use the most recent rules, I took a break from the game and don't see a point in learning older editions rules that are outdated, points were higher in the past so I would be nerfing myself by using an older codex, I like using flyers which older editions don't have rules for, plenty of other reasons too if I sat here and thought about it a little longer. Why don't you play NCAA football 97 instead of NCAA football 14?

When people say "nothing" I think they're being a touch short sighted

Of course there's something stopping you... your playing group and any event organisers.

If people in your group have started more recently and don't have the older rulebooks, codices and don't want to have to learn another older set of rules. Even older players may no longer own the old books and/or remember what the rules were.

If people in your group disagree about which set of books is "best", it usually results in simply playing with the latest set of books.

If people in your group have models that aren't covered in older editions or troop equipment has changed over the years and the troops aren't legal (or are legal but ineffective) for older editions.

If event organisers mandate you need to use the latest books.

Those are all pretty big "somethings", if you can overcome those then sure go for it... but it's easier said than done to get a group together to play older editions when you're struggling enough to even find players in the current edition to play against.

There is "nothing" stopping you and the people you play with from doing so if you so desire. Some models may not "fit" in all editions/rule sets and some books and such may be harder to get your hands on.
When it comes down to it, it is up to you and the people you game with and how much effort or money you plan to put into it. heck, it you and your fellow gamers, want, you can all sit down and create your very own rule set based on bits and pieces of ALL of the editions and toss in alternating actions from the old epic and toss in skills and experience points from necromunda if you likewhere you use green army men as the models. Provided of course, your all on the same page and willing to do so.
Edit: Possibly difficult or may take a little more time, effort and $ but NOT impossible as has been implied. It is up to you and your gaming group to decide.

In public, it is usually best to stick with the current "official" set of rules for convenience sake and if you find someone in public who might be interested in playing older/other rule sets with your group, ask them to join in.

Tourneys and such will of course have their own rule sets that are standard across the board at the event. Be wary of switching back and forth as you could get "out of touch" with the current rules in this way and find yourself at a disadvantage in those events.

EVIL INC wrote:There is "nothing" stopping you and the people you play with from doing so if you so desire....... Provided of course, your all on the same page and willing to do so.

As I said...

AllSeeingSkink wrote:...it's easier said than done to get a group together to play older editions...

This topic comes up frequently, "if you prefer an older edition there's nothing stopping you from just playing it" except the logistics of doing so are a real barrier so saying "nothing stopping you" is a bit disingenuous. Even outside of 40k, I own a lot of OOP games and it's hard to play any of them, firstly getting people interested in it and then getting them to learn the rules for a game that no one else plays anymore. You're trying to create a niche within a niche

I'd say nothing, and I'll take you one step further...
Assuming you're dissatisfied with the 40k rules, what's keeping you from using the minis and fluff you love with an entirely different set of rules?

Last week, me and a few friends did just that:
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2014/12/its-my-birthday-and-ill-play-warpath-if.html
A 12,000 point (6k+ per side) game using the Warpath rules instead of 40k, and they weren't even the current Warpath 2.0 rules, they were the older super-streamlined warpath 1.0 rules for BIG battles.

As to using old 40k rules, I went back and gave 2nd edition a try a couple years ago and it completely tore off my rose colored glasses.
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2011/11/vintage-warhammer-40k-2nd-edition.html
I've said similar things before, but life's too short to play rules-sets you don't like. That said, it's really only possible for me to play all the games I like because I have a club of like-minded gamers.

So for the OP, it looks like most of us here are in agreement. I piggybcked on what vaktathi and hubris said and then others piggybacked on what us 3 said and so on and so forth each tacking on their own flavor of saying the same thing.

Your best bet is to get with your local gamers and start hammering out details if thats where you want to go. I'm sure you'll be able to get what information you want here or on one of the other sites and the bid/trade sites are also good sources of raw materials in terms of such things as books.
Good luck in whatever you and your group decide to do. Cheers

Nothing stops anyone playing the games they like. We put on a demo game of 2nd ed at a show recently:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.504863642989228.1073741831.388912817917645&type=3
Our game is the one on the red table near the bottom!

Thanks, it seems like a pretty good common understanding here.

So, if you were to use older books, what would you use?

I myself like 7th a lot, so wouldn't change editions. But I dislike the dropping of some non-model units and choices and general streamlining of some of the newer Codex books. For instance, I'd like my friend to be able to play Wazzdakka still. So probably my best proposal for a house rule would be allowing him to play Unbound and take choices from the older Codex book that are dropped in the new book.