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I am getting back into 40k after 10 years...

Can I get by with the smaller rulebook? or do I have to buy the big 3 book set?

The mini-rulebook is awesome and perfectly sufficient. Tbh, I prefer it to the large one.

The mini rule book is better imo as well.

Welcome to dakka!

The big 3 book set has a rulebook and two books of artwork, miniatures and fluff.

Its very expensive.

The mini rulebook is perfect and very easy to carry around.

Its perfect!
~Mikey

The mini rulebook has the exact same content as the large one. The other two books that are sold with the BRB only contain pictures and fluff.

It’s nice to have the big book for the fluff and pictures, but that’s been mostly unchanged for a long time now. The small book has everything you need to play.

If you don’t have a copy of a big book, I’d try to get a copy of an older edition off e-bay/locals just to have a copy to read/flip through. The rules might be outdated, but you can get those in the little book, for a lot less.

From a practical POV, the small book is a lot nicer to drag down to the FLGS. I shelled out for the mini hardcover when they made them, and don’t regret that choice. It’s sturdier then the softbacks, but still fits into my gaming bag easy.

From the perspective of a newbie who is reading the rules for the first time and has yet to play a game...

I have the mini-rulebook from Death Masque. I freely admit that my eyes have never been good, and now they're old. Even if my peepers were young and in good condition, I don't think I'd like the mini-rulebook. The text is just at the borderline of unreasonably small.

It also feels like a small magazine stock perfect bound publication. It's not a good thing from a durability standpoint. It was included in the set because it's cheap, and it feels exactly like I'd expect for something of it's cheap nature. That's not really a gripe or an accusation, just a statement of fact.

I had planned to get the big rulebook anyway. For me, it will be almost mandatory, because to read the mini-rulebook I need to take off my glasses and hold the text under 6 inches from my face. I also don't imagine the larger rulebook (just one skinny hardcover out of a three book set) as being any real level of inconvenience to me, especially as I'm used to carrying around multiple hardcovers three times the thickness for RPGs. It seems like lugging my army around is a far greater matter than the difference in size between the mini and full books.

I only got the mini-rulebook because it was a bonus in Death Masque and wasn't ready to buy the full book yet. If price is the issue, the mini-rulebook does the job, but you get what you pay for. I definitely wouldn't pay more than $15 for it.

In the RPG world, I've always preferred the larger books. I've historically found the "manga" and "pocket" sized books to be completely unsuitable to reference in play. Others' mileage can and will vary.

Content wise they are identical.

When you are only occasionaly referencing a rule, or you want to take it with you, the smaller book is very handy.

The big book is definitely easier on old eyes.

If I'm at home, I prefer to read the big book. On the go, I always bring a mini rule book. Not only is it lighter and smaller, but it keeps my hardcover book from getting banged up.

As others have mentioned, the mini-rulebook IS the full rules.
If you want to have every main rule that the BRB has, guess what? It's in the mini.
So not only can you "get by" with the mini rulebook, you will have access to 100% of the rules that some one with the hardback BRB.

The mini. And holy hell, but whatever you do, do NOT, I repeat, NOT download the PDF version. 886 pages of which less than 300 are actually needed for playing.

Mini book. It has rules and only rules without all the extra fluff, pictures and such that only cost you way more money.

The mini rulebook is the the most point efficient thing in 40k. :p

 master of ordinance wrote:
The mini. And holy hell, but whatever you do, do NOT, I repeat, NOT download the PDF version. 886 pages of which less than 300 are actually needed for playing.

Finding the right page will take forever if you are starting off. Once you know the book's layout, you will o better with it, but I would always say to use the paper rulebook before getting the ebook.

The PDF is horrible.

The mini rulebook is awesome.

And somewhere in the forum someone made a rules summery that is an 8 page compressed short version, it's useless for learning-but great for quick reference.

Try here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/597998.page