The first edition of the game, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, was published in 1987. Game designer Rick Priestley was responsible for creating the original rules set and the Warhammer 40,000 gameworld. This original version came as a very detailed rulebook, making it most suitable for fighting small skirmishes. Much of the composition of units was determined randomly, by rolling dice. In addition, rules were changed or updated through White Dwarf publications, making play easier and announcing new units/models.

A few elements of the setting (bolters, frag grenades, Dreadnought armour) can be seen in a set of earlier wargaming rules called Laserburn produced by Tabletop Games. The influence of these can also be seen in the prototype Necromunda game mechanics.

The second edition was published in late 1993, aimed at making it easier to fight larger battles. This and later developments of the game are the work of editor Andy Chambers. This version relied greatly on cards, and came as a boxset including Space Marine and Ork miniatures, scenery and dice, as well as the main rules. An expansion pack titled Dark Millennium was later released.

The third edition was released in 1998, and again concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles. The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxset with minatures featuring the Space Marines and the newly introduced Dark Eldar.

Current State of Play

An update of the game was released in 2004. This was originally touted by Games Workshop not as a 4th edition but as a simple 'tidy-up' of the various rule changes and 'trial' rules that had come into being since the introduction of the 3rd edition.

However, due to players continually referring to this new printing as 'the 3.5 edition' (itself a pun at Dungeons & Dragons recent upgrade), Games Workshop backtracked and themselves began calling the new rulebook the 4th edition.

This edition is not as major a change as prior editions were, as it did not invalidate gamers' old army lists or codices. The new rulebook is published in hardcover, and a truncated version of the same rules is available as part of an introductory boxed set, Battle For Macragge, featuring the Space Marines and Tyranids.

As with prior versions, the main rules are included in the rule book with supplementary details being available for each army in the form of Codex books, each detailing either one army, a part of an army or sometimes extra rules for a specific form of battle (such as Cities of Death). As of May 2006 the Space Marine, Tyranid, Black Templars and Tau Empire codexes have been released under the new fourth edition rules, with the new Eldar codex due in October 2006. Several rules supplements, including additional units and models available from the Forge World subsidiary of Games Workshop, have also been produced, with the most recent being 'Imperial Armour Volume 4: The Anphelion Project.

For materials done under the previous iteration of the rules, there exist errata and FAQ files, to ensure potential rules conflicts between editions are resolved universally.

Warhammer 40,000, the Game

Overview

Each player assembles an army, consisting of white metal and plastic miniature figurines (models) - each, usually, representing a single military figure from one of the official lists. These armies are constrained by rules contained within the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, as well as in several army-specific Codexes. The size and power of the army is determined on a points system, with each unit being assigned a number of points proportional to its potential worth on the battlefield. Before a game the players agree on how many points will be used as the maximum army size and each assemble an army up to that maximum limit. Common game sizes are usually between 400 and 2,000 points, but can be much larger. In addition, there are rules for much smaller games. Games generally run from half an hour to several hours depending on the size of the armies.

Play is divided into turns, with each player choosing specific actions for all of his units on his turn, and using dice to determine the results of those actions. Each battle, at the onset, is assigned a set of additional rules and a goal (collectively called a "scenario") specific to it. The most common of these is a basic "cleanse" mission (which was the "default" mission in 3rd edition), which ends after six turns, the victor being declared based on who controls the four quarters of the battlefield; more complex goals can include night fights, bunker assaults, ambushes, and various others. Other games include simply eliminating the other force (meatgrinder scenario).

Some players organize a series of scenarios, called a campaign, where two or more players fight against each other in a number of battles. These campaigns may feature their own special rules, and are tied together by a storyline, which might alter according to the results of each scenario when it is played. Every few years, a global campaign is held in which people submit the results of their games to Games Workshop. These results are collated, and together affect the storyline of the game, which is then accounted for in the next rulebook and fiction releases. The most recent of these global campaigns was the Eye of Terror Campaign. A new worldwide campaign is planned for July 2006, titled The Fall of Medusa V.

The aim of every person who plays Warhammer 40,000 is to pit their force of miniatures against other players across war-torn futuristic battlefields. Win or lose, all battles are entertaining challenges in which you try to out-think and out-play your opponent, taking advantage of what good luck comes your way, but ultimately relying upon sound tactics to win the day.

To start down the road of enjoying this exciting game and hobby, you'll need a few things! First, and most importantly, you'll need an army. Next, you'll need to find an opponent – either a friend that lives right down the street or someone you've bumped into once or twice at your local Hobby Centre. However, before any of this can take place, you'll need to get your hands on the rules.

To begin your conquest of the galaxy, you'll need to get the rulebook. It contains all the rules for the game from basic mechanics to missions. The rulebook is also full of flavourful background material that gives you the history and other information about the grim universe of the 41st millennium and all the races within it. Lastly, the rulebook contains a hobby and gaming guide that shows you how to paint and play with your miniatures as you delve into your new hobby.

 In the nightmare future of the 41st millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of extinction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens, and threatened from within by malevolent creatures and heretic rebels. Only the strength of the Immortal Emperor of Terra stands between Humanity and its annihilation. Dedicated to His service are the countless warriors, agents and myriad servants of the Imperium. Foremost amongst them stand the Space Marines, mentally and physically engineered to be the supreme fighting force, the ultimate protectors of Mankind.

Wars rage over airless moons, in the dark, twisted depths of hive worlds and in the cold wastes between stars. From the immaterial realm of warp space, malicious entities send their unspeakable minions to slaughter the Emperor's chosen. Everywhere, soulless spectres and slavering monsters are poised to extinguish the life of Humanity.