Before playing our highly anticipated Maugthrond Pass game, we decided to play the tutorial mission for Warhammer Fantasy battles 4th edition first. It came as a short leaflet in the box set and as a free pamphlet you’d get at your gaming store. To this day, I still own both.
One on one
The first tutorial game is as basic as it gets. One high elf bowman goes against one goblin bowman. First, they close in on each other and shoot. Then, if none of them died, melee ensues.
Units and morale
The second tutorial teaches you the basic concepts of moving as a unit, determining casualties and morale. In this game you’ll have 5 elf spear men against 10 goblin archers.
Other than in Kings of War, or many other contemporary regiment-based wargames, you track unit losses by removing single models. One for each successful and undefended hit.
After 3 of my goblins were slain, and using the fear of elves rule, my green skins ran away as fast as they could and left the board.
In conclusion
As I wrote in a previous article on nostalgia and escapism, I never played a full game of Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th edition, only the tutorial games with the neighbor kid, who wasn’t as excited as I was.
I haven’t played these tutorial games for ages. And by ages, I mean nearly 30 years! And, oh boy, was it a great feeling to read every passage aloud and follow the instructions! Also, the quirky German translation has got its very distinct charm.
The basic rules are much easier than I thought.
Davids 2 cent
“Playing a 4th edition game, albeit a small tutorial, felt good after almost a 15-year Warhammer hiatus. It came as a surprise to me how easily I fell into old rule patterns. Although we used the cardboard reference sheets from the box, I was really proud when I realized I still knew my reference numbers.
Warhammer 4th edition was my first true wargaming love, even though I turned my back on GW when they killed off Warhammer Fantasy. Since then I play Kings of War when I want to have a grand rank and file battle, or this or that skirmish system.
Until now, I never realized how many similarities may be found between old-school GW, other older game systems, or the more modern games we tend to play these days. This red line, spanning decades of wargaming, is a testament to our hobby, despite ever changing streamlined rules, fancy 3D printed models, and even an overture into the digital age.”
So, I hope you liked this very short intro game to an old gem, that is Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th edition. We certainly enjoyed this trip down memory lane very much.
Stay tuned for more Maugthrond content!