Home > Editorials > What I Learned from the ‘Leaked’ 6th Edition

What I Learned from the ‘Leaked’ 6th Edition

Posted on January 13, 2012 10:38 am by Thor

Atypically of me I had jumped on the bandwagon and put up an article about the supposed leaked 6th edition. Now, as many thought, it appears to be completely false and you can find those debunking it in my blogroll or with a little searching. There was something I did take away from this though, the thought of a game as complicated as the leaked 6th edition was is just not for me.

There was a time when I’d have gladly played a game with hundreds of pages of rules, layer upon layer of complexity, but that time is not now. I’ve mentioned before that 40K, or any game for that matter, is a break from life. I don’t have the time or the inclination to pick up a game that looks like work. Some marvel at the idea of a game with such depth, and I was in that boat when I was younger and had less obligations in life, and I still want to immerse myself in a game but not something that has a bloated rule set.

The games I enjoy the most are simple. Admittedly 40K isn’t the simplest games out there but nor is it the animal that floated around for a few days as 6th edition. I’d have to say that 40K in its current form is really as complicated a game as I’m willing to play. The core of the game is simple to learn and the complexities arise in the form of understanding the subtleties of the rules and the application of army codices, not the rules themselves. Another favorite game of mine is Blood Bowl. The core rules of Blood Bowl take up 23 pages, that’s it, and is arguably one of the best games GW ever produced.

I was gladdened to see that what was being passed around as 6th edition was fake. As much as I’d have hated to set aside a hobby I’ve spent so much time in I would have in a heartbeat if what I was reading was true. I have some money set aside to expand my Chaos force and I was already considering what to do instead with that cash. It wouldn’t have mattered if the rules fixed absolutely everything wrong with 40K, put every army on the same footing and became the most balanced game of all time if it meant the simple game I love became a novel of rules requiring higher education to comprehend. I’ll take the game as we know it with all its flaws over the abomination I read.

    About Thor

    I began playing 40K in 2006 and have been an avid player and hobbyist since then. Blogging has become my outlet for all those random thoughts regarding the game.
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    • Anonymous

      Agreed, wholeheartedly.
      I was in a mini-panic about it. I have little enough time to play the game as it is, and if that time was immediately made less enjoyable…what’d be the point?
      Sure, I could have kept painting, but for what? Amassing a huge army of models with which I’d never game? Blah.

      • http://creativetwilight.com/ Thor

        At first I was like, “Weee! They leaked it! Can’t wait to read it,” but that quickly turned into feeling like I’d been punched in the gut. Thoughts of selling off all my hard work for nowhere near its value was streaming through my mind.

    • Lord El-Akim

      Read most of the rules, it’s
      pretty much the same but now you actually get to use tactics to greater extents.
      They are also in line with Fantasy in complexity, and last time I checked that
      is playable.

       

      Most rules are precise
      and have clear examples; the thing that bugs me is the constant cross reference
      and somewhat strange names for ability’s.

       

      But I guess this is the
      things, if it is the real deal, that will be changed and refined before the
      rules are all set.

      • http://creativetwilight.com/ Thor

        I’m sure Fantasy is completely playable and lots of people enjoy it but I don’t play Fantasy. I have no issues with the rumored rules in terms of being unplayable or even unbalanced. I simply think that it’s more than I’m willing to commit to.

    • Willywonka

      You call 5th edition simply, I call it a child’s game. Without complexity, without options, there’s little in the way of tactics. It’s like playing checkers, and this leaked 6th edition is chess. I absolutely loved it. I stopped playing in 5th edition. This would actually bring me back

      • http://creativetwilight.com/ Thor

        To each their own. There’s no doubt many people would love to see 40K more complex, back to the earlier roots of the game, I just fear I’m not one of those people. Nothing less, nothing more.

        • Spectre Senence

          As a long time player complexity is fine if GW didn’t make the next codex that ignores it or creates a different effect. If a core ruleset was defined for all armies to play that would be one thing but GW doesn’t do that historically. I personally feel that changes are coming to shooting and cover saves, this has made shooting armies weaker as well as units which translate that they likely don’t sell well. GW usually changes the rule to offset it and get them back to being necessary which is always positive but will have to wait and see.

          • http://creativetwilight.com/ Thor

            No doubt we’ll see some revisions come 6th. I just don’t see the ENTIRE game changing as it had in the rumored 6th. It has issues, sure, but not every step in every phase needs alteration either.



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