Warhammer 40,000: Regicide takes one of humanity’s oldest and most honored strategy games, chess, and throws it into that beautiful, beefy, bloody, over-the-top universe of Warhammer 40K. Embarrassingly macho Space Marines and the drooling, lunkheaded Ork Boyz go head to head on the classic 8×8 chess grid, and victory is usually assured if you can put your opponent’s king (or Captain or Warboss) in checkmate.
However, your goals and strategies can be a little more varied in Regicide. You might instead need to kill certain opponent characters, or hold a specific section of the grid for a certain amount of time. You can have multiple options and will need to evaluate which is the most likely for you to accomplish. Beyond that, while your units have a move phase very similar to chess, what follows is very different.
Each unit has a list of abilities, some of which are shared and some of which are specific to that unit. For example, everyone can take a Snap Shot to deal a little damage from a distance, or Go To Ground to boost their defense. A Tactical Marine, the pawns of the Marine team, can throw a Frag Grenade for some splash damage. An Ork Weirdboy, the Ork queen, can use its Extra ‘Urty ability to kill a unit in range below 50% health. You’ll only have a certain number of initiative points to use these abilities, and the better they are, the more initiative you’ll need.
Of course, if you prefer to attack in the classic way, you can also forgo separate move and attack phases to make a Chess Capture. Your unit will move in the same way its chess equivalent would, and any enemy unit standing at the end will be killed instantly. True chess purists just looking for the Warhammer flavor will also be pleased, since Regicide also comes with a mode that duplicates classic chess rules exactly.
Game The Game is giving Regicide a try this Thursday from 4-7pm. Tune into our Twitch channel to find the answer to the ultimate question: is chess as fun if you can’t flip the board in frustration when you lose?
Featured image credit: Games Workshop