Warhammer 40,000 Darktide: The Miniatures Game Review

Warhammer 40,000 (or just 40K for short), the tabletop miniatures wargame, has seen many video game interpretations, most recently with the awesome first-person cooperative shooter, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide. Darktide followed the cooperative FPS vibe that Fatshark first produced in the fantasy Warhammer setting with Vermintide. But now everything has come full circle, and the video game based on the tabletop wargame has its own tabletop game with the release of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide the Miniatures Game.

In this review, we'll see what it's like to play Warhammer 40,000 Darktide the Miniatures Game, and how you can go from the box into other Warhammer 40,000 games.

What's Included In Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game Box?

The Darktide the Miniatures Game box contains everything 1 to 4 players need to play. The only items you will need are a hobby knife and some plastic glue to assemble the miniatures.

The Darktide the Miniatures Game box contains:

• A Darktide the Miniatures Game Rulebook (includes rules, missions, and background lore)
• 4 kill team operative miniatures
• 16 darktide enemy miniatures
• 4 double-sided killzone tiles
• 10 dice
• Tokens and line-of-sight makers
• Operative datacards
• Equipment, upgrade, and activation cards

How Do You Play Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game?

Darktide the Miniatures Game is a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players. Players divide the 4 kill team operatives between them (we look at each in detail below), and then either play a single mission or play through all the missions in turn against AI control enemies.

Darktide the Miniatures Game is based on the Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team rules, but is simplified by using hexboard to work out movement and line of sight (the most complicated parts of the Kill Team rules). 

Each game of Darktide The Miniatures Game consists of 3 rounds, which are detailed in the Rulebook and are unique to each mission. Each round is made up of 2 phases, the Prepare and Battle phases.

In the prepare phase, players set up the boards for the killzone, deploy their operatives, and create the activation deck which includes a card for each kill team operative and enemy in the kill zone. In rounds 2 and 3, players can also loot, heal, or scout in the prepare phase, depending on if they're injured, want more gear, or want an edge on their opponents.

In the battle phase, the first card of the activation deck is drawn and if it's an enemy operative, they activate according to their behavior as detailed on their stat card. If it's a kill team operative, players decide between them who will activate, and then complete 2 actions with that operative. Actions are either move, dash (an extra move as you can't perform the same action twice), fight, shoot, or pass (which also counts as some mission-specific actions). 

Each operative's details are listed on their stat card, such as how far they can move, how many dice they roll to attack, and any extra equipment cards they have details other options they may have.

At the end of each mission, if you're playing it as a campaign, players can level up their character by gaining more upgrades and equipment to take into the next game.

Who Can You Play In Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game?

There are 4 kill team operatives in Darktide the Miniatures Game, and all of them deploy at the start of each mission (if they are incapacitated during a round, they might not deploy in rounds 2 and 3). The kill team operatives are:

• Veteran - The Veteran has the longest weapon range in the group and their upgrades focus on laying down fire.
• Psyker - The Psyker's stat card has the worst base weapons of the group, but they have access to powerful psychic powers like Vortex which can damage all enemies adjacent to the target.
• Zealot - The Zealot comes armed with a powerful chainblade and close-range flamer. Their upgrades focus on protecting them from damage or boosting their own weapons.
• Ogryn -  The large Ogyrn can take the most damage out of the group, and their weapons have the best base damage stat. Their upgrades focus on smashing large numbers of opponents, carrying more gear, and protecting nearby operatives.

Where Can I Go After Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game?

If Darktide the Miniatures Game is your first foray into tabletop wargaming, then Kill Team is the obvious next step. Kill Team uses the same base rules, but advances them with more complex movement and line of sight. You can jump straight into Kill Team with the 2 player starter set. You can see how to get started with our Kill Team Guide. If you want to jump straight into a larger wargame, our Wargaming Beginners Guide has several options for great entry points.

What Are Our Final Thoughts On Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game?

As an entry level game, or just a quick bit of fun for experience players, Darktide the Miniatures Game has a lot going for it. Once the minaitures are assembled, game set up is extremely fast, the game turn flows smoothly. The campaign with upgrades is also very quick and rewarding, whilst keeping the game simple. With only 12 pages of rules (most of which are images and examples), its very easy to introduce new players, and hopefully gateway them into full games of Kill Team or Warhammer 40K.

Darktide the Miniatures Game also scales well with all number of players and offers a great solo campaign to keep you going between game nights.

I hope that Games Workshop expands Darktide the Miniatures Game further, first with expansion packs that build up to full kill teams that player can then take forward into full games of Kill Team, and then with extra missions and enemies. 

Should I Buy Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Miniatures Game?

If you're after a geat entry-level game to start you off with miniature wargaming, then Darktide the Miniatures Game is just that. If you're an experienced player that was a quick pick up game, or you just want the miniatures this contains, then Darktide The Miniatures Game has the added bonus of a fun little campaign to play through.

The copy of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide the Miniatures Game used in the creation of this review was provided by Games Workshop.