Tag: Kill Team

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Nine Player Chaos: Multiplayer Space Weirdos

MartyCon was just around the corner and I had promised to run a multiplayer Space Weirdos game. I wanted to double down on the 40K style Inquisitor games, where alliances were uncertain and every protagonist had their own agenda. I love the 40K universe and all the infighting portrayed in their fiction and I’ve played with this concept before. So I really went for it this time. Here is what I came up with.

The Premise: Everyone Has a Plan. None of Them Align.

The scenario uses the gloriously lean and kinetic ruleset of Space Weirdos. This meant that the game would be fast and brutal. Every player had their own secret primary and secondary objectives, all interlocking and clashing. I had planned for chaos.

The setting: The Virellion (Imperial Governors) estate

The cast: 9+ players.
Each player controls:

  • 1 Character
  • 1 Sidekick
  • 2 Secret Objectives

This means that everyone’s go will be quick, keeping downtime for non active players to a minimum.

Cult of the Star Filled Maw rams the gates

Some of the Factions & Objectives

  • The Governor
    Objective: Escape the palace alive with your priceless artefact.
  • Security Chief
    Objective: Keep the Governor and his daughter alive at all costs.
  • Cultist Leader
    Objective: Kill the Governor.
  • Governor’s Daughter
    Objective: Usurp (kill) the Governor.
  • Rogue Trader
    Objective: Steal the Necron artefact, protect the Governors daughter.
  • Rebel Lieutenant
    Objective: Free the imprisoned genestealer.
  • Inquisitor
    Objective: Defend the genestealer (for future experiments) and kill all cultists.
  • Mad Priest
    Objective: Kill the Inquisitor.

While there may be obvious teams to start with. These are just temporary and everyone know betrayal is just around the corner, only they don’t know which one.

The Mad Priest dashing from the cemetery. “Ill kill that Inquisitor if it’s the last thing I do”

Design for Collision, Not Balance

I’ve experienced multiplayer games where players spend too long maneuvering politely around each other. I wanted the action to begin right from the word go. So I needed to force proximity.

The objectives would create tension, but placing the teams fairly close would make sure that the action started quickly.

In hindsight this worked well, though the main road in the center of the board did create a bit of a firing lane. In addition I think removing 6″ from the width of the board would have help create even more carnage.

Virellion Estate: peaceful and quiet…. Not for long.

How Did it Play?

All in all we had a blast. I GM’d the game and kept everything moving. I introduced paper and pens so players could send each other secret notes. These added lots of fun for those players waiting for their turns, as well as adding another layer to the uncertainty and chaos.

Shots were fired and one Genestealer cultist got killed in turn one. The Genestealers took a beating and couldn’t get anywhere near their objectives. The Rogue Trader tried to defend the Governors only to get shot for his troubles. The Inquisitor and Mad Priest had a standoff while the Governor was assassinated by his own offspring. Joint winners were the Security Team and the Governors Daughter.

The game only ran for a couple of hours before the winners were declared and we moved on to the next game of the day.

Overall it did run well. However, I think I would tweak the objectives a little to make it a bit more of a maelstrom.

I’ve dropped my very unpolished notes here with the player handouts and a few notes on the board set up.

I’ll be running another multiplayer Space Weirdos in a few months, though next time it will be a more collaborative affair.

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From Band of Brothers to SAS Rogue Heroes: Inspired Kill Team Missions

There’s something timeless about small squads of soldiers through a larger conflict — tense, personal, and filled with moments of heroism and chaos. That’s what makes shows like Band of Brothers and SAS: Rogue Heroes so compelling. These are exactly the kind of stories that Warhammer 40K: Kill Team excels at telling.

In Kill Team, every operative matters. You’re not moving faceless troops around a battlefield — you’re guiding a handful of specialists, each with their own role, personality, and fate. Which makes it the perfect sandbox to reimagine iconic World War II small unit missions with a sci-fi twist.

Let’s look at how you can take inspiration from Band of Brothers and SAS: Rogue Heroes and turn those classic moments of grit and brotherhood into thrilling tabletop missions.

1. Brecourt Manor Assault (Band of Brothers)

Theme: Tactical problem-solving under fire.
The Scene: Easy Company (episode two) assaults a heavily fortified German artillery position, using initiative and teamwork to neutralize each gun in turn. In fact, this assault was so successful that they still teach it to officer candidates at West Point today.

Kill Team Mission Hook: Your squad must disable a chain of heavy weapon emplacements. Each emplacement requires a different skill test or demolition action to destroy.

  • Objective: Destroy all three artillery emplacements before the end of the battle.
  • Faction Fit:
    • Attacker: Veteran Guardsmen, Intercessors, or Pathfinders.
    • Defender: Traitor Guard, Heretic Astartes, or Necrons.

It’s a mission that rewards smart use of cover, movement, and individual heroics — exactly what Kill Team is built for.

One thing I like about this mission is that you can set up the terrain to reflect the real engagement. Do away with the balanced terrain set ups suggested in the rulebook and give this a go. You don’t have to go with Normandy bocage either, why not set up your more grim dark terrain in a similar configuration.

If you’re worried about balance, why not play the game twice. Switching attacker defender roles each time will a fun experience.

Why not set up your battlefield to reflect the real engagement?

2. Desert Airfield Ambush (SAS: Rogue Heroes)

Theme: Guerilla warfare and improvisation.
The Scene: The SAS (episode 6) raids enemy airfields deep in the desert, using speed and shock tactics to devastating effect.

Kill Team Mission Hook:
One team is guarding a space port with specific objectives (spaceship, fuel depot, pilots building), while the other launches a hit-and-run ambush.

  • Objective: The defender must prevent the attacker from destroying 2/3 of the objectives.
  • Special Rules: Limited visibility due to sandstorm reducing ranged fire; fuel dump and spaceship can explode spectacularly.
  • Faction Fit:
    • Attacker: Ork Kommandos, Kroot Farstalkers, or Ratlings.
    • Defender: Astra Militarum, Adeptus Mechanicus, or Blooded.

This mission brings cinematic chaos to the tabletop — explosions, last stands, and desperate retreats.

There is a great opportunity to make a themed desert table here. Build it out like an airfield/spaceport. If you have a spaceship model, why not place it front and center. Open spaces, palm trees, pilots mess hut, you get the picture.

This Bolt Action battlefield provides a good suggestion for the table layout. You can find more pics from the Warlord website.

3. Operation Market Garden (Band of Brothers)

Theme: Holding out against overwhelming odds.
The Scene: Allied paratroopers seize Eindhoven only to find themselves isolated and outnumbered as German counterattacks close in.

Kill Team Mission Hook:
A beleaguered squad must hold a key structure (like a comms tower or reactor junction) until reinforcements arrive.

  • Objective: Survive for a set number of turns while preventing the enemy from capturing the objective.
  • Special Rules: The attacker’s numbers increase each round; the defender may receive one small reinforcement drop midway through.
  • Faction Fit:
    • Defender: Imperial Navy Breachers, Inquisition Agents, or Deathwatch marines.
    • Attacker: Chaos Legionaries, Ork Kommandos, or Fellgores.

This setup should create those tense, cinematic moments where every dice roll feels like life or death.

It could be played best as a joint ops mission, with two players fighting off waves of attackers. Why not create a densely packed board to replicate the close confines of the town. Narrow streets will create the need for desperate close combat actions, adding to the difficulty of completing the mission.

Bringing It All Together

By translating these real-world (albeit hollywoodised) operations into Kill Team missions, you blend the historical tension of WWII storytelling with the gothic sci-fi of the 41st millennium. You get all the things that make Band of Brothers and SAS: Rogue Heroes so gripping — camaraderie, courage, chaos — but with plasma rifles and occasional daemon incursions.

Basing your maps on these real engagements and creating asymmetric mission objectives will help add something different to your Kill Team games. So next game night, don’t just roll for missions — tell stories. Steal from history, tweak the details, and create moments that feel like they belong in both Normandy and Necromunda.

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My First Game of Bolt Action — And Why I’m Hooked

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I love the grimdark of Warhammer 40,000 and the tight, tactical skirmishes of Kill Team. I love both systems—they’ve given me epic moments, great friends, and plenty of tabletop fun. But I’ve found myself looking for a game that recaptures the excitement of wargaming that I experienced back when I was first starting out (a long time ago). The recent incarnations of 40K are super complicated and I’ve been on the lookout for something a little simpler with engaging gameplay. And recently, I’ve been noticing something called Bolt Action.

World War II miniatures. Thematic, gritty tables. Terrain that looks like an actual battlefield. Order dice being drawn creating a chaotic swirl of combat that keeps you engaged throughout. This sounded like just my thing. I’d always been curious… so last November I reached out on the Facebook group of a local club and Jackson offered to run a demo game.

I’m very, very glad I said yes.

The Demo Game: Soviets vs Germans

It was a simple setup: Soviets vs. Germans, a classic match-up. Jackson had everything ready—beautiful terrain, two well painted armies, and the kind of calm, patient enthusiasm you only get from someone who genuinely loves the game.

I took the Germans.

Within minutes, I realised two things:

  1. This system is incredibly easy to pick up.
    The core mechanics are intuitive. No encyclopedic stratagems. No flipping between multiple supplements. Just straightforward rules that give you tactical freedom without drowning you in complexity. It basically boils down to rolling a 4 + on a D6 with various modifiers. Obviously there’s more to it than that, but it’s a very simple game at its core.
  2. There is no down time.
    The way units activate based on the order dice draw creates this constant feeling of uncertainty.. You never know who’s going next, so you’re always involved, always paying attention, always planning. This swinging back and forth keeps the engagement level high at all times.

These put Bolt Action in a completely different space to 40K. It’s not better or worse—it’s just different. More narrative. More engaging. Much less downtime.

The Table Matters

One thing that really sold me was the terrain. This wasn’t a competitive layout with perfect symmetry and L-shaped ruins. This was:

  • hedgerows
  • burnt-out farmhouses
  • muddy fields
  • woodlands
  • cover that looked like cover

The whole experience felt like we were playing a real battle on the Eastern Front. That immersion was much deeper than I expected.

The Mechanics Just Make Sense

The alternating activation system keeps both players engaged constantly—no long, 40K-style “go make a coffee” phases.

You draw a die. If it’s yours, you activate a unit. Next die drawn determines the next force to activate. Is it yours or your opponents….

It’s simple, but the tension it creates is addictive. You’re always one dice pull away from something heroic, chaotic, or disastrous. Despite the game’s easy fundamentals, it forces you to make deep decisions. Which unit do you activate first and which stay in reserve for later in the turn. Where do you focus your efforts and how do you react to your opponents activations.

From Demo to… Buying a Whole New Army

I don’t think I am alone in suffering this and I’ve heard many wargamers lamenting the same thing. You try something new, enjoy it, before convincing yourself you’ll just dip our toe in the water.

And then suddenly you’re on Ebay and thinking:

“Well, Commandos do look cool…”

So yes… I’ve taken the plunge. I now own a British Commando starter army, which I spent quiet periods of the Christmas break painting and basing.

The playstyle appeals to me: mobile, elite, characterful, full of flavour. I also have a strong family connection to the Royal Marines. So, I’ve been researching WW2 commando engagements and uncovering some fascinating stuff including the many raids across the English channel and the battle of Walcheren. I’m also doing some reading about 30 Assault Unit, the commando group set up by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame. I hadn’t realised it would be so satisfying setting up a force that has such real-world history behind it.

My first Bolt Action Army: Commandos, painted and ready for action.

The 20-Player Game

There’s a big multiplayer Bolt Action event planned for March—around twenty players from different clubs and communities. If all goes well, I’ll be joining that battle line with my freshly-painted and battle-tested Commandos.

The idea of a huge, sprawling WWII tabletop game filled with gorgeous terrain, cinematic moments, and dozens of players all leaning in together? That sounds like exactly the kind of hobby experience I want more of.

Not only that, but I’m taking my commandos to a 6 player narrative game this weekend as part of the open day of a nearby club. I’m really looking forward to this and I’m sure the experience will form another article in the near future.

Final Thoughts

My first game of Bolt Action was everything I’d hoped for:

  • easy to learn
  • narratively rich
  • tactically engaging
  • visually immersive
  • very welcoming community

It hasn’t replaced 40K or Kill Team for me—instead adding something new and refreshing. And honestly? I can’t wait to get stuck in.