Ultra Marines

Ultra Marines is one of a series of 4 "introductory" games released by Games Workshop in the mid-1990s. Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it is effectively a 'scaled-down' version of Space Hulk and Tyranid Attack, using plastic Marine Scouts from the Ultramarines, Space Wolves and Dark Angels chapters. Other components include event cards, a simple ruleset, as well as corridor and room tiles from the game Space Hulk.

Game Rules

Before the game begins, players arranged the interlocking room and corridor tiles on the playing area to represent a maze (a "Space Hulk"). Alien Artefact counts are randomly placed throughout the play area. Each player sets up their 5 models in a starting room of their choice and then take turns to move their pieces. The object of the game is to move the various Scout models to retrieve the artefacts and carry them to the starting rooms while stopping opponent models from achieving the same goal. Random event cards are dealt to each player that allows them to either help their own models (in the form of medipacks or double movement) or hinder opponents (by placing obstacles in their bath or attacking them directly).

Critisms

The game still remains popular as the game allows for any number of people to play (the box supports 5, but more can play if they have their own moels). Once critism is the method used to determine if a shot or melee attack will damage an enemy model. Unlike other games by Games Workshop, Ultra marines had a grid printed on the inside of the box lid. Grid squares are marked "HIT" and "MISS". Dice are literally tossed in the box lid and results determined on if the dice landed on the HIT squares. Critism of this play method includes being easy to cheat (by throwing in a specific manner) and older sets having problems with the box lid (due to warping of the cardboard or general wear and tear).

External links

• Ultra Marines at BoardGameGeek