Remixing the Remix – Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Second Edition and Space Marine Adventures: Tyranid Attack!

I used to keep up with and cover the majority of Games Workshop’s lines, at least the milestone products such as new editions of 40K, Warcry, or Warhammer: The Old World. I’ve unfortunately had to let go of this for various reasons. That hasn’t changed the fact that I’m still an avid miniatures gamer. And I still have a strong interest in this iconic Nottingham company, if only for their profound influence on my gaming identity.

Now, every year GW puts out a new series of boxed board games that are released with specific retailers – typically Barnes & Noble in the States – and I’m always curious to see what this entails. The majority of the time they are just new editions of older titles. Occasionally, however, we get something weird and different like Gangs of Commorragh or Fireteam. 2024 is a bit of a tumbleweed as two oldies are back, albeit with refreshed aesthetics and minimal systems alterations.

Let’s talk about Space Marine Adventures: Tyranid Attack first. This is the more mundane of the duo.

The problem with Tyranid Attack is that it’s a direct copy of the original Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons from 2018. Art assets have been swapped and it has a somewhat different atmosphere, but all of the squishy ‘nid meat under the chitin is entirely the same as that prior outing. This is a bit odd, as this series of games features several sequels that are wholly different designs. An uncharitable take would be that they gave up and just pushed this out with minimal effort.

The more magnanimous perspective is that Space Marine Adventures is an excellent collection of games that served as approachable dungeon crawlers with minimal rulesets. They’re great products to indoctrinate young ones into the cult of plastic.

Let’s ignore the moral indignities there and look at this in a positive light.

My daughter and I really enjoyed the first couple of games in the Space Marine Adventures line, as the system was simple enough for a seven-year-old to engage with, while also offering a touch of tactical decision making that, combined with the vivid Warhammer 40k setting, stimulated me as well. In some ways I view these games as a new-age HeroQuest that a kid could discover and fall in love with. It strums a ballad to those days where I was staring at a Citadel magazine looking at all of the miniatures, absolutely enraptured by these worlds and characters.

This is a solid product, even if it’s somewhat useless for hobbyists that have already grabbed its predecessor. It’s also nicely affordable, to the point that people buy this box just for the miniatures. The gameplay is mostly deciding how best to spend limited actions for your squad members. Generally you’re taking out Tyranid tokens that clog up corridors and threaten your Marines. It doesn’t have the suspense or intensity of Space Hulk, but it broadly hits on the same thematic beats of desperation and claustrophobia. The tension pedal more has the weight of a Big Wheel as opposed to that of a Charger, which is totally fine. It’s not something to be played endlessly, but it is something to be played intently.

Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Second Edition is the more alluring title. That’s because Blitz Bowl is an absolutely banging game. I wrote about the triumph of the Ultimate Edition two years ago, and I still hold this brutal sports tabletop design in high esteem, despite the laughable title of this EVEN MORE ULTIMATE edition. Much like Tyranid Attack, however, there’s not a whole lot of new content here.

There is some though.

First off, team stats have been adjusted. All over. I can’t really speak to the efficacy of these alterations as my plays of Blitz Bowl have been thoroughly scattered over a long period of time. I’ve never felt like the game had balance issues, but I also have only played with a handful of teams. There is a sensation that each faction is more distinct in terms of playstyle, but it’s difficult to say how significant of an achievement this is. Still, these types of revisions show a degree of effort has been put into the product and I commend this.

There are a number of small gameplay changes that smooth minor wrinkles. Things like players no longer being able to move after Marking an opponent, as well as the throw player ability allowing you to heave opponents and not just teammates. One important alteration is forcing participants to discard a Challenge card each turn. These cards are rotating public objectives drawn from a communal deck. They’re also the timer for the game. By forcing players to discard one from the offer, it keeps the game moving towards its conclusion which more strongly aligns with the design philosophy.

Personally, my most cherished trait of this second edition is the new board. It possesses more personality than we’ve seen in the past, shifting strategy by leaning into the positioning aspect of play. It creates new vectors for pushing the pace offensively. This complements the experience well and makes for a strong asset for this particular version.

Blitz Bowl is simply a fantastic affair, one that deserves to be available in the marketplace. It’s a quick playing sports title that feels like Warhammer rugby. While it doesn’t really share any rules with Blood Bowl proper, it’s an adequate facsimile that provides a more lithe and up-tempo experience. I’m sticking with my claim that it’s superior to Blood Bowl, and it would be the absolute top sports board game if Techno Bowl didn’t exist.

I actually find the specifics of these two boxes less interesting than the macro considerations. I’ve been conflicted over this approach of endless edition churn. It’s Games Workshop taking their miniatures games methodology that turns the system over every four years and applying that same ethos to their board game lines. This is less preferable for these isolated gaming experiences that are self-contained. At least with something like Age of Sigmar, you really only need to purchase a new rulebook and then can utilize your existing army with the updated system.

Edition iteration in board games typically comes with resistance, and that’s when new versions of games have substantial design or component improvements. We often see crowdfunded offerings with the option to purchase upgrade kits in order to meet the customer half-way. Collectors can see rapidly deprecating products as a huge nuisance, and it is often very off-putting. An update kit is not a reasonable desire here, but this speaks to the overall discomfort in the board gaming hobby with transitioning to new editions.

The biggest mistake with Blitz Bowl is the failure to include new miniatures. While each edition swaps out the teams in the box, they have just cycled the same sets of figures over multiple years. For instance, this Ultimate Second Edition features the Dwarfs and Orks, two teams that have long been available. Now, I understand the difficulties from a production standpoint as they would need to change the sprues with new tooling. Many of the Blood Bowl teams are not push-fit, which means they are less accessible than this game’s typical entrant. Modifying some of the existing miniatures to be push-fit would result in additional sales and an improved customer experience, but this is not likely to offset the large increase in cost. It’s understandable and we don’t live in an ideal world. Without new figures, these editions present a real conundrum for previous owners. There is change here, but it’s very hard to say whether it’s worth committing to the game all over again.

Yet, it is nice to see a fresh version of these gateway games if they’re going to go through the effort to produce print runs in large one-off batches. Why not make small updates and tweaks if you can? It’s a tough call, and I do recognize many would prefer they keep reprinting the same product so there’s no temptation to keep spitting nickels into the bucket.

With all of this being said, the most powerful reaction these games produce is a longing for dedicated and inspired design work. The primary reason why Blitz Bowl continues to be one of Games Workshop’s best titles is the acumen of James Hewitt. Hewitt was the initial designer of the system and has long since departed the company. He is also responsible for the marvelous Gorechosen, a game that turned into a line of titles that’s never lived up to the original entry.

Similarly, it’s difficult not to look at Space Marine Adventures and compare the effort to that of Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority Hagalaz. The latter is a top-notch entry level dungeon crawler that is far more robust than Tyranid Attack available at the same price point.

While I do not wish to slight the work put into these games, the modern incarnation of many of these boxed titles gives the impression that they are second class to the more profitable games and systems. Of course they are, as these little goons aren’t the essence of Games Workshop and their profitability. I don’t necessarily blame the company as its goal is to pursue revenue as opposed to bettering the hobby, but it’s disappointing when the Wizard of Oz doesn’t even throw up a curtain to hide the truth.

Thus, these games are stuck in this awkward zone of existing as both cynical profit-driven iterations, as well as approachable board games that serve to onboard the curious to a magnificent pastime. They have legitimate bite and offer some real satisfaction, even if they’re not likely to appeal to those familiar with these types of games, or even those who have already purchased them in the past.

 

A review copy of each game was provided by the publisher.

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