There is a game inside the box! Come checkout the gameplay reviews for Betrayal at Calth that are coming in from around the interwebs!
First we get a text walkthrough of the basic rules:
via warseer’s Dwane Diblie:
So I played my first game today and I enjoyed it. There is a little tactical and a lot of luck to the game, especially with the big things.
I will explain the dice first. There are 12 dice in the box and each has a Critical Hit, two Hits, two Shields and one blank. These are used for everything.
Start of each round you roll for initiative, except the first round which is determined by the mission, each player rolls 3 dice + 1 die for each veteran sergeant they have on the board. A Crit is worth 2 points and a hit is worth 1 point. The player with the most points goes first.
Play alternates between players activating one of their units and preforming one action. Each unit has the ability to preform a total of two actions in a round. The actions are as follows:
Advance: Move the group 1 Hex.
Run: Move the group two Hexes. You can not run if you are next to an enemy.
Consolidate: Move a model to an adjacent hex, joining a different group. You may be able to create a new group, but this was not covered. You may also be able to move more than one model or even completely rearrange all the models in the two hexes any way you want. Again the staff member didn’t go that deep in to it.
Shoot: Fire all models in the group at an enemy group they can see.
Assault: Move the group one Hex and make an attack against an adjacent enemy group.
Missions can contain special actions specific to the mission.
When attacking, ranged or assault, you calculate the value of all models in the Hex and roll that many dice. If you roll a any Critical hits amongst the dice, they can be used to trigger the effect of any weapon in the group, your choice.
After resolving the effects of the Criticals, you pick a model in the target group to be the first target. That model must now roll saves against the attack. He will roll dice equal to his Armour value. For each shield rolled, remove one Hit or Critical hit die from the attack pool. Then apply the remaining damage to the target model until it has taken an amount equal to its stamina. The target model is removed. Pick a new target model in the group and repeat until there are no more Hits or Crits left.If a model does not die as a result of loosing all its stamina in a single action then it is returned to full health. No would counting.
Here are what some of the weapon criticals are:
Bolter weapons: Each crit can be used to remove an activation from the target unit.
Plasma: Each crit gives the attack an additional die. Though if the second roll is also a Critical then something bad happens to the group. In our game it did not happen so I do not know what the bad thing is.
Melta: If the target is with in a certain range, the first target model gets no armor saves.
Power Fist: Ignores armor.
That is all I got to see in action. Some how I missed what the Assault Cannon does for its critical.
Oh and one more thing. When targeting the Contemptor, you randomly determine what location you hit with a deck of cards. Each location has different Armour and Stamina values.
There was a command deck but we did not use that, so I have no idea what is in it or how it works.
I found the game enjoyable.
And of course our walk-though of the new rules themselves via the game set.
So overall, it looks like a very streamlined fast paced game that feels like part kill-team, part spacehulk, and of course lots of Heresy good vs evil theme and flavor.
We will see if GW is really committed to the game itself, as it would be child’s play for them to knock out more card decks for other Legions, and even packs of more board tiles.
~What do you think? Are you planning on playing this, or tossing it aside and focusing on the minis?
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
