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Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader box art
1987 Ranked #4,709

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

A story-driven miniature skirmish game where players create forces, equipment, and scenarios for battles shaped by a game master’s plots. Free-form unit design and homemade rules invite players to tailor conflicts beyond the provided armies.

Wargames Book Miniatures Line of Sight Measurement Movement

Players

2

Play time

60-120 min

Age

16+

Complexity

3.66/5

Rating

6.87

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 3.9/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

The first edition of Warhammer 40,000, but different enough to call it another game. Rogue Trader was a story-based skirmish game with plots the GM (Game Master) would write up.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

The first edition of Warhammer 40,000, but different enough to call it another game. Rogue Trader was a story-based skirmish game with plots the GM (Game Master) would write up. Rules were provided for various races but algorithms were also in the rulebook to calculate the cost of your homemade units. There was a wide variety of gear, vehicles, and troop types available to each army. Players were encouraged to use other companies models with GW's own and make up rules and units. This edition is considered the best by some players because of the massive amount of background and the free-form rules. Re-implemented by: Warhammer 40,000 2d and 3d editions Expanded by: Book of the Astronomican Warhammer 40,000 Compendium Warhammer 40,000 Compilation Warhammer Siege Warhammer 40,000 Battle Manual Warhammer 40,000 Vehicle Manual Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned Waagh da Orks 'Ere We Go: Orks in Warhammer 40,000 Freebooterz Buy Microbadge

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
No editions imported yet.

Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2
Best with
2
Play time
60–120 min
Age
16+
Complexity
3.7/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
Rick Priestley

Artists

4
Tony Ackland Dave Andrews John Blanche Carl Critchlow

Publishers

2
Alfil Juegos Games Workshop Ltd.

Linked items

No published linked games yet.