Battlefleet Gothic!

Other names I like to call it by include Battlefleet Galactica, and Battlestar Gothic. Damn I miss that show...ANYWAY...

Once upon a time, last year in December, I played a game of Games Workshop's specialist game Battlefleet Gothic. It's set in the 40k universe. Upon taking a look at it, the following immediately becomes obvious: it's about freaking spaceships battling in freaking space!! After playing it, it's clear that the game system is solid.

Cool game setting + good game system = FUN!

(I'm told by several people that the game is extremely balanced. As long as each side has a fleet of equal points value, the game will be fair, and the winner will be the person who played the best, or who had the best dice rolling that day. The only exception to this is the Necron fleet, which is apparently over powered).
A campaign will soon be starting at the Local GW store. This adds up nicely with my recent Forge World order, which included the Space Marine ship models they produce. (three resin ships for around the same cost as four metal ships from GW. I went with the Forge World models because of the better look and extra detail they have).

My friend and I played a game of three cruisers each this past weekend. I think we both felt like playing something other than 40k for a nice change of pace. It was a fun game, and I can see the potential Battlefleet Gothic has when played as a campaign and with larger fleets.

Aside from having good rules, and a very balanced system, there are other reasons to get into BFG. The rules are available for FREE! The Games Workshop website has a number of Battlefleet Gothic PDFs available for free download, including the two main books. These can be found here.

Also, you do not need to spend a large amount of money to acquire a space fleet of your own. A Space Marine fleet of one Battle Barge, three Strike Cruisers, and 12 escorts will cost $168 Canadian.

An Imperial Fleet of one Battleship, four cruisers, and nine escorts will cost $156 Canadian.
(There is a decent variety in the types of battleships, heavy cruisers, cruisers, light cruisers, and escorts you can field.)

And, as already mentioned, Battlefleet Gothic provides a nice change from your usual 40k games.

One other thing; you'll be able to paint your whole fleet in a day. Dry brushing 14 models won't take long. Plus, you don't even have to base them. Paint the stands black and you're set. If you want, you can take a few seconds to flick some white paint on the base to represent stars. As for terrain, cut a circle out of cardboard. Paint it grey. You now have a lifeless planet. Or, you can pick up a Styrofoam ball from a craft store and paint it like Jupiter like I plan on doing.