A Possible Way Into 40k Without Actually Playing 40k
We had one of those very Wiatry Magii conversations recently: starting from “40k has cool lore” and ending with “what if we just played something else with the same vibe?” And honestly, that may be the most sensible approach to Warhammer 40k we’ve heard in a while.
Michał threw an idea on the table that immediately caught our attention: One Page Rules. For anyone who hasn’t run into it yet, it’s a fan-made system with very compact rules and very obvious inspiration. In practice, it gives you ways to play games that feel adjacent to GW systems, but without some of the baggage that can scare people off.
In Michał’s case, the problem with 40k is pretty clear: the setting is cool, but the rules and miniature range don’t really pull him in. Or, to put it less diplomatically, he has a strong allergy to the game itself while still admitting that the universe has a lot going for it. Fair enough.
One Page Rules: the pitch
The bit that sold us was how straightforward it sounds.
According to Michał, OPR splits into two big branches:
- Age of Fantasy – the fantasy side, corresponding broadly to Age of Sigmar
- Grimdark Future – the sci-fi side, corresponding broadly to Warhammer 40k
And the key point is right there in the name: the rules are short. As in, actually short. Not “short by GW standards,” but genuinely compact and readable.
On top of that, there are multiple ways to play within each setting:
- a smaller, more entry-level mode compared by us to Spearhead
- a skirmish mode, which naturally made us think of Warcry
- a larger regiments/battle mode
- and apparently also Quest, which Michał later checked and confirmed is the narrative play branch, complete with a campaign builder
That last bit especially sounds promising for us, because narrative progression and campaign play are exactly the kind of thing that can keep a system alive on our table for longer than a one-off test game.
Proxy names, same energy
Another thing we found amusing is how directly OPR maps onto familiar Warhammer factions.
There are no Space Marines, but there are Battle Brothers.
There are no Tyranids, but there are Alien Hives.
There are no Skaven, but there are Ratmen.
And, to Ender’s delight, there are also dwarfs with guns, which is always an argument worth taking seriously.
This is probably one of the strongest selling points for a casual group like ours: if the faction equivalents are close enough, then suddenly the barrier to entry drops hard. We don’t need to relearn an entire visual language from scratch to understand what’s going on.
The practical part: we may already have what we need
The funniest part of the whole discussion was how quickly it turned from theory into “wait, we can probably test this already.”
Ender pointed out that we could likely try some of this using Age of Sigmar miniatures we already own. And that’s exactly the kind of sentence we like hearing. A new game system becomes a lot more tempting when it doesn’t begin with a shopping list.
Michał also mentioned that:
- the rulebooks can be downloaded for free
- some miniatures are available as STL files for home printing
- and for a relatively small price you can unlock a truly huge pile of files
The only real catch is having access to a printer, but that may become less of a problem later on. Once Michał finishes the renovation and gets a resin printer at home, the idea of printing a few armies and experimenting with different systems becomes very real.
That could open up a lot of hobby nonsense in the best possible sense.
Death Guard as Infected Colonies
There was also a very specific army idea in the middle of all this.
Michał already picked up a Kill Team starter with Plague Marines from the Death Guard, and that immediately led to a potential proxy plan: in OPR, he could run them as Infected Colonies.
That sounds like exactly the sort of crossover we enjoy—taking models we already like and finding a ruleset that lets them hit the table without friction.
Also, it was noted that Nurgle-flavoured followers have the nice advantage of existing comfortably in both fantasy and sci-fi aesthetics. If we’re talking about armies with actual character, this one clearly made the shortlist.
Meanwhile, our actual comfort zone is still AoS and skirmish gaming
For all the 40k talk, the conversation also made one thing clear: we’re not exactly desperate to abandon what we already enjoy.
Ender was pretty relaxed about the whole thing—he already has AoS dwarfs, likes them, and doesn’t feel a huge need to switch fully into 40k. The important part is the desire to play something, not necessarily to commit to the most intimidating flagship system possible.
That’s probably why the smaller formats sound so good to us:
- Spearhead still seems appealing
- Warcry-style skirmish play remains one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to get games in
- and OPR might become a nice side door into 40k-flavoured gaming without requiring us to embrace all of 40k’s complexity
What about Warcry?
The discussion drifted briefly into rumours that Warcry might be getting pulled from shelves in GW stores. As usual with this kind of thing, it’s hard to know whether that means a new edition, a product reshuffle, or something more dramatic.
Our take was pretty simple: even in the worst-case scenario, it doesn’t change much for us.
If a game is good and we like it, we’ll keep playing it. Community tools exist, missions will continue to circulate, and resources like Warcrier make it easy to keep the game alive even if official support shifts around.
There was also a practical note from Ender that the old Kharadron Warcry box had already disappeared some time ago as GW pushed Spearhead instead, but the units themselves are still available separately. So at least in that case, it looks more like product line reshuffling than total doom.
Where we landed
So where does that leave us?
Right now, mostly with a very solid “we should try this sometime”.
The idea of using One Page Rules as a lightweight bridge into 40k-style gaming genuinely sounds fun. Especially because it doesn’t require us to stop liking AoS, stop playing Warcry, or suddenly become rules lawyers.
If anything, it feels like a very healthy hobby compromise:
- keep the settings we like
- use miniatures we already own where possible
- print extra stuff later if we want
- and choose rules that get us to actual gameplay faster
Which, let’s be honest, is usually the best version of the hobby.
We’ll see if this turns into actual games once the printer enters the chat and some armies start materialising. But for now, OPR definitely landed on our radar.
And if this is the route that lets us enjoy 40k atmosphere without bouncing off 40k itself, then honestly… that sounds pretty perfect.