Common Sense Media Review
By David Chapman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Chess gets gruesomely gory ... in space.
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Warhammer 40,000: Regicide
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Based on Games Workshop's popular tabletop franchise, Warhammer 40,000: Regicide takes the classic game of chess and turns it into a bloody sci-fi battlefield. Replacing the usual black-and-white sides of the board are the armies of the Imperial Space Marines taking on legions of Greenskins (Space Orks). Players can play by the basic rules in Classic mode or bring some extra flair with Regicide mode, which adds new attacks and actions to the tried-and-true chess formula.
Is It Any Good?
Chess has been around for hundreds of years, but that hasn't stopped people from trying to improve on it. Warhammer 40,000: Regicide replaces traditional chess pieces with characters from the popular Games Workshop franchise, transforming the chessboard into a gory, sci-fi war zone. Visually, Regicide packs in a surprising amount of detail, allowing players to zoom in tight on the visceral action. Unlike in regular chess matches, you don't capture enemy pieces so much as you blast them into chunky bits.
Set aside the violence and gore of Regicide, and you're still left with a surprisingly strong strategy game. Classic games recreate traditional chess flawlessly, but Regicide games are where the game really shines. By adding new twists to the gameplay, such as specialized attacks, defensive positioning, and initiative points, Regicide feels like a brand-new but still familiar tabletop experience, with a whole new set of strategies to try out against either computer-controlled or online human opponents. It's a whole new take on the timeless classic and just as hard to stop playing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the impact of violence in games such as Warhammer 40,000: Regicide. Does the over-the-top violence actually add value to the chess-like nature of the gameplay? How does the extreme violence in the game change the experience versus a basic tabletop match?
Talk about the history and background of chess and its comparisons to other tabletop games. Why has interest in the game lasted so long? Do changes in the rules add to or take away from the classic experience?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Hammerfall Publishing
- Release date : May 4, 2015
- Genre : Strategy
- Topics : Adventures , Fantasy
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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