All Sorts of Confused (on Rulebooks)

[indytims]

Howdy again!

 

Ok, so I take a 2-3 year break from GW stuff. I've recently begun unearthing my figs, dusting them off, etc, and of course am jonesing for a game. But while reading this forum (and others), I've come to the sudden conclusion that there's been a NEW edition of 40k released?

 

I have the huge 2" thick rulebook that was released in 2012. It has artwork done by Alex Boyd that appears to be a marine chaplain with a plasma pistol in his right hand, and a power sword in his left, being all... space-mariney. Looks like he and his pals are fighting chaos troops.

 

My understanding is that this is 6th edition. But I keep seeing people bandy about the notion that we are on 7th.

 

Looking on the GW site, I see the rulebooks in some sort of special 3-book edition with a Dark Angel on the front. But I don't think GW uses edition numbers for some reason - But is that '7th edition'?

 

Is 7th what people play normally in these parts? I see posts on Dakka and other sites that suggest that 7th is '6th with a few mods'.

 

To make matters more fun, there's supposedly a 7th edition 'mini book' floating around (Which I assume comes with one of those starter-boxed sets like in years past for 40K, FB, LotR, etc). Is this 'mini book' the same as the big-book - minus all the fluff stuff?

 

My apologies in advance for very noob-like questions. I figured I'd ask here - fewer people to point and laugh at me compared to other sites with bazillions of people looking to swoop in on the unsuspecting old guy coming back to the game. :)

 

Thanks,

-Tim

[dalmer]

Hello there,

 

The rulebook you have is obsolete, sorry.  Some nice fluff in it, though and some cool pix.

 

The collection of 3 books you referenced includes the new rulebook aptly titled "The Rules," I believe.  Has a dark eldar evil surgeon wackadoo guy on the cover.  And yes, there's a mini rulebook that you can buy if you don't wanna buy the trio (one book is fluff, one book is about the hobby if I recall).

 

Not a noob question, I just got back from 3rd edition so welcome back.

 

Stay safe,

 

don

[VonVilkee]

You are looking at the 3 book pack. Instead of the one thick book of the past editions, GW released the three pack it is decently different than the thick book you have and is referred to as seventh ed.

 

I'd personally say it is more than just 6 th ed with mods but it will resemble your edition.

[WestRider]

The changes from 6th to 7th were certainly smaller than the changes from 5th to 6th, but are substantial enough that I wouldn't call them "a few mods". Army selection is potentially very different, the Psychic Power system is completely different, and there are a bunch of seemingly minor changes that add up to a big overall effect.

[Lord Hanaur]

You might find this useful for understanding the changes:

linkety link link

[indytims]

Nice link! Thank you LH! And everyone else for your input! :)

[Lord Hanaur]

You're welcome.  Share the wealth.

[deadwing34]

The nice thing about the 3 book version of 7th edition is that the rules are all contained in their own book.

 

That being said you can get the mini rulebook on ebay with all of the same rules on ebay for around20 bucks, much easier to carry around.