Advanced Space Crusade

About this board game

Advanced Space Crusade is a two-player science-fiction skirmish game about Space Marine Scouts fighting Tyranids inside a living bioship. Released in 1990, it plays in about 45 minutes and recreates small-unit actions during the war between the Imperium and Hive Fleet Kraken.

One player commands squads of Space Marine Scouts as they enter the guts of a Tyranid Hiveship. The other player defends the bioship, placing hidden “blips” that may represent Tyranid Warriors or other monstrosities. The Marines must explore the ship, locate its vital organs, and survive the alien forces gathering deeper within.

The map is not revealed all at once. Instead, the Tyranid player keeps a complete layout secret and builds the visible map gradually as the Space Marines explore. This creates a tense journey into unknown territory, with each advance potentially exposing the squads to another threat.

• Players: 2
• Play time: 45 minutes
• Core forces: three Space Marine Scout squads and six Tyranid Warriors
• Game structure: designed for campaigns, with rules for one-off games

The basic mechanics are deliberately simple: the Space Marines move and fire, followed by the Tyranids moving and firing. The game also includes rules for adding several miniatures from the older Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine and Tyranid ranges, while White Dwarf published rules for using Imperial Guard or Ork forces instead of Space Marines.

With its concealed ship layout, exploratory objectives, and campaign framework, Advanced Space Crusade focuses on the pressure of pushing forward while an unseen defender controls the dangers ahead.