Smaller battles can take place on a table only half as wide, coming in at 44 inches by 30 inches, while larger battles can be expanded to 44 inches by 90 inches. While previous rulesets had assumed a 4-by-6-foot table, the new ruleset’s sweet spot appears to be slightly smaller at 44 inches across and 60 inches wide. One thing to make note of is the fact that the recommended size of battlefields is changing. It also promises to unify the game across multiple different scales, from small-unit skirmishes to massive battles.

This new edition promises several key improvements to the popular miniatures game, including changes to how armor and flying units move and fight. In fact, you can still download them for easy comparison. This isn’t the first time that the company has published the core rules online, either. Chess, much like the Carrion Lord himself, hasn't changed much in the millennia-plus it's been around. Subtitled Regicide, it'll combine the classic strategy of chess with the grim darkness of 40k, and also add a campaign mode to boot.

The 9th edition comes just three years after the game’s 8th edition, which keeps pace with previous releases. And now, Hammerfall Publishing is bringing the obvious, with Warhammer 40k: Chess. The 26-page document has everything you need to get started with the 9th edition of the science fiction setting’s tabletop ruleset. The new Warhammer 40,000 Core Rules were made available on Thursday, and are free to download. The team at Games Workshop has given fans a little gift ahead of the holiday weekend.

Download warhammer 40k chess for free