It’s getting late, I’m getting tired. If this blog post describing Trench Crusade comes off as tired and dreary, just know that it is to be in theme with the setting, rather than to express any form of genuine human sense of tiredness. If you liked the tactical run and gun style play that Kill Team offers, Trench Crusade incorporates all those features, but also uses them to create a more thrilling and unpredictable experience.
Players are provided with relatively few models to control, each of them having a crucial impact on the outcome. At the same time this game pays much attention to creating an atmosphere of desperation, macabre, and strength of the human (or demon) spirit. Speaking of, Trench Crusade has its own special plot and background, effectively asking the hypothetical question of “What if world war I, but instead fighting each other the gates of hell opened and we fought demons instead?”
Unlike Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade involves smaller forces and smaller scale of operations, allowing for focusing not only on overall strategies and tactics of each player but also on the story unfolding during the process. Positioning and planning are crucial elements, but their importance may vary depending on the specific moment of the game.
In addition, the main difference between Trench Crusade and its predecessors concerns the atmosphere created during the game and the general feeling experienced by a player. Specifically, Warhammer 40,000 is characterized by its dark gothic identity, which is preserved in Kill Team as well. Meanwhile, Trench Crusade combines the aesthetics of trenches and battlefields and religious elements, creating a very oppressive atmosphere (oppressive if you’re on the side of humankind. You can also play the oppressors if you wanted!).
The approach to playing this game is also quite different. In Warhammer 40,000, players would generally choose the best army compositions to gain advantages over rivals. In Kill Team, the approach is somewhat the same as in Trench Crusade, as players have to position each of the models correctly and select equipment for their operatives as best fits the needs of the mission. A bit more than usual however, when playing Trench Crusade, one needs to adapt to any unexpected events and use the existing resources to the fullest extent possible.
To sum up, it is safe to say that Trench Crusade differs from other popular wargames primarily due to its unique atmosphere, narration and emergence of new situations. However, it is a skirmish game that is close to Kill Team in terms of scale and mechanics, thus providing an excellent gaming experience if you’re into that.
For those who are interested in more experimental approaches to creating skirmish wargames, and don’t mind proxying/printing their own models to give it a go, Trench Crusade is certainly a decent choice.