How Long Are 40K Games?

If you ask any Warhammer 40,000 player how long a typical match takes, you‘ll get the old joke response – "depends on how many beers you have!". But in all seriousness, for a standard sized 2000 point game between two players who know the rules, you should expect a full battle to run 3-4 hours including setup, play time, and pack up.

Game Length By Points

40K game duration correlates closely with game size, which is measured in army points. The more units and rules in play, the longer turns, phases and games take. Here are rough averages:

As you can see, the common tournament and matched play standard of 2000 points falls in the 3-4 hour mark. However, this can stretch longer or shorter depending on the exact armies, scenario, terrain, and players themselves…

What Impacts 40K Game Length?

While 2000 points in 9th edition averages 3-4 hours, I‘ve had quicker 2 hour games and longer 5+ hour slogs. What gives?

Several factors influence game pace and duration:

• Armies – Horde armies with 100+ models like Imperial Guard take longer than elite low model count armies like Custodes.
• Rules Complexity – Armies like Tyranids and Adeptus Mechanicus have more stratagems, psychic powers and combos that slow games.
• Terrain Density – More terrain means more tactical play but also slower movement and shooting.
• Scenario – Objectives shape strategy – a straight deathmatch is quicker than managing objectives.
• Player Skill – Newbies spend more time checking rules or thinking through their actions.

In my experience, game length comes down most to army choice and player mastery – so if you want shorter games pick Elite armies and practice!

What Tournament Organizers Say

Most major 40K tournaments impose round time limits to keep the event running on schedule. For 2000 point games, the most common allowances I see are:

• Adepticon – 2.5 hours max per game.
• LVO, Nova – Up to 3 hours allowed.
• GW GT Events – 2.5 hours recommended.

So between 2.5-3 hours seems standard, forcing players to trim any excess fat in their decision making or face a rushed messy finish! Brutal but necessary for such huge events.

Of course more casual tournaments or store games can relax these limits. But the takeaway is even veterans find it tough finishing full 2000 point games in under 3 hours.

As2022 Bay Area Open winner Brian Silva said about game length:

"You should be playing every game with intent and not wasting time, both yours and your opponents. Play the mission and play at a brisk pace."

Wise words!

How Does 40K Compare to Other Miniatures Games?

To put 40K‘s pace in context, let‘s compare it to some other popular miniatures skirmish systems:

Many games aim for that 2-3 hour mark to complete a full game. 40K is on the upper end – the extra rules and units adding to game length. Though as you scale down in points, the systems converge timing wise.

And at pro events, even 40K gets condensed down by imposing stricter round caps. So speed wise, many popular mini games end up comparable.

Tips to Speed Up Your 40K Games

If all this makes 40K sound intimidatingly slow, don‘t worry! Here are my best tips to accelerate your games as a new player while keeping things fun:

• Start Small: Build 500 point patrol armies and play with no terrain first.
• Learn Core Rules: Know basic game sequence inside out before learning whole army.
• Take Efficient Turns: Premeasure moves, batch dice rolls, declare targets quickly.
• Use Chess Clocks: Keep each other accountable to a steady pace of play.
• Play Compact Missions: Kill Team scenarios with limited objectives speed up games massively.

Lean on experienced players at your local club for help controlling game length. Being comfortable with the rules and your army is key – it just takes some practice!

I hope this guide gave you a better idea of how much time to budget for your 40KFix and how to trim it down. Now get out there and roll some dice! The Emperor protects.

What has your experience been with game lengths? Let me know in the comments!