Humanity reached the stars, and quickly expanded. They "conquered" large parts of the galaxy. Then came the fall. The long night. Call it what you will, but worlds were cut of from each other. Partly because the release of the "gods" of chaos. Now, in the 40th millennium the Imperium has arisen again, and the galaxy is now at war with itself. A large number of human factions fight each other as well as not-so-human forces. Most of the wars are crusades against the forces of Chaos or the Orcs (a human gen-engineering project gone wild). The Eldars (the ancient race that travelled the stars before humans left the cradle of Terra) is still figting even though their numbers are dwindling. And there is the Tyranid threat. An insectoid hive race that is bent on the consumption of all worlds. When the first fleet of this race was encountered it was destroyed and it was believed the race was eradicated. Then came the second hive-fleet. Actually it was a wave of separate fleets. After years they still haven't all been eradicated, merely halted. Now a third wave of hive-fleets has been spotted and identified, and it seems to have learned from the two previous hive-fleets. It mutates and evolves faster (and a bit more erraticly?) than the two previous.
This is the background to the game "WarHammer 40'000" (© Games Workshop). A Sci-Fi table-top wargame at the individual level. An "Army" in this game may be from ten foot-soldiers and two tanks to well over a hundred models including mechanised units. There are a few races that can be commanded, but several types of armies. The army-types (and race) are:
Tyranids are special, in more than one way. The race can be seen as one entity, being made up by independent-moving parts, much like an ant-hill or bee-hive. The Tyranids are a number of different "races" within a greater framework of what brings them all together. They are all six-limbed and have a natural carapace (to some degree). The "lower" (or simpler) forms of Tyranids (such as the Hormagaunts) might not alone pose a threat to a well-trained and well-equiped soldier, but they usually come by the dozens, and often in the company of a "higher" form. There is also the hive mind. A single Tyranid might not possess much of reasoning on its own, but they add to and are in turn controlled by a shared conciousness. This is not done directly for the lower forms, who are but simple beasts on their own, but telepathically through the "higher" forms of Tyranid creatures. (Thus the previously mentioned Hormagaunts will do exactly as the hive mind wishes as long as the "higher" Warrior is nearby.) If this hive mind is one and the same for ALL Tyranids across the galaxy (and into the void beyond) or if there is one for each fleet of Tyranids is unknown. (Most likely there is one "mind" for each hive since the difference in action of different fleets/players. The hive minds, I assume, merge when the fleets join together.) To this hive mind the loss of a single individual seems to mean nothing, as long as the goal is achieved. Hundreds of thousands of lesser Tyranid creatures have thrown themselves against bastions and fortresses merely to deplete the defenders supply of ammunition. The driving goal of the entire Tyranid race is "consume and grow", at a hideous scale, for they consume whole worlds and leave behind only lifeless chunks of rock. Unless there is someone (or something) that stops them that is.
So what is the goal of this game?
More money to Games Workshop.
Yup, you read that right. At least once a year each of the Army type gets one new troop type or "Major Character", which is a must have if you are to be able to compete on the battle field.
Though there is a move (back) towards more plastic figures they are still expensive. Not too long ago there was a model which cost/weight rate was almost as high as that of gold! The raw price of unworked gold, sure, but still. Makes you think, doesn't it?