By Anastasia Aleiferi,
Nowadays, that comics, video games and all things considered nerdy have known a massive rise in popularity, I would like to talk about one of my own hobbies that I believe anyone that loves science fiction knows. Warhammer 40k is a world and a hobby that has existed for over 50 years and still not many people know about it and I think that is a real shame because it is considered a very immersive and interesting hobby for someone to start. Warhhamer is an ever-expanding science fiction world and hobby that is for every type of hobbist, gamers, bookworms, table-top gamers and painters.
Warhammer 40k is a game about very unique and well-developed worlds and settings that though the years managed to become even more complex and interesting in their lore and developing games. This means that the settings, the tropes and story are inspired by and has inspired some of the most well-known fantasy and sci-fi stories that we know of today.
Imagine this, in the very distant future, where humanity has managed to reach is the 40th millennium of existence, the human empire controls most of the solar systems. But the stagnant human civilisation is beset by hostile aliens and supernatural creatures. Now humanity is being challenged in a never-ending mission to exterminate those enemy races. A full-blown war goes on between all races with the intent to destroy the enemy. Unfortunately, in this grime, dark and dystopian future, where there is veut through notion of right or wrong, humanity has waged war against all alien races, also called as xenon. Humanity has lost much of its superiority and progress because of its civil war. Now against all odds, it has to survive and defeat all enemies. For people who consider themselves as prolific readers, love reading sci-fi stories, dystopian settings and stories with unforeseen developments, the books of the Black Library are something to look forward too. But be warned, the totality of the books up until now is a little over 300. For newcomers, the best book to start is the Gaunt’s Ghost series or the Eisenhorn series.
Also, the Warhammer world has a series of strategy and turn based video games, where the player needs to prepare their army to attack the enemy forces and prevail in battle. Each Warhammer game has a different concept so players can enjoy different type of games, but always in their core idea. All games are strategy based and you have to manage your resources in order to win. So, if someone is a gamer who likes strategy games and historic or futuristic settings, they will be interested in playing these video games.
In addition, Warhammer 40k is also a table-top miniature wargame and is the most popular of its kind in the world. As a miniature wargame the concept is simple. Each player has an army consisted of miniature models of warriors and fighting vehicles and fights in a playing area that is a table-top model of a battlefield, consisted of buildings, rocks, trees and other terrain features. Each player takes turns to move their miniatures around the battlefield and fight their opponents’ miniatures by following the rules and by trying to obtain points by doing certain actions by the end of their turn. The fights and movement is resolved by using dice and some simple arithmetic. The miniatures that consist an army are usually from one of the existing races in the world of war hammer that the player likes the most and each race has its own special particularities and rules that can be beneficial in a fight.
The fun part is that your army is made up by pieces that you choose since there is no given fixed or symmetrical combination of game pieces. So, a player can study the units, their power and movement and decide which units will consist their army. It’s important to note that the game puts a value point system in order that the armies are balanced and their overall power can be somewhat equal. The rules don’t state that an army has a specific number of units so, one player can make their army as big as they want as long as they don’t surpass the total of 2.000 valued points of models. So, you have to be strategic of the size of your army, where will you deploy them in the battlefield and how you will attack your opponent, but remember, the dices don’t always roll in your favour. As the miniatures are sold, a player has to assemble them and paint them, so people who like to relax by modelling and painting they can have a good time too.
References
- How do you explain Warhammer 40k to someone? Firestorm Games. Available here
- Introduction to Warhammer 40k Novels. Under The Radar SFF Books. Available here
- Warhammer 40K, explained. Polygon. Available here
- Warhammer Video Games: A Beginner’s Guide. MUO. Available here
- How to start playing Warhammer 40,000. TheGamer. Available here
