Once Upon a time, in a land far, far away, evolved a gaming system that threatened to swallow whole all who fell in love with it. Well, not so long ago, 1986 to be exact. And England isn’t that far away if one can afford to fly! I am speaking of the miniatures phenomena of Games Workshop, and all its subsystems. Games Workshop (hereafter GW) has become synonymous with fantasy and science-fiction miniatures gaming, and has a cult following that rivals or exceeds the faithful of some of the hobbies other staples (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons or Advanced Squad Leader).

Just what does this company have to offer, other than capitalism run amok? Its fantasy system is called Warhammer, and its science-fiction equivalent is Warhammer 40,000 (or 40K) for short. The company sells other games (often related to the Big Two), which come and go in print, briefly heralded in the ‘zine (The White Dwarf), only to go the way of the Dodo bird. Examples of the latter include Man O' War and Tyranid Attack.

The games are addictive, nearly a drug to consumers who are bitten by a love of collecting, painting, or playing. GW has a rich history which has evolved over the years, giving each of its big two games a sense of reality in the minds of its adherents. This history sets GW products above other "alternate world" games such as Magic: The Gathering. And of course there are the fantastic miniatures and the games themselves, which are incredibly fun to play. And to the companies credit they have a fantastic customer service performance record. If a miniature is miscast they will take care of it, and if rules questions exist, just call toll-free or email them!

The fantasy game has all the races/armies a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien could expect: Orcs, Dwarves, and several types of Elves, for example. Other armies include different human nations, forces of Chaos and my favorites, the Legions of the Undead (Count Sariegovich at your service). Warhammer 40K casts a dark vision of the future (no campy Star Trek feel good stuff here) in which mankind struggles in a constant war with other races. There are really no good guys in the future, humanity is governed by a vast dictatorship and its armies bear a remarkable resemblance to 20th century counterparts (Space Marines = SS, Imperial Guard = Red Army).

There is a darkness behind the silver lining however. Periodically, GW reissues the games and changes the orders of battle of its armies slightly. The latter is not always a problem; they make an attempt to ensure each successive edition is fairly compatible with existing supplements. But the rules changes that come with a new edition are a mandatory buy to make sure you stay current. Also, you can't just buy the new rules, they come in a boxed set with lots of play-aids and miniatures (great if you are collecting those armies, otherwise not good). The current sets for each are $69.99 retail! Also, the miniatures are overpriced compared to competitive lines available elsewhere.

GW ensures its miniatures (the Citadel brand) are purchased in droves by making them the only ones approved for play in GW tournaments and in Games Workshop owned stores. The line is occasionally updated, as in the case of the new Space Marine Scouts. There is little doubt the new scouts are better models, but players must update to stay current. The status of out of production minis is that they simply don't exist. A gamer was recently kicked out of a Games Workshop store in England because he was using Out of Productionminis on the game tables!

So the darkside of GW is greed run rampant. We can't fault a company for making money, however, and they are free to set their own rules at tourneys and in their own stores. Among your own gaming group you can play with what you like and GW even encourages house rules to complement their rules. The price tag is daunting, however; $250-$300 just to get a firm foundation when building a new army, before painting and hobby supplies.

This branch of our hobby is not for everyone. But lovers of the literary genre should enjoy it, as would most miniatures enthusiasts. Members of HMGS may be put off by the age group, because GW caters to the 14-17 year old crowd, though grognards like myself from the early days play also. For the interested party wanting to try something new, one of thboxed sets available is a good investment. If you don't like it, stop there without buying anything else. Be forwarned, however, rumors, floating around the internet hint at GW revising 40K this fall. Anyone interested in the science fiction aspect should wait.