The world's first academic conference dedicated to all things Warhammer
In a 2025 post courting retail partners, Games Workshop boasts of their range of 14 different miniature-based ‘games systems’ (GW 2025); the post also mentions how their hobby materials (e.g. Citadel Paints) are the ‘ideal complimentary product’ to said games. Here, I argue that GW is wrong: this hobby material isn’t merely complimentary to, but …
Since 2010, youth services in England have sustained real-terms funding cuts of approximately 73%, with more than 760 youth centres and 4,500 youth work posts lost (YMCA, 2023). This paper asks what fills the gap and proposes that Games Workshop’s Warhammer stores represent one largely unexamined answer. Games Workshop has actively entered youth development space …
Warhammer miniatures have the distinction of being able to transcend from mere objects to meaningful “things” by their multifaceted nature. Supported by their rich contextual background, they are objects of meticulous craft, enablers of complex gameplay, and manifestations of rich intangible characters and enduring identities. As physical artefacts, they are products of effort and expressions …
Terrain kits play a crucial role in shaping the spatial experience and narrative atmosphere of Warhammer 40,000 and its sister games. The setting’s distinctive aesthetics, intimidating gothic megastructures fused with brutal, inhumane technological functionality, is widely recognized as one of its defining features (Wenskus 2021). This architectural style is translated to the tabletop through a …
Warhammer 40,000 (40K) is the most popular miniature wargame. While gameplay is a large part of engaging with Warhammer 40,000, the miniatures are often bought and painted. These painters spend hours painting the models in deep concentration. Drawing on interviews and journal entries of a participant study of 14 painters over a six-month period, this …