What is Warhammer? A guide to the Hobby
Warhammer is a tabletop miniature hobby built around collecting, building, painting, and playing games with plastic models. It is published by Games Workshop and covers multiple settings, rulesets, and game sizes. Most people encounter it through the models first and only later realise how much else comes bundled with that decision.
At a distance, Warhammer looks like a strategy game played with dice and toy soldiers. In practice, it is closer to an ongoing hobby ecosystem. Time, money, storage space, and attention all become part of the experience, whether you planned for that or not.
Warhammer is a group of games, not a single system
“Warhammer” is an umbrella term. Under it sit several different game systems that share a publisher and a hobby pipeline, but not the same rules or tone. Choosing the right one matters far more than simply choosing Warhammer as a brand.
A general overview of current stock can be found here: Games Workshop / Warhammer collection.
Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000 is the largest and most recognisable Warhammer system. It is set in a distant science-fiction future defined by endless war, decaying empires, alien threats, and religious extremism. Players build armies and fight battles using a core ruleset supported by faction books.
This system is typically what people mean when they say they “play Warhammer”.
Kill Team
Kill Team is a smaller scale game set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Instead of full armies, players control individual operatives in tight, objective-focused games. Rules emphasise movement, positioning, and individual actions over raw firepower.
Necromunda
Necromunda focuses on gang warfare in the underhive of an Imperial city world. Campaign play is central. Characters gain injuries, equipment, and grudges over time. The tone is grittier and more personal than standard 40K battles.
Legions Imperialis
Legions Imperialis depicts massive battles during the Horus Heresy era using much smaller scale miniatures. The focus is on formations, vehicles, and battlefield control rather than individual heroes.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Age of Sigmar is Games Workshop’s high-fantasy setting. It features god-like characters, magical realms, and armies that range from immortal warriors to monsters and cults. The ruleset is distinct from 40K and tends to favour faster play and more abstract narrative framing.
Warhammer Underworlds
Underworlds is a small scale, card-driven game set in the Age of Sigmar universe. Players control compact warbands and use decks to influence play. Games are short and self-contained.
If you want a clean internal link for Underworlds content, this collection page is usable: Warhammer Underworlds
The Horus Heresy
The Horus Heresy is set earlier in the Warhammer 40,000 timeline and focuses on the galaxy-spanning civil war that shaped the setting. Armies are based on Space Marine Legions and Imperial forces, with rules that favour thematic and historically styled forces.
Warhammer: The Old World
The Old World returns to ranked infantry formations, cavalry blocks, and classic fantasy warfare. It appeals to players who prefer structured movement, traditional army layouts, and a slower, more deliberate game pace.
Blood Bowl
Blood Bowl is a fantasy sports game set in a Warhammer-adjacent world. Teams compete in violent matches where positioning and risk management matter as much as scoring. It stands apart from the main wargames but shares the same modelling and painting culture.
Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
While not set in a Warhammer universe, the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game is produced by Games Workshop and often appeals to the same hobby audience. It uses smaller forces and a more grounded ruleset based on Tolkien’s works.
What people actually do in Warhammer
Collecting models
Most involvement starts with choosing a faction or range of models. This choice is usually driven by aesthetics and theme rather than rules efficiency. Collections often grow beyond initial plans.
Building and painting
Models are supplied unassembled. Players cut, assemble, and paint them using hobby tools and paints. This part of the hobby exists independently of gameplay and accounts for a large portion of time spent.
Painting and modelling supplies
Playing games
Games are played on a tabletop using terrain, objectives, and dice. Rules vary by system but generally involve movement, combat phases, and scoring objectives over multiple turns.
Engaging with lore
Each Warhammer setting includes extensive background material. Lore informs faction identity and player preference, even for those who rarely play full games.
Warhammer beyond the tabletop
Warhammer also exists outside the physical hobby. There are video games across strategy, action, and role-playing genres, plus decades of novels, audio dramas, and other media. For some people, this is how they enter the setting before they ever touch a miniature.
The important thing is that these branches are not separate worlds. Ideas, characters, and factions that become popular in games or fiction tend to show up later in tabletop releases.