What is Warhammer?
Warhammer is one of the many, although almost certainly the most popular tabletop wargame ever created. When speaking of "Warhammer" Most often it is assumed that you are speaking of "Warhammer Fantasy", however Warhammer 40,000 (40K), the science fiction version of the game, is also part of the Warhammer World.
Warhammer was created by Games Workshop, who designs, manufactures and retails their product all over the world. In their own words, "Games Workshop is the largest and the most successful tabletop fantasy and futuristic battle-games company in the world..." By their own account, Games Workshop products are sold at over 300 franchise shops and greater than 3,700 independent hobby shops around the world, and complimented by direct on-line sales. The UK-based company manufactures Citadel Miniatures plastic and metal miniatures, models and rulebooks for their games, "which are the foundation of an almost infinite hobby." (From gamesworkshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?aId=9600007, Feb, 2009)
At it's very basic, Warhammer is a tabletop wargame played between 2 or more "generals" who each control an army of miniatures. The player, or general, decides which army he or she will collect and field on the tabletop, and depending on the specific game, these can vary from the very European-like Bretonnian knights to an army of undead or Skaven rat-men; or, the 40K version, sci-fi beasts of Chaos against human troops in full body armor. There are dozens of armies to choose from in each genre, and the number of models, or miniatures, fielded in a battle depends on how many "points" the generals want to field that game. Various troops and units have a mixture of skills and weaknesses which can be taken advantage of by a smart general. The game progresses in a turn-based manner, with faster troops moving before slower ones, etc. Victory is decided by not only the skill of the general, but also dice rolls to determine how well the troops perform in each part of the conflict.
The Miniatures generally range form 20 mm to 50mm, and a standard tabletop is 6 feet by 4 feet or larger. Games Workshop encourages the use of dramatic scenery, which can be purchased through their company or self-created. Some amazing terrain companies and fabulous books have evolved to help "gamers" create new and interesting scenery and scenarios.
Games Workshop has published a series of rules books for each game, starting with the main "Warhammer rulebook" which gives the basic rules for these epic battles. After that, a general is highly encouraged to purchase the Armies supplement books (also called "Codexes" in 40K) for their specific army.
An extremely popular magazine called "White Dwarf" follows the hobby and it's frequent updates, informs players about new product, reviews Games Day tournaments, and provides tips for players including collecting, playing, and painting tips. In May, 2007 White Dwarf magazine celebrated it's 30th year of publication.
However, Games Workshop puts out many other games, such as Warmaster, Battlefleet Gothic, Inquisitor, Necromunda, Mordheim, Blood Bowl, and, of course the official, licensed Lord of the Rings tabletop battlegame based on Peter Jackson's movie (New Line Cinema) of the same name. Games Workshop has developed all aspects of it's fantasy world, even publishing a fantasy role paying game (RPG) called Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This RPG shares the same background as the tabletop war game but is devoted to individual characters rather than army battles.
Another very popular Games Workshop product is the wide-ranging novel series, written by various authors. These books are set in the Warhammer world and are comprised of both Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40K (sci-fi). Recently Games Workshop has also licensed out the rights for comic books of both genres.
In addition, in September of 2008, Games Workshop launched a new MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) based on the incredibly popular tabletop game called "Warhammer (online); Age of Reckoning."