The Warhammer 40,000 Beginner’s Guide

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war… and a lot of lore. Games Workshop’s (GW) Warhammer 40,000 has been around since 1987, with countless books, tabletop/video games, and myriad miniseries that are constantly expanding the universe in one way or another. What persists as a company and franchise that primarily sells miniatures has become a sprawling multimedia universe with fervent fans fighting to break it away from its presumed niche trappings.

From the outside, it can be intimidating to get into the hobby, and even more so when you realize that GW has another Warhammer setting in a high fantasy universe called Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Aside from sharing similar names and ideas, the two are unrelated. But odds are, when most are talking about Warhammer or looking to get into the hobby, it’s usually Warhammer 40,000 and not Age of Sigmar.