Who’s Up for a Round of Warhammer? (Published 2021) (2024)

Looks like it’s time to break out the games again. Though, if you’re one of thousands of people around the world who play Warhammer, you probably never put it away in the first place.

Warhammer 40,000, a tabletop game set in a dystopian fictional universe, is not new. But a pandemic-fueled frenzy for science fiction and fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons has introduced it to a whole new group of players.

Often referred to as Warhammer 40k, the game is played on tabletop terrains with models that players assemble, modify and paint. The game itself requires a lot of arithmetic, as well as a rule book, dice, measuring tape (to determine a character’s range of motion) and an optional laser (to ascertain a clear sightline to attack). The costs add up fast: Acquiring and readying enough new models for a proper game can run a player upward of $400.

But those costs don’t seem to be a deterrent.

Warhammer 40k is the most popular property made by its parent company, Games Workshop. Its popularity has helped the company’s stock price, which has risen by more than 60 percent in the last two years.

Celebrity players, including Ed Sheeran and Ansel Elgort, have drawn more attention to the game. Shayna Baszler, a WWE wrestler, has sported several costumes modeled on imagery from the Warhammer universe.

The actor Henry Cavill mentioned his hobby of assembling and painting Warhammer figures during a recent appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”