Although Games Workshop are primarily known for their flagships games, Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar, they also boast a wide range of Specialist Miniature Games. These lesser-acclaimed games often offer unique experiences not found in other miniature games on the market and, as a result, have garnered cult followings. Have you heard of these alternatives to AoS and Warhammer 40K?
Set 10,000 years before the events of Warhammer 40K, The Horus Heresy concerns itself with the war between the different Space Marine Legions. Following a rebellion and betrayal from Horus, the Legion Astartes were divided into Loyalist Legiones and Traitor Legiones. This conflict between Loyalist Legiones and the Heretical Legiones frames the narrative of the game.
Using a modified version of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 7th edition ruleset, the game offers players who love the more ‘historical’ setting a way to act out battles that have been detailed in previous Black Library books. Players will choose to bring the history of Warhammer to the tabletop or rewrite history depending on who wins the battle and can use the unique rules, such as a reaction system, to bring a more fast-paced twist to an otherwise familiar war in The Horus Heresy.
Praised for its serious attention to theming, Blood Bowl takes the standard fun of a skirmish game and cranks the absurdity up to 11. Set in the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy, Blood Bowl sees two teams compete in a ‘Season’ structured American Football-themed skirmish to fight for the ball and fight each other to the death.
Mechanics that you would expect are present in Blood Bowl, but with a twist. Throwing not just the ball but also your teammates, kicking the ball and your opponents, and aiming to score touchdowns and knockouts are all mechanics in this brutal game.
Another Skirmish Wargame, Necromunda, is set in a harsh environment filled with lawlessness and violence known as the Underhive. Armies take the form of gangs, roaming throughout the Underhive and fighting to survive and dominate this world filled with the lowest of the low. Necromunda is a campaign-based tabletop skirmish game with a vast amount of customisation to allow your gang to tell a story of battles fought and be personal to you.
Ideal for fans of the Lord of the Rings books and films, the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game is a fan favourite wargame that has recently seen a resurgence in popularity and is set in the world of its namesake, Middle-earth.
Giving players the ability to play as their favourite characters and act out well-known battles from the series, Middle-earth is a defining game in the fantasy genre - helping to bring the Lord of the Rings to life.
