What is... Warhammer?

Although Dungeon's and Dragon's hit the market almost ten years earlier, the series featured more of a  role playing for players to take part in individually or in groups rather than an actual war game. Warhammer was the first true war game to bring miniature war gaming into the mainstream with extreme commercial success. The original Warhammer table top game released in 1983, featuring a fictional fantasy setting. It features a variety of races such as Humans, Elves, Dwarfs and Undead, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. The more popular version Warhammer 40K, was later released in 1987, set in a dystopic science-fantasy setting featuring various races and space marines.

Players get to assemble and paint their own characters bringing an aspect of role playing to the genre, but still in keeping with traditional war gaming rules. Each players figurines are collected to compose squads in armies which can battle opponents. The models are physically moved around the table and the actual distance between models plays a role in the outcome of combat. Play is turn-based, with various outcomes determined by tables and the roll of dice. 

Due to the open nature of the game, with players owning numerous varying figures they have collected, players choose a set number of points they are allowed to use in any given battle. Each type of unit has a score proportional to all other figures. Once a maximum score is agreed upon, players both pick a number of their units with total scores being less than or equal to the chosen limit to keep it fair. Players follow a rule book for general guidelines.