It's not just toy soldiers.

[Schurge]

Warhammer is a lot of things to a lot of people, both good and bad, both as a hobby and an IP. I think Warhammer is THE GREATEST HOBBY folks, like, the best ever. There is no other hobby like Warhammer (aside from I guess every other mini-wargames) and here is why.

 

Warhammer fosters a community in a way that few other hobbies do. Warhammer requires active participation and gratification deferral. It is collaborative both as a game and as a method of storytelling. It fosters fellowship, empathy, and fair competition. It is artistic, and on some level we are all in it to be creative as much as we are to play games.

 

Warhammer as an IP probably isn't my favorite (Dune, Starship Troopers, the Lovecraft mythos, and the Hyborian Age are probably better), but it is certainly my favorite IP that was created by more then one person. I think Warhammer finds a great balance between grimdark and idealism. It is both a dystopian setting and a heroic one and the Space Marine is simultaneously an heroic and tragic figure. There is a lot more substance to be found in the setting then you might initially think, especially since it was set up as a bit of a joke to justify unending war as the premise for a board game.

 

It's not just toy soldiers. 

[Sarvis]

It may have started with toy soldiers, but it’s much more now. I’ve been a 40k enthusiast for over 15 years and I’ve never played a game, and I know folks into the universe that have never even bought a model.

[Bryan Blaire]

It's a lot of things to a lot of different people - but in the end it's all fictional.

 

Let's all move on past a discussion that has already gone down a path that got a thread locked.

 

Edit: Warhammer doesn't foster a community any more than any other hobby (less that other hobbies in some instances - there are bigger and better conventions or events that draw a lot more people for other hobbies/interests with more interaction, etc.).

[b1soul]

I actually find the 40K IP to be one of the strongest IPs out there.

 

It's this massive sandbox capable of supporting almost everyone's favorite sci-fi/fantasy tropes

[WarriorFish]

I don't think this is particularly special to 40k. What makes GW's settings stand out is the age and the resulting depth allowing people to more readily explore the universe within and around the established. This is not unique either of course, but places 40k without that many peers. While it does foster community this is also something shared with other games and settings. Plenty of other settings have the same sharing of ideas and such in the same way. The relative ubiquity of 40k probably makes this more apparent or seem better but I'd argue that's only the sense of scale. We shouldn't ignore the role sites like the B&C perform in helping the fostering of community

 

I remember a discussion some years ago where we discussed the nature of 40k being a setting rather than a story, since then there has been some "disagreement" from GW which mostly highlighted how settings are easier than stories to me As noted this is one of the great appeals of the background. It is a big galaxy and there are lots of gaps for us to enter and build our sandcastles

[mughi3]

I like to refer to general miniature gaming in that manner not just 40K . the models are great and the story brings people in, however that is true of many other game systems. 

 

I am just as much into the lore of classic battletech as i am into 40K lore. 

[Rik Lightstar]

Interesting topic.

 

Whilst I love my Wargaming and will be forever grateful for the lifelong friends I've made through it.

 

Pen & Paper Roleplaying games have also brought new people to my life, or possibly me to them, I've mentioned this separately as while there's some "cross-pollination" between the two groups there are also quite a few people I've met in each group who'd likely never move to the other.

 

I'm not sure that it's as unique as you suggest in the social groups it helps to foster, in fact I've had similar experiences with my other major hobby which is Running. I think the big thing is the time commitment you're making to the hobby you're engaging with, there's quite a substantial Running community locally and regionally By putting time in to contribute to my local running club for administration and a little low level coaching I've found an entire new social circle.

 

Some of my friends also relate similar experiences with Martial Arts, Fencing, Rock Climbing and Cycling groups.

 

I think if you were to put a similar amount of time into any hobby with a group interaction then you'd possible find the same.

 

Rik

[Special Officer Doofy]

Warhammer doesn't foster a community any more than any other hobby (less that other hobbies in some instances - there are bigger and better conventions or events that draw a lot more people for other hobbies/interests with more interaction, etc.).

I certainly agree. Raiding in one MMO video game I won't mention by name was getting 40+ of the same people on the same page every week for multiple nights and was as challenging as herding cats. It required much more "active participation" and "fellowship" than I've ever experienced in this hobby.

Edited March 16, 2021 by Putrid Choir

[Ubiquitous1984]

It may have started with toy soldiers, but it’s much more now. I’ve been a 40k enthusiast for over 15 years and I’ve never played a game, and I know folks into the universe that have never even bought a model.

I've spent over £5k on Warhammer.  Not a single model.

[Halandaar]

 

 

It may have started with toy soldiers, but it’s much more now. I’ve been a 40k enthusiast for over 15 years and I’ve never played a game, and I know folks into the universe that have never even bought a model.

I've spent over £5k on Warhammer. Not a single model.

Do you mind if I ask what you're buying to spend at that level if not models? Novels? Video Games? Other?

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

 

It may have started with toy soldiers, but it’s much more now. I’ve been a 40k enthusiast for over 15 years and I’ve never played a game, and I know folks into the universe that have never even bought a model.

 

I've spent over £5k on Warhammer.  Not a single model.

It’s a good time for sure. :)

[Ubiquitous1984]

 

 

It may have started with toy soldiers, but it’s much more now. I’ve been a 40k enthusiast for over 15 years and I’ve never played a game, and I know folks into the universe that have never even bought a model.

I've spent over £5k on Warhammer. Not a single model.

Do you mind if I ask what you're buying to spend at that level if not models? Novels? Video Games? Other?

 

Books.  Lots and lots of books.  Especially the LE's.  Not all of this money is going to GW however as I am buying a lot off of ebay for the sold out LE's.

[Quantum]

A note to spouses and daughters out there:

 

They are not 'daddy's little dolls'!

 

They are 'miniatures', 'models', 'figurines' or 'projects'!*   #InsistentTerminology

 

 

*:would also have accepted 'addiction'.

[Helias_Tancred]

Black Library is the most underrated facet of the hobby. For many of us it's what drew us into the hobby, myself included. I read the Warhammer Fantasy novels and then moved on to the 40k novels. After a couple years of just being a reader one day I decided to go to my local GW store and buy a box of sanguinary guard, a 6th edition codex, and a 40k rulebook. 

 

It was all over at that point ;)

 

Without being invested in the lore and various factions beforehand I doubt I would have gotten into the hobby. I had never been into tabletop wargaming, and I loved miniatures and painting them but only within the realm of my AD&D hobby (still going). 

[DOGGED]

The books have helped (brought about, really) 40K turning into a very complex imaginary universe, full of characters and stories but also with a solid background for them. Nothing seems to happen out of thin air but because of there is some definite motive for things go that way. I mean, characters come from places that are more than just names but have a story of their own. Organizations have their goals too, and move according to their own rhythms. Interpersonal relationships and/or group interactions and developments can be complicated to the point of tragedy, in proportions and ways that remind of biblical/classical/shakespearian themes.

 

An immortal being who refuses divinity and confronts his wayward son who puts half the human civilization in the path to damnation? A cliffhanger that ends with the corrupted son dead and the father doomed to be interred in a throne which is also a coffin? A totalitary empire sustained by sacrifice in the milions but which is the only hope for uncountable milions more? The necessary evil being the only chance of survival? And so on...

 

It's dystopic and grim and desperate but not just because (although also yes it is just because). It is because of conflicts that can be up to million years old or happen just yesterday, because petty rivalries or motivated by existential issues and strong passions. Characters range from those extermely scarce old as time (or almost) individuals to transhuman marvels of genetic experimentation or alien species with non translatable particular idiosyncrasies; also there is an unending source of characters who are not stereotypes for their species but have personal goals and behaviours.

To summarize, it's so rich a setting with so complex a stuffing that it definitely is not just toy soldiers, but those toy soldiers that were at its inception (and the reason for it) have become just the most obvious, visual reference for the hugely rich and diverse universe that 40K is.

 

And beyond its literary dimension, its economic one is dead serious; one only has to point at GW turnovers to show its big business. And hooray for that.

[Doghouse]

As a kid I improved my maths skills with army lists, I improved my problem solving abilities with table top battles, I fed and fuelled my imagination with the lore making campaigns and rules of my own with my friends. I improved my social skills with club meets and stepped out into the world.

 

I learnt to find uses and an outlet for my artistic abilities and interests. I learnt to improvise, to take ideas from inside my mind and express them to people from all over the world as I watched them take those concepts and develop them into their own. 

 

Just over thirty years ago I fought at the Battle of Jadeberry Hill with my RTB01 Crimson Fists painted with poster paints and books under a table cloth  for hills with my younger brother as a child and now have spoken with thousands of amazing people from all walks of life from all corners of the world sharing ideas with likeminded people who I've never even met in person.

 

I've been given the opportunity to share a passion and decades of my life with so many people that share that same love of the hobby which is truly mind blowing and humbling at the same time. It's been with me during the good times and gotten me through the bad.

 

I genuinely cannot find the words to stress enough how this hobby and the people I have met has been such a massive influence in my life growing up.

I whole heartedly and most sincerely would not change any of it for the world and I am incredibly grateful for people humouring the ramblings of a hobby old timer.

 

It most certainly ain't just toy soldiers...

[deathspectersgt7]

Amen Doghouse.

[Wulf Vengis]

Preach brother Dogged!

Tell it Like it is brother Doghouse!

 

Never before have i seen posts that so encapsulate what 40k is to myself and apparently thousands, maybe millions of others. Thank you for putting 40k into a description with such eloquence that i never could have hoped to portray to others.

[techsoldaten]

Been on the 40k train for a long time, with some intermittent stops to tend to life's challenges.

 

Lots has been said about the personal meaning we draw from the hobby. Life skills would be another to add.

 

Probability - took statistics in college, but 40k taught me to appreciate the practical applications of probability in decision making. Improves mental acuity, can look at situations multiple ways and make choices on what's likely to happen.

 

Relationships - the experience of playing against someone involves trade offs / bargaining at an intimate level. It's a good proxy for other kinds of social behavior people need to learn. Can honestly say some of the best people I've known in life also played 40k, from all walks of life. 

 

Responsibility - finishing an army requires discipline and not taking the easy way out. Something 40k helped me develop is an appreciation for getting the job done. There was a time in life I could have taken a simpler route, the experience of building large armies helped me take on new challenges.

 

Organization - the number of models, paints, supplies, bits, etc I've accumulated requires a high degree of organization. I can honestly say I know what I have and where everything is. I get a sense of anxiety when something is misplaced, and that's a good thing. Has translated over to other areas in life.

 

Meditation - the fluff lead me to meditation, clearing the mind to ponder the motivations of various factions in game. Factions like Word Bearers are such extreme examples of zealotry, appreciating where they're coming from requires a lot of 'room.' The hobby taught me how to detach from a situation and find coherency in all the mess.

 

It's odd to think that a game that's marketed at teenagers could help one become competent in other, very adult areas. This may not be unique to 40k, but there are definitely some pro-social aspects that create added advantages.