Warhammer 40,000 is a British tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, first published in September 1987 and now in its eleventh rulebook edition, released in June 2026. Two or more players field armies of small painted model warriors and war machines across a scale battlefield built from terrain pieces, moving their models in alternating turns and resolving movement, shooting and close combat through dice rolls and arithmetic drawn from each unit's printed statistics. The setting is a grim science fiction future layered with fantasy elements, pitting factions such as the Space Marines, Orks, Aeldari and Tyranids against one another across a galaxy at constant war. Beyond the core rulebook, the game supports narrative campaigns, tournament play and an enormous licensed range of novels, video games and other media built around the same setting. It is described as the most popular miniature wargame in the world and is especially popular in the United Kingdom, where Games Workshop is based, sustaining a large hobby community built around collecting, assembling and painting the miniatures used to play.
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Game Type (category) Game Type (category) Classification
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Ancestor Of
Source Battlefleet Gothic (Wikipedia)
Source Deathwatch (role-playing game) (Wikipedia)
Source Order of Gamers: Epic 40000
Source Gorkamorka (Wikipedia)
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1. Warhammer 40,000 (Wikipedia)
Lead, first sentence
Warhammer 40,000 (also known as WH40K or 40K), is a British miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop.
Lead, gameplay summary
Players take turns moving miniature models around a custom battlefield and resolve combat through dice rolls and arithmetic.
Lead, publication history
The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, the eleventh and current edition was released in June 2026.
Infobox, players
the game accommodates 2 or more players
View the SourceGorkamorka (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Gorkamorka, GameplayQuote, Ancestor Of: Gorkamorka, Gameplay
The rules are derived from the second edition of Warhammer 40,000
Deathwatch (role-playing game) (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Deathwatch (role-playing game), LeadQuote, Ancestor Of: Deathwatch (role-playing game), Lead
set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe
Battlefleet Gothic (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Battlefleet Gothic, Lead, first sentence [derived-from]Quote, Ancestor Of: Battlefleet Gothic, Lead, first sentence [derived-from]
A spin-off of the science-fantasy setting of Warhammer 40,000
Order of Gamers: Epic 40000
Ancestor Of: Epic 40,000, Page tagline under the titleQuote, Ancestor Of: Epic 40,000, Page tagline under the title
Warhammer 40,000 on an epic scale.
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