By Joseph Old

It has been forty thousand years and a new age of darkness grips hold of the Milky Way galaxy. In the dark age of technology, humanity had conquered the stars. The Imperium of Man is all that remains. The God-Emperor of Mankind is the supreme ruler of humanity; he is the highest authority. To object to his rule is the ultimate crime — heresy — and demands immediate summary execution. 

"They are those who would devour the stars."

Why? Chaos. A force of dark reckoning beyond comprehension. In the mind of every man, woman, and child, there is darkness. Every foul thought, every evil deed, every crime and criminal intent, travels to an alternate world known as the warp, and finds itself a new form. Four beings emerge, too dark and terrible to be named. Those who worship them are the renegade, the traitor, and the heretic. The lost and the damned to become slaves to darkness — warriors of chaos who emerge from another realm to sow destruction upon our galaxy. Worse, alien life forms known as The Xenos seek to strip mankind of its rightful place as the rulers of the galaxy. They are those who would devour the stars. 

These three powers vie for domination. You decide the fate of the galaxy.

Don’t know where to begin? I’ve got your back. Warhammer begins at the squad level, and as you collect more miniatures, the games you play change and the rules expand to accommodate the scale. Kill Team is the smallest-sized game where a single squad of warriors complete special operation missions to achieve victory. This is the starting point: you buy one squad of miniatures to build, paint, and play. 

"You move up to Warhammer 40k proper by collecting miniatures… "

After you play a game, if you want more options or want to move up in scale, you can buy more squads or a combat patrol. You move up to Warhammer 40k proper by collecting miniatures… until your army is too large to fit on the table. After that, you can move up to the ultimate gamemode, Apocalypse, where armies have no size limit. But that’s all optional; you can just stay with your one kill team playing games casually whenever you want. In fact, you don't even have to play. More than half of this hobby is building and painting miniatures. If you want, then this can be all you do. You have the freedom to play in your own way. Competitive, Narrative, or Open all paths are open to those who war.

Don’t know anyone else who plays? In the Tri-Cities, we have a large group of wargamers more than 200 strong, as well as those for games of all types, be it roleplaying, board, card, or war. We also have a number of shops to support your hobby needs. Big Brain Gaming and Tri-City Area Gaming are both open communities that will gladly welcome anyone willing to dip their toes into new gaming experiences.