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Warhammer 40,000 spin-offs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warhammer 40,000 spin-offs include the many side projects, copies, derivatives and other forms of spin-off, the creation of which has been influenced by the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniature wargame and / or its fictional background. These come in many forms, including other tabletop games, board games, card games, books, comic books, computer games and even music. Some of these are officially supported by Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures but many are not, simply being fan expansions and additions to the original game.
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These games are available as "Specialist Games" from the Games Workshop website, with some level of support, both in terms of rules updates and miniatures being available:
- Battlefleet Gothic
- A spaceship combat game using unique scaled ships. An earlier version of this was known as Space Fleet.
- Epic
- The most recent (4th) edition of a much larger scale war simulation, using 6mm miniatures instead of the 28mm miniatures used in Warhammer 40,000. The 3rd edition was known as Epic 40,000.
- Inquisitor
- A smaller scale fight simulation, which uses relatively large 54mm models. Described as a narrative wargame, it uses elements of roleplaying.
- Necromunda
- Originally developed under the title "Confrontation", this is a simulation of gang fighting in a large underground slum using 28 mm models.
Other miniature based games in the Warhammer 40,000 universe include:
- Aeronautica Imperialis
- A game produced by Forge World that focuses on air combat using epic scale airplanes.
- 40K in 40 minutes
- A 'light' version of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. The rules were published in White Dwarf magazine. The idea is to limit the choices of units and upgrades for each player so the game can be completed in a short amount of time (about 40 minutes). A streamlined version of these rules, called Combat Patrol, is present in the 4th edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.
- Advanced Space Crusade
- A board game, released in 1990, where 28 mm Space Marine scouts raid/sabotage modular alien bio-ships. In 1993 Games Workshop re-released the game under the title Tyranid Attack.
- Bommerz over da Sulphur River
- Board game where Epic scale Ork aircraft bomb Imperial installations along a river while avoiding defensive weapons, Imperial fighters and rock formations. Rules and board pieces recently re-published on the GW Specialist Games Website.
- Gorkamorka
- A 28 mm game of Ork gang fighting based on a desert planet, with a focus on scavenging and Ork vehicles. Later received an add-on, titled Digganob.
- Space Crusade
- Up to 4-player board game (published in conjunction with Milton Bradley Company) where 28 mm Space Marines fight various enemies on board-based enemy space ships. Considered a sci-fi version of Heroquest (also a joint Games Workshop-Milton Bradley endeavor). Space Crusade received two addon boxed sets, Mission Dreadnought and Eldar Attack.
- Space Hulk
- A 2-player board game with modular interlocking room tiles where 28 mm Space Marine Terminators fight alien Genestealers on an abandoned maze-like spaceship. 2 editions, add-ons (for the first edition) titled Deathwing and Genestealer.
- Spacefarers
- The 1981 precursor to Warhammer 40,000 using Citadel Miniatures Spacefarers line of 25 mm miniatures. The squad-based game mechanics are more similar to Necromunda than that of Warhammer 40,000.
- Space Fleet
- A beginners game that preceded Battlefleet Gothic and established a lot of the BG background though most of the ship designs were completely replaced.
- Ultra Marines
- Board game that uses the same modular interlocking room pieces as 1st edition Space Hulk. Each player (box supports up to 4, any number can play) controls a competitive scout squad raiding abandoned maze-like spaceship for artifacts. The game uses the same board pieces as Space Hulk, and uses an original (and highly unpopular) method of rolling dice that involves throwing dice onto a printed grid.
These were all released at around the same time, having near identical gameplay mechanics with minor variations.
- Battle for Armageddon
- Map-based board game (1993) with numbered cardboard counters, acting out the (first) Ork invasion of the planet Armageddon. Add-on (Chaos Attack) was released soon after, acting out the Chaos invasion of the planet before the Ork invasions. Both were re-released as free PDF downloads from Games Workshop during the Third War for Armageddon worldwide campaign in 1998.
- Warmaster
- Not to be confused with the wargame of the same name, Warmaster is a counter based board game originally published in White Dwarf as an introduction to the board game idea. The game recreates the climax of the Horus Heresy with the final assault on Horus' battlebarge (later named the Vengeful Spirit in canon storyline). Recently republished on the Games Workshop Spain website.
- Doom of the Eldar
- Map-based board game from 1993 with numbered cardboard counters, recreating the Tyranid invasion of the Iyanden craftworld.
- Horus Heresy
- Map-based board game from 1993 with numbered cardboard counters. Recreation of the invasion of Earth during the Horus Heresy.
- Citadel Combat Cards
- Non collectible card game from early 1990s with photographs of various GW models. Originally based on Warhammer Fantasy Battle models, later included Warhammer 40,000 cards as well. Gameplay mechanic very similar to the card game War.
- Dark Millennium
- A collectible card game currently produced by Sabertooth Games. Dark Millennium shares its name with an expansion set published for 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000.
- Horus Heresy CCG
- A collectible card game formerly produced by Sabertooth Games. Recreation of the events of the Horus Heresy
- Warhammer 40,000 Collectible Card Game
- A collectible card game formerly produced by Sabertooth Games.
- Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay
- Currently being developed by Black Industries, the first of three volumes is due for release in late 2007, each volume offering a different style of roleplaying, but all using the same background as Warhammer 40,000.
- Lost Patrol
- While this 2-player game uses 5 Marine Scout miniatures, the rest of the game uses counters. Scouts explore hex-based jungle tiles avoiding generic "lurker" monsters.
Several computer games have also been based on Warhammer 40,000. Among them:
- Warhammer 40,000: Glory in Death (2006)
- A turn-based strategy game made for Nokia N-Gage platform
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (2004)
- A real-time strategy game featuring the Space Marines, Eldar, Orks, and Chaos Space Marines, and its expansion pack, Winter Assault, which introduced the Imperial Guard and a new unit for each of the previous armies. A second expansion, Dark Crusade, was released by publisher THQ which added the Tau and Necrons to the mix as well.
- Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (2003)
- A first-person shooter featuring the Tau.
- Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War (1999)
- A turn-based strategy game using the Panzer game engine.
- Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (1998)
- A turn-based strategy game featuring the Ultramarines.
- Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 (1997)
- A turn-based strategy game recreating Epic 40,000 with two races, Imperial guard (reinforced with Ultramarines) versus the Orks with one single-player imperial campaign. The game was going to have other races added, but plans for the other races never eventuated.
- Warhammer 40,000 Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels (1995)
- Updated RTS/Shooter featuring the Space Marines. It recreates the board game Space Hulk with multiplayer support. Playstation and PC (older/slower machines only, as the game runs on the internal CPU clock for game speed).
- Space Hulk (1993)
- A RTS/Shooter featuring the Space Marines. It recreates the board game Space Hulk. PC (DOS) only.
- Space Crusade (1992)
- Based on the popular board game by Games Workshop. The time is around 40.000, which means that the game is of course taking place in the popular fantasy game Warhammer 40.000 (also known as Warhammer 40K). Games like Warhammer: Final Liberation and Space Hulk are other games taking place in the same period. You control a crew of different space marines that have to fight against other enemies including other space marines at different places including several old space marine outposts.
- Unnamed Warhammer 40,000 MMO
- Announced by THQ and Games Workshop on February 28. Since the game is in the very early stages of development, nothing is known of it (for example, if it is a MMORPG, the races that will appear, etc.).
Vigil Games is making this game. Link to article
The popular computer game StarCraft by computer game company Blizzard is thought by some to have been largely inspired by the Warhammer 40,000 universe. A later game by Blizzard, Warcraft III, pokes fun at this fact as a dwarf states "This warhammer costs 40K!".
Games Workshop's sister company, Black Library have produced novels, comic books and art albums based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Novels include the Gaunt's Ghosts series and Eisenhorn trilogy by Dan Abnett, the Space Wolf series by William King and the Inquisition War trilogy by Ian Watson.
Warhammer Monthly was a comic book, published by Black Library, which ran for over 5 years. It also included strips set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting.
Generally running concurrently with Warhammer Monthly was INFERNO! — also published by Black Library — a magazine which compiled short stories and occasional unconnected illustrations set in the various fictional backgrounds of Games Workshop and regularly featuring that of Warhammer 40,000.
Recently Games Workshop licensed out the rights for comic books, Boom! Studios are currently working on a series of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 comics: Warhammer: Forge of War and Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade. Each of these will be a 6 part series written by Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton.
In early 1990s, Games Workshop created own short-lived record company Warhammer Records. Bands under this label included D-Rok (who have published only a single album entitled "Oblivion" in 1991) and Bolt Thrower's album "Realm Of Chaos - Slaves to Darkness". A fragment of D-Rok's song "Get out of my way" has been used in computer game "Space Hulk" (Electronic Arts, 1992).
In early 2000's, the band Art of Perception has been licensed to produce several Warhammer-inspired soundtracks.
Games Workshop have also produced CDs and soundtracks for several of its collectors edition novels, including the Gaunt's Ghosts Collectors Edition.
Several years ago, Games Workshop has announces in a press release that Exile Studios will be working on a CGI movie based upon the Bloodquest graphic novel. A trailer has been released, but the project was later put on "indefinite hold". With Exile Studios having disbanded, the fate of this project remains unknown.