Forgeworld is a specialised section of the Games Workshop company (based in Nottingham, England). Games Workshop produces a variety of games which are sold worldwide.

What are these games like?

All use the same idea, the player buys him/her self an army of small plastic or metal miniatures and uses them to play a game that on a very basic level is like chess. The general minimum number of players is 2 and the maximum depends on how large a space you have to play on (although most battles usually only have two forces, each sometimes having more than one general). The players set up a battlefield using terrain (often home made) and then sorts out how well each item provides cover or blocks line of sight. Next the players set up their armies at an agreed distance from their table edge/corner (depending on player preference). With the armies set up, one player from each side rolls a dice and whoever rolls highest gets to choose whether to go first or second. After that the game runs turn about. At the start of each turn the players move their models up to whatever number of inches the models characteristic says they can. After that comes the shooting phase where players choose targets and, using a characteristic based system of ballistic skill roll a dice for each weapon to see if it hits, then if it injures the opponent. For eg. An Imperial Guardsman (human soldier) from the game Warhammer 40,000 (40k) fires his lasgun at an Ork (A type of alien from the game). looking at his stats, he has a ballistic skill of 3 which is average, he needs a 4,5 or 6 rolled on 1 dice to hit the Ork. Let's say he hits. Now we know that the Ork is hit we must see if he is injured, looking at the Ork's Toughness value, we see it is 4, and looking at the lasguns Strength, we see that is 3 (not very powerful) using charts found at the back of the 40k Rulebook, we see the imperial player needs a 5 or a 6 on 1 dice to injure the tough alien. Once again, let's say he succeeds, now we see the Ork is wearing light armour which provides a small amount of protection from weapons fire, giving him a save roll of 6, the lasgun is bad at penetrating armour (Armour Penetration value of 0) and so the Ork has a chance his armour will save him. he fails and, because he has only 1 wound he is removed from play as a casualty. After that is the Assault phase where players get to move any models within another move range can charge into combat which works very similar to shooting except both players fight and different characteristics are used (Initiative to see which person goes first, Weapon Skill to see what you need to roll to hit, the models Strength and the models Attacks characteristic to see how many dice they get to attack with)

is that all there is to it?

What is Forgeworld?

Forgeworld produces special models, not normally used by regular gamers and they are really there for die hard gamers, not only because they are difficult to build but also because they are more expensive to buy. The majority of Forgeworld's products are made of resin, hand poured, which is one of the reasons for the increased price.

Increased price? How much do these cost?

Quite a lot unfortunately, you see Games Workshop not long ago had quite a financial crises due to share prices plummeting and so they raised prices (claiming it was due to a new metal they were using). Now that the troubles are resolved, they have failed to lower the prices and this has caused a few gamers to quit, complaining that it is 'too expensive to play now'. Well, this researcher says rubbish, hobbies are only as expensive as you make them, the author gets on average £20 a month pocket money (Being 16) yet still manages to play without going broke. The average Games Workshop price is £15 for 10-20 models, the average Forgeworld kit is £10 for one item to upgrade say, one standard tank kit into a different model. As you can see this is quite expensive but then you must think that you are not at any time obliged to buy these things, you are paying for something special for a hobby that you love. Naturally people who are not major collectors will think those of us willing to spend £100 on a model kit that doesn't move idiots but then they don't love the hobby like we do.

So what does Forgeworld have to offer that makes it worth it?

Again, special models few people will have that just make your collection that bit more personal. Some Forgeworld kits provide quite a modelling challenge and skilled modellers like to add their own personal touches (called 'converting'). Some of these kits are just large scale replicas of the smaller models and are just showpieces whereas others are enhanced versions of kits that work differently on the battlefield, maybe just a different set of weapons. Some kits are entirely new vehicles, the most recent additions being aircraft, with their own new rules, published in the White Dwarf.

As a final note, this researcher has talked to many Forgeworld and regular Games Workshop staff, they are not like other entries on this subject make them out to be: heartless money grabbers, the researcher is friends with some of them, has their mobile numbers, one bought an unwanted product off him that he couldn't return due to having lost the receipt. Please post your opinions at the end of this entry.
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