We’ve talked about the split between Fantasy Flight Games and Games Workshop, and how many beloved FFG games are being discontinued, but what about the other side of the coin?
In fall of last year, Games Workshop announced they’re creating a team to work on single-box tabletop games, and mentioned several beloved games that would be coming back. We’ve already seen games emerge in this format in the likes of Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower and Lost Patrol. But what else might be we anticipating?
Here’s a little introduction to some of the games that were mentioned, as well as a few others we’ve got our fingers crossed for.
Blood Bowl
What happens when you take the fantasy universe and put football in it? That’s the essential premise of Blood Bowl, one of the most enduring games from Games Workshop’s Specialist range. While Blood Bowl is fun and the models are characterful (the orc cheerleaders especially), the game really shines like a new dime when played over as season in a campaign-style mode. Team managers not only had to act as on-field coaches calling plays, but also as general managers, balancing team administration like salary caps and injuries over the course of the season.
Arguably, the enduring popularity of the game is one of the reasons Dreadball and Guildball succeeded–inspired by what this game did best, despite a lack of support from GW over the last decade. While a new Blood Bowl is being teased, we’re excited to see how they recreate the game while also embracing the new post-Endtimes fantasy universe of the Age of Sigmar.
Battlefleet Gothic
Battlefleet Gothic was one of the most intricate miniature wargames that tried to encapsulate the massive scale and physics of spaceship combat from the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Drifting in space, precise movement, and mechanically imbalanced rules in order to fit the structured fluff of the 40K races (including Tyranid ships that were living and could assault and Tau railguns in space), Battlefleet Gothic was for wargamers who loved movement.
With games like Firestorm Armada, Star Trek Attack Wing, and Star Wars Armada competing in the realm of spaceship miniature games, it will be fascinating to see how Games Workshop reboots this title. My hope is to take a page from the Black Library (ha ha) and include chapter-specific abilities for Imperial ships the way that specific legion ships in the Horus Heresy series had unique weaponry and movement. I swear on the Golden Throne itself, if Gothic includes rules for Ursus claws for Worldeaters’ ships and faster/more agile movement for White Scars, they can have all my money.
Inquisitor
Before their partnership with Fantasy Flight, the game of Inquisitor was the Games Workshop roleplaying game. It was set in the 40K universe, but it also included models that were substantially larger than 28mm. The Inquisitor scale models were twice the size of standard minis at 54mm heroic, meaning they were beautifully posed, intricately detailed, and a pleasure to paint.
When I worked for Games Workshop as a young university student, one of the employee Christmas gifts was an Inquisitor scale Jess Goodwin-sculpted wood elf model. While it was unplayable in the game as it had no rules, it was an absolutely stunning mini.
I’m excited to get back into the universe where Eisenhorn walks again, particularly since Dan Abnett is busy with so many other projects.
Necromunda
If you’re going to talk about incredible campaign games, Necromunda fits the bill. Though the game balance hasn’t aged particularly well without GW support, the notion of playing one of the factions of the Underhive of Necromunda (think megacities from Dredd, but bigger and filled with weird techno-mysticism) is so alluring that the game has endured–like all discontinued GW Specialist Games–through community support.
Whether you pick up the punk rocker female gang known as the Eschers; the ‘roid-raging Goliaths; the rich, adventuring Spyers (who were outfitted unknowingly with Tau technology); or any of the other interesting factions, the game had wonky enough rules, interesting gameplay, and fun mechanics that rewarded long-term play within gaming clubs.
What game might you be excited to see rebooted, either by GW or any other company? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image & Blog Photo Credits: Cyanide Studios, Games Workshop
Teri Litorco has been playing miniature games since 2003 and played House Escher in Necromunda. She’s also the author of The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming. She loves talking shop so send her questions and photos of your models via social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.