Hello all, the Incorrigible Phat J here with my weekly article about tabletop wargaming things that I LOVE. This week we dive into what makes the re-release of Games Workshop’s The Old World such a pivotal moment in the life of this author.
Imagine if you will, the year is 2015. You’re feeling good. It’s Friday, you just got off your job and heading to Pizza Hut to pick up a hot stuff crust pizza. Next stop, your best friend Tim’s house for pizza and a rousing game of Warhammer Fantasy. You’ve spent weeks painting your new unit of Night Goblins. Games Workshop has just released the final book in the End Times series. You’re excited to see what lies ahead for the game you’ve been playing for 15 years. When you get to the house the front door is slightly adjar. The house is dark. You notice the living room lamp is on the floor, the light bulb flickering on and off. What’s happened? Tim is lying on the floor, crying. Did someone die? You ask. Yes, Tim says, Warhammer…. Warhammer died. Your world shatters.
You spend the next four years living life in a fog. Nothing truly has meaning. How could Games Workshop just KILL a 30 year old game? Nothing makes sense anymore. Life goes on but what kind of life is worth living without Warhammer Fantasy?
You find yourself going through the 7 stages of grief.
SHOCK – This HAS to be a mistake! This can’t be possible!
DENIAL – 30 years?! After 30 years Games Workshop would just…KILL the game? Impossible.
ANGER – HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO ME. I’ll burn this army, that will show them! I’ll record it for posterity!
BARGAINING – Ok, I promise I’ll buy that new model kit..ok? I promise! I don’t have enough models I CAN BUY MORE!
DEPRESSION – Nothing matters, life is meaningless. Taco Bell for breakfast? Lets do it.
ACCEPTANCE – I guess this is real. I can’t do anything about it. I’ve already burnt my models in a show of anger.
HOPE – Maybe some day my beloved game will return to me. (I’ll need to buy a new army since I burnt my last one). Maybe tomorrow I I won’t eat Taco Bell for breakfast? Maybe I’ll wake up and drink a glass of water.
Four long years pass. Four dark years. Taco Bell years. You lose track of time and space.
Suddenly, in 2019, a cryptic post from the Warhammer Community team appears. “Everything comes round again. Even squares”. A map of the Old World is revealed. A feeling, long forgotten, perhaps joy? Colors seem brighter, more vibrant. Years pass, but the days don’t seem so long, so dark. Something is worth living for. You cut back on the Taco Bell, begin to take regular showers again. Pokemon card game nights are cut down to twice a week.
Then the day finally arrives. The clouds part. A light appears. Heavenly voices sing.
The offical release of Warhammer The Old World.
You call off work, drive an hour to the nearest hobby store that has stock of the rulebooks. Your hands shake as you gently flip through the pages, memorys of better days flooding back into your memory. Your old friends have returned. You take a deep breath, even the smell of the book seems vaguely familiar. The world seems right.
Two years later, the game is going strong. Games Workshop has a steady release of new factions and old model range re-refreshes. Weekly leagues are a thing again, and small to mid-level tournaments are regularly scheduled for those inclined . Games Workshop is responsive to game updates as needed, and so-called Legacy factions have full rules and points costs.
The future looks bright for fans of Warhammer, The Old World. Games Workshop finally realizes that the enthusiasm for the game will always exist, and if you release new and updated models and rules at a consistent pace even your old fat grognards will reluctantly loosen the purse strings to make a purchase.