Miniature wargame
Warhammer Age of Sigmar[a] is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop that simulates battles between armies by using miniature figurines. Games are typically played on a relatively flat surface such as a dining table, bespoke gaming table, or an area of floor. The playing area is often decorated with models and materials representing buildings and terrain. Players take turns taking a range of actions with their models: moving, charging, shooting ranged weapons, fighting, and casting magical spells; the outcomes of which are generally determined by dice rolls. Besides the game itself, a large part of Age of Sigmar is dedicated to the hobby of collecting, assembling and painting the miniature figurines from the game.
Whereas some wargames recreate historical warfare, Age of Sigmar has a fantasy theme heavily inspired by the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien and Michael Moorcock.[1] Players' armies fight with medieval-era weaponry and cast magical spells, and the warriors are a mixture of humans and fantasy creatures such as elves, dwarves, and orks.
Age of Sigmar is the sequel to the game Warhammer (specifically Warhammer Fantasy Battle). Due to this, the game contains many of the same characters, themes, and models as its predecessor.
Editions
The first edition of Age of Sigmar in 2015 replaced Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Another set released for the first edition was Spire of Dawn, which reused the High Elf and Skaven models from the Isle of Blood (Warhammer 8th edition starter set).[2] The initial release of AoS did not include point values for individual units—these were added later—and instead imbalance was to be mitigated by number of models. If one side started the game with one-third more models than the other, the smaller side could choose a "sudden death" win condition for itself.[b] Summoning new units used the same mechanics as spellcasting and required the dedication of reinforcement points for each summonable unit.
The initial release is notable for having included many absurd[3] rules such as:
Pride of the Reiksguard: Helborg’s skill is as legendary as his moustache is magnificent. You can re-roll any failed hit rolls when attacking with the Runefang so long as you have a bigger and more impressive moustache than your opponent.
Escapist Magazine noted that such ridiculous rules could easily be exploited since nothing in the rules said the moustache had to be real and suggested players buy novelty moustaches to satisfy the condition.[3] Other such rules included re-rolls for players pretending to ride and talk to an imaginary horse, screaming a guttural warcry, and keeping a straight face when their opponent tries to make them laugh.[3] Some contemporary reviews were highly critical of such rules saying that while they may have been intended as jokes to encourage roleplaying, they opened up players to ridicule.[4][5]
The second edition of AoS was released in 2018 following the Malign Portents event. It brought multiple significant changes to the rules, notably an overhaul of the summoning system, the elimination of reinforcement points, and the introduction of endless spells.[6]
The third edition of AoS was released in June 2021, following the Broken Realms campaign series - in which the status quo of the setting was drastically altered.[7] The new edition featured an overhaul of the Battalion system, objectives, and the introduction of a new Path to Glory narrative campaign.[8]
Setting
Age of Sigmar is set in the Mortal Realms, a system of eight interconnected realms spawned from the Winds of Magic. The second edition brought with it rules for each of the realms, adding spells, artefacts, and realm characteristics.
Gameplay
Age of Sigmar emphasises the narrative aspect of the wargaming experience, encouraging the play of story-driven scenarios, recreation of battles from lore, and player-created stories. The ruleset is designed to make the game easy to learn but hard to master. Basic rules of play are simple and quick to understand, but more advanced mechanics can be found in unit-specific "Warscrolls" that detail more rules and stats of the individual unit. The art of the game lies in understanding how your units work together and exploiting synergies to use them as a cohesive army. The rules and Warscrolls are free, and can be downloaded from the Games Workshop website or viewed in the Age of Sigmar app.[9]
Factions
Each faction in Age of Sigmar is a part of one of four super-factions, called Grand Alliances. In the lore, factions within a Grand Alliance are generally united by common goals and aims. Conflict still occurs within Grand Alliances, however, as each faction will often have its own agenda that clashes with the agenda of other factions.
In early periods of Age of Sigmar - specifically First Edition - armies could be built from multiple factions within the same Alliance (e.g. Stormcast Eternals, Seraphon, and Sylvaneth), with an allegiance corresponding to that particular Grand Alliance but not to any of the individual factions. In more recent editions, armies are built mostly from individual factions (e.g. a Stormcast Eternals army) with an option to include a limited number of allies from related factions within the alliance (e.g. a Stormcast Eternals army with 200 points of Seraphon allies). An army consisting of Factions usually synergise best with their own units, and faction-specific armies receive bonuses and additional rules that are not available to mixed Grand Alliance armies.
Reception
Criticism
Warhammer Age of Sigmar was widely criticised by the fanbase upon release for replacing the setting and gameplay of its predecessor, Warhammer Fantasy Battle.[22][23] With the advent of the game's Second Edition, reception towards the game has improved, with it being cited by PC Gamer as being "close to its former glory".[24]
Accolades
Realm War was nominated for "Best Mobile Game" at the Develop:Star Awards,[25] and for "Best Strategy Game" at The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards, while Champions was nominated for "Best Social Game".[26]
