Games Workshop is the British company behind Warhammer, the hobby where you build, paint, and battle with small plastic model soldiers on a tabletop. It is not a video game company, and it is not a single game. It is a whole hobby built around assembling and painting miniatures, then playing structured games with them.
Should your family start? That depends on two things more than anything else: budget and patience with a paintbrush. The hobby rewards both handsomely, but it asks for real money up front and real hours at the table with glue and paint before you ever roll a die. If that trade sounds appealing, read on. If your household wants something you can open and play tonight, this probably is not it — and there is no shame in that.
This guide walks through what the hobby actually is, what it costs in money and time, and where a sensible first purchase fits. We will keep it plain and practical, the way we would talk about any big purchase: what you get, what it runs you over the years, and who should buy in.
What exactly is Games Workshop, and what does it make?
Games Workshop designs and sells miniature wargames. The two big ones most people mean when they say Warhammer are Warhammer 40,000, set in a grim far future, and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, set in a high-fantasy world of gods and monsters. Both work the same way at heart: you assemble small plastic models, paint them, and then play a game where dice and rulebooks decide how your army fares against someone else's.
The company also runs a chain of its own retail stores, publishes rulebooks and fiction novels set in its worlds, and licenses its settings out for video games. That licensing is worth knowing about if you have a reluctant painter in the house. Plenty of people enjoy the Warhammer universe through screen-based games without ever touching a model, which can be a gentle on-ramp for a curious teenager. Readers following this should also see Board Games vs. Video Games for Family Night: Which Should You Choose?.
Think of it like the automotive world. Games Workshop is less like a carmaker selling you a finished vehicle and more like a company selling you a kit car, the tools, the paint, and the service manual — and then hosting the races. The building and painting are not a chore bolted onto the game. For most hobbyists, they are the game.
How much does the hobby actually cost?
Honestly? More than a board game, less than a game console — and it keeps going. The honest framing is that this is a hobby with running costs, not a one-time purchase. Here is where the money goes:
- The starter kit. Every edition gets an introductory box with two small armies, dice, and a condensed rulebook. It is the cheapest way in and the best value in the whole range.
- Tools and paint. Plastic clippers, glue, and a small set of paints are separate purchases. Budget for them alongside the box, not after it.
- Expansion. This is where costs climb. Additional units, rulebooks, and codexes add up over months and years. Nobody needs them to start, and many players happily stay at starter-box scale for a long time.
- Storage and transport. Painted models are delicate. A foam-lined case or a dedicated shelf earns its keep fast.
The trap to avoid is buying big early. A shelf of unpainted plastic is the classic beginner mistake, and it is expensive. Buy one box, finish it, then decide. Our analysis: treat the first purchase like a trial subscription, not a commitment.
How much time does painting really take?
More than the box art suggests, and less than you fear once you lower your bar. A single small model can be painted to a perfectly presentable standard in an evening or two by a careful beginner. A full army is a project measured in months. The trick is accepting "tabletop standard" — neat colors, a wash for shading, done — as a legitimate finish rather than a failure.
Painting is also the part that makes the hobby family-friendly in an unexpected way. It is quiet, screen-free, and sits at a table. A parent and a kid can paint side by side with no competition and no screen time debate. For households that already rotate board games and couch co-op titles on family night, painting sessions slot in naturally as a second, slower ritual. We covered a connected angle in The Best Family Split-Screen Couch Co-Op Games: A Parent's Guide.
Set expectations honestly with younger painters. Fine detail work rewards steady hands, and tiny parts are fiddly. A patient ten-year-old with help can do this. A six-year-old will get frustrated. Age guidance on the boxes reflects the assembly difficulty, so read it before buying.
Where should a beginner actually start?
Start with the current starter box for whichever setting grabs you — space marines versus aliens, or fantasy armies clashing. Pick by which world your household finds more exciting, because you will be painting it for weeks. The starter box includes everything needed for a first game, which removes the guesswork.
- Buy the starter box plus clippers, glue, and a basic paint set.
- Assemble a handful of models first, not the whole box.
- Paint those few to a simple standard. Finish them.
- Play a small game with what you have painted.
- Only then decide whether to expand.
That sequence matters because it front-loads the decision point. If painting turns out to be a drag for your household, you have spent starter-box money, not army money, to find out. If it clicks, you now have a small finished force and momentum.
Local hobby stores and Games Workshop's own shops frequently host beginner sessions and open play, and staff in the company's stores are generally happy to demo. Ask before you buy. A free demo answers the "will we actually enjoy this" question better than any review.
Is Warhammer right for your family?
Here is the verdict, in the format we always use. Buy in if: your household enjoys building things, has patience for a slow-burn project, and wants a hobby that mixes craft night with game night. It suits a parent-and-kid pairing especially well, because the two halves — painting and playing — split naturally between skill sets.
Skip it if: you want a complete game in the box on day one, or if the budget cannot absorb a hobby with ongoing costs. There is no wrong answer here. A family that thrives on quick pickup-and-play titles will get more joy elsewhere.
The middle path: try the universe through its licensed video games first, or sample free browser and card games to see whether tabletop-style play appeals at all. For instance, AOL Games offers free online play across board, card, and multiplayer games on phone, tablet, and desktop, which costs nothing to test whether turn-based games hold your family's attention. If they do, the plastic soldiers will still be waiting.
What the evidence of how this hobby works establishes is simple: Games Workshop products reward commitment and punish impulse buying. Start small, paint what you buy, and let the hobby grow at the speed your table — and your wallet — can sustain.
