Warlord Games

Warlord Games is a British tabletop gaming company based in Nottingham, England. Founded in 2007 by former Games Workshop employees John Stallard and Paul Sawyer, the company developed a business around the design, publication, and sale of miniature wargames and the detailed figures, vehicles, accessories, and rules needed to play them. Bob Naismith was also involved in the company’s early production work, whose first models included Roman legionaries. The company operates across several historical and speculative settings. Its catalogue includes games covering ancient warfare, the Roman period, the English Civil Wars and Thirty Years’ War, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the American Civil War, naval combat, aerial combat, and the Second World War. It also publishes games that depart from strict historical simulation, including the alternate-history science-fiction setting Konflikt ’47 and the science-fiction game Beyond the Gates of Antares. Some products are developed in collaboration with outside rights holders or publishers, such as the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game, produced in conjunction with Mongoose Games. Warlord Games’ most prominent commercial property is Bolt Action, a Second World War miniatures game. The company’s other major systems include Black Powder, a rules system focused on the horse-and-musket era; Hail Caesar!, which covers large-scale ancient battles; Pike & Shotte, which addresses pike-and-shot warfare; Black Seas, a naval game; and Blood Red Skies, an aerial-combat game. These games are supported by ranges of miniatures and gaming materials that allow players to build armies, units, fleets, and scenarios associated with particular historical periods. A notable feature of Warlord Games’ identity is the combination of collectible and hobby products with structured tabletop rules. Customers may purchase figures for assembly and painting, then use the company’s rules to play competitive or narrative battles. Warlord miniatures have also appeared in instructional and reference works about tabletop game design and figure painting. Black Powder has been cited in writing about historical wargaming as an example of rules suitable for recreating battles from multiple conflicts, while Bolt Action has been used to illustrate the interaction of sequential game mechanics. Warlord figures have likewise been used as examples in guidance on painting historically themed miniatures. The company’s rules portfolio has benefited from associations with established designers. Warlord acquired the Black Powder rules from Rick Priestley, who subsequently wrote the Hail Caesar rules for the company. This helped connect Warlord Games with the wider British tradition of historical miniatures gaming and with designers known for influential tabletop systems. In July 2023, Warlord Games sold a 25 percent shareholding to Hornby for £1.25 million. The transaction created a formal connection with another British hobby company, although Warlord Games continued to operate as its own gaming brand. The company has also announced plans for its first standalone retail store, scheduled to open in Wigan in spring 2026. Overall, Warlord Games occupies a specialist position in the tabletop market: it serves hobbyists interested in historical miniatures, organized wargaming, model painting, and campaign-driven play, while also offering licensed and speculative settings that broaden its audience beyond strictly historical games.

Warlord Games was established in 2007 by John Stallard and Paul Sawyer, both former employees of Games Workshop. The company entered the tabletop market with a focus on miniatures and rules for historical battles rather than on a single fictional universe. Bob Naismith was involved in the company’s first production work, which included Roman legionary models. This early emphasis on historically recognizable subjects became central to Warlord’s later catalogue. The company’s development combined physical model production with the publication of complete tabletop game systems. Its products generally provide both the miniatures and the rules framework through which players organize armies, resolve combat, and recreate historical or speculative conflicts. This integrated model gives the brand a presence in several parts of the hobby: game design, miniature manufacturing, figure assembly, painting, collecting, and organized play. One important stage in the company’s expansion was its work with designer Rick Priestley. Warlord Games bought the Black Powder rules from Priestley, and Priestley later wrote Hail Caesar for Warlord. Black Powder is associated with warfare in the horse-and-musket era, while Hail Caesar extends the company’s historical coverage to ancient battles. The two systems helped establish Warlord as a publisher of large-scale historical games with rules intended to support dramatic, narrative battles. Warlord subsequently built a broad range of settings. Pike & Shotte addresses conflicts involving pike-and-shot formations, including the English Civil Wars and the Thirty Years’ War. Bolt Action focuses on the Second World War and became the company’s most popular game according to the cited reference material. Other releases cover naval combat in Black Seas and aerial warfare in Blood Red Skies. The company also moved into less strictly historical territory through Konflikt ’47, which combines an alternate version of the Second World War with alien technology, and Beyond the Gates of Antares, a science-fiction miniatures game. The Judge Dredd Miniatures Game was produced in conjunction with Mongoose Games, bringing a licensed comic-book setting into the catalogue. Warlord’s games have received attention in books about tabletop design and miniature painting. Rick Priestley and John Lambshead used Black Powder and Bolt Action as examples when discussing game mechanisms in their 2016 handbook. Their discussion highlighted the dramatic function of Black Powder’s blunder mechanism and used Bolt Action to explain how sequential rules can link shooting, hits, morale effects, and casualties. Javier Gomez’s 2015 painting guide used Warlord figures to demonstrate approaches to painting historically themed subjects, including Roman and early-modern examples. These references illustrate how the company’s products function both as games and as hobby objects. In July 2023, Warlord Games sold 25 percent of its shares to Hornby for £1.25 million. The investment linked Warlord with a long-established British model and hobby business while leaving Warlord identifiable as a distinct gaming brand. The company has also planned a first standalone retail store in Wigan, due to open in spring 2026. The proposed location reflects an effort to give the brand a dedicated physical presence in the north-west of England. Warlord Games remains an active specialist publisher and manufacturer. Its identity rests on historically informed miniatures, rules designed for battles involving substantial forces, and a hobby ecosystem in which assembling and painting models is closely connected to gameplay. Its catalogue’s combination of ancient, early-modern, modern, naval, aerial, licensed, and science-fiction subjects allows the company to serve both traditional historical wargamers and players seeking alternative settings.

• 2026

  Planned first standalone retail store

  [1]Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Warlord Games is due to open its first standalone retail store in Wigan in spring 2026.

• 2023

  Hornby takes a minority stake

  [1]Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Hornby purchases 25 percent of Warlord Games for £1.25 million.

• 2007

  Warlord Games is founded

  [1]Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Former Games Workshop employees John Stallard and Paul Sawyer establish Warlord Games, with Bob Naismith involved in its early production work.

• 2007

  Early Roman miniatures are produced

  [1]Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s first production work includes Roman legionary models, establishing an early connection with historical miniatures.

• Black Powder rules enter the Warlord catalogue

  [1]Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Warlord Games acquires the Black Powder rules from Rick Priestley, who later writes Hail Caesar for the company.

A specialist British tabletop publisher and miniatures manufacturer focused on accessible, historically themed mass-battle games, supported by collectible figures, hobby modelling, and narrative campaign play.

• Historical miniatures wargame

  Bolt Action

  A Second World War tabletop miniatures game and Warlord Games’ most popular game according to the cited reference material. It is supported by miniatures representing the major forces and equipment of the conflict. The system is used both for competitive games and for narrative recreations of historical battles.

• Historical miniatures wargame

  Black Powder

  A rules system for battles in the horse-and-musket era. It is designed to handle large historical engagements and has been associated with scenarios from conflicts including the American Revolution, the American Civil War, the Anglo-Sikh War, and the Boer War.

• Ancient historical miniatures wargame

  Hail Caesar!

  A large-scale historical miniatures system focused on ancient warfare. The rules were written for Warlord Games by Rick Priestley and complement the company’s range of ancient-world figures and armies.

• Early-modern historical miniatures wargame

  Pike & Shotte

  A historical battle game covering pike-and-shot warfare, including the English Civil Wars and the Thirty Years’ War. Its subject matter allows players to recreate conflicts in which pike formations, firearms, cavalry, and artillery shaped battlefield tactics.

• Naval miniatures wargame

  Black Seas

  A naval combat game built around sailing warships and the operational challenges of historical fleet actions. It extends Warlord Games’ historical range from land battles into maritime warfare.

• Aerial miniatures wargame

  Blood Red Skies

  An aerial-combat miniatures game focused on aircraft warfare. It broadens the company’s Second World War and historical gaming portfolio beyond infantry, vehicles, and naval units.

• Alternate-history miniatures wargame

  Konflikt '47

  An alternate-history game that combines a version of the Second World War with alien technology. The setting gives Warlord’s historical miniatures format a speculative science-fiction dimension.

• Science-fiction miniatures wargame

  Beyond the Gates of Antares

  A science-fiction tabletop miniatures game that expands Warlord Games’ catalogue beyond historical settings and provides a future-oriented universe for army-based play.

• Licensed miniatures wargame

  Judge Dredd Miniatures Game

  A miniatures game based on the Judge Dredd setting and produced in conjunction with Mongoose Games. It brings a recognizable comic-book property into Warlord Games’ tabletop format.

• 2026

  Planned opening of a standalone Warlord Games storeStrategy

  Background

  The company has operated primarily as a publisher and manufacturer serving the wider tabletop hobby market.

  Action taken

  Warlord Games plans to open its first standalone retail store in Wigan in spring 2026.

  Aftermath

  The planned store is intended to provide the brand with a dedicated physical retail location in north-west England; its operating results are not yet available.

  Source

• 2023

  Sale of a 25 percent shareholding to HornbyM&A

  Background

  Warlord Games pursued a formal investment relationship with Hornby, another British company operating in the model and hobby sector.

  Action taken

  In July 2023, Warlord Games sold 25 percent of its shares to Hornby for £1.25 million.

  Aftermath

  The transaction gave Hornby a minority stake while Warlord Games continued to operate as a distinct tabletop games brand.

  Purchase price for 25 percent shareholding. £1.25 million (July 2023)

  Source

1. 1Warlord Gamesen.wikipedia.org