There’s something special about going back to where it all began.
Before tournament packs, before meticulously balanced army books, before even the idea of a “standard” Warhammer experience — there was a much looser, more experimental game. A game that felt closer to storytelling than competition.
That’s the version of Warhammer we’ve decided to revisit.
And it all starts with Thistlewood.
The Earliest Days of Warhammer
In 1983, Games Workshop released the first edition of
Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
Looking back now, it’s almost unrecognisable compared to what Warhammer would eventually become.
There were no army books in the modern sense. No tightly tuned points values. No expectation of balance between forces. Instead, the rules provided a framework — and players filled in the rest.
Influenced heavily by Dungeons & Dragons and historical wargaming, early Warhammer encouraged creativity above all else. Players built armies from whatever miniatures they had, often mixing historical ranges with fantasy elements. Characters weren’t just statlines — they were personalities, capable of heroic deeds or catastrophic failure.
Magic was unpredictable. Morale could decide battles before they truly began. And no two games ever played the same way.
It was chaotic.
It was ambitious.
And it was full of charm.
Forces of Fantasy: Shaping the Game
Shortly after the release of First Edition, Games Workshop expanded the system with
Warhammer Fantasy Battle: Forces of Fantasy.
This supplement marked an important step in Warhammer’s evolution.
Forces of Fantasy began to introduce more structure to army building, offering clearer guidance on troop types and force composition. It also helped solidify the identity of factions that would go on to define the setting for decades.
But even with this added structure, the game retained its original spirit.
This wasn’t about perfect balance.
It was about creating memorable battles.
White Dwarf and the Birth of Scenarios
In those early days, much of Warhammer’s development didn’t just happen in rulebooks — it happened in the pages of White Dwarf.
Issue 45, published in 1983, introduced what is widely regarded as one of the first official Warhammer scenarios:
Thistlewood.
This wasn’t a sprawling epic or a climactic siege. It was something far more grounded — and arguably more important because of it.
A small engagement.
A rural battlefield.
A story waiting to unfold.
The Battle of Thistlewood
Thistlewood is deceptively simple.
The Kings Army and the Evil Army meet at the village of Thistlewood both attempting to recover a stolen magical chalice of great power.
And yet, it captures something essential about early Warhammer.
Terrain matters.
Positioning matters.
And above all — the narrative matters.
This is not a perfectly balanced encounter. It’s a scenario designed to be played, interpreted, and experienced.
In many ways, it represents the DNA of Warhammer itself.
Our Return to Thistlewood
This weekend, we’re stepping back into 1983.
A group of us have been collecting and assembling armies inspired by that early era of Warhammer — embracing the slightly rough, eclectic feel of First Edition. Less focus on optimisation, more focus on character and atmosphere.
We’re recreating the Thistlewood battlefield as faithfully as possible:
- The Village
- The Wizards Tower
- The Church and the Graveyard
And then, we’ll play it out using the original spirit of the rules.
No modern balancing tweaks.
No safety nets.
Just the game as it was first imagined.
Why Go Back?
It would be easy to see this as nostalgia.
But it’s more than that.
Replaying Thistlewood is a way of reconnecting with a different philosophy of gaming — one where the outcome matters less than the story that unfolds along the way.
It’s a reminder that Warhammer didn’t begin as a perfectly tuned system. It began as an idea. A creative space. A shared experience between players.
And that’s something still worth celebrating.
What’s Next
We’ll be filming the full battle and sharing it soon — a complete recreation of Thistlewood, played in the spirit of First Edition.
Whether you’ve been playing Warhammer for decades or you’ve only discovered it recently, this is a chance to see where it all started.
Useful Links:
Warhammer Original Rules: PDF Download
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