The Old World is Alive and Well at WAW — Thanks to Colin

If you were at the club on Friday, or happened to be passing through Bay Games in Whitley Bay at the weekend, there’s a good chance you spotted some beautifully ranked-up regiments doing battle across the tabletop. That would be Colin, quietly flying the flag for one of the hobby’s most beloved game systems — Warhammer: The Old World.

What is The Old World?

Warhammer: The Old World is a reincarnation of the classic Warhammer Fantasy Battle miniature wargame, released in January 2024 by Games Workshop. It pits fantasy armies — men, elves, orcs, dwarfs, and the ancient undead — against one another in massed rank-and-flank battles on the tabletop. Although not marketed as a direct continuation of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, it serves as a spiritual successor, featuring a core ruleset derived from earlier editions of the game, bringing back the satisfying crunch of ranked regiment warfare that a generation of hobbyists grew up with.

The game is set centuries before the End Times, in a period known as “the Anarchy” — when the Empire of Man was fractured between warring Elector Counts. It’s a world of chivalric knights, ancient undead dynasties, crumbling human empires, and endless war. The kind of setting that rewards both a love of history and a love of fantasy in equal measure. For returning veterans it’s a homecoming. For newcomers, it’s one of the most rewarding entries into rank-and-flank wargaming on the market.

Colin’s Weekend in the Old World

Friday night at the club saw Colin’s Bretonnia take on Empire in a 2000-point clash that was, by his own admission, educational. His Duke and General — mounted on Pegasus and flanked by Pegasus Knights — charged into the enemy knights on Turn 1 with all the confidence of a man who had absolutely not accounted for the dice. A roll of 11 sent the whole unit fleeing, the enemy following up and wiping them from the board before the game had barely started. As Colin put it himself: lesson learned.

Then on Saturday at Bay Games in Whitley Bay, he was back at it — this time with his Bretonnians facing down Tomb Kings in another 2000-point game. His Knights of the Realm didn’t even make it to combat, fleeing the field in the first missile phase after being struck by a Screaming Skull Catapult. Another bruising afternoon, by all accounts. But also, as Colin said himself — much fun.

And that’s really the point. The Old World is the kind of game where catastrophic losses in Turn 1 make for the best stories afterwards. It rewards experience, punishes overconfidence, and somehow makes you want to get straight back to the table. It was great to see Ben jumping in to admire how fantastic the game looked too — and at 2000 points a side, we’d expect nothing less.

A Hobby Effort Worth Celebrating

What makes Colin’s activity all the more impressive is that he’s not just playing — he’s playing across multiple venues and getting reps in week after week. Playing at both the club and at Bay Games shows real commitment to learning the game, building experience, and getting those beautifully painted armies onto the table where they belong. That kind of dedication is exactly the spirit that West Allotment Wildlings is built on.

The admin team are fully supportive of The Old World getting more table time at the club. It’s a Games Workshop system, it’s fully supported with new releases, the models are stunning, and frankly there’s nothing quite like watching two ranked-up regiments crash into each other across a well-dressed battlefield.

Want to Get Involved?

If The Old World has caught your eye — whether you’re a returning Warhammer Fantasy Battle player dusting off old models from the loft, or a complete newcomer to the hobby — come and have a chat at the club on a Friday night. Colin is your man on the ground, and we’d love to see more games of The Old World finding a regular home at WAW.

The armies are ranked up. The Screaming Skull Catapults are loaded. The only question is which side of the table you’re going to be standing on.