Cover of the UK Edition of White Dwarf 99, March 1988
White Dwarf is the monthly magazine produced by Games Workshop. The first issue was published in June-July 1977 as a bimonthly magazine. In August 1982 it changed to a monthly release.
At present, White Dwarf covers the three "core" tabletop miniature war game systems produced by Games Workshop: Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar (a replacement for Warhammer content after that game line ended in 2015) and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. White Dwarf is produced for a number of different countries in several languages other than English, with the UK edition considered the "mother" edition.
History[]
The first issue of White Dwarf was published in June-July 1977. It was in black and white, had only 24 pages, was bi-monthly, had many advertisements for obscure non-Games Workshop games and had no pictures of miniatures. During this time Dungeons & Dragons was the main focus of the magazine. In August 1982 the magazine became monthly and the first Warhammer article was published in White Dwarf 45 in September 1983, shortly after the release of the 1st Edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.[1]
White Dwarf Issue 1, June/July 1977
The last issue to be bound by staples was White Dwarf 89. Subsequent issues were now free to increase the page count. By this time the focus was beginning to switch to miniatures, with the few colour pages dedicated to pictures of Citadel Miniatures. After White Dwarf 100 non-Games Workshop material disappeared from the magazine and a Games Workshop logo was added to the front cover. This could be considered the birth of modern White Dwarf -- an in-house publication for Games Workshop and its miniatures and other products.[1]
The first issue to be completely free of external advertising was White Dwarf 113. The first battle report was published in White Dwarf 120, with hand-drawn maps. This feature became increasingly popular, and now there is at least one battle report in every issue of the magazine. By White Dwarf 128 the page count had increased to 128 pages. In White Dwarf 300 the magazine was being published in different versions for different countries so each country's version of the magazine had different design teams, different content and even different issue numbers.[1]
In White Dwarf 316 a new team was assembled and White Dwarfs around the world began to have the same content again.[1]
Notable Features and Articles[]
Regular White Dwarf articles include:
- New Releases - All of the items that Games Workshop have released that month.
- Designer's Notes - Writers, artists and sculptors are interviewed about the new releases.
- Battle Report - A description of a game of Warhammer, or one of Games Workshop's other games, accompanied by pictures and explanations of tactics by the players.
- Modelling / Painting Workshop - Tips on a certain area of the Games Workshop hobby.
- Eavy Metal Masterclass - A guide by one of the 'Eavy Metal team to painting a miniature to the highest quality.
- Tactica - Tactics and strategies for winning games.
Sources[]
- 1: White Dwarf 320, pp. 60-65