Dakkapedia ☕ Coffee
Unofficial fan reference. Not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Games Workshop. Warhammer 40,000 and all associated names, marks, logos and imagery are © & ™ Games Workshop Ltd — referenced here for identification only.

Beyond the tabletop

The wider 40k universe — how to play, what to read, what to watch and what to play on screen.

Ways to play

MatchedBalanced, competitive play with armies built to equal points values; the default for pick-up games and tournaments.
NarrativeStory-driven battles from campaign books or your own sagas; Crusade is the flagship narrative system.
OpenThe most freeform style: any models, any objective, any scenario, with minimal restrictions.
CrusadeCrusade is the long-form narrative campaign system, where a single army carries over and develops across a connected run of games. Each unit is tracked on a persistent roster, gains experience to climb through a series of rank tiers (with only characters reaching the highest ones), and can pick up lasting upgrades from wins or lasting injuries from losses. A separate pool of campaign points lets you recruit new units, clear those injuries, or raise the cap on your roster's total size.
Combat PatrolA small fixed-roster beginner mode using each faction's predefined ~500-point list on a small board; the recommended on-ramp.
Boarding ActionsCorridor-fighting set in cramped spaceship decks, with modified rules and smaller forces.

Video games

Dawn of War (series)Released
RTS · Relic · 2004
Dawn of War 4Announced
RTS · King Art / Deep Silver · 2026
Gladius – Relics of WarReleased
4X turn-based · Proxy / Slitherine · 2018
Total War: Warhammer 40,000In development
Strategy · Creative Assembly
Space MarineReleased
3rd-person action · Relic · 2011
Space Marine 2Released
3rd-person action · Saber Interactive · 2024
Space Marine 3In development
3rd-person action · Saber Interactive
DarktideReleased
Co-op FPS · Fatshark · 2022
BoltgunReleased
Boomer-shooter · Auroch / Focus · 2023
MechanicusReleased
Turn-based tactics · Bulwark / Kasedo · 2018
Mechanicus IIReleased
Turn-based tactics · Bulwark / Kasedo · 2026
BattlesectorReleased
Turn-based tactics · Black Lab / Slitherine · 2021
Chaos Gate: DaemonhuntersReleased
XCOM-like · Complex / Frontier · 2022
Rogue TraderReleased
CRPG · Owlcat · 2023
TacticusReleased
Mobile tactics · Snowprint · 2022

Where to start reading (Black Library)

Eisenhorn: Xenos good startEisenhorn (Dan Abnett) — Self-contained Inquisition thriller; the most-recommended entry point.
Ciaphas Cain: For the Emperor good startCiaphas Cain (Sandy Mitchell) — The most accessible and funniest entry.
Horus Rising good startThe Horus Heresy (Dan Abnett) — Best start for foundational lore; opens the 54-novel Heresy series.
The Infinite and the Divine good startStandalone (Nate Crowley) — Witty Necron tale requiring zero prior knowledge.
Helsreach good startStandalone (Aaron Dembski-Bowden) — A single book of classic battlefield grit.
Gaunt's Ghosts: First and OnlyGaunt's Ghosts (Dan Abnett) — Gritty Imperial Guard military drama.
Avenging SonDawn of Fire (Guy Haley) — Jumping-on point for current Era Indomitus 40k.

Animation & screen

AstartesSyama Pedersen's fan-made Space Marine short, later picked up by GW, with a sequel, Astartes II, due in 2026.
Hammer and BolterAn anthology series of standalone animated 40k shorts, available on Warhammer+.
Pariah NexusA CGI animated series depicting the Necron Pariah Nexus conflict.
Angels of DeathAn animated series following the Blood Angels.
Henry Cavill Amazon adaptationAn Amazon MGM film/TV adaptation with Henry Cavill starring and producing, still in development as of 2026.

Apps & list-building tools

Official Warhammer 40,000 AppGW's first-party companion app (iOS/Android) with a built-in list builder that checks armies across game sizes. The free tier covers the core rules, Combat Patrol rules, the index datasheets and one saved list; a paid subscription (~$5.99/mo) adds unlimited lists and other extras.
New RecruitThe go-to free, third-party, community-maintained list builder (newrecruit.eu) that overtook BattleScribe. Multi-game (40k, AoS, The Old World, Horus Heresy, Kill Team), with auto points/validation, cloud sync, BattleScribe import and 3D deployment ('Warhall'); an optional paid tier adds extras.
BattleScribeThe long-running fan army-builder that was once the community standard. Now in decline and largely superseded by New Recruit, though some players still use it.
WahapediaA free, fan-run online rules reference (wahapedia.ru) with cleanly cross-linked datasheets, detachments, stratagems and points. Unofficial and a copyright grey area; widely used but not GW-sanctioned and can lag official rules.
War JournalA new feature in the 11th-edition Warhammer app for logging games and tracking your campaign/match history, alongside opponent linking and Best Coast Pairings integration.

Sister games

Kill TeamThe 40k skirmish game of small operative teams, currently 3rd edition (Hivestorm).
Horus Heresy (30k)The M31 Age of Darkness civil war of massed Space Marine Legions, now plastic-line 3rd edition.
Legions ImperialisEpic-scale Horus Heresy with tiny minis fielding Titans and hundreds of infantry.
NecromundaCampaign-driven gang warfare in the underhive with persistent fighters.
Adeptus TitanicusEpic-scale Titan-vs-Titan combat set in the Horus Heresy.
Age of SigmarGW's separate high-fantasy sister game set in the Mortal Realms, currently 4th edition.