What is a Warhammer Event?

Warhammer events are amazing opportunities to get together with fellow hobbyists and share your love of Warhammer.

In the simplest definition, a Warhammer event is a gathering where people come together to enjoy Warhammer in all its forms. There’s no single “best” event type or format – Warhammer events can look very different depending on the format, location, and community involved.

They can cover anything from half a dozen people meeting up for a few games together on a Saturday night, to thousands of people descending on a convention centre to play games or participate in hobby workshops at a huge Warhammer Open.

Warhammer events give hobbyists a place to meet, play, and connect with each other. Whether you’re there to compete, tell stories on the tabletop, paint models, or simply meet like-minded fans, it's a great opportunity to create memorable experiences and celebrate the Warhammer hobby and its community.

What happens at a Warhammer event?

Most events feature organised play activities, such as tournaments or narrative games, alongside hobby-based activities like painting or modelling sessions. Just as importantly, events are a great chance to meet new people, make friends, and share your love of Warhammer with the wider community.

Over the last few years, more than a million games of Warhammer were played in tournaments around the world, and that growth will only continue in the future. There’s a myth that certain types of events are only for certain types of hobbyists, for example, that tournaments are only for ultra-competitive players – but the truth is that the majority of tournament attendees don’t expect to win all, or even most, of their games and mainly see these events as a chance to have fun playing a bunch of Warhammer.

Is attending an event right for me?

Absolutely! Warhammer events exist in many formats across the globe, making it easy to find one that suits your interests. Matched play tournaments are the simplest, broadest, and most accessible starting points, letting you play the game you love with a wider pool of people, and make new friends in the process. Narrative-driven events, and hobby and painting gatherings, mean that there’s very likely an event that scratches your Warhammer itch, no matter your hobby preferences or experience level.

How will I know where to go and what to do?

Most events publish an informational document, often called a player pack, ahead of time. This pack includes everything you need to know, such as schedules, locations, event rules, and what to bring, ensuring you arrive at the right place at the right time.

How will I know who I’m playing or how I’m doing?

At tournaments, many organisers use web-based tournament management tools that allow organisers to manage pairings, rankings, and event progress efficiently, while also making this information visible to attendees throughout the event.

Events run by the Warhammer Global Events team, and many more besides, use Best Coast Pairings (BCP), which is our recommended software and has a bunch of benefits, like being able to upload your army list and round scores directly from the Warhammer 40,000 app.

How can I find an event to attend?

Warhammer events are held all over the world, and can vary in size from a handful of people to thousands.

You’ll find some of the bigger events, that are organised or attended by the Warhammer Global Events team, linked on our Featured Events page. 

What types of Warhammer tournaments are there?

Tournaments typically come in one of three formats: Singles, Doubles and Teams.

Singles are the classic 1v1 tournament format, with each player on a quest for victory.

Doubles events will see you join forces with a friend to play 2v2 games of Warhammer.

For Teams, you’ll gather together some friends and play together as a team (hence the name). There are typically five players to a team, making for five 1v1 games with a team’s total score determining their standing.

Some tournaments might combine these formats – for example, the classic AdeptiCon Team Tournaments are Team Doubles events.

Are Warhammer tournaments just about winning?

Not at all. For most people who attend a tournament, community and friendship are both the purpose and the outcome. 

Before you roll a single dice against an opponent to start your tournament experience, remember two things: 

1) The person across the table from you shares your love of Warhammer. 

2) By the time the dust settles on the event, almost everyone will have lost a game (typically, at most, only one or two people will manage to leave the event without a loss). 

While any game often yields winners and losers on the tabletop, the magic of Warhammer in an event setting is the opportunity it provides every participant to become a bigger part of the Warhammer community, and to build friendships with fellow hobbyists that can last a lifetime. For thousands of Warhammer hobbyists, events are a core part of their hobby for this very reason. They regularly travel for the chance to play games, catch up with past opponents and make new friends at Warhammer events around the world.