Warhammer: the game of fantasy battles (formerly warhammer fantasy battle and often abbreviated to warhammer, wfb or whfb) is a tabletop wargame created by games workshop. it is the origin of the warhammer fantasy. the game is designed for regiments of fantasy miniatures. it uses stock fantasy races such as humans (the empire, bretonnia, kislev), elves (dark elves, high elves, wood elves), dwarfs, undead, orcs and goblins, as well as some more unusual types such as lizardmen, skaven and the daemonic forces of chaos. each race has its own unique strengths and flaws; wood elves, for example, have the most powerful archers in the game but have poor overall defence and bretonnia have the strongest cavalry but weak infantry. similary, the high elves are very powerful in close combat, but have weak armour, and cannot be fielded in very large numbers. warhammer has been periodically updated and re-released since first appearing in 1983, with changes to the gaming system and army lists. the current official version, the eighth edition, was released on 10 july 2010. warhammer 40,000, a futuristic companion to warhammer fantasy battle, was released in 1987.
