Battle Games in Middle-earth (magazine)

Infobox_Magazine
title = Battle Games in Middle-earth


image_size = 200px
image_caption = Cover of "Battle Games in Middle Earth" Pack 78, January 2006 (UK). It was originally intended to be the last issue of the magazine, but the deadline was extended due to unprecedented popularity
editor =
frequency = Fortnightly
category = Wargames, Middle-earth
company = DeAgostini/Games Workshop
firstdate = 2002
finaldate = July 2006
finalnumber = 91
country = United Kingdom
website = [http://www.deagostini.co.uk/lordoftherings/ Deagostini.co.uk]
issn =

"Battle Games in Middle-earth" (BGiME) was a fortnightly magazine published by DeAgostini in conjunction with British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Unlike "White Dwarf", which is dedicated to the three core systems of miniature wargaming produced by Games Workshop, "BGiME" was exclusively about "The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game".

According to the magazine itself, as well as it was sold in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malta and South Africa.cite web | title = BGIME Magazine General Questions | work = FAQ | publisher = The Last Alliance | url = http://www.thelastalliance.com/?pid=faq&catid=7&subid=58 | accessdate = 2007-12-12 ] It also became available, through their sponsors, in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, and Poland. The magazine became more popular than the publishers had anticipated, and the deadline was extended several times. Having completed the series of magazines relating to the films, it then went on to explore the rest of the Lord of the Rings universe, includes miniatures that were featured in the "The Lord of the Rings" book but not the films. The last issue was Pack 91, featuring Sharkey from the Scouring of the Shire.

Content

Each pack came with a free "Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game" miniature, including some exclusive to the publication at the time. Exclusive miniatures were much sought after in countries where the magazine was not sold, and included Háma, Théodred and a much sought after conversion kit. However, these have become available as separate components on the Games Workshop website or as miniatures released with new supplements. The magazine itself featured five consistent parts:
* Guide to Middle-earth, introducing the theme of the magazine from the works of Tolkien.
* Playing the Game, introducing the full rules (including some exclusive ones) in installments.
* Battle Game, featuring a themed battle that can be played using armies built up from previous packs.
* Painting Workshop, a step-by-step guide to converting and painting the free miniature featured in the pack
* Modelling Workshop, a full guide to building terrain and scenery for playing battle games on.

There were also three special editions of the magazine, following the specific themes of "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King".

uccess

The magazine has been extremely popular, mostly due to it outdoing the basic and unreliable "White Dwarf" terrain and painting articles with detailed and dependable "masterclass" guides. The first few packs were simple for beginners, but with the accumulation of techniques the final packs managed to outdo even contemporary Warhammer articles in White Dwarf. Alan and Michael Perry, who sculpted several of the special edition miniatures, agreed that the magazine was "a good thing for LotR", that encouraged people to take up the miniature wargaming hobby.cite web | title = Perry Twins Interview | work = Article | publisher = The Last Alliance | url = http://www.thelastalliance.com/index.php?pid=disparticle&catid=4&subid=24&artilceid=1811 | accessdate = 2007-12-12 ]

The original deadline for the magazine was Pack 65; however, this was extended to 78, and later extended again to 91. When "BGiME" finished its series, two members of its team (Mark Latham and Glenn More) joined the "White Dwarf" team; Mark Latham later became the editor of "White Dwarf" in July 2007. [UK "White Dwarf" Issue 331] On the official Games Workshop forum, the forum moderator Steve Hammatt expressed hope that "White Dwarf's" future articles would be improved to the "BGiME" standard:

:"Hopefully this will mean good things for future "LOTR" content in "White Dwarf"." [ [http://www.angelfire.com/rings/firstwarofthering/BGIMEJoinsWD.html Post from Games Workshop forum] ]

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.azog.co.uk/BGIMEIndex/BGiMEIndex1-70.xls Issue Content (1-70)] (Microsoft Excel)
* [http://www.azog.co.uk/BGIMEIndex/BGiMEHTMLIndex1-70.htm Issue Content (1-70)] (HTML)
* [http://www.one-ring.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6236 One-Ring's Miniature and issue list 1 - 91]