Warhammer Cross-Cultural Community

Cross-cultural Community Practices among Warhammer Hobbyists in the UK and East Asia

Principal Investigator: Roland Teo

Key Contributor: Peilin Li

Image Credit:Sanlin Zhanqi Club in Shanghai China

Overview

This project examines differences in social interaction within Warhammer hobbyist communities in the UK and East Asia. It considers how cultural backgrounds influence community norms, social rituals, and participation modes, drawing upon Serious Leisure Theory (Stebbins, 2007) and Community of Practice Theory (Wenger, 1998).

Project Update

Research on the Chinese Warhammer Player Community (2025)

This study focuses on the formation, development, and internal cultural dynamics of the Warhammer player community in mainland China. The key areas of investigation include:

• Material Culture and Participatory Practices:
  Exploring how players construct both personal and collective identities through model assembly, painting, kitbashing, and tool innovation.
• Theoretical Framework:
  Applying the theory of Serious Leisure and the Text-Object-Creation (TOC) model to analyze the cyclical interplay between texts, objects, and creative labor, and how these processes shape community culture.
• Emerging Community Phenomena:
  Examining new trends within the Chinese Warhammer scene, such as the rise of female players and content creators, cross-disciplinary practices like custom Warhammer-themed nail art, evolving attitudes toward copyright and unofficial products, and cultural differentiation among city-based communities.
• Localization within a Global Context:
  Investigating how Chinese players create locally distinctive ways of play and social interaction within the global Warhammer ecosystem, and how they engage in dialogue with the international community.

The research adopts a sociology of practice approach, emphasizing the participant perspective and materiality, and focusing on the formation of rules, community norms, and mechanisms of innovation. By presenting these findings, we aim to deepen the understanding of Chinese player communities and material culture, and to contribute new perspectives to the cross-cultural study of games and hobbyist cultures worldwide.

We will continue to update this page with conference materials and further research progress after the event. Your interest and feedback are welcome!

Published

Warhammer fandom in China: A brief introduction (2023)

Roland Teo and Peilin Li

Warhammer is a UK tabletop war game that was introduced to China in the twenty-first century. Its fan culture in China is different from that in the UK and is shaped by a combination of limited personal income, the development of digital technology, media censorship, and nationalist sentiment. [more]