In Conversation with Jordan Sorcery

Sir Ian Livingstone in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Along with a couple of friends Sir Ian Livingstone founded Games Workshop in 1975 to sell wooden toys and games. Within a few years they had become the exclusive European distributor of TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons, had been offered a merger by Gary Gygax, launched White Dwarf magazine, and started producing their own board games.

In our conversation we cover those early years, the creation of Citadel Miniatures and partnership with Bryan Ansell ahead of the arrival of Warhammer. And we go on to explore the origin of Fighting Fantasy and Sir Ian’s transition into the world of video games.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/TO8mQPPqQ04

Support the show

Jim Butler in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Jim  worked at Games Workshop for 30 years holding a variety of management and leadership positions. Working under Bryan Ansell, Tom Kirby, and Kevin Rountree Jim was responsible for developing the GW management trainee programme and academy, leading the design studio for a number of years, and ultimately taking on the role of head of e-commerce for the company.

Amongst the many and varied experiences during his career Jim helped build the Games Workshop and Forge World web stores and we talk about the approach taken as well as what may have influenced the most recent update to Warhammer.com. We also touch on a wide range of stories, from the development of Mordheim to the cultural shifts in the business over the years.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/lIwvlOzF4io

Support the show

Alan Merrett in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Alan has held many roles in his 36 year career at Games Workshop; starting as a caster at Citadel in the early days of the company and ending as the Head of Intellectual Property for the international hobby mega-corp that GW had become by 2016.

Over that period Alan was involved in some of the most significant business decisions in the company's history, helping to influence the creation and evolution of the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 universes, even pitching the concept for what would become Age of Sigmar.

In our conversation we talk about the beginning of 40k and the development of Warhammer Fantasy into a more accessible product. The way in which the culture of GW changed over time, and the countless inflection points in the creation, expansion, and destruction of some of the greatest gaming worlds ever devised.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/eSgtqUCTpi0

Support the show

In Conversation with Jordan Sorcery brings to podcast feeds all of the amazing interviews that Jordan has recorded with the most important figures in the history of Games Workshop, Warhammer, and tabletop gaming.

Featuring interviews with Rick Priestley, Andy Chambers, Gav Thorpe, Alessio Cavatore, Sir Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson, and many more!

Settle in and listen to stories and insights about the history Games Workshop and tabletop gaming from the people who lived it!

Support the show

Gav Thorpe in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Gav has worked on innumerable games, supplements, and stories at GW for Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer: 40,000, Warhammer Quest, Inquisitor, Battlefleet Gothic, and just about everything else released by Workshop in the early 2000s!

As one of the designers who resurrected the Citadel Journal, helped develop Tau and Sisters of Battle for 40k, created Inquisitor, and continues to write  countless novels and adventures for Black Library Gav Thorpe has impacted the games and worlds of Games Workshop in a way that few can rival.

We chat about developing Warhammer Quest, designing 40k, telling stories in Warhammer Fantasy, and the evolving culture and business of Games Workshop. It's a good one!

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/H9HOrVuRiYU

Support the show

Mark Wells in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

We explore a period of incredible change in the organisation as it shifts from the 90s approach of 2 core games (Warhammer Fantasy & Warhammer 40,000) with specialist games like Gorka Morka, Necromunda, and Mordheim alongside them, to the 2000s focus on 3 core systems - Warhammer Fantasy Battle, 40K, and the Lord of the Rings.

During Mark's tenure at the company there were many exciting, challenging, and at times controversial decisions, changes, and products. This was the era that saw the rise of the internet, the legal wrangles with Chapter House, the end and then return of the boxed game (and one of the best GW ever made in Space Hulk 3rd edition), the introduction of one-man retail stores, and a host of other inflection points in the story of Games Workshop.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/jh3o-BkXpNw

Support the show

Andy Chambers in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Andy Chambers was lead designer, AKA the Overfiend, for 40K 3rd Edition and was arguably the person most responsible for evolving it into the foundations of the modern game.

Starting with White Dwarf articles for Space Marine & Adeptus Titanicus, writing Battle Magic and Warhammer Armies: Skaven for Fantasy Battle, and then leading the development of 40K and working on at least 12 Codex books! And that's not to mention Necromunda, Battlefleet Gothic, and Gorka Morka. Plus more recently the 2000AD and Judge Dredd games for Warlord Games.

Andy and I talk about his career at Games Workshop, the art of developing 40K and other GW classics, and his more recent work on new games like Judge Dredd.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/HLTpV3_Mekc

Support the show

Alessio Cavatore in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Alessio has designed countless games in his remarkable tabletop career. At Games Workshop he worked on a host of Armies Books before taking over as design lead for Lord of the Rings: Strategy Battle Game, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, and Warhammer 40,000.

Since leaving Games Workshop Alessio has contributed extensively to games like Bolt Action from Warlord Games and Kings of War from Mantic. He has also founded his own company, River Horse Games, to develop board game adaptations of classic movies like Labyrinth, Highlander, and the Hunger Games.

We talk about his game design philosophy, the culture and changes at Games Workshop over the years, and reflections working on some of the most important games in tabletop history.

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/5ZqlaS-xQaA

Support the show

Robin Dews & John Stallard in conversation with Jordan Sorcery.

Robins Dews, the former editor of White Dwarf and later the Games Workshop Design Studio Manager, and John Stallard, former GW Sales Director and subsequent co-founder of Warlord Games, join me to talk about their recent project to document the history of Citadel and Games Workshop through conversations with key alumni from the storied past.

We chat about the business decisions, culture, and changes that helped to shape Citadel miniatures under Bryan Ansell and the Games Workshop that evolved under Tom Kirby, talking in a host of fascinating tales along the way!

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/z_S8gSjU8Zs

Support the show

Martin Wallace in conversation with Jordan Sorcery. The legendary game designer behind Brass, A Few Acres of Snow, Study in Emerald, Struggle of Empires, and Discworld: Ankh-Morpork joins me to talk about the process, business, and career of games design; the use of kickstarter for launching new games; and the projects he’s working on for the future.

Starting from a retail job in Games Workshop to working with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone on a new Fighting Fantasy Adventures game, Wallace has designed countless classic games and regularly held the top spot on the BoardGameGeek 100 best games. 

We explore story-first games design, the challenges and successes of working in the games industry, and talk about some of the best board games ever made!

Support my work:

• Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/jordansorcery]
• Element Games Affiliate Link [https://elementgames.co.uk/?d=11216]
• Download my Fantasy Battle Scenario: Dead King Wenceslas [https://jordansorcery.itch.io/dead-king-wenceslas]
• Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/jordansorcery]
• Discord [My Discord is now exclusive to Patreon supporters]

This episode was originally released via YouTube: https://youtu.be/w7JaKmUpwpc

Support the show