In the pursuit of affordable, replicable, and balanced terrain layouts for tournament gameplay, Warhammer 40k‘s competitive scene is dominated by “L-shaped ruins”, scenery pieces that do the job but look tremendously dull, and which have proven contentious among fans. And in an effort to make terrain that is even better optimized for tournament play, Etsy seller JB Gift Studio has taken things one step further, creating transparent acrylic scenery that you literally cannot hide models behind.
I personally don’t want to play with this stuff, and if it somehow became the standard way to play Warhammer 40k, I think it would be terrible for the health of the game, for reasons I’ll explain later on. But I do see the appeal, for a particular type of gamer.
40k is a game with open information, where the position and capabilities of every model on the table are known to both players (at least assuming they own the relevant codexes for both Warhammer 40k factions). Terrain is supposed to block line of sight between units, but players are still allowed to peak behind it whenever they like to see what’s on the other side – transparent terrain makes it even easier to get all the information before you commit to a move.
JB Gift Studio’s scenery is made from laser etched clear acrylic, and is designed to be compatible with UK Team Championship terrain layouts. Sets start at $119.77 (£85) and need to be assembled at home.
Back in 2011, former Civilization videogame designer Soren Johnson published an article in Game Developer magazine, (later republished to his blog), arguing that “given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game”. That’s what I initially thought of JB Gift Studio’s clear terrain – it has literally stripped away all visual appeal so that there’s no friction between the version of the terrain in the rules, and the version of the terrain in the real world.
But really, that’s just a reflection on what kind of fun I prioritise when I’m wargaming. The fun hasn’t been optimized away, it has been min-maxed – visual storytelling is out, abstract strategy is in.
The fact that this product even exists demonstrates the popularity and prominence of 40k’s organised play scene. It’s understandable for tournament organisers to prioritise scenery that is easy to replicate, easy to store, and easy to set up in standardised layouts, and for tournament players to want sets of their own to practise with. That demand creates suppliers, competing to make the best terrain for the market, a market defined by a desire for convenience and abstract gameplay over aesthetics – and eventually we get to terrain that you can’t even see.
It’s equally understandable for gamers with different tastes to be nonplussed by abstract terrain showing up in clubs and stores. I could get into a much longer article on the pros, cons, and context of tournament terrain setups, as well as the community response around them – but this article is already too big. Instead I’ll point you at the video below by YouTuber ‘Paul is bad at stuff’, which is an extremely balanced take on the topic of L-shaped ruins. ‘Balanced’ as in ‘even-handed’, not as in ‘totally sane’.
I have seen what happens when a wargame becomes truly dominated by abstract scenery, though, and it’s not pretty. In the early 2010s the go-to tournament wargame was Warmachine, not Warhammer 40k. It’s a very precise game with massive rewards for skillful play, and a win or a loss sometimes hangs on a fraction of an inch. Tournaments and tournament players began to use increasingly abstract terrain to guarantee accurate measurements, until 2D terrain became exceedingly common.
This had the benefit that it was easy to measure distances and cleanly place models, but it also made Warmachine look boring to potential new players. They didn’t see the complex strategic puzzle hidden in the board state, but could see the pancake flat terrain. While it wasn’t the only problem contributing to the brand’s steep decline around 2020, new owner Steamforged Games has made it a priority to ensure players have access to cool 3D terrain for their games.
Before we conclude that there’s a massive risk to Warhammer 40k here, we should remember that it has more infrastructure supporting thematic play than Warmachine ever had. White Dwarf Magazine, Warhammer Community, armies of battle report creators, and a multigenerational fanbase, all sell a fantasy of rich and rolling battlefields. While it might be easy to get a game of 40k using tournament layouts, other modes of play remain popular.
I commend JB Gift Studio for their ingenuity – there’s a market for what they’re making. And if you don’t like the look of it, or the prevalence of abstract terrain in your local gaming scene, there’s a really fun way to fight back – make some kickass terrain.
If you do start work on some terrain projects – and I highly recommend you do, it’s one of my favorite parts of the hobby – why not share them in the official Wargamer Discord community? We’re always eager to see what other fans have been up to.
This reminds me, I really must update our guide to the best Warhammer terrain. It’s packed with great options, but there’s always new stuff that I could add…