Andy Chambers (born 20 October 1966)[1] is an English author and game designer best known for his work on over 30 Games Workshop rulebooks and sourcebooks.
Andy Chambers | |
|---|---|
 (photo Dec 2015) | |
| Born | 20 October 1966 Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Occupation | Wargame designer, writer |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse | Jessica Chambers |
Personal life
editIn 2003, he married Jessica Chambers after they met at KublaCon 2002.[1]
Career
editChambers is best known for his work for Games Workshop, where he worked from March 1990 to March 2004.[citation needed] He worked extensively on various Warhammer 40,000 rulebooks and sourcebooks, and also authored multiple fiction novels set in the same universe.[2][3] Chambers was the lead designer on a number of Warhammer 40,000 spin-off games, such as Necromunda (1995) and Battlefleet Gothic (1999), produced by Specialist Games.[4][5] These games were released at a time of major growth for Games Workshop and "were designed with expansions and more miniatures sales in mind".[6]
In 2003, Chambers joined Mongoose Publishing as the lead designer of the company's development team for the Starship Troopers tabletop miniatures game.[7] Starship Troopers won "Best New Game" in the 2005 Origins Awards.[8]
Chambers was the Lead Story Writer for Blizzard Entertainment, for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.[9] According to Megan Farokhmanesh, "much of the groundwork on Wings of Liberty was done, but it was Andy Chambers who finished the title".[10]
Between 2005 and 2018, Chambers wrote several books and novellas set in Warhammer 40,000 and the majority were about the Dark Eldar. Antony Jones, for SFBook in his review of Path of the Renegade (Dark Eldar Book 1), wrote "I loved how the author manages to elevate the Dark Eldar above that of humanity by describing games played with human captives as they watch them around a human size maze, the humans think they are really escaping but in reality being directed at every turn and watched over by their Eldar masters - very much like mice overlooked by people in white coats. [...] There aren't many novels that focus purely on the evil and even fewer that manage to pull it of effectively but Chambers does an excellent job here, it's one of the best examples I've read".[11]
On 14 May 2012 Dust Warfare, written by Andy Chambers, was released by Fantasy Flight Games.[12][13] In June 2013, Fantasy Flight Games announced that New Zealand-based Battlefront Miniatures would take over distribution of both Dust Warfare and Dust Tactics.[14][15]
In 2015, Chambers became a Creative Director at Reforged Studios.[16][17] Chambers, Tuomas Pirinen, and Ryan Miller created the skirmish board game Warforged: First Contact for Reforged Studios and Ninja Division Publishing who planned to bring it to market through a Kickstarter campaign.[18][19] While the campaign beat its goal of $60,000, the campaign was cancelled before the Kickstarter ended. There has been no update on the game since April 2017.[20]
Chambers and David Lewis received a nomination together in the 2017 Origins Awards "Miniatures" category for Dropfleet Commander by Hawk Wargames.[21] In 2017, he created Blood Red Skies, an air combat miniature game, which was released by Warlord Games. He also created multiple expansions for the game between 2017 and 2019.[22][23] Matt Jarvis, in a review of Blood Red Skies: Battle of Britain for Tabletop Gaming, wrote "abstracting altitude, position, damage levels and more into a single visual cue is a brilliant touch, making the slick ruleset effortless to execute and every battle look cinematic – closing in on a plane with its nose already pointed at the floor is an exciting moment, especially when combined with the simple but effective rules for tailing. [...] With a bit of tightening up, Blood Red Skies could be a strong contender for an involving tournament and spectator game – at the moment, it's just a little too loose for anything but casual play. [...] But you know what? None of that really mattered a smidge while I was actually playing Blood Red Skies, because I was just having such a fun time watching my squadrons zip through clouds, around anti-air defences and unleash bursts of machine-gun fire on enemy pilots who would similarly dance around, whizzing between the tips of wings to try and zero in".[24] Chambers also designed Strontium Dogs, a skirmish game, which was released by Warlord Games in 2018.[25]
In 2019, Chambers was a contributor to Frostgrave: The Wizard's Conclave. In his chapter “The Abandoned Workshop”, "warbands vie for control of powerful magical construct that is guarding a workshop full of potions. The conflict with the construct takes place in a confined space, with warbands trying to avoid attacks while gathering treasure".[26]
Works
editBoard games, card games and miniature games
edit| Title | Game | Credits | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles (4th Edition) | Warhammer (4th Edition) | Designer | 1992 |
| Warhammer: Battle Magic | Warhammer (4th Edition) | Designer | 1992 |
| Renegades: Eldar and Chaos Armies for Space Marine | Space Marine | Designer | 1992 |
| Ork and Squat Warlords | Space Marine | Designer | 1992 |
| Warhammer Armies: Skaven | Warhammer (4th Edition) | Designer | 1993 |
| Warhammer Armies: High Elves | Warhammer (4th Edition) | Designer | 1993 |
| Space Marine Battles | Space Marine (2nd edition) | Designer | 1993 |
| Warhammer 40,000 | Warhammer 40,000 (Second edition) | Designer | 1993 |
| Titan Legions | Adeptus Titanicus | Designer | 1994 |
| Warhammer 40,000 Codex | Warhammer 40,000 (Second edition) | Designer | 1994 |
| Dark Millennium | Warhammer 40,000 (Second edition) | Designer | 1994 |
| Warhammer 40,000 Battles | Warhammer 40,000 (Second edition) | Designer | 1995 |
| Necromunda | Necromunda (First edition) | Designer | 1995 |
| Hive War | Space Marine (2nd edition) | Designer | 1995 |
| Space Hulk | Space Hulk (2nd edition) | Designer | 1996 |
| Necromunda: Outlaws | Necromunda (1st edition) | Designer | 1996 |
| Warhammer Epic 40,000 | Warhammer Epic 40k (3rd edition) | Designer | 1997 |
| Warhammer Armies: High Elves | Warhammer (5th Edition) | Designer | 1997 |
| Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance | Warhammer 40,000 (2nd edition) | Designer | 1997 |
| Necromunda: Battles in the Underhive | Necromunda (1st edition) | Designer | 1997 |
| Gorkamorka | Gorkamorka (1st edition) | Designer | 1997 |
| Spaceship Battles | Warhammer Specialist Game | Designer | 1998 |
| Bommerz over da Sulphur River | Warhammer Specialist Game | Designer | 1998 |
| Battlefleet Gothic | Warhammer Battlefleet Gothic | Designer | 1999 |
| Warp Storm | Warhammer Battlefleet Gothic | Designer | 2000 |
| Warhammer 40,000: Chapter Approved | Warhammer 40,000 (3rd edition) | Designer | 2001 |
| Warhammer: Skaven | Warhammer (6th Edition) | Designer | 2002 |
| Warhammer 40,000: Battle for Macragge | Warhammer 40,000 (4th edition) | Designer | 2004 |
| Warhammer 40,000 (Fourth Edition) | Warhammer 40,000 (4th edition) | Designer | 2004 |
| Starship Troopers Miniatures Game | Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game | Designer | 2005 |
| Battlefleet Gothic Armada | Warhammer Battlefleet Gothic | Designer | 2005 |
| Dust Warfare Core Book | Dust Warfare | Designer | 2012 |
| Flame War | Flame War (card game) | Designer | 2012 |
| Fanticide | Fanticide | Designer | 2012 |
| Bolt Action: Armies of the Soviet Union | Bolt Action | Designer | 2013 |
| Bolt Action: Ostfront – Barbarossa to Berlin | Bolt Action | Designer | 2015 |
| Bolt Action: Empires In Flames | Bolt Action | Designer | 2015 |
| Dropfleet Commander | Dropzone Commander | Designer | 2016 |
| Dark Deeds | Dark Deeds (card game) | Designer | 2016 |
| Darker Deeds | Dark Deeds (card game) | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Yakovlev Yak-1 Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: US Ace Pilot – George Preddy | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Supermarine Spitfire MK.II Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Soviet Ace Pilot – Lydia Litvyak | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: P-51 Mustang Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Mitsubishi A6-M5 Zero Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Messerschmitt BF109 E Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Japanese Ace Pilot – Saburo Sakai | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: German Ace Pilot – Adolf Galland | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: British Ace Pilot – 'Sailor' Malan | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Blood Red Skies: Boulton Paul Defiant Mk I | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2017 |
| Warforged: First Contact | Warforged: First Contact (board game) | Designer | 2018 |
| Strontium Dog: The Good, the Bad, & the Mutie Starter Set | Strontium Dog | Designer | 2018 |
| Strontium Dog: Rulebook | Strontium Dog | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: British Ace Pilot – Douglas Bader | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: British – Bristol Blenheim Mk IV Bomber | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: de Havilland Mosquito Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Junkers Ju 52 | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Junkers Ju 88 A Bomber | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: Hawker Hurricane Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: Soviet – Liszunov Li-2 | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: Soviet – Tupolev ANT-40 (SB-2) Bomber | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2018 |
| Blood Red Skies: Allied Ace Pilot – Witold Urbanowicz | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: British – RAF Expansion Pack | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German Ace Pilot – "Bombo" Schenck | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German Ace Pilot – "Pips" Priller | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German Ace Pilot – Eduard Tratt | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Bf 110 Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Fw 190 Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Junkers Ju 87D Stuka Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Luftwaffe Expansion Pack | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Blood Red Skies: German – Messerschmitt Me 410 Squadron | Blood Red Skies | Designer | 2019 |
| Heroes of Might and Magic: Battles | Heroes of Might and Magic: Battles | Designer | 2025 |
Novels and Short Stories
edit| Title | Series/Setting | Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survival Instinct (Necromunda) | Necromunda | 24 May 2005 | 978-1844161881 |
| Midnight on the Street of Knives (Dark Eldar Novella) | Path of the Dark Eldar | June 2011 | |
| Path of the Renegade (Dark Eldar Book 1) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 28 February 2012 | 978-1849701372 |
| The Treasures of Biel-Tanigh (Dark Eldar Novella) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 4 February 2013 | |
| Bellathonis and the Shadow King (Dark Eldar Novella) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 11 February 2013 | |
| The Masque of Vyle (Harlequins Novella) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 22 February 2013 | |
| Path of the Incubus (Dark Eldar Book 2) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 26 February 2013 | 978-1849703000 |
| The Alien Hunters (Deathwatch Novella) | Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters | 17 March 2014 | |
| Path of the Archon (Dark Eldar Book 3) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 25 March 2014 | 978-1849705912 |
| Path of the Dark Eldar (Dark Eldar Omnibus) | Path of the Dark Eldar | 17 March 2015 | 978-1849708357 |
| The Arkunasha War (Tau Empire Novella) | Tau Empire | 4 September 2015 | |
| Deus Ex Mechanicus (Adeptus Mechanicus Novella) | Adeptus Mechanicus | 23 April 2018 (first printed Sep 2000 in Inferno! #20) |
Role Playing Games
edit| Title | Game | Credits | Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rites of Battle | Deathwatch | Designer | 2011 | 978-1589947818 |
| Mark of the Xenos | Deathwatch | Designer | 2011 | 978-1589947825 |
| Black Crusade Core Rulebook | Black Crusade | Designer | 2011 | 978-1616611439 |
| Battlefleet Koronus | Rogue Trader | Designer | 2011 | 978-1589947993 |
| The Lathe Worlds | Dark Heresy (1st Edition) | Designer | 2012 | 978-1589947689 |
| Accursed | Savage Worlds | Designer | 2013 | 978-0991343607 |
| Accursed Player's Guide | Savage Worlds | Designer | 2013 |
Video games
edit| Title | Game | Credits | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | Lead Story Writer | July 2010 |
Magazines
edit| Title | Publication | Credits | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Dwarf (Issue 124) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | April 1990 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 127) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | July 1990 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 134) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | February 1991 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 136) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | April 1991 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 137) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | May 1991 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 145) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | January 1992 |
| White Dwarf (Issue 151) | White Dwarf Magazine | Author | July 1992 |
| "Eldar Revenant Scout Titans" | White Dwarf Magazine, Issue 186 | Author | June 1995 |
| "Vindicare Imperial Assassin" | White Dwarf Magazine, Issue 189 | Author | September 1995 |
| "Evolved to Destroy" | White Dwarf Magazine, Issue 192 | Author | December 1995 |
| Game Trade Magazine (Issue 194) | Game Trade Magazine | Author | April 2016 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Red Star Games - Pravda". www.redstargames.net. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Williams, Ian Warhammer: This is the Way the World Ends Archived 2015-07-25 at the Wayback Machine Paste Magazine. July 25, 2015
- ^ Contreras, Paulmichael Orks and Humans Clash in the Latest Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Trailer Archived 2015-07-25 at the Wayback Machine PlayStation Lifestyle. July 25, 2015
- ^ Tringham, Neal (2014). Science Fiction Video Games. CRC Press. pp. 377–378. ISBN 9781482203899.
- ^ "Andy Chambers | Board Game Designer | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Sturrock, Ian; Wallis, James (2016). Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming. MIT Press. p. 606. ISBN 9780262334952.
- ^ "Andy Chambers Joins Starship Troopers!". Mongoose Publishing - News. Mongoose Publishing. 2003. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
- ^ "About Us". www.mongoosepublishing.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Blizzard Outlines Starcraft II Gameplay". Gamespot. CNet Networks Entertainment. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
- ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (6 November 2015). "StarCraft: The past, present and future". Polygon. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Jones, Antony (10 April 2012). "Path of the Renegade by Andy Chambers". SFBooks. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ "Fantasy Flight Games announces Dust Warfare". Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ Vela, Larry (13 June 2012). "DUST Warfare: Core Rulebook Review (Video)". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Travis, Mike (14 May 2013). "EDITORIAL: Battlefront's DUST Purchase a Win for DUST". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Dust Moves to Battlefront". The Esoteric Order of Gamers. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Reforged Studios' $2.5M from NetEase is second Asian investment in Finland this week (update)". VentureBeat. 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Dados, Juegos y (17 September 2018). "Interview with Andy Chambers". Juegos y Dados. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Hulmes, Mark "Sherlock" (8 April 2017). "GLOOMHAVEN?! (Tabletop Weekly - Boardgaming, Wargaming & RPG News)". YouTube. pp. 7:05–9:25. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Zambrano, J. R. (23 April 2017). "Warforged is Funded Get In While You Can". Bell of Lost Souls. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Update 3: We'll be back! Campaign update. · Warforged: First Contact by Andy Chambers and Tuomas Pirinen (Canceled)". Kickstarter. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Sheehan, Gavin (12 May 2017). "The Complete List Of The 2017 Origins Awards Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ Branwyn, Gareth (20 June 2018). "What's new in tabletop gaming (June edition)". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ OnTableTop LIVE (14 October 2017), Andy Chambers Interview // Warlord's 10th Birthday, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 24 June 2019
- ^ Jarvis, Matt (9 November 2018). "Blood Red Skies: Battle of Britain review". Tabletop Gaming. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ Branwyn, Gareth (16 November 2018). "What's new in tabletop gaming (November edition)". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ Kade, Leigh (20 February 2019). "Review: Fantasy Game Dream Team Brings Magic to 'The Wizards' Conclave". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
External links
edit- Official website
- Andy Chambers' author profile page at the Black Library.
- RPGGeek - RPG Designer Page: Andy Chambers
- BoardGameGeek - Board Game Designer Page: Andy Chambers