WOMEN are celebrating the science

fiction-themed tabletop wargame that has been the default female

entertainment of the last 25 years.

Created in 1987, Warhammer 40,000’s mixture of realistic turns-based strategy gaming and a dystopian sci-fi universe was an instant hit with millions of women, many of whom became self-confessed obsessives.

Teacher Emma Bradford, who was excitedly buying 25th anniversary limited edition lead figures at her local Games Workshop, said: “A lot of people say this, but there’s something about Warhammer games that just resonates with my vagina.

“I play with an Imperial Guard army, my best friend Mandy uses Tyranids who, as all ladies know, are a race of quasi-reptilian aliens whose voracious appetite for bio-mass has propelled them into conflict with the Imperium.

“We get together for a skirmish every Wednesday. Once in a while we get all the girls together for a major campaign which takes up to four days which is just so much fun.

“Afterwards we like to post the statistics on the internet.”

Personal trainer Nikki Hollis said: “Girls loving Warhammer 40K is such a cliché, but like many stereotypes there’s a large element of truth.

“The best thing about ‘the hobby’, as we women refer to it, is painting the little lead figures, or ‘miniatures’ as they’re properly called.

“I love doing that classic girl thing of being of putting on pyjamas, getting under a load of duvets and painting intricate banners on a Chaos Eldar battalion.”

She added: “War gaming drives my boyfriend nuts, he just wants to talk about his emotions and drink hot chocolate.”

Warhammer 40,000 spin-offs includes a successful series of novels by sci-fi-strategy-chick-lit author Helen Fielding about a neurotic young space marine called Nicola and a range of organic face creams named after different types of space weaponry.