Tuesday's New York Times included a substantial article by Julie Salamon on the Games Workshop Warhammer Miniatures game.  The 1600-word article graced the Times' Arts Section and provided a snapshot of Warhammer devotees at a weekend event at the indoor visitor's plaza at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  While noting that the game appeals primarily to men, Ms. Salamon avoided stereotyping gamers by profiling a wide variety of participants and also pointed out that 'craftsmanship matters as much as tactics' and that key awards were handed out for the 'best painted' army as well as for the player who won the most battles -- and that one of the most coveted awards was for 'best sportsman.'

Ms. Salamon also noted the contrarian business model of Games Workshop, which relies on word of mouth and hand selling in this age of media advertising.  She provided Games Workshop's sales figures for 2003 ($241 million) and 2004 ($284 million) indicating that the company's strategy was successful.  All in all it was a very positive article about adventure gaming in a major newspaper, which makes it something of a rarity these days.