Warhammer Fantasy Designer Dies at Age 68
One of the most successful and influential miniature game designers has parted our world today. Bryan Ansell is the founder of one of Nottingham’s most successful companies, Asgard Miniatures. however, he is most renowned for designing Warhammer Fantasy Battle with Rick Priestly and Richard Halliwell. Bryan passed away on Saturday 30, December 2023.
In 1983, the first Warhammer game was released in Newark at what used to be the HQ for Citadel Miniatures. Led by the creative design of Ansell, Citadel represented the miniatures division of the Games Workshop. Bryan then became the managing director of the studio in 1985.
With Bryan at the helm, Games Workshop became the world’s largest tabletop gaming company. The Warhammer game became a part of Games Workshop and is now the company’s most successful product after 40 years. In December 2021, Bryan and his wife, Diane, displayed the early artwork of the game in an exhibition.
As a child, Bryan attended Nottingham Boys High School and People’s College. Following the success of Games Workshop, Bryan sold his shares and moved to Guernsey.
A post shared to Instagram from Bryan and Diane Ansell’s account, the_ansells_attic, states: “With great sadness, we announce that Bryan passed away peacefully at home this morning surrounded by his family, 30th December 2023.”
Serving as both the founder and designer of Asgard Miniatures, Bryan Ansell also ran a fanzine called Trollcrusher. In 1978, Games Workshop partnered with Ansell to form Citadel Miniatures. Ansell designed Warhammer Fantasy Battle (1983) with Rick Priestley and Richard Halliwell. In 1985, Ansell became the managing director of Games Workshop.
A management buyout was undertaken by Ansell in December 1991, which refocused Games Workshop’s production outlook. The transformation created the most lucrative products; the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 miniature wargames.
After departing Games Workshop, Bryan Ansell focused his attention on Wargames Foundry, a company that sells historical miniatures.
