Games Workshop has invented a lot of games in its time. In addition to the big hitters Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar (née Fantasy Battles), we were lucky enough to experience a number of great smaller games as well. Mordheim immediately comes to mind and Space Hulk is my personal favorite, but wargames has created a number of fun experiences that have flown under the radar.
One such game is Gorkamorka. It's basically a Fast & Furious game, but with Orcs. So it's all about throwing missiles at each other, balancing as many miniatures on one Trukk as physically possible, knocking other vehicles off the track and generally causing as much havoc as you can within a single race track. Okay, so it's exactly like Fast & Furious. Just imagine Vin Diesel being green.
It's time for Gorkin
You know how it is. You turn up at your local game store to play a casual game for 40,000 and there's one weird guy gobbling it up in the corner. That's me. I'm straight up gorkin' it, and by that I mean … haha … my thumbnail. That said, I love playing the weirder and more esoteric games that most people ignore. I won't lie to you and say that Gorkamorka is the best game ever made, or even one of my favorites. But it's honest, messy, fun.
You can find various fan iterations of the original 1997 ruleset on the internet, but all you need to know is that you drive the cars fast and most of them go boom boom. It's similar to Necromunda in that your gang grows as the campaigns progress and takes on a Mad Max likeness with all the, you know, dilapidated cars and such.
Games Workshop hasn't officially supported the Gorkamorka for decades, but the new Armageddon box includes a brand new Wartrakk statue, meaning Games Workshop is now making official models for every vehicle in the game. While you used to be able to unofficially play with your unofficial conversions, now you can unofficially play with official models.
The original box came with Wartrakk and Trukk, both of which are now served by modern plastic kits. Wheels were also important (in case your tank blew up) and are getting new kits, probably in 11th edition. But I'm not sure any of that is really in the spirit of the game.
Gorkamorka is dead, long live Gorkamorka
The lack of official miniatures did not stop anyone from playing Grokamorka. Heck, the official rules encouraged and even encouraged converting your models to better represent their rules. Sticking random spikes, or stikkbombs, was exactly what the hobby was all about in the 1990s and early 2000s, before Games Workshop realized they could monetize every bit of fun instead of teaching you how to make your own terrain out of cereal boxes.
There are thousands of alternative Ork or Ork-adjacent miniature sets, but there are also plenty of Gorkamorka-adjacent games. If you want a chaotic physics game with no vehicles, then I suggest you try Space Gits, which is the most fun I've had in years. If rebuilding wasteland vehicles was the main draw, Gaslands is for you. Both are from veteran designer Mike Hutchinson, who clearly had Gorkamorka in mind when designing the two spiritual successors.
Despite the fact that official vehicles allow an easier route to Gorkamorka, I will not take this route. It's not Orka's way to choose smooth tarmac, so I opt for a bumpy ride full of conversions and personality. But next time you see me in the corner of the gaming store, why not join the gorkin' sesh? I'll even teach you how to catch and gas it if you want.
