I'm going full CSI on this very blurry image from Warhammer Quest: Darkwater

Games Workshop just dropped our first look at the highly-anticipated Warhammer Quest: Darkwater board game, but you'll need to break out your magnifying glass (or a CSI-style imaging system) to make sense of it.

Following a leaked product shot that made its way online recently, the publisher has dropped a tease of its own. This shows off our first look at the Warhammer Quest: Darkwater 'board' (I'll explain my air-quotes in a moment), tokens, and models - lots of models. However, and in news that's likely to frustrate fans of the best board games who are eagerly awaiting this one, it's incredibly blurry. That hasn't stopped me giving the task a good go, though, and I think I've got some interesting takeaways for us. If you've also been excited for more info after Darkwater was revealed by surprise earlier this month, strap in. It's time for some armchair sleuthing.

So, for starters: I don't think that's a 'board' at all. Once I'd gotten over the initial "ooo, models!" response, the first thing I noticed about the image (which you can see below) was the board's unusual thickness. It seems to have a chunky blue rim, and a nubbin roughly in the center... much like the spine of a book. Indeed, that rim could be a cover - which means we might be looking at just one spread of a larger tome with multiple maps. My colleague and Warhammer Quest aficionado Will Salmon pointed this out after we both spent time staring at our screens in GamesRadar+ HQ, and I think he's absolutely right.

This is quite the departure from previous entries like Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress with their modular tiles, but it's not unusual so far as the best adult board games go. You see, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion uses exactly this technique to reduce the amount of cardboard weighing down the box.

It makes sense, too. I love modular tiles as much as the next guy, but this does result in a much bigger, more expensive game. Meanwhile, putting it all into a large, lavish adventure book instead ensures that Darkwater won't need its own apartment for storage.

I could be wrong, of course, and that's pure speculation. But the more I think about it, the more sense this all makes. Warhammer Quest is known for its varied boards thanks to those modular tiles, so ditching them completely in favor of a more static one like the kind seen in HeroQuest would be a big swing.

In terms of other details, it seems as if the mass of Nurgle-related foes teased by the cover art are here in force. I can already count several Warriors of Chaos models corrupted by the pustulant one, not to mention what seem to be Plaguebearers, Beastmen, and little Nurglings. Then there are the four heroes that were featured in the Darkwater keyart as well... accompanied by what I think are three more and a token pet to the bottom left. It looks like there's a Jade Wizard with a leafy dog/cat/animal that wouldn't be out of place in Pokemon, a Sylvaneth centaur archer, and a possible Ogor. Seeing as these are positioned away from the enemy miniatures, I suspect they're unlockable characters.

It's difficult to tell much else at this point because the cards and other details are simply too blurry, but we'll apparently know more soon. You can currently vote for the first hero to be revealed at Warhammer Community, so it looks like our first high-def peek at Darkwater isn't far away.

• Warhammer Quest: Cursed City - $178.50 at Amazon
• Warhammer Quest: Cursed City UK - £116 at Amazon

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