Golden Demon

The figures are all put on display―typically in glass cabinets―for the public to admire, whilst a team of judges examine each one of the thousands of miniatures entered, to decide which are most worthy of an award.

However, Games Workshop discovered that some people would enter other companies’ miniatures, and it was from a need to establish a clearly defined set of rules that Golden Demon emerged.

[6] The Golden Demon competition was thus devised by John Blanche, Games Workshop’s Art Director, and Andy Jones, Convention Organiser at the time.

The second Golden Demon event in 1988 also followed the format of qualifiers through regional heats, with the Grand Final taking place again in the Victoria Leisure Centre, Nottingham on 30th July 1988.

The third Golden Demon event in 1989 yet again made use of regional heats; however, the Grand Final for the first time was held alongside Games Day, which took place at the Assembly Rooms in Derby on 27th May 1989.

[17] In 1991, regional heats increased the number of models that went to the Grand Final: the ten best from each Games Workshop store, and the three best from each independent stockist.

By 1992, Golden Demon had grown so much in size and had attracted such a huge following that the competition had to be moved to a larger venue with more space and better facilities.

[21] Albeit originally advertised as taking place in NEC, Golden Demon 1993 was finally celebrated at the Sheffield Arena on 2nd May 1993, preceded by the customary regional heats held at Games Workshop stores throughout the country, and for the first time at Games Workshop stores abroad too (e.g. winners of the heats in Spain were invited to the Grand Finals in the UK).

[22] Golden Demon 1993 was judged in advance, as Games Workshop wanted to better display the miniatures on the day, and not have to keep removing them from the cabinets for photography and examination.

1995 also saw the introduction of the Open Competition to Golden Demon, today a staple category, and an opportunity to let entrants’ imagination run riot and where Games Workshop staff could also enter.

By the end of the decade, with Max Faleij as Head Judge, rules had been relaxed to allow for more creativity, insofar as entries still respected the ethos and lore of the Games Workshop universes.

This led to a resurgence in popularity of the competition, which is today back in full health as proven by great attendances and participation in the post-pandemic events.

In 2022 Golden Demon returned after a 3-year hiatus and was held as a standalone event (which had not happened since 1994) at Games Workshop’s Warhammer World in Nottingham.

Alongside Golden Demon, an exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the competition was also organised, showcasing winning entries from past editions.

Even though Golden Demon 2023 had been a great success in all aspects―from number of participants, quality of entries, and spectacularity of the awards ceremony―the Warhammer Fest event itself was a big disappointment among the attendees (mostly because engaging activities were severely lacking) and reportedly an economic flop.

Furthermore, the famous ´Eavy Metal team members were banished from the judging panel, allegedly due to a new internal policy prohibiting Studio staff from partaking in events.

This prompted a lot of complaints from the competition’s fanbase, who objected that they would rather have their entries judged by professional painters―just like they had been in the previous 36 years of Golden Demon.

In these cases, an additional ‘Staff’ category was put in place so that Games Workshop employees would be able to enter, and which was not eligible for the Slayer Sword.

The next 8 years saw no Golden Demon take place in the American continent until its return as part of Adepticon, held in Chicago between 2022-2024, and in Milwaukee from 2025 onwards.

It welcomed and celebrated scratchbuilt models more than any other Golden Demon did, and implemented abidance to the lore with more elasticity than in Britain, where this was controlled more strictly.

Given the relentless discontent from the public, ‘Mini Demons’ were eventually cancelled after 2018, and they remain a dark era in the collective imagination of the competition.

Slayer Swords for the International Golden Demon competitions were manufactured by a variety of companies, with varying degrees of quality and authenticity.

In the Games Workshop lore, the Slayer Sword was forged by the ‘Undead, Mind-Flaying Greater Balrog Demons of the Fiery Inner Sanctum of the Lords of the 26 Furies of the Lesser Stench’.

Winners of the Open Competition receive a wooden plaque with a relief of the Citadel castle in Gold, Silver or Bronze finishes.

Winners of the Youngbloods Competition receive a trophy featuring a night goblin bust, also coloured with the respective awarded metal.

In 2025, this three level structure was maintained, but the naming for second and third cut awards were swapped to align them with semantics, effectively bringing Finalist at the top again like it had been in the past.

In later years, this led to waning attendances at the awards ceremony, as some of the entrants who had not placed in the top three would collect their miniatures and go back home.

Until the late 2000s, all Golden Demon winners were invited to Games Workshop in Nottingham and were given a tour of the Design Studio, and were taken better pictures of the awarded miniatures.

An honours board of all Slayer Sword winners is maintained at Games Workshop’s Warhammer World exhibition centre in Nottingham, where winning models are also often showcased.

[52] At the end of the 1998 film ‘Enemy of the State’, Robert Clayton Dean’s son is seen reading about Golden Demon in a White Dwarf magazine.