WarGames Illustrated work with Touch Tree to bring history to life

Touch Tree collaborated with International Magazine Centre and WarGames Illustrated to put together this case study of how our platform has had a profound impact on a thriving magazine community.

For almost four decades, WarGames Illustrated has been at the heart of the miniature wargaming
community. First published in 1987, this contributor-led print magazine has become an essential
resource for hobbyists, packed with battle reports, painting guides, and historical insights.

As reader habits changed, the team knew that the magazine needed to evolve to meet the
growing demand for digital content. And with nearly 500 back issues, the team faced a growing
challenge: how to make this rich archive accessible to readers beyond the print format.

The challenge: a back catalogue out of reach

Over the years, the WarGames Illustrated archive had grown to just under 500 issues. However, while physical copies of old issues existed, they were difficult to obtain. The demand wasn’t just from nostalgic longtime subscribers – it also came from new readers looking to explore the magazine’s deep history.

WarGames Illustrated contains evergreen content – articles about Napoleonic uniforms or World War II strategies remain relevant years later. People were asking for back issues all the time, and there was no easy way for readers to access them.” – Dan Faulconbridge, Wargames Illustrated.

Another key driver was the shift in reader habits, especially from upcoming generations. You only have to look around when you’re on a bus or plane to see that most people are looking at screens rather than paper. And while there had been PDF versions of issues in the past, the team knew that they needed to provide something more sophisticated.

It was clear that a digital solution was needed – but with hundreds of issues spanning decades, the prospect of digitisation was daunting.

The solution: a fully searchable digital archive backed by data and analytics

We worked together to bring the entire Wargames Illustrated catalogue from 1987 to the current issue online using a phased approach, digitising newer issues first while gradually working through the archive. It wasn’t without its logistical challenges early issues existed only as hard copies or scanned PDFs – but Dan says the process was very collaborative.

It was a learning exercise for everyone – especially me, whose techie knowledge is limited. Touch Tree have been so good at talking us through it, and understanding what we wanted to get from the process. The new platform doesn’t just solve the accessibility problem – it also enhanced the reading experience. With full search functionality, our readers can now instantly find articles on specific battles, games, or painting techniques, rather than flipping through physical pages. If you want to find every article we’ve ever published on the Napoleonic wars, you can do that in seconds.”

More than just an archive: a growing community resource

Since launching the digital archive (called The Vault), Wargames Illustrated has seen a steady increase in digital subscriptions. Part of their success has been the seamless integration of WooCommerce, which Touch Tree helped them implement within their digital magazine platform.

Just a few months in, they’ve already received positive feedback from their readers – even more important for a contributor-led publication.

It’s not like we flipped a switch and suddenly had thousands more subscribers, but we have grown as a result- we now have as many digital as print subscribers. When so much of your content is from contributors, you really want them to be on board with changes – it means they’re more likely to contribute and to buy the magazine. Whilst the print edition will remain our flagship product, we can retain readers who prefer online access, so it was important to us to offer this as a service. Most importantly we feel like we’re future-proofing the magazine.”