Wargaming is a hobby related to roleplaying, indeed it was from wargames that roleplaying first developed. Wargames are battles played on a tabletop using miniature figures, usually made of metal (lead or pewter) or of plastic. A complex set of rules governs the battle and determines which player wins.
Traditional wargaming involves representations of historical battles, or using historical forces, such as re-fighting the main battles of the 2nd world war, or famous classical conflicts. From this developed games using fantasy minatures which eventually gave rise to Dungeons and Dragons, the first roleplaying game, in which players took the parts of certain figures in the battle.
As roleplaying became established wargaming continued to diversify, spawning science-fiction games as well as rules for battles fought with modern tanks and infantry. Although there is a lot of crossover between roleplaying and wargaming they remain seperate. In recent years wargaming has, for many people, been dominated by the products of the U.K. based Games Workshop, such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WHFB), Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K), and Necromunda. Although 'real' wargamers criticise GW games as shallow and unrealistic they are undeniably attractive, despite their high price, and have seen the company grow rapidly in size, opening shops in most major cities of the U.K. with others in America and Europe.