Miniature Wargaming Labs: Recent Episodes
James
No miniature wargamer ever has enough time, space, or money to pursue their games and hobby. We seek ways to use our miniatures and rule sets to get the most value for money.
Every where I look I see dead games. We discuss Steamforged games consumption of Privateer Press in what some might say will be a rebirth of Warmachine, which we compare Asmodees euthanization of Star Wars X-Wing and Armada.
Every podcast has to do the "is GW a monopoly episode." This is ours. BLUF: They Are not a monopoly because they do not want to be one, but they do not have a problem being the standard setting body for miniature wargaming.
In the first season Brian told us the sad tale of his failure running a once popular Infinity tournament. Now he is back...and this time it is personal. He wants Retribution. Learn more about the Rio Grande Retribution 2024.
Brian and I meet up again so he might regain me with the stories of his adventures in the Chicagoland area.
Jon joins us on his way to Adepticon 2024 where he is showing of the third and final expansion of Black Powder Red Earth: Spearhead. In this expansion the Mustard Gas est muy caliente.
Brian and I catch up as we talk about getting ready for Adoption 2024. Some day I will make it.
Julian with Enemy Spotted Studios stops in again to discuss his new game BLKOUT. Set in the Killwager universe BLKOUT pushes the timeline forward and gives you the feel of Edge of Tomorrow and Elysium in a tabletop miniature wargaming experience.
I talk to Sam and Jack about their Renaissance Skirmish game Force of Virtue. If you have Warhammer Old World miniatures you are already half way there; and the rulebook is up for free download so that the rest of the way. You do not have an excuse not to play.
Brian is back from LVO. Did he actually go to LVO - kinda. But, he shopped and competed.
We meet up with Gaddis Gaming to talk about The GUARDS system pushing into the Cold War starting with the Second Indochina War (aka Vietnam War).
Some game systems have simple rule versions or advanced play modes that just don't catch on. Does it make sense to have various versions of the same game and how different should those games be?
We meet up with Julian from Enemy Spotted Studios and talk over the interconnectedness of game design with product design. That may appear like an evil capitalist plan to take money from customers, but is actually what customers expect to stay engaged; with just a sprinkle of community champions.
Also, this is really what Julian sounds like. It is not a voice modulator. Nor is it a deep fake AI simulator.
It is Friday at NOVA. We talk about what we have done and what we plan to do if Brian can stop swearing. Come one. This is a family friendly show.
We interview Lee Gaddis of Gaddis Gaming as he launches his new Kickstarter: Empires Fall: Conflict in the East. The Ball Tanks in this game have gotten bigger.
Check out:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gaddisgaming/empires-fall-conflict-in-the-east?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Gaddis
It is that time to gawk at a new Warhammer 40K edition. But what does it mean for, and do for, the local stores?
Brian goes over how he did on the tournament scene at Adepticon. He did well enough that he had plenty of time to demo and play test a bunch of games which he will go over in this episode. A lot of them were from Black Site Studios.
Brian regales us with stories of his insatiable need to consume by walking through all the sings he bought and acquired during his trip to Adepticon 2023.
In this episode we turn inward and have Brian regale us with hie preparation for Adepticon.
In a follow on to our last episode where Brian and I complained about Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast we will complain a little more, because that seems to be what people want to hear. What is wrong with you? Then I will bemoan the management of Onslaught, but Brian and I will praise Boarding Actions. And thus the cycle continues. We will then discuss the need for every game to have an intro version of itself to pull people in. I call it the two beer rule in that an intro game should take the amount of time it takes a person to consume two beers.
Brian and James sit down to talk about Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast ability to make buying their products hard. But, we keep buying them so have the really made any mistakes?
3D prints free and accessible for the masses? That is Windham Graves business plan? It reminds be of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. The thought that someone wants to make it so that anyone can get the tank, terrain, or what not for free done in a way that even a librarian can help print it off for any child or gamer on a publicly valuable machines. A brazen assault on the gatekeepers of wargaming. It might cause one to spill their claret if such an idea were to ever spread. With such a nonsensical activity in mind I had to interview this designer.
We catch up with Duncan Rhodes and Roger at the have returned from their Frontline Gaming sponsored trip to the Las Vegas Open. This was our opportunity to find out how the dynamic duo work together to deliver their content and their wildly successful second Kickstarter.
We interview Jack with Lazy Forger about his new game Full Spectrum Dominance. If you have Battletech minis you are $10 from playing a skirmish game at least, and you might already be familiar with the companies terrain line that many Battletech players already use.
WWI Skirmish Wargames have gotten super hot this season. We interview CK the designer of Scouts Out! Raids and Reconnaissance in 1914-1918. He has his rules and he makes his own minis to capture the elite and experimental nature of trench raiders during the Great War with plans to expand outside the Western Theatre.
Brian and I go over how our plans for what we would get done, buy, and play fell apart completely. But it is a new year and a new slate of conventions so why not try to plan again for this year.
Military Miniatures Press is currently working with Adam from NoGhostGames to develop Obsidian Empires: Warfare in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The idea is that warfare in the Americas did not begin with the Spanish arrival and the existing city-states and Empires had their own unique approach to warfare. Of course, we talk to Adam to see how he tried to tackle the nuances of the period.
Set your weapons to eleven and join us for our second interview on Jon with BPRE as he talks about getting the game out into the convention scene and his plans for Phase Line 2.
We talk to John, the skipper of Captaincy 2nd Edition, which tries to capture small scale tactical actions during the Age of Sail.
We talk to Fubar Design based in the happiest city in the world: San Diego. They specialize in printing terrain for 28mm WWII games but have plans to be bigger and better. Follow along as we ask them to impart some of their hard won knowledge making a 3D terrain printing company work.
Enemy Spotted Studios has a kickstarter going to launch their new game INCOUNTRY. This is a faster, squad based take on ultramodern warfare with the ability to customize different elite fighting units in the world today with a more stripped down approach than their previous games Killwager. And at the end of the day they donate a portion fo their proceeds to tackle veteran suicide and that is a good thing to do.
We interview the creator of Country Road Z. Not just another Zombie skirmish game; it focuses on solo and coop play primarily.
In this episode Brian and I talk about looking for gaming stores when not in the Albuquerque area and what we look for in our side piece stores.
We talk to Joel, the designer of Borne From Ashes: Frontier Battles, a new game in development by someone from the neighboring city of Santa Fe. This game feels like PUBG in table top form for those look for that small team ultramodern combat gaming experience.
My old FLGS Eagle and Empire is dead. Long live Your hobby place, the successor game store that took the long hallowed traditions of a northern Virginia classic and elevated it to a newer, bigger, and brighter store front and facility - the American way. I interviewed Matt with Your Hobby Place about the addition of their third location to their corporate empire on the North side of Old Town Alexandria during their grand opening and talked about what their plans are and what a visitor can find there.
I interview Chris, the designer of Crystallum: Conflict in the Far Future, a 15mm futuristic war game pitting company sized combined arms units against each other. Designed for a 4 by 4 play surface with an average game lasting two hours. Chris represents the small game designer with a dream and the grit to see it through. Check it out at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gaddisgaming/crystallum-conflict-in-the-far-future?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=crystallum
In this episode Duncan Rhodes kindly joins me in explaining his lessons learned in conducting painting classes. As I look for ways to expand the local miniature wargaming community holding painting classes for younger wargamers has been an approach I have dabbled in. Knowing Duncan has serious experience in this field he provides his experiences with class size, curriculum, and dealing with students of various levels of experience.
We interview the designers of Firelock Games' Blood & Steel; a skirmish game looking at the period of 1837 to 1901.
At Miniature Wargaming Labs Brian and I started with a plan of what games we were going to play for the year and invest our limited resources of time and money on those games. Of course we added new games to the plan. In this episode we discuss our progress and why we add new games.
In this episode we interview Nic, the creative mind behind the skirmish game Planet 28.
I am interested in doing battle reports for the YouTube Channel. Who better to ask about this than Michael, aka War Corgi.
We interview the founder of the MechBay Podcast about how to manage a new players entry into the Battletech universe.
BOHICA is the new rule set released by Paul Eaglestone of Empress Miniatures fame; and, in this episode we talk to him about his rules, the miniatures he has made for the period, and where to get them. His ruleset does not just cover the period of the war most Americans think about, but are applicable to all three Into-China Wars. The rules do not come with a point system, instead the games are balanced by the scenarios you choose, with more expansions on the way to cover all the nuances of the different time periods, specific environments (it was not all delta and jungles), and forces. That means that with some home brewed scenarios you could use these rules to cover other conflicts such as the Malayan Emergency, La Violencia, or Belgian Congo with a little imagination.
In our second episode of the year we interview the Editor-In-Chief of Military Miniature Magazine: Jason. He lays out his vision for an Americas centric publication (that includes appearances by the Canadians) to rally the wargaming community around.
Brian and I talk about how we are going to approach this year from a miniature wargaming perspective. As part of that how we are down selecting to what kind of games we are going to focus on and our thoughts on whether certain games will be big this year or flops.
As part of our long term effort to find companies that seek to manufacture in the US, we have found Black Powder, Red Earth 28mm Wargame. If you like ultra-modern skirmish games built in the US from responsibly sourced suppliers then this is the game for you. Based on a quirky blend of JSOC training scenarios and computer game development this game seeks to capture the action found in the similarly named graphic novel.
Jon Russell joins us again to talk about some of the new games and releases that Warlord Games will start pushing out as we approach the death throes of the Black Friday month and enter year ending gorging times. Amongst the items we discuss is the rerelease of Project Z (I had to remind our honored guest that Zed is not a letter) which will only be available while supplies last, the launch of Black Powder Napoleonic Epic (look for more games to enter Epic scale), and WWII Italians. I should also remind listeners that from November to January is the time Warlord starts dumping items into their clearance bins so pick the right time to strike.
Julian from Enemy Spotted Studios in the Minneapolis joins us to talk about Enemy Spotted Studios and his upcoming Killwager Kickstarter. Julian develops his miniatures and games with a focus on delivering realism in small unit actions from the use of body armor, stances, and the use of weapon sights. His Kickstarter has just launched and has two ways to buy in: Either go all digital with the rulebook and miniatures, or buy everything physically and receive it in the mail. He is also offering the option of having a model sculpted by those crazy enough to drop the money.
The topic of this episode is running a tournament. We planned to do this topic in one episode but found that it is an expansive topic due to the logistical differences in running a tournament in a store versus an event space. Brian has worked on both types; successfully and unsuccessfully. We will do a part 2 later. In our product spotlight special we talk about Fire Forge's Forgotten World rule set. A definitely undervalued ruleset. We introduce a new section regarding just Games Workshop so it will stop bleeding into the other sections. Of course with the arrival of the store copies of Kill Team: Octarius that dominates this section.
In this episode we talk to Lee and Susan Gaddis out of Detroit. That is right, The home of Muscle cars is home to miniature wargaming manufacturer that specializes in making sure everyone who fights get recognized, and that anyone who wants to play gets recognized. We talk about their latest weird WWII game Empire Falls and their older weird Great War game Shattered Crown. While we do talk about manufacturing, game design, and miniature design and manufacturing (with commentary on SIOCAST), at certain points the show devolves into me giving a wish list of what I am looking for. And, I was not disappointed as he has plans to introduce models for the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion and various WWII Chinese factions.
We talk to Robin of Mindtaker Miniatures. A fascinating example of a hobbyist, turned second hand online miniatures reseller, turned physical store with a focus on hobby and community engagement. A case study in how a different type of store can work. Robin was kind enough to offer our listeners a coupon code to get 5% off a purchase at Mindtaker Miniatures. So visit www.mindtaker.org and use the code MWL5 to get 5% off your entire purchase.
We talk to Carl, the game designer of Contact Front released by Gods Eye Games, about his origins in miniature wargaming, how he went about developing Contact Front, and where he is planning on taking the game.
In this episode Brian and I discuss what is an entry level game, or a game for beginners. The rule we decide on is that how long does it take for the game to be fun. Listen as we delve into other criteria. Product Highlight: Army Painters new Gamemaster line of foam, spray cans, and hot wire cutter. Horizon scan: I am looking forward to buying Funky Skull Games new Funky pop models while Brian is interested in Nic Evan's new Kickstarter Super Tiny Giant Battles.
Brian and I discuss whether new editions and expansions are a good thing for miniature wargames. While they can be annoying, especially when they come out at a high tempo, without them it seems games will fade away due to a perceived lack of support.
In this episode I talk to Discourse about their hobby journey and explain how someone can get into playing Batman Miniatures Game by Knight Models. BMG is a simple skirmish-level game to learn, but hard to master; and, the sculpts are beautiful. Discourse Miniatures has a YouTube channel with some excellent explanatory videos and battle reports. If you want to try the game out before you commit BMG can be found on Table Top Simulator.
We interview Jon "the Pusher" Russell of Warlord Games infamy about how to get into playing Bolt Action. With the release of a USMC starter set for the Bolt Action Pacific Theater we are excited about the new focus on this neglected topic. Of course since we had him on we could not miss on the opportunity to talk about the product lines in the Warlord Games family, such as Black Powder Epic, SPQR, and Mythic Americas. I am personally looking forward to the Mythic line touching the neglected aspects of South East Asian and African mythology.
In this episode we talk about the fear of missing out. And in the miniature wargaming world this comes in the form of missing opportunities for price deals and missing opportunities for access to specific miniatures. While the miniature wargaming world is not as bad as the Collectible Card Game world this fear of missing out is most often an artificial creation of a vendor to extract money from consumers. Hobby: Brian takes on his Ork horde army for Warhammer 40K while I tackle the terrain from Pariah Nexus. This is one where you have to get used to painting the same thing over and over. Horizon Scan: We both are looking forward to Stargrave, while I am interested in seeing if I can kit bash the Stargrave alien set with Great Escape Games upcoming plastic Cowboy minis.
In this episode we bring Ed from the Northeastern Heights of Albuquerque to talk about he got started in miniature wargaming and progressed from X-Wing to Battletech and now Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Product Spotlight: Ed gives his take on the three new squadron expansions for X-Wing. Horizon Scan: Ed looks forward to new releases in X-Wing and the release of Wave 2 of the Battletech Kickstarter, while I discuss my interest in the Cyberpunk RED kickstarter.
We turn back to Bob from Nevada to ask about his Watrloo wargaming day and to find out how one gets started in Napoleonic wargaming.
In this premier of our Store Spotlight series we are going to cover Ettin Games Albuquerque. That is my FLGS and it is where Brian works so I get a chance to ask him about the intention behind how the store is laid out, the retail space allocated, and what the pans are for transitioning out of Covid. We make a special point about talking about microwaving food and clean bathrooms as these are the little things to making sure you create a friendly environment for all types of gamers. On the Hobby Table: Brian works on his home-brew Mario Kart Gaslands game while I found more Necromunda terrain while working on my Pariah Nexus box. Product Spotlight: Brian talks about Space Weirdos which is an homage to Kill Team but with a simpler rule set. Horizon Scan: Brian is planning on grabbing the Games Workshop Broken Realms expansion for his Death armies, while I am thinking of wading back into the Kickstarter bog with Cyberpunk RED and Anthalonica Wargaming.
In this episode we cover: Product Spotlight: Games Workshops Kill Team Expansion Pariah Nexus which is not for everyone Main Feature: When do you know to walk away for a game. It is a long discussion, and mostly a gripe session. But, essentially if a game does not spark joy in you walk away. Horizon scan: Brian talks about looking forward to new Ork models, and James decides to pass on the Piety and Pain release to focus on Necromunda. We both agree that Steam Forged Games latest release of cat and dog minis will fit nicely into our game of Frostgrave.
As part of our remit to explore the aspects of serious warmers we kick off our spotlight series by interviewing Bob from Nevada a long time wargamer. How long has he been wargaming? Long enough to have an original Chainmail rulebook signed by Gary Gyax. He also worked for Real Partha for a short time as an overnight shift caster. One of his favorite aspects of wargaming is making terrain and boards. So follow us down the trail of discussing rules writing, game design, and where to keep 30,000 miniatures.
In this episode we talk about Kitbashing. An interesting way to make your wargaming faction standout in a sea of sameness. Kitbashing can be done in a resource intensive manner, or scrapped together from the leavings of extraneous sprues. In our product spotlight we discuss Osprey Games A billion Suns. In our horizon scan we Brian discusses a game he is (not) anticipating: Silver Bayonet. While do not know much of this game, Brian, a reliably staunch Jospeh McCullogh Fan Boy does not like Napoleonics nor Gothic horror. I however am fervently awaiting Monster Fight Clubs CyberpunkRED kickstarter to add more minis and skirmish wargaming rules to my holdings.
In this episode we bring back Erin to talk about the various 3D sculpting programs she used to make a model that she then painted.
In this episode we answer an audience members question about how price impacts the design of a war-game. This is one of those issues where the prevalence of a game allows a company to design imbalance and product churn into its game engine to drive sales; in essence product chasing creates a subscription business model. While this sounds bad, it does allow for a game to continue to exist. In our product spotlight we discuss Warlord Games SPQR Revised Edition.
In this episode we focus on a question we received from our listener community: How do you make time to play multiple different wargames? In our product spotlight segment we talk about our latest our from Knight Models. Bottom Line Up Front: Beautiful, but not for beginners.
In this episode, based on listener commentary, we discuss how to budget your wargaming purchases to prevent overspending. Brian and James discuss their criteria for when and what to buy to add to your wargaming collections. And, to remember other cost drivers that most wargamers overlook such as hobby supplies and transportation options.
In this episode we interview Erin from 3DP Design Labs about her progress wading into 3d printing. For many serious miniature wargamers 3D printing presents the opportunity for cheap models, but 3D printing can consume as much time and money as you let it. It can become a hobby on to itself rather than an adjunct to miniature wargaming and hobbying. By following Erin's progress through printing and designing 3D objects, we hope to help our listeners judge how deeply this wish to get involved in 3D printing. 3DP Design Labs has uploaded their miniature wargaming designs to Thingiverse.
In our inaugural episode we discuss the three things that limit how much miniature wargaming a player can enjoy: time, space, and money.