Miniature Wargaming Labs

The change in cross border trade means it is time for consolidation and vertical integration. Only the big and clever game companies will survive. Brian and James discuss the unification of Ironwind Metals into the Catalyst fold.

Brian and I discuss some recent efforts to get people to play more games. We compare the showpiece display versus the demo versus the learn to play event to try to convert the average passerby into a wargamer.

How could the wargaming market realign if trade between the major wargaming producer and consumers gets harder for some reason.

When a game starts to die, or when a new independent game starts to die what value is there from getting a bigger game company involved?

As some games move away from physical rulebooks to all digital, constantly updating rules what does that mean for playing old versions of games going into the future?

Brians back from LVO. Having beat the casinos at Paigow listen to find out how Brian did at the Infinity. There was Infinity during LVO - just not at it.

With the start of 2025 we look back to the previous year and see if we accomplished anything that we set out to do. Why not plan for next year? It can't hurt.

In our last episode of 2024 we steal a prompt from the Lords of War (Canadians) and discuss whether 3D printing is locking in the dominant position of Games Workshop. Of course to steal something requires that the thing be of value and protected in a reasonable manner.

Brian and I discuss what the best starter set for table top miniature wargaming is to buy as we burn into Black Friday. Considering Value For Money It's Halo Flashpoint.

If you have ever been to a convention they are fun. But the bigger they get the harder getting in and freedom of movement get.

Back form a long break we spend some time talking about the upcoming NOVA Open 2024 and the prevalence of smaller scales in the major wargaming companies.The title is based off the Richard Feynman quote about the utility of atomic scale physics. I drew a direct correlation between game companies pushing down into the smaller scales instead of ever upward.

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.

This is a short episode where Brian and I talk about what we listen to while hobbying.

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).

No plan survives first contact with it designer.

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.

Nova is over and we share our thoughts on the convention before we go to bed.

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.

Windham Graves returns to tell us about his time at HISTORICON 2023.

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.