Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast

Few designers have influenced narrative miniature gaming as much as Tuomas Pirinen. From Mordheim in the late 1990s to the recent breakout success of Trench Crusade, his games have always leaned heavily toward story, character and campaign play.What surprises him most is that the latest one worked as well as it did.“We were totally prepared to lose our shirts and be happy about it,” Pirinen says of launching Trench Crusade. “But it didn't go that way.”The project was essentially a gamble between friends. Pirinen and collaborator Mike Franchina funded sculpting and development themselves, assuming the Kickstarter would be a passion project rather than a runaway hit.Part of the reason was the concept itself.“On the surface, it's very counterintuitive,” Pirinen explains. “You go into a space where there is a totally dominant player. Then you narrow your audience because the game is clearly aimed at a mature audience. And the theme is religion and its role in war, which no major games company would touch with a barge pole.”By the logic of spreadsheets and market analysis, it should not have worked.“But creative work doesn't always follow the Excel sheet,” he says. “The Excel doesn't always determine the fate of creative endeavour.”From Mordheim to Trench CrusadeFor many hobbyists, Pirinen's name is still inseparable from Mordheim. Released in 1999, the skirmish game focused on small warbands exploring the ruins of a cursed city, gaining injuries, experience and grudges along the way.“Mordheim was very narrative driven,” Pirinen says. “It wasn't about perfectly balanced competitive play. It was about creating a story with your friends as the campaign unfolds.”That philosophy has never really left his design work. Trench Crusade follows the same broad idea, although updated for modern players.“In many ways it takes that high level idea and brings it forward,” he says. “Mordheim came out in 1999, so a lot of water has flowed in the river since then.”Interestingly, Pirinen himself used to approach games very differently.“When I was younger, I was very competitive,” he admits. “Winning mattered a lot to me. These days I'm much more focused on the narrative side.”That competitive background still informs his design work. Even narrative games need solid rules.“If the rules don't work, you just end up arguing every two minutes. In a miniature game there's no dungeon master to smooth things over.”Why campaigns fall apartDespite their popularity, narrative campaigns often struggle to survive beyond the first few games. Pirinen believes the reason is mostly practical.Campaign play demands commitment. Players need to keep turning up, track experience and equipment, and maintain armies that grow over time.“It's simply more work,” he says.There is also a more subtle problem. Campaigns can collapse if one player falls too far behind early on.“A very common reason campaigns fall apart is that one player gets beaten badly in the first few games,” Pirinen explains. “They feel like nothing they do matters anymore, so they stop playing. Then the campaign falls apart.”The solution is something designers call catch-up mechanics. These systems help struggling players remain competitive without removing the reward for winning.It is a delicate balance. Too much help and victory feels meaningless. Too little and the narrative ends early.The balance paradoxBalance is often treated as the holy grail of wargame design. Pirinen is more sceptical.“Perfect balance is possible,” he says. “But it probably isn't that much fun.”The reason is simple. True balance usually means forces become increasingly similar. Yet variety and asymmetry are where the excitement lies.“A huge part of the fun is encountering something new,” he says. “A new warband, a new character, some new piece of equipment. Those things create interesting situations.”They also create imbalance.Rather than chasing perfection, Pirinen relies on extensive playtesting and data. If factions win roughly equal numbers of games over time, the design is probably healthy even if players argue otherwise.“You shouldn't always listen to what people say,” he notes. “Look at the results.”Designing the ending firstOne of Pirinen's most practical design tricks is starting from the end of a campaign rather than the beginning.“If you know the final battle, you can work backwards,” he says.That approach helps identify problems early. If a key character dying in game three would break the narrative climax, the designer can adjust the scenario before the campaign ever reaches the table.It is a method Pirinen uses not only for tabletop design but also for roleplaying campaigns and video games.“At the end of the day, it usually comes down to the final battle,” he says. “If everyone arrives there feeling they still have a chance, you've probably done well.”History and the darker side of heroismMany of Pirinen's settings feel unusually grounded compared to typical fantasy wargames. That comes from his reading habits.“I read a lot of history,” he says. “Academic history, historical novels, everything.”What interests him most are turning points where events suddenly shift direction. The fall of Constantinople. The later stages of the Hundred Years War when artillery changed siege warfare. Moments where a seemingly unstoppable trend suddenly breaks.Those moments also shape the tone of his games.“My sympathies are usually with the ordinary people,” he says. “Men and women fighting for their homes even though they had nothing to do with causing the war.”That perspective helps explain the bleak worlds found in both Mordheim and Trench Crusade. The darker the circumstances, the brighter the heroism appears.“If the situation isn't grim and challenging, you lessen the heroism,” he says.The moment that matteredFor all the discussion of rules and systems, Pirinen insists the most powerful moments in gaming rarely come from mechanics.He recalls one roleplaying campaign where the players were pursued by an enemy far beyond their ability to defeat. A beloved companion stayed behind to hold them off while the party escaped.“My players were in tears,” he says simply.No rulebook can guarantee that kind of experience.“That's something between human beings,” Pirinen explains. “It takes time for players to trust each other enough to open up like that.”A campaign worth the journeySo how long should a campaign last?Pirinen often recommends around six games. It feels like a journey without becoming overwhelming.For groups with more time, a monthly game over a year can feel truly epic. Roleplaying campaigns may stretch even longer. One of his own lasted six years.The key ingredient is not complexity or balance but investment.“You get more out if you put more of yourself into it,” he says.In the end, that philosophy runs through everything Pirinen designs. Rules matter, but they exist to support something larger.A good world. A group of friends. And the unpredictable stories that emerge when the dice hit the table.Or as he puts it, borrowing an old gaming phrase:“Let the dice tell the story.”Also MentionedDoctor Spork's TerrainThe MiniGamer Newsletter

My first encounter with Oldhammer came via the incredible Realm of Chaos 80s blog. Since 2012, the site's owner, Orlygg, has documented his hobby, shared pictures of beautiful old lead models, and interviewed legendary creators.Bryan Ansell, Mike McVey, Tony Ackland, Rick Priestley, and Bill King are just a few of the hobby heavyweights you'll find conversations with over there. It really is a treasure trove for anyone interested in Games Workshop during that uniquely special Ansell era.On this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, Orlygg gets to sit in the guest chair for once. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I've no doubt that you will, too!  Also MentionedDoctor Spork's TerrainThe MiniGamer Newsletter

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. Submit a clip for next month's episodeJoin the DiscordThe MiniGamer hobby newsletter

Hobgoblin by Mike Hutchinson is a fast and brutal miniature-agnostic mass fantasy battle game, enabling you to use anything you have and giving you the tools to stat your army up in any way you like. This is a co-hosted episode with Dan of Paint All The Minis and part of his "Why I Love..." series.

We all love listening to conversations in the hobby, and we shouldn't lock them in a walled garden.

Off the back of his epic two-part chat with Rick Priestley, Jason continues the narrative gaming thread with Gerry of OnTableTop/Beasts of War fame.

Hobgoblin is a really fun fantasy mass battle game. What makes it even more fun is pretending it's 1994 and you're making a battle report for White Dwarf. On this episode, we do just that! Hobgoblin in 15mmDoctor Spork's TerrainOwen's Time Between TimesDIY doom markers for Hobgoblin

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. Submit a clip for next month's episodeJoin the DiscordHuman Blood Bowl teamThundercats MiniaturesThe Midlife Hobby Renaissance surveyAmazing Tales RPG bookDr Spork's Terrain

Padre talks us through his 13+ year Tilea's Troubles narrative campaign, built around Might Empires and the occasional game of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. If you'd like to hear more about his hobby origins, then be sure to check out this episode of the Crown of Command podcast. Returning hobbyist? I'd love to hear about your experience.

I'm sure Gav Thorpe needs no introduction to any listener of this podcast, and he was kind enough to join me for a chat back in July 2023. The topics we covered were very much evergreen and as relevant today as they were a couple of years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed listening back to it, and I'm sure you will too!

White Dwarf readers of a certain vintage will undoubtedly remember Fred Reed's iconic Howling Griffons space marine army. Then-Games Workshop store worker Fred showcased the stunning force in issue 179 (November 94), and it had a runout in the mag's battle report a month later.Fred's army was a source of inspiration to many young hobbyists in the mid-90s and is still talked about more than 30 years later. One man who's gone above and beyond in his nostalgia, however, is Jonny Watson of the Jonny Watson Gaming YouTube channel. Jonny did the ultimate homage to Fred's Howling Griffons by assembling and painting his own tribute act.I had the pleasure of chatting to Jonny about this project and the opportunities it brought him, from interviewing Fred Reed himself to being featured on the hallowed pages of White Dwarf. We covered his origin story, returning after the inevitable deep freeze, and how running a YouTube channel can supplement and enhance your hobby when you're not playing the algorithm game.

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. Submit a clip for next month's episodeJoin the DiscordPhotos from our game of HobgoblinLatest YouTube vids

Narrative wargaming is often framed as a niche revival or a reaction against competitive play. Rick Priestley rejects that outright. Narrative play is not a rebellion. It is the foundation modern wargames were built on.Before points values and mirrored tables, games were shaped by scenario and judgment. Sieges were unfair. Last stands were desperate. Balance was not calculated. It was agreed.Early British designers such as Featherstone, Grant, and Young did not rely on points systems. They assumed good faith, shared imagination, and players who wanted the game to be interesting rather than optimal.So what changed?When Balance Became an IdeologyPoints values began as a convenience. They helped players build collections and find games quickly. Over time, that convenience hardened into expectation.Modern balance culture assumes that a properly designed game should resolve to a near-perfect 50/50 outcome between equally skilled players. The result is list optimisation, meta-chasing, and games whose outcome is often decided before the first dice roll.Priestley does not condemn this approach. He simply questions what it produces. Efficiency, perhaps. Predictability, certainly. But not always joy.The Games Master We LostOne of the clearest casualties of this shift is the Games Master.In the episode, Jason describes running vast multiplayer games overseen by a GM who introduces events, resolves disputes, and keeps the story moving. Priestley immediately recognises the model. This was early Warhammer. Early roleplaying games. Early wargaming.The GM was never a workaround. They were the engine.Attempts to replace that role with campaign books and flowcharts were understandable, but limited. You cannot automate trust or improvisation. A referee works because everyone agrees they are there to make the game better.As Priestley puts it, the only rule is that the Games Master is always right. Not because they wield authority, but because the group has given them responsibility.Rules as ToolsAnother striking thread in the conversation is how casually the group ignores rules.Forgotten mechanics are handwaved. Unclear outcomes are resolved with a roll and a decision. Priestley admits that even with systems he helped write, momentum matters more than correctness.This is not carelessness. It is confidence.Narrative players are not anti-rules. They simply refuse to let rules dominate the experience. Systems are scaffolding. If something blocks the flow of the game, it is removed.In a hobby obsessed with precision and FAQs, this mindset feels quietly subversive.Not a Rejection, a ReminderPriestley is not calling for the end of competitive play. He is arguing for memory.Narrative gaming never died. It was crowded out of the conversation. What groups like Jason's are doing is not inventing something new. They are remembering how the hobby once worked and choosing to make space for it again.The most radical idea in modern wargaming is not breaking the rules.It is remembering they were never the point.

We've seen some large-scale narrative games take place within the Bedroom Battlefields community these past couple of years. But is this approach often overlooked in favour of "balanced" points-based pitched battles? Jason and Mark from the Bedroom Battlefields community sit down with legendary game designer Rick Priestley to talk about the roots and future of narrative wargaming.They explore how tabletop wargames were played before points lists and tournament balance took over, and why story-led, games master driven play still matters today. The conversation ranges from early Warhammer and historical wargaming to massive multiplayer battles, campaign play, and the creative freedom that comes from trusting the people around the table.This is part one of a longer discussion, focusing on the shift from narrative play to competitive formats, and what was gained and lost along the way.Topics include:How wargames were played in the 1970s and early Warhammer eraWhy Rick Priestley avoids points-based systems in his own gamesThe role of the games master in creating memorable experiencesThe shared DNA between early wargaming and role-playing gamesHow commercial pressures reshaped WarhammerWhy narrative campaigns struggled to survive despite strong ideasThe result is a thoughtful, funny, and occasionally provocative conversation about play, creativity, and why wargames do not need to be hyper-competitive to be meaningful.Part two continues in the next episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast.Join the conversation: If narrative gaming, story-led battles, or games with a games master resonate with you, you are welcome to join the Bedroom Battlefields Discord at bedroombattlefields.com/discord

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. Submit your own clip for December right here. Oh, and here's a few pics of my 15mm Hobgoblin setup.

Space Weirdos is a cult classic miniature agnostic game, and you can hear an interview with its creator, Casey, on a recent episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. Today, I'm joined by Ed, who is an active Bedroom Battlefields community member and Space Weirdos evangelist. Ed has recently facilitated a fan expansion, Weird Millennium, and we chat about the why and how. If you want more of Ed waxing lyrical about Space Weirdos, check out his chat with Dan on this episode of Paint All The Minis.

Doctor Spork and I play out The Rivalry of Rot mini campaign using the Song of Blades & Heroes rules and my various Nurgle miniatures. Support the show by leaving a tip

Hobby updates from the Bedroom Battlefields community. Submit your November update here and be part of the next one!

Award-winning game designer Brent Spivey joins me for a chat about two of his cult games, Mayhem and Rogue Planet. You can keep up with future updates from Brent by visiting his website Bombshell Games.

For most hobbyists, gaming happens in the evening, and almost every group or club meets after 7pm. But what if you're a morning person? I'm joined by Dan of Paint All The Minis, who likes to get his dice rolled before the sun is up!

What have you been painting, playing, or planning for during the month of September? It's time for a hobby progress and accountability update. Be sure to get involved in next month's episode by leaving a voice clip here. And you can see pictures of what I've been up to right here.

"You're looking through the wrong end of the telescope", says Peter Berry of Baccus 6mm - "6mm figures aren't tiny, 28mm figures are very very big".On this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, we're exploring the world of wargaming in the 6mm scale. This is a great conversation highlighting the many joys of six. Peter is keen to point out that this isn't a case of one scale OR another (most of us love 28mm first and foremost, after all), but using the right tool for the right job. 

From deep dives into HeroQuest and Citadel Combat Cards to in-depth chats with folks like Ian Livingston and Rick Priestley, Jordan Sorcery is creating incredible content documenting the rich history of Games Workshop. On this episode, he's kind enough to join me for a chat about where it all began, watching someone destroy a Dwarven cannon at Games Day, and uploading his first cat video.

Andy Chambers (Blood Angels) takes on Jervis Johnson (Orks) in White Dwarf 166, October 1993.

Our question of the month for August 2025 was around what you're up to right now. What are you painting, playing, or planning for?

The world's most iconic Oldhammer event, Bring Out Your Lead, took place at the Foundry between Friday, 8th August and Sunday, 10th August.I caught up with Mike Hutchinson (Hobgoblin, Gaslands, A Billion Suns), Owen Staton (Crown of Command, Time Between Times Storytelling), Lewis (Oldhammer Fiction Podcast), Jordan (Jordan Sorcery), Evelina (Jimmy the Brush), Jason (Bedroom Battlefields Community), and David (5th Hammer) to hear about their first impressions, plans, and experiences.  

Is this hobby the one remaining place we can still escape from digital technology and leave the phones, tablets, etc at the door? Or, are there benefits to be had by implementing certain tech to run "hybrid" style gaming experiences? That's just one of the topics we touch on in this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast.This time around, we're joined by Robey Jenkins of Precinct Omega. Robey is the creator of the Horizon Wars games series, as well as the Precinct Omega News & Game Design Podcast. You can find his games (as well as a whole trove of others) on Wargame Vault.We talk about storytelling, and worldbuilding in miniature agnostic games, referencing some of our own favourites like Open Combat, Song of Blades & Heroes, and Rogue Planet. Does providing a universe or setting limit players, or does it help them to build their forces and play out more meaningful encounters?We couldn't have a chat with Robey without dipping into game mechanics. What are some of the most innovative ones he's come across? What are the mechanics he's most proud of creating himself? Are there only so many different variations of miniature wargame rules out there? And while we're at it, what makes a hobbyist gamer want to start writing their own rules in the first place anyway?Robey also offers his thoughts on how he'd go about adapting a popular miniature game into a solo or co-op ruleset, and whether or not you could make a "tiny" game with only two minis.No conversation on this podcast would be complete without touching on Games Workshop, either. Does GW have more or less of an influence and hold over this industry than it did, say, 25 years ago?

Dan of Paint All The Minis joins me for a chat about the look, feel, and design of miniatures, from old school metal lumps to modern-day GW 400,000 part kits. We also talk Blood Bowl, hobby parenting, and hobbying from two different locations!

3d printed terrain might be trendy right now, but let's not forget about the tremendous benefits of MDF buildings and scenery - especially as this medium has been levelled up recently at Warbases, who now run a pre-coloured range. They also run the fantastic Bifrost Miniatures range and there's loads of fun to be had in there, from giant Ettins to Haggisnadoes. Also mentionedQuestion of the monthThe Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game DesignBaron's war novelsOathsworn Miniatures

Frostgrave is one of the most recognisable games in the tabletop miniature wargame hobby. It's also one of the most popular outwith the Games Workshop Empire.On this episode, we're joined by the architect of the frozen city himself - Joe McCullough. We're going to talk about the lay of the land when this miniature agnostic fantasy skirmish game was released back in 2015, and speculate on the key factors behind its success.Joe's no one-trick pony though, and his scope extends well beyond Frostgrave. Stargrave may sound similar in name (and certainly shares a few core mechanics), but this sci-fi skirmish game is much more than just "Frostgrave in space".Then there's Rangers of Shadow Deep - a solo and cooperative game that became a firm favourite during the year of global lockdowns that was 2020.More often than not, Joe has appeared to release games in the right place and at the right time. One notable exception, however, is Oathmark. This mass fantasy battle rank and flank game was undoubtedly subdued by its Spring 2020 release date - a point in time where very few people could actually play it. Joe offers his thoughts on that as well as how the game might recover from this setback going forward.One of the reoccurring themes of this conversation was that of miniature wargame terrain. Frostgrave and Stargrave in particular benefit from their tables being extremely busy. But does this create a barrier for players with no existing terrain collection or no budget? Joe tells us about many players using simple wooden blocks or polystyrene packaging to build their frozen cities and intergalactic outposts, and why it doesn't need to look “real” to capture the imagination.You can keep up with Joe on his blog The Renaissance Troll where he posts updates on his games, his hobby, his painting, and his thoughts in general. You'll find the official range of Frostgrave miniatures over at North Star Military Figures, if you want to go down that route, as well as a raft of other games and supplements on DriveThruRPG.

If the world were about to end, but we could pack a big indestructible box full of the stuff that said "this was our hobby", what would you put in there?

Domien De Groot is one half of Audio Epics, a company specialising in fantasy audio storytelling. They've published a number of richly designed and immersive tales that will be of interest to listeners of this podcast, not least of all, the Witch Hunter series. Each story is available on YouTube or the audio podcast feed. I would also highly recommend sticking on a pair of headphones and listening to this introduction to The Fairy Tree, a 3D audio production written by Domien and produced by Owl Field.

The Bedroom Battlefields Discord community has spawned several "marquee" games in the past few years. The latest big game was somewhere in between a 28mm game of Man O'War and a giant Warhammer skirmish with moving terrain. Mark and Jason join me for a chat about the planning, prepping, and playing.

May's question of the month was a call to tell us about the games and rulesets you always find yourself coming back to, time and time again. And as for next month's question - here it is.

I'm joined by Lewis of the Oldhammer Fiction Podcast. On this episode, we chat about the show's origins and its role in the hobby. We also get into the topic of Oldhammer more broadly, as well as the brilliant annual Bring Out Your Lead event.

Question of the Month regular Dave joins me for a chat about hobbying with his sons, his legendary Necromunda campaign, and the pain of sitting on a D4.

A recent episode with Mantic's Ronnie Renton got into licensing IPs for tabletop miniature games. That prompted our question of the month for April, which was: What classic, popular, or obscure IPs would you most like to see adapted into a miniatures game?So, here are our answers. And if you want to get involved in this month's QotM, here's the link.

I wanted to find out more about Blood Bowl, so who better to speak to than Ben from The Bonehead Podcast?

Our question of the month in March was, "What's the coolest bit of terrain you've ever made?". On this episode we'll hear the many great answers, as well as reveal the QotM for April. I also talk about a solo/coop ruleset I've been working on, and the knee-jerk decision to buy and play Blood Bowl!April Question of the MonthBedroom Battlefields Patreon

Dan of Paint All The Minis returns for a hobby chat about various things, including what we're playing, how much we're playing, and keeping up with the hobby in general.

Ronnie Renton, the founder of Mantic Games, joins the podcast to discuss the world of tabletop miniatures, game design, and the company's evolution.Ronnie shares his journey from working at Games Workshop to starting his own company, his thoughts on the state of the hobby, and how Mantic has carved its own niche with games like Kings of War, Dungeon Saga, and their latest licensed projects, including Halo.We discuss the challenges of creating accessible wargames, the importance of growing the hobby, and how Mantic is embracing new technologies like 3D printing. Plus, Ronnie teases some exciting upcoming releases!

I'm joined by Casey, writer of the cult classic Space Weirdos. We talk about the game's origins, its popularity, and a few of his other titles.

What were your last three hobby purchases? That was our question of the month in February, and the response was great. Our question of the month for March is to tell us about a terrain piece you built that you're particularly proud of. Here's where and how to submit!

Michael Lovejoy is co-creator of the cult anthropomorphic animal skirmish game Burrows & Badgers. On this episode, he joins me for a chat about the history of the game and miniature range, running a company in the hobby, and the upcoming second edition. Also mentioned was this written interview with Michael on Goonhammer.com.

I'm joined by Curtis of Ramshackle Games, who talks about an eventful couple of weeks at the venerable indie miniature company!

On the latest episode of the podcast, Glenn Ford and Mike Hutchinson discuss their new book, The Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game Design: A Designer's Handbook.The pair need little introduction in our corner of the hobby, and their show, The Rule of Carnage, was frequently mentioned in our episode last year about the best hobby content channels on the web.Mike was also on the show last year, talking about some of his games, including Gaslands, A Billion Suns, Chess 28, and Hobgoblin. The latter is one that I recently got hold of and played for the first time, too – it's a cracker.Essential LinksRule of Carnage on YouTubeSpace Gits KickstarterBoarders and Black Flags KickstarterThe Crawling Chaos KickstarterPukeapocalypsePukeapocalypse on Exalted FuneralThe Rule of Carnage Discord ServerMike's PatreonGlenn's Patreon

Our question of the month throughout January 2025 was for you to tell us about your named characters and their (mis)adventures on the tabletop. As always, we got a great mix of answers, and it was a pleasure to hear all of these fun anecdotes. Also MentionedFebruary Question of the MonthHobgoblin in 15mmBad Internet Friends Podcast

The tabletop miniature hobby has no shortage of sub-hobbies, most popular of which are collecting, painting, and gaming. Less discussed but no less important is the artwork that forms the backdrop of the worlds we play in. In this episode, we talk about art and its delivery in analogue formats such as coffee table books and magazines.

Mark joins me for a hobby catchup. He recently picked up Midguard Heroic Battles and offers some early thoughts on how it might compare to similar 'rank and flank' games such as Warhammer, Dragon Rampant, and Kings of War. Be sure to join our Discord community, which was mentioned a few times for various reasons. And here is the latest Question of the Month, too!

Ben AKA Kharnation from the Discord joins me for a chat about his hobby origins, coming out of "the deep freeze" to eventually play in 40k tournaments, and his involvement in Dragon's Lair, a friendly local gaming store in Adelaide, South Australia.

Throughout the month of December we asked for your hobby highlights from the past 12 months. Here are the responses! Our question of the month for January is: Tell us about your named characters on the tabletop!Maybe it's the overconfident warrior who always charges headfirst into danger, or the sneaky rogue who somehow always survives by the skin of their teeth. Perhaps you've got a hero with a legendary backstory, or a character whose misfortune has become a running joke.We'd love to hear about your named characters, where you got the miniatures, how you came up with their names, and any funny or memorable moments you've had with them!Submit your January clip