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Tabletop Adventure Game Venn Diagram

We Need Better Terminology for Tabletop Games

On By In Game Rules, Miniatures

Tabletop Gaming The world of tabletop gaming has never been more diverse, but the language we use to describe it hasn’t kept up. While terms like “board games” and “TTRPGs” (tabletop roleplaying games) are well understood and help clarify their unique spaces, there’s a growing genre of games that still doesn’t have a proper label. Board gamers and RPG players aren’t the issue—if anything, they’ve done a good job of adapting language to fit the medium. TTRPG, …

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Playing the Bad Guys: Ethics, Wargaming, and Finding the Right Fit

On By In Game Rules, Miniatures

I prefer to play as the bad guys. Almost universally, in every game I play. I’m not entirely sure why, but I suspect it has to do with my discomfort with the ethics of wargaming itself. When a game simulates warfare, there’s an underlying tension—what does it mean to revel in strategic battles where pretend lives are at stake? Playing the bad guys removes this moral ambiguity. Their objectives are clear: conquest, destruction, or domination. And if …

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What is a “Feel-Bad Surprise Game Rule”?

On By In Game Rules, Miniatures

I’m not a particularly competitive player. Sure, winning is fun, but for me, the main goal of playing a game is the experience—not just racking up victories. I care more about everyone at the table having a good time. That said, there’s one thing that can ruin a game for me: surprise game rules. Surprise Game Rules Suck When you’re learning a new game, it’s natural to lose at first. You pick up strategies, improve, and eventually …

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Ramblings on the state of tabletop wargames

On By In Miniatures

As a tabletop wargamer, there has never been a better time to avoid Games Workshop. Here is my personal list of superior game companies who make awesome games. None of these are publicly traded companies, which is probably why they can stick to their own ethics pretty closely. Will Games Workshop always suck at tabletop wargames? Let’s say, by mad happenstance, James Workshop stumbled on the unicorn perfect tabletop wargame ruleset. One that is clearly written yet …

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Taking Gaslands for a spin

On By In Miniatures

This week, instead of our usual Frostgrave, we took the game Gaslands for a spin. It has been near the top of my “I want to play that game” list for a long time. We learned the game as we went, which was a little tricky with three people but enough happened that I think we each got a taste of what how gameplay works. Personally, I really like it. What works well is how the Spin …

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A terrain workflow for scifi buildings

On By In Miniatures, Terrain

In preparing to teach an introductory class on terrain building, it was necessary to break it down into repeatable steps. This is something I typically do when I am creating an experimental prototype for a larger piece. However, for this, I had to make it more general yet specific to scifi terrain buildings. Here are the steps for my “Get it Done” terrain workflow: A Scifi Wasteland Repair Shop; My prototype example piece Vision I have noticed …

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Solo gaming is great.. but gaming with friends is better.

On By In Miniatures

It’s interesting how this hobby has changed for me. From what started as a group of friends at my work playing 40k (now over 2 decades ago), turned into many years of occasionally painting but also finding old miniatures at thrift stores. A few times, I went to Games Workshop official stores for short 50opt games. It was actually boardgames that got me back into tabletop games. The world of boardgames has grown so much in the …

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Artmesa art

Fantasy Warband Name Generator

On By In Game Rules

Having names for your warband members makes them more memorable and playing games more fun. You also care more about them in the game! All my miniatures have numbers on the bottom with white ink pen. This way I can cross-reference the miniature with the character stats. My favorite name generator is in the beginning of Forbidden Psalm. I l just love the mood and aesthetic of that game. Lately I have been playing Frostgrave and have …

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Frostgrave Knights and a Rage Drake from D&D

Last miniatures of 2022

On By In Miniatures

Finishing a few miniatures before the end of the year can feel great. New Years of last year, I was unable to partake in the festivities because had been exposed to the Rona but luckily never came down with it that time. However, I painted up a large amount of miniatures for fantasy. So here they are, a mixture of Frostgrave and Oathmark and also a Rage Drake from a D&D boardgame that I raided for miniatures. …

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