Gaming Articles, On The Table

In Theory: Making Warhammer 40k Better

When I sat down to write my last article—an update on my renewed relationship with Warhammer 40K since it came back into my gaming rotation last year—I found myself reflecting on the challenges I’ve had with the game. I started wondering: Could I fix some of these issues myself? Maybe through house rules, borrowed mechanics from other systems, or even a fresh approach to gameplay?

That question led me down a rabbit hole of research, where I started noticing patterns between my own table habits and the frustrations they created. But what really surprised me was the solution. It didn’t require complex rule tweaks, homebrew mechanics, or drastic changes. With just a few small shifts—nothing outside the official rules—I suddenly found myself realizing that having a much smoother, more enjoyable Warhammer 40K experience was a matter of setup rather than rules changes.

It was a lightbulb moment, and naturally, it led to another 40K article. So today, let’s dig into the question: How can we make our 40K experience better?

The Issues With Warhammer 40k

Now, let me be clear—I’m not claiming these are the issues with Warhammer 40K, just my issues with the game. That’s an important distinction. I can only speak from my own experience, though I suspect plenty of players might relate.

For me, the challenges boil down to three key areas—each interconnected and deeply tied to the game’s history and Games Workshop’s business practices. These are: Battle Size, Gotcha Rules, and Terrain Count.

Let’s break them down.

The Battle Size Problem

My first major issue with Warhammer 40K today is the battlefield itself—specifically, how claustrophobic battles feel and how terrain and distances lack real strategic impact.

Marketing shots like this are great because they show off the amazing miniatures from the Warhammer 40k universe, we love it, but if your actual games looks like this, it’s going to be a very boring “shoot out” with no strategy, tactics or relevant gameplay. It just becomes a dice-chucking roll-off where the best dice odds are most likely to win. That’s not a miniature game, that’s Yahtzee!

There are three key reasons for this, and to understand why it feels so different to me compared to how it’s supposed to, you have to consider how much the game has changed since the last time I played seriously (back in 6th Edition) compared to today (10th Edition).

The Battlefield Has Shrunk

First, the battlefield has physically gotten smaller. The standard play area used to be 6×4 feet. Today, the recommended size is 44” x 60”—a reduction of 4 inches on the short side and a full foot on the long side.

The adoption of a 44×60 table has become this presumption about what is standard going so far as people creating guides on how to convert your 6×4 table into a 44×66 table. The obvious decision to shrink the minimum table size is a marketing ploy so that GW can tell you “hey – you can play 40k on a kitchen table”, but the reality is that this is the absolute most minimum space you can play on and a minimum sized table create a minimum sized experience. 6×4 is still the standard table size for 40k, don’t let anyone tell you differently!

Now, here’s something I didn’t even realize until I saw it in a YouTube video pointing it out: 44” x 60” is not the standard table size—it’s the minimum table size. There’s no official rule stating that this is the “proper” or “official” battlefield size, only that it’s the absolute smallest table you’re allowed to play on. You can, and arguably should, play on a larger surface.

But the battlefield itself isn’t the only reason for the cramped feeling.

Army Sizes Have Increased

The second issue is army size. Over the years, the cost of fielding a Warhammer 40K army (in terms of points, not money) has steadily decreased. The changes from edition to edition may have been subtle, but when you compare 6th Edition to 10th Edition, the difference is staggering.

Take Hormagaunts, a staple of any Tyranid army. Back in 6th Edition, each model cost 10 points, meaning a unit of 10 was 100 points, and 20 would set you back 200 points. Today? A unit of 10 Hormagaunts costs just 65 points—nearly a 35% reduction.

And it’s not just direct cost but indirect cost as well. Consider Zoanthropes—back in the day, a single Zoanthrope cost 34 points, so a squad of three was 102 points. That might sound close to today’s cost (100 points for three), but in 6th Edition, you also had to pay an additional 25 points per model if you wanted to equip them with Warp Blast, effectively doubling their cost. Now? That ability is free.

This a modern Tyranid at roughly 1,000 points. It’s a pretty big army and is going to take several hours to resolve a battle with this many units.

This kind of points compression is consistent across every faction and every unit. If you add it all up, a typical 2,000-point army from 6th Edition is roughly equivalent to a 1,000-point army in today’s game. In other words, players are fielding twice as many models as they used to—and on a smaller battlefield to boot, adding to the claustrophobic feeling of the battlefield.

And here’s another thing: Back in 6th Edition, 2,000 points wasn’t even the standard game size, there was no standard size or even recommendation—point size was presumed to be between 500-2,000 points, and 2,000 points was considered a large, long game. In fact most missions published were well below the 2,000-point mark. Looking at tournaments and other events from the era as well, most games were played at between 1,000-1,500 points, with 2,000 points being seen as “a major event”. If you adjust for today’s point scaling, that would mean a 750-850-point game would provide a similar amount of miniatures on the table.

Army Construction Rules Are Looser

The final factor is the way armies are built. In older editions, list-building was more restrictive—you had to follow a structure with minimums and maximums for different unit types:

  • HQ (Leaders)
  • Troops (Core units)
  • Elites (Special forces)
  • Fast Attack (Speedy units)
  • Heavy Support (Big guns)

You couldn’t just spam your strongest units or cheese the system with hyper-optimized lists. You had to build a more balanced force. Today, those restrictions have been loosened significantly, allowing for much more extreme list-building strategies.

So why did all of this happen?

Spoiler alert: It’s because Games Workshop wants to sell more models. I get it—it’s a business. But when you look at how these changes impact the game, and more importantly, if you simply acknowledge that this is happening, the solution is surprisingly simple.

I get it, Games Workshop is in the business of selling miniatures, but the thing is that even if you can afford a huge army, most of us are looking for a game that can be played in a reasonable amount of time. More models, mean longer games. With the constant increase in model count and army size, Warhammer 40k is quickly reaching the 5-6 hour mark to complete a game that is about 2-3 hours too long and there is a marked reduction in the quality of the games rather than an improvement.

How to Fix It

Fixing this issue—and getting a much better gaming experience—is surprisingly simple. After making a few adjustments, I was shocked at how much more enjoyable my Warhammer 40K games became. Here’s what worked for me:

Play on a 6×4 table (or larger).
A bigger battlefield changes everything. With more room to maneuver, units are spread out properly, and movement becomes a real tactical factor rather than an afterthought. It makes the game feel more strategic and immersive—as it should be!

Play at 1,000-1,200 points.
Lowering the point cap drastically improves the game in three key ways:

  1. Less to track – With fewer models and abilities in play, it’s easier for both you and your opponent to understand what each army can do. No more “gotcha” moments because you forgot a rule buried in a sea of datasheets.
  2. Faster games – Cutting back on unit bloat speeds up turns, making for a smoother and more dynamic experience.
  3. Better use of terrain and maneuvering – With fewer models and a larger table, movement actually matters. Cover becomes important, flanking is viable, and armies don’t feel crammed together from turn one.

Limit non-Battleline units to one copy max.
This was the hardest change to implement—but also one of the most effective. Limiting non-Battleline units (i.e., elites, vehicles, monsters, and specialist units) to one per army prevents spamming, one of the most common balance-breaking issues in the game.

  • Want a Rhino? You get one.
  • A unit of Zoanthropes? Just one squad.
  • No doubling (or tripling) up on power units for maximum efficiency.

This forces players to diversify their lists, leading to more balanced, engaging, and fair battles. It also eliminates “cheese lists” that rely on stacking the same overpowered unit, making games more tactical and less about who can break the system better.

Making these small adjustments completely changed my 40K experience—for the better. If you’re feeling the same frustration I was, give them a shot. You might be surprised at just how much of a difference they make.

The “Gotcha!” Problem – A Paywall on Knowledge

One of the most frustrating aspects of Warhammer 40K today isn’t the game itself—it’s Games Workshop’s business model. Specifically, the way they lock critical game knowledge behind an expensive paywall.

If you want to fully understand how the game works, you need to know what every army can do. But legally, the only way to access that information is by buying every single codex—a ridiculous and financially unrealistic expectation for most players.

Sure, buying the codex for your own army makes sense. But unless you’re willing to spend a small fortune on all the other codexes, you’ll always be flying blind against other factions. And that lack of information leads to one of Warhammer 40K’s biggest gameplay issues:

The “Gotcha!” Problem

Picture this: You make a strategic move, thinking you’re about to pull off a clever play—only for your opponent to drop a totally unexpected army rule, stratagem, or unit ability that completely shuts you down.

You wouldn’t have made that move if you had all the information. But because key mechanics are locked behind expensive rulebooks, you’re left playing a guessing game—one that your opponent already knows the answers to.

Now, some might argue, “Well, you should know the rules to the game.” And they’d be right—if the rules were actually available. But Games Workshop intentionally hides them behind a massive paywall, forcing players to buy their way into understanding the game.

The Impact on Gameplay and Community

This leads to a terrible gameplay experience and fosters a toxic play environment where veteran players can easily take advantage of newer or casual players. The result?

  • Unfair, one-sided games
  • Frustration for new or casual players
  • A shrinking player base as people give up on the game

In fact, I know plenty of people who refuse to play Warhammer 40K solely because of this issue. And the worst part? The game itself isn’t the problem—it’s Games Workshop’s sketchy business practice that creates this artificial barrier to entry.

The sad thing about 40k 10th edition is that it was a considerably better game before the Codexes dropped because at the start you had much better visibility of the rules of the game thanks to the release of digital indexes for all the armies. As codexes were released, the indexes were removed, slowly resulting in more and more hidden information. Today, players are flying blind!

The reality of Games Workshop rules for Warhammer 40k is that to get a complete set of rules today for competitive play it will cost you around 600 dollars and that covers you for approximately 3 years. That is neither a reasonable nor honest service level.

How to Fix It

The options here are quite limited and I’m just going to answer this question with a simple quote and leave it at that.

Piracy is the act of honest people solving a problem in response to dishonest people. Provide a reasonably priced service and you will discover that most people are honest, fail to do so and you will discover that there is no such thing as an honest person.

Do with that what you will.

The final issue—and one of the easiest to fix—is terrain count.

Warhammer 40K doesn’t provide particularly strong guidance on how much terrain a battlefield should have, nor does it offer clear recommendations for placement. The game defines different terrain types, and there’s an example battlefield in the rulebook, but when it comes time to set up for an actual game, most players are left guessing.

The Problem: Too Little, Too Symmetrical

In my experience, the most common issue is not enough terrain. And even when terrain is placed, players tend to mirror the layout in an attempt to be fair. While this seems reasonable, the result is often a static, predictable battlefield where terrain has limited impact on gameplay.

Terrain is a big barrier to entry, another major paywall to miniature games and Games Workshop makes the most expensive terrain by a margin so big you can expect to pay 3-4 times as much for official terrain. Thanks to 3d printing however and plenty of companies out their making quality pre-painted terrain, it’s getting cheaper every day to field sufficient terrain for Warhammer 40k.

The worst-case scenario? A game that feels like a shooting gallery, where units just line up and fire at each other with nothing breaking sightlines or forcing tactical movement. This kills the strategic depth that terrain is supposed to bring to the game.

How to Fix

After experimenting with different setups, I’ve learned a few simple terrain fixes that dramatically improve gameplay. The key is making sure you have enough terrain and placing it properly.

Use More Terrain – A well-designed battlefield should be at least 25-30% covered in terrain, meaning that you roughly need 20-25 pieces. This ensures that movement, positioning, and cover actually matter.

Ditch Symmetry – Real battlefields aren’t symmetrical. Instead of mirroring terrain, create natural-looking battlefields with varied sightlines and areas of strategic importance.

Mix Terrain Types – Include a variety of line-of-sight blocking structures, dense cover, and elevated positions to make movement and positioning just as important as firepower. Be sure to use all the different types of terrain, there should be a strong mixture and it’s often better to have more pieces rather than large blockers. You need some of those two, but you want to make sure that the benefits of cover shots are far more common than clear shots. In fact I would argue unless 80%-90% of shots are with the benefit of cover, you don’t have enough terrain.

Invest in Terrain – If you don’t have enough terrain, it’s worth investing in some—or better yet, making your own. Terrain can be kitbashed from other games or built cheaply using household materials. More is always better.

Conclusion

Let’s be clear—miniature wargames are inherently imperfect. No amount of tweaking will guarantee a perfect experience every time. There will always be anticlimactic moments, disappointing dice rolls, and the occasional frustrating matchup. But at its core, Warhammer 40K is a fun, cinematic, and immersive game, and with the right approach, you can make sure the good games far outweigh the bad.

One of the biggest keys to improving your experience in my opinion is separating game design from business decisions. Warhammer 40K isn’t just a game—it’s a product, and Games Workshop makes choices that prioritize sales over gameplay, for which I do not fault them. Still, many of the issues that make the game feel frustrating—cramped battlefields, bloated army sizes, and gotcha mechanics—aren’t necessarily the result of bad game design, but rather business-driven design. Recognizing this distinction empowers you to take control of your own gaming experience and fix the experience. You don’t have to go down the shallow road of listening to Games Workshop advertisement-based decisions about how the game should be played. They want to sell you as much crap as possible, but you don’t have to be a fool and buy into it. Beneath the exterior is a very good game and simply taking the reigns of control is sufficient to have a vastly improved gaming experience.

At the end of the day, Warhammer 40K is your game, your table, and your experience. Fewer units on the battlefield, a larger play area, smarter terrain placement, and limiting army spam may not align with Games Workshop’s profit goals, but they absolutely make the game better. The goal isn’t to feed a corporation’s bottom line—it’s to create fun, balanced, and rewarding battles for you and your friends.

I hope you found this guide helpful – Happy wargaming!

Gaming Articles

In Theory: Warhammer 40k – A Year Later

It has been about 11 months since my return to Warhammer 40k with the rise of 10th edition. I wrote THIS article about it and I thought it was about time to do an update!

First, let me just get the basics out of the way here. I have spent a lot more time building and painting my army over the last year than I have spent playing the game. This is not unusual for me, miniature games, especially big army games that take several hours to play like Warhammer 40k are not going to be a regular mainstay of my gaming life. In short, as I think Warhammer 40k is intended to be enjoyed, its a hobby first, game second kind of a game and I’m fine with that.

With that, let’s have a look at what I have painted and why I painted it! I’m a proud papa!

The Screamer-Killer was one of the early additions to my army because it was an awesome big monster model that was super fun to paint, its rules were simple to understand and it is a terrifying unit feared by my opponents. Its death scream ability triggers Battle-Shock tests and while Battle-Shock itself is not a super reliable weapon in 40k, it can be super clutch when you are rushing an opponent protecting an objective.

I’m proud of the paint job but it was very early in my efforts and I was still learning the nuances of the paint scheme I was trying to create, so it has some issues, but I think he still came out looking great on the table.
Von Ryan’s Leapers, while inevitably doomed in pretty much every match, have become a mainstay of every list I run because they are fast-moving and fairly deadly, thanks to Fight First. They are also a Vanguard unit with Infiltrators and Stealth, which combines amazingly with my favorite Detachment, Vanguard Onslaught. For a 70-point investment (based on current cost), I think they are a great value and I find they always earn their keep on the battlefield.
Deathleaper is unquestionably one of my favorite models in my collection, and I love how he turned out. As I use Vanguard Onslaught as my detachment most of the time, I choose Deathleaper as my Warlord almost every time. Not for strategic reasons, but because it feels bad-ass! This unit has so much juice for the bargain price of 80 points. Fight-first, infiltrators, lone operative, and stealth alone make him nearly impossible to take down until I choose to put him in harm’s way. His Fear of the Unsean ability comes in handy but it’s really this unit’s base stats and the fact that he is a vanguard unit that makes this an auto-add in every list. The fact that he looks amazing on the table is just a sugar-coated bonus.
Mawloc is the pride and joy of my collection, I love the model, I love his abilities and recently as if GamesWorkshop read my mind, this unit also became a Vanguard unit fitting in perfectly with my preferred detachment. It is a unit tailor-made for my playstyle as I love making my opponent sweat, knowing there is a huge monster in reserve just waiting for the most opportune to simply appear on the battlefield. I love the way he turned out and its size and scale make’s him stand out in my collection.

There are plenty of other models in my collection, my army has become quite robust, but it suffices to say that the Tyranids have turned out to be as much fun to paint and play with as I had hoped they would be when I first bought into the army last year.

The Gaming Experience (10th Edition Rules)

There’s something uniquely enigmatic about Warhammer 40K when it comes to the gaming experience—particularly in how its philosophy and rule structure shape the way it plays. Compared to other modern miniature games, many of its mechanics feel almost archaic, relics of an older design philosophy that Games Workshop stubbornly clings to.

Take the initiative system, for example—an eternal point of debate among players. The traditional “I take my whole turn, then you take yours” approach feels static, lacking the dynamism of modern games that utilize alternating activations or more fluid initiative sequences. In this era of game design, Warhammer 40K stands almost alone in preserving this rigid format, and it’s hard to argue that it’s for the better.

Another oddity is Games Workshop’s resistance to digital support. If you want access to army lists, you have to purchase a physical codex and then register it with the digital app before you can even view the content. This means that unless you’re willing to spend a small fortune, much of the game remains locked behind paywalls. You can’t even research potential armies properly without financial commitment—an absurd barrier, considering codex purchases are something players typically make after deciding on an army, not before.

This lack of accessibility doesn’t just hinder the gameplay experience; it stifles exploration. Do I want to play Space Marines? Who knows? There’s no easy way to find out without buying a book I may not even need. It’s an arbitrary system that makes no sense—until you realize the goal isn’t player convenience but driving sales through forced investment.

Then there’s the game itself, which can be wildly anticlimactic. The initiative system plays a role in this, but so does the sheer unpredictability of the game. Sometimes, half the battle is out of your control. Whole units can get wiped off the board before you even activate them. Reserves may never arrive. Secondary objectives can be physically impossible to achieve depending on mission pairings. The combination of randomness, rigid mechanics, and sometimes downright unfair scenarios can lead to frustratingly unsatisfying matches.

And yet, these complaints are nothing new. Players have been airing these same grievances for decades. Warhammer 40K has evolved in many ways, but its core issues remain unchanged. You’d think that, at some point, someone at Games Workshop would acknowledge these longstanding problems and address them. But here we are, 30 years later, with the same debates raging on.

Despite all of this, Warhammer 40K remains an undeniably fun experience. The setting is rich, immersive, and perfectly aligned with the game’s themes and aesthetics. The models, painstakingly painted over weeks, months, or even years, take center stage in battles that feel larger than life. The thrill of rolling dice, the chaos of unexpected twists, the sheer spectacle of it all—it’s a wargame that creates lasting memories.

At its core, Warhammer 40K is about the joy of pushing models around a table and chucking dice, and it does this with remarkable attention to detail. Units are distinct and flavorful, each with its own personality. Everyone knows the difference between a Tyranid Screamer-Killer and a Mawloc—not just visually but mechanically as well.

This is where the magic lies. So much of the hobby is about the preparation—assembling, painting, theorycrafting—that by the time the game actually begins, the frustrations fade into the background. For a few hours, you forget all the reasons you’re annoyed with Games Workshop and Warhammer 40K, lost in the simple joy of waging war with miniatures.

I could list endless complaints about Games Workshop, but for all its flaws, the truth remains: my Tyranid army is the crown jewel of my collection. And no matter how many times I grumble about the game, nothing quite matches the excitement of preparing for a 40K battle. I can’t fully explain it, but there’s a kind of magic in this game that makes up for its many… imperfections.

The Excitement and Disappointment of Updates

I’ve grumbled about Games Workshop before, but I have to give credit where it’s due—they’re doing a fantastic job maintaining the game. Constant tweaks and balance adjustments keep it fresh, exciting, and as fair as possible.

I’m not saying they’re nailing it every time, but know this, Games Workshop: I see what you’re doing, and it’s appreciated.

That said, it can be a real pain in the neck. The updates come thick and fast, and keeping up is no small feat—especially if, like me, you like to keep your books meticulously updated. I’ve scribbled and glued so many notes into my codex that it now resembles a 30-year-old high school textbook.

Despite this nuisance, it’s thrilling to watch the game evolve. Each adjustment opens up new list-building opportunities. Sometimes a unit you once dismissed as too expensive or too weak gets a buff, and suddenly it becomes a game-changer. Warhammer 40K is a living, breathing game that’s constantly reinventing itself, so every match brings fresh considerations and new strategies.

I absolutely love this aspect of 40K, even if I do grumble about the upkeep. Sure, sometimes I just want to play without all the legwork of updating my game, but when you love something, watching it be nurtured beats the alternative of neglect—a fate too many miniature games suffer from.

Conclusion After A Year of 10th Edition

What can I say? It’s the same old Warhammer 40K—both timeless and, at times, infuriating, yet as fun as ever.

I’m not ashamed to admit it: I love Warhammer 40K because it’s fun. I know that as a game reviewer with my own blog, I should be critical, objective, and candid. But the truth is, 40K is a hobby and a game I genuinely enjoy. Whether it meets modern mechanical standards or if GW’s practices seem a bit shady, these issues pale in comparison to the sheer joy I experience. In the end, I love playing 40K, and that’s the only opinion that truly matters.

The question is why? Why and how does Warhammer 40k have this unique quality to both kind of suck and also be the game I’m always the most excited to play. That is the million-dollar question, quite literally because it is the most popular miniature game out there, yet ask any player and they will complain about it endlessly.

I think the answer is that it has an ineffable quality. There is no way to reason or logic your way into an explanation that wouldn’t fall apart on even the tiniest amount of scrutiny, but I think many games are like this. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering comes to mind immediately and at least for me, fall into the same category.

It just is, how or why, I honestly can’t explain but if you ask me today, right now, what game I want to play, it would be 40k over any other miniature game. In fact, it would be AD&D over any role-playing game and to an extent, Magic: The Gathering over any other collectible card game (although here I might make a case for Star Wars Unlimited because it too has a kind of ineffable quality to it).

Suffice it to say, I have no answers, I can only tell you that Warhammer 40k is awesome while it sucks, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think at some point in the future I will need to do an article on this ineffable quality of some of these classic franchises where we might try to identify how or why this happens, but, for now, Warhammer 40k continues to be a thing in my gaming sphere.

Gaming Articles, On The Table

First Night With: Masters of the Universe – Battleground

If I had to sum up my entire childhood in one word, it would be… HE-MAN! Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but let’s be honest—trying to recapture the magic of our youth often leads to crushing disappointment. I’ve walked this road before, diving into old franchises through games, and while a few hits (looking at you, Star Trek: Fleet Captains) have blown me away, most experiences remind me that some things are best left as cherished memories.

The Masters of the Universe toys were more than just my childhood, they were very much my introduction into the world of fantasy that would culminate with Dungeons and Dragons. In a way, it paved the way for my love for fantasy and science fiction.

Enter Masters of the Universe: Battleground. I approached it with cautious optimism—expecting “meh,” hoping for “fun,” but what I got was an absolute knockout of awesomeness. Holy crap, this game surpassed my wildest expectations!

Now, let me be clear—this is just my gut reaction after a single playthrough, specifically the “learning” starter game. I didn’t think I’d have much of an opinion after such a brief introduction, but Masters of the Universe: Battleground is bursting with nostalgic goodness and mechanical brilliance.

The miniature replication here is fantastic, with clear tributes by fans for fans. Every character in the starter kit was instantly recognizable and it was clear that the point of the game is to tap into the 80’s kid still living inside you.

First off, the game looks fantastic on the table. The miniatures are high-quality, the plastic terrain—while basic—is functional, and the grid board sets the perfect stage for battle. It’s not the kind of visual feast that will blow your mind, but it’s more than enough to put a smile on this old He-Man fan’s face. However, where this game really shines is in its gameplay.

What I expected to be a simple, nostalgia-driven experience turned out to be a streamlined, deeply tactical, and combo-heavy battle of wits. Tough decisions, nuanced moves, and strategic planning take center stage. The mechanics clicked effortlessly from the get-go, offering a multitude of options and interactions that scream replayability. It all comes together to deliver an authentic, action-packed He-Man cartoon showdown.

Between the exploding dice, card-driven play, and clever dice manipulation using mana and special powers, every moment felt like a thrilling push-your-luck gamble. There are no guarantees, but the game gives you plenty of tools to tip the odds in your favor. The heroes feel powerful, but far from invincible—you need to position them carefully and make the most of their unique abilities.

The starter set is chock-full of content, it’s quite astonishing what they squeezed into a miniature game under a 100 dollars. There is no question that this is the best bang for your buck I have ever seen in a published game. I don’t know how they did it, but ordinarily, with a kick-starter like this, I would expect to pay in excess of 200 dollars for a set like this.

Precision is key in Battleground, and while we were a bit sloppy in our first game, by the final round, my gaming partner and I were already buzzing with excitement over the possibilities. We couldn’t stop talking about what we should have done, what we could do next time, and the sheer potential of the list-building system.

While playing the base starter game was fun, this is a game that is all about list building. The structure here is super clear and straightforward, but there is a ton of combos not only in the interaction between various equipment and powers but also between the different heroes. I love the fact that it’s crystal clear what everything is for, it’s one of those miniature games that doesn’t obscure the advantages and disadvantages in the minutia of the rules, it’s all very plain to the eye.

The real kicker? I wanted to play again. Immediately. And that’s always a good sign. In fact, I found myself eagerly browsing expansions the moment I got home. What I expected to be a one-and-done experience turned into something I suspect will see a lot of table time in the near future.

So, if you’re a fellow child of the ’80s—or just someone looking for a solid tactical game—Masters of the Universe: Battleground might just surprise you. It certainly did for me.

Gaming Articles, Hidden Gems, On The Table

Hidden Gems: Warcrow Adventures

Miniature gaming, role-playing games, and board games are becoming more and more difficult to neatly categorize these days as we see more and more cross-over hybrids. Warcrow Adventures, the latest take on the adventure game genre from Corvus Belli has been my gaming group’s latest obsession, and for good reason as this hybrid adventure game has a lot to offer.

Warcrow Adventures is based on the new miniature war game of the same name (Warcrow), using the same setting background and actual miniatures for the miniature game. An app-assisted story-driven dungeon crawler, players take on the roles of adventures using the classic Dungeons and Dragons formula in which they follow along a branching storyline, make decisions, fight monsters, find treasure, and level up!

Corvus Belli, has an outstanding reputation for producing fantastic miniatures and Warcrow is no exception. Dynamic poses, highly detailed, and a good chunky size all contribute to the wonderful quality of these mini’s.

This game borrows from quite a few different gaming genres, but the attraction is the D&D DNA-inspired treadmill. It boasts a lot of very streamlined mechanics that are deceptively simple yet impactful. Every choice you make in the game, every task you complete, and every interaction you have unveils part of a unique story while creating hurdles for you to jump through in a pretty challenging risk vs. reward structure.

I will be doing a full review of Warcrow Adventures once my group completes the adventure, but beware that this is very much a legacy-style adventure game that will take many sessions to complete.

App-assisted games are becoming more and more common and the production values of these apps are improving with each new generation. Warcrow Adventures app delivers fantastic voice-overs, a simpler interface, and a very organized structure that makes it easy to use at the table.

Already now however I can tell you that if you are a fan of adventure games, if you love Dungeons and Dragons, this is an outstanding platform for bringing that classic dungeon crawl feeling to the table.

The hybrid nature of the game, being part miniature game also offers the opportunity for everyone to do some hobby painting. Know that these are not “board game pieces”, these are actual, fully detailed miniatures, and well worth your time to paint. In fact, every miniature in Warcrow Adventures is getting a full profile and will be used in the Warcrow miniatures war game so if you are already collecting and playing Warcrow the miniature game, the adventure game has the side benefit of giving you new units for that game as well.

The Warcrow miniature game on which Warcrow Adventures is based has also indoctrinated itself into my gaming club largely based on the already well-established reputation of our beloved Infinity (the other Corvus Belli miniature game we play). We just can’t help it, one look at these amazing miniatures and you know you just need to own some!

My group immediately got to work painting these mini’s and not only has it built up the excitement to play Warcrow Adventures, but it’s got us all buzzing about Warcrow the miniature game as well the setting itself. If there was ever a setting that deserved to be an RPG, this is it!

In either case, whether you do or don’t get into the miniature game, Warcrow Adventures as a stand-alone product is already proving to be a great time, Corvus Belli has done a fantastic job building an atmosphere with its amazing setting and building a story I think any role-player would enjoy sinking their teeth into.

I’m no master miniature painter, but great minis inspire great paint jobs and I have to say, I’m pretty proud of this one!

Look for a full review shortly, but for now, if you are on the fence about Warcrow Adventures, I can tell you here and now, it’s a fantastic package!

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Miniature Game Theory: Picking The Right Game For You

It happened by accident—at least, that’s what I tell myself—but the truth is, I own a lot of miniature games. I’ve painted and played so many that it’s a little scary! I don’t even want to think about how much time and money I’ve sunk into this hobby, especially not around my wife! In today’s article, I’ll take all that hard-earned experience and try to put it to good use by offering some advice on finding the perfect miniature game for you, with a few recommendations sprinkled in.

Let’s dive right in!

The Three Categories Of Miniature Gaming

Most miniature games can be sorted into three broad categories—though many games blur the lines between them. These categories are: hobby-focused games (sometimes called lore-heavy games), mechanics-focused games (often competitive in nature), and narratively focused games (driven by storytelling and immersion).

Now, every game publisher will tell you their game does everything, and technically, they’re not wrong—but the reality is, most games lean heavily into one category more than the others, often to an extreme. Knowing what kind of game you’re getting into and understanding how the community that plays that game sees it is a big part of the key to picking the right game for yourself.

Categorization is key because all miniature games are marketed in a visually exciting way because they ARE visually exciting. If you pick a game like Star Wars: Shatterpoint, you likely have certain expectations and imagery about what the experience might be like (player expectations), but Shatterpoint is a highly mechanized game designed for competitive play, about playing King of the Hill on generic objectives. It’s closer to being a board game than being a miniature game, falling heavily into the Mechanic-Focused category.

Let’s break down these categories for clarity.

Hobby-focused games

Hobby-focused games are all about the experience—stunning miniatures, immersive lore, and endless collection opportunities. Here, the gameplay often takes a backseat to the joy of building, painting, and diving deep into the game’s rich world.

These games are usually supported by expansive novels, army books, special terrain, and a constant stream of new releases. They demand a serious investment—not just in time, but in cold hard cash. Hobby-focused games are easily the most expensive, often costing two to four times more than other types.

A prime example? Warhammer 40k by Games Workshop. To even get started, you’ll need at least a 1,000-point army (2,000 points being standard), translating to anywhere from 50 to 100 models. Before you can even think about playing, you’re looking at hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars spent on miniatures, terrain, rulebooks, and accessories.

While most miniature games can be classified as a hobby to some degree as you will often be assembling and painting miniatures, there is a distinct difference between miniature games being a hobby and a game being hobby-focused. Warhammer: Underworld for example aims to get you playing the game right away with easy-to-assemble miniatures that have colored plastic with a game that is played on a hex board with all the accessories (cards, tokens etc..) included in the box. You can play a full game like Underworld a few hours after you open the box, it is not a hobby-focused game even though you will get the opportunity to paint some miniatures and experience the miniature gaming hobby element inherent in all miniature games.

When all is said and done, you’ll likely spend over $500 and 100+ hours before experiencing the full game of Warhammer 40k as it is intended to be played. No ad will tell you this, and hardcore fans might argue otherwise, but trust me—after 35+ years in the hobby, I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s done it for less.

Warhammer 40k is a hobby-focused game, you will spend just shy of 100 dollars to get into the starter set and after assembling and painting these miniatures you will discover that what you have purchased is not even close to the full game. You are still hundreds of dollars and hours away from experiencing Warhammer 40k from this point. In fact, the starter set doesn’t even teach you the real game, it gives you a sort of “sub-game” of the real thing. Warhammer 40k assumes a lot about what you will spend in terms of dollars and hours preparing to play a full game.

The trick is that this is exactly what Hobby-Focused games are designed to be and it’s what fans of such games want. If it was easy and fast, it would not have the same appeal. To hobby-focused gamers, this long road is seen as an opportunity, not a drawback.

But here’s the thing—fans of hobby games love this level of commitment. The journey of collecting and painting is the whole point. You’re never done, and that’s exactly the appeal. To fans of these hobby-focused games, the journey is the juice.

Mechanics-Focused Games

If hobby games are about immersion, mechanics-focused games are about playing—and playing now. These games prioritize tight, balanced rules over deep lore or hobby elements, often designed for competitive tournament play.

Many of these games require little to no hobby work at all. most come with pre-painted miniatures, easy-to-assemble miniatures and/or low model counts, making them much more accessible for casual or competitive players.

Examples? Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: Armada, with streamlined mechanics and pre-painted minis that let you jump straight into the action. Even hybrid games like Star Wars: Shatterpoint leans into this category, focusing on accessible, tactical gameplay with minimal prep.

Most mechanic-focused games are going to try very hard to make the hobby parts of miniature gaming as painless as possible, even going so far as offering pre-constructed, pre-painted miniatures. The goal of a mechanic-focused game is not only to get you playing right away but more specifically to get you competing right away. Star Wars: X-Wing is a prime example of a game that took this to the furthest extreme. You need roughly 3-6 models, everything is pre-painted and assembled, and essentially you are ready to sign up for tournaments after the unboxing.

Side Note: Star Wars X-Wing has been discontinued by the publisher, but don’t fret, miniature games never truly die and X-Wing is no exception. Communities keep these games alive and there were so many products produced for X-Wing that there are more miniatures available for purchase today than there ever was when the game was still being published.

Mechanics-focused games often feel closer to board games than traditional miniature games, with precise, clearly defined rules that leave no room for “eyeballing it.” These games are generally much cheaper to get to the table while getting the intended full gaming experience.

Narratively Focused Games

Narratively focused games sit on the opposite end of the spectrum from mechanics-driven ones. These games aim to capture a feeling—bringing iconic franchises, historical moments, or unique settings to life in a cinematic way.

Balance and precision take a back seat to storytelling and thematic immersion. Instead of symmetrical matchups, expect scenario-driven play that tries to replicate key moments—whether they’re historical battles or epic fantasy showdowns.

Bolt Action is a fantastic example of a narratively driven game that hybrids a bit into the hobby-focused element. The point of Bolt Action is to create (or use) scenarios that depict historical battles, but the game is not about simulation or exacting rules, it’s about creating the atmosphere of a great action-war movie. It’s about the sensation at the table, the atmosphere of the setting, and quick execution. The extra effort to put together a nicely painted army and building nice terrain is to quench that creative appetite, though I would still argue it leans far more into the narratively driven games rather than the hobby-focused games.

Two great examples of Narrative-focused games are The Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game and Bolt Action. MESBG tries to replicate the lord of the Rings movies, while Bolt Action tries to replicate a movie version of historical World War II battles. In both cases, the games exaggerate the cinematic fantasy to bring the feel and style of their chosen setting to the table.

Understanding Your Interest In Miniature Games

Now that we’ve established a way to categorize games, the next step is figuring out how to use this information to guide your decision and ultimately select the right game for you.

You might already have a gut feeling based on the categories we’ve outlined, leaning more towards one over the others. Preferences are often instinctive and valid, but it’s important to remember that while most games lean toward a particular focus, they usually incorporate elements from all three categories. Even games with a clear identity—like Warhammer 40k being hobby-focused—venture into narrative and mechanics to some extent.

Choosing the right game is about balancing your interests with realistic expectations. To help narrow down your options, consider these three key factors:

Time & Money?

It’s easy to be drawn to what excites you most, but miniature games require a significant investment of both time and money.

Games generally fall into three price categories:

  • Cheap: Around $60-$100, comparable to the cost of a typical board game.
  • Standard: Ranging from $150-$250 for a full experience.
  • Expensive (a.k.a. “Go F* Yourself”)**: $500+ for the complete experience.
The BattleTech Alpha Strike box set is an outstanding value for a game, coming in on the “cheap” category, this box set costs about 90 dollars US and quite literally comes with more than what you need to play a full game. You can buy this box set, never buy any more stuff for Battletech, and play the game forever. This kind of value is rare in the miniature market, but if you love giant robot battles, you can’t do better than this.

Price is not the only consideration however, Battletech can take upwards of 6+ hours to play a single game, so you have to ask yourself that question too. Will you ever have time to play a 6+ hour game?

It’s worth noting that you can spend more or less on any game. For example, you could grab an intro set for Warhammer 40k at $50, but that won’t give you the full experience Games Workshop intends. On the flip side, a core set for Battletech at $90 can offer a well-rounded experience, though diving deeper could cost thousands.

Time commitment follows a similar pattern. You might grab an X-Wing starter set and be playing within minutes, while something like Warhammer Old World could demand 60+ hours of assembly and painting before your first match.

Infinity is a fantastic example of a game that respects your wallet and your time but still offers a very robust gaming experience with extreme collection and expansion opportunities. They do this through masterful design, ensuring that the game is every bit as exciting and fun on a smaller scale with simplified rules as it is with large scale and nearly bottomless rules expansion. A small game from a basic starter kit can cost less than 50 bucks to get into and offer a game session as short as 45 minutes, to larger scale and elaborate battles with deep rules that can cost hundreds of dollars to collect and create play times exceeding 5+ hours.

Some gamers (this one included) love games that have varying scales like this, it makes collection (acquisition) easier and you get to play as you collect, build, and expand. In my eyes, Infinity is one of the best miniature games out there, especially when it comes to respecting your time and money!

Many games market “quick start” options, but the reality is that each game has a clear overhead. Take the time to research what’s truly required to enjoy the full experience and compare it with your available resources.

Miniature Games are a group activity

No matter what game you choose, remember that miniature games are fundamentally social. While they can be enjoyed as a solo hobby (through collecting and painting), the core experience revolves around playing with others. Most games require at least two players, but the best experiences often come from being part of an active community.

Don’t have any friends to play miniature games with but you still want to get into it? Don’t worry, Warcrow Adventures has your back! Ok, I’m going to say this up front, games like Warcrow Adventures (just like any game) are always more fun when you have friends to share them with. But if you want to get into miniature games and you are living in isolation or simply don’t have anyone around to play with, Warcrow Adventures offers a fantastic game that can be played completely solo. It offers fantastic miniatures for you to paint and enjoy the hobby part of miniature gaming with expansion opportunity and because the game’s miniatures are directly connected to Warcrow the miniatures game, you could potentially in the future expand your collection to that game as well.

That said, I still think the best option is to find some friends to play games with, community is just a huge part of this hobby and often it almost doesn’t matter what miniature game you play, as long as you have people to play it with.

Before diving in, make sure your chosen game has a local presence. There’s nothing worse than investing time and money into a game you never get to play because no one else in your area is into it. Online communities can help bridge gaps, but nothing beats in-person matches and events. After all, if you’re going to invest time and money into building an army for a game, playing some digitized version of it is going to be very anticlimactic, don’t expect that sort of thing to fill any voids.

Competative or Casual

Some games are designed with competition in mind, while others lean into a more relaxed, narrative-driven approach. While this often aligns with a game’s core category, community culture can shift things in unexpected ways.

Take Warhammer 40k, for example—designed as a hobby-focused game, yet many local communities treat it as a highly competitive experience. Conversely, Star Wars: X-Wing, built for competition, has embraced the mantra “Fly Casual,” encouraging players to focus on enjoying the thematic experience rather than strict competitive play despite its clear design goals.

These community-driven shifts can be confusing for new players, so it’s crucial to research how a game is actually played in your area rather than relying solely on its marketing or official design.

The concept of the current state of the game as seen through the eyes of the community should be an important consideration when selecting your game. Marketing is one thing, game state is an altogether different thing. Take Warmachine for example. A few years back I would have recommended this game without hesitation, it was once, a fantastic game. Today I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Privateer Press has done a very poor job taking care of this game and it’s in terrible shape right now, unlikely to survive going forward. It’s a real mess!

It’s also worth noting that any game has a “current state” defined by the opinions of the community which defines the mood of the community. This is an important pulse to have your finger on, because the rules and governance of a game by it’s publisher can have a tremendous amount of impact on the game and the gaming community. It’s important to know that being negative gets more clicks, so look for positive feedback on any game you’re considering, but beware that every game has a “this game sucks” anti-fan club on social media.

The Miniature Games – Overviews!

I have already offered a bit of insight on a few games in the article, but I will do a few more here just to give you some ideas and inspiration for your own research, that said, here comes the golden advice.

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!
This is so critical to the process, before you whip out that credit card you should know everything there is to know about a game. Don’t go into miniature games likely, even the most basic game is going to demand a lot more from you than a typical board game, so miniature games should never be an impulse buy!

Star Wars Legion

It’s truly a rare gamer that I run into that doesn’t love Star Wars on some level and it’s natural for gamers to gravitate towards familiar franchises. As such, Star Wars Legion always comes up in conversations about miniature games because it is, in a nutshell, Star Wars on a grand scale.

In Star Wars Legion you are going to have mass battles on large battlefields with Jedi’s, AT-AT walkers and the countless troops each with their own personality from the Star Wars universe. Visually, it’s every kid’s dream to play Star Wars on this scale.

That said you have to be weary here. This hybrid game, has a heavy hobby element requirement, it’s quite expensive to get a full game on the table and the game state right now is a bit confusing.

It’s a great game, but be sure to check on the status of this game thoroughly and do some calculations. Once it’s all said and done you will spend a solid 300-400 dollars to get a complete army with many hours of hobby time to pull it all together. It requires a commitment!

Marvel Crisis Protocal

Like Star Wars Legion, the Marvel Universe has been popularized in recent years by the never-ending influx of Marvel movies, so gravitating towards a miniature game with all of your favorite superheroes is perfectly natural.

What you have to know about Marvel Crisis Protocol is that it’s a very structured mechanic-focused game with a very stern competitive style and objective-oriented game. This is not a narrative-focused game at all, it plays more like a board game than a miniature game. The scenarios in the game are just “adjective” driven excuses for what amounts to a game about holding objectives (positions) on the board.

It’s a fun and fantastic game, but be sure you match your expectations with the actual gameplay.

Wings of Glory

Speaking of managing expectations, let’s talk about Wings of Glory. As an avid historical war gamer, I love a good heavy war simulation, so one look at Wings of Glory and it is easy to get excited.

The important thing to know about Wings of Glory is that it’s not a simulation at all, in fact, this is the UNO of miniature games, one that can be taught to children. It does not take itself seriously, there is no hobby element (everything is pre-painted) and it’s not designed for narrative-focused play.

This is a very simple dog-fighting game, with board game-like mechanics. It’s light, fast and super fun, but this is not the historical simulator you might hope it would be.

Ok that’s it for today guys, I hope you found the article useful, good luck out there!

Dedicated To All Things Gaming