Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast

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?