A former student of mine recently introduced me to Battletech. We played a few games over the last year and it gradually grew on me. At first, I was content to play with the models that my friend provided for our games, but that contentment did not last.
Perhaps it was rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion over the summer, or older influences like Gundam or Pacific Rim, but either way I felt drawn to painting my own mech force. As I have little experience with the lore, game play, or mechanics, I decided to prioritize which set I wanted to try my hand at by the rule-of-cool.
Battlegroup is a WWII set of miniatures rules by Plastic Soldier Publishing. Written by Warwick Kinrade and first published in 2012, there have been many source books released over the past 14 years covering all parts of the war from early on with Blitzkrieg, Barbarossa, North Africa, the Pacific, Italy, D-Day, Market Garden, the Bulge, to Berlin when the war is all but over.
On 21 February, thirteen players gathered at the Williamsburg Muster in Williamsburg, VA to compete in another one of Kalissa Skibicki’s Bolt Action tournaments. Most of the participants were returning players with friendly catch-ups throughout the weekend. A few new faces joined the usual gang over three rounds on gorgeous tables prepared by David Skibicki.
With my Bolt Action Stalingrad German Army completed (for now), I set my sights on a display board to accompany my army. My plan was to make the most of some extra textured mats procured from Michaels for a previous project.
In just a few weeks, on March 14–15, the Italian FOW National will take place in Milan. As always, Battlefront Miniatures has been extremely supportive and has already sent us the 2026 Objectives for all 50 expected players. As you can imagine, it’s Early War team-themed.
Flames of War has returned to the early period of the Second World War, with the publication of Blitzkrieg, covering the Invasion of France in May and June 1940. A new period is an exciting time for the game, with new nations, new miniatures, and new challenges.
My focus for Early-War in previous editions was the Mediterranean theatre, and I have never played anything from the campaign in France. To get back into playing Early-War while we wait for the North Africa book, I have picked up a copy of the new “Dunkirk” two-player starter set. Over the next few weeks, I’ll use it to assemble, paint, and start playing a new army. First, though, let’s have a look at what’s in the box.
The Trident Realm faction in Kings of War features new models! image by Mantic Games
By Troy Hill
Back in 2022, as the world was stretching its legs again post-Covid, I decided it was finally time to dive headfirst into fantasy rank-and-flank gaming. The obvious choice was Kings of War (KOW) by Mantic Games. So I cracked open the Big Green Rulebook (v3), joined a few online communities, and started building armies — even though there wasn’t a local scene anywhere near me. Apparently, I like my hobbies the way I like my road trips: long, ambitious, and slightly inconvenient.
In 2023, I hit two tournaments to start my journey into the game. First, I drove seven hours, crossed an international border, and threw myself into the King Beyond the Wall tournament in Ontario. That fall, I attended the Michigan GT for the KOW tournament.
There is, after all, no better way to learn a game than by jumping directly into the deep end with a chess clock ticking down your life expectancy. I learned a lot. I also discovered that playing a new-to-me game, under time pressure, feels suspiciously like defusing a bomb in a Bruce Willis movie. Eventually, I stepped away from the game, unsure if the tournament scene was the right fit for me at the time.
Then came the announcement that veteran designer Alessio Cavatore had joined Mantic and that KOW 4th Edition was on the way. That got my attention. Not because I wanted the game reinvented — but because I wanted it refined. Cleaner. Sharper. More confident in what it already did well.
Fourth Edition, as it turns out, isn’t a revolution but a revision. And for a game whose competitive identity rests on clarity and stability, that may be exactly what it needed.
Today we’re looking at Archon Studios‘s unique turn sequence for the Starcraft Tabletop Miniatures Game (hereafter “Starcraft”). It’s simple, yet encourages tactical planning in each phase, like any good game should.
A new tabletop war game is hitting the scene this March: the Starcraft Tabletop Miniatures Game (hereafter “Starcraft”). I purchased their promo figure for Zeratul to see the quality of the models they’re producing and how easy they are to assemble.
This past December I was introduced by a friend to a new hobby store in Culpeper, Virginia — Brickhammer. I quickly made a trip to the store and met the owner, Kevin, and offered my services as someone who knows a bit about Bolt Action. He eagerly accepted my offer and we scheduled a demo game at the store in January. This was my first demo game and I challenged myself to do quality work for a group of potential new players.
