It's time for another deep dive on another member of the world's wargaming scene: Asmodee. And this time, the money get really big. X-Wing and Star Wars Armada are toast, but why? Who are Asmodee? Where did their money come from and what's going on there that has led to these headline properties being dropped?…

Yes, Steamforged Games has bought Warmachine from Privateer Press. I take a look at the context, the background and history of Steamforged Games and what it might all mean for Warmachine and miniatures wargaming in general.By Robey Jenkins

Warning: if you're here for Star Wars content, it's very minimal. This episode, we look at new releases from Games Workshop Corvus Belli Kromlech Heresy Miniatures, andAnvil Industry It's a sci-fi focus, in which I talk about the issues of equipping ultramodern, near future and sci-fi characters with melee weapons, like swords and axes and, yes, li…

As a tabletop game designer, what are the factors at play in different settings that you need to be aware of? How do you develop a bespoke setting for a tabletop game? I take a typically rambling look at the subject and, naturally, tie it all back to my favourite subject: myself. Apologies to podcast listeners, because I sometimes forget that you o…

In this episode, I look at news from: Para Bellum Wargames Oathsworn Miniatures Wargames Atlantic Krakon Games TTCombat Dream Pod 9 andBlack Scorpion I springboard off that to talk about the issue of mission creep in business and in miniatures wargaming in particular, and the three ways in which a small enterprise (or even a larger one) can find it…

Somewhat inspired by reference, last week, to the new Horus Heresy release teased by Games Workshop, I stumbled across a couple of other manifestations of retro-style tabletop wargaming in the form of Warzone Eternal, from Res Nova Games, and VOID Squad Tactics, from Seb Games: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... https://www.seb-games.com/ Mea…

No pun intended. I had some technical disagreements with my recording software and after five attempts to record this week's episode I ended up going live on YouTube instead. This might end up being "a thing" in future, because it was relatively painless. If I do it again, I'll give you all some warning, Many thanks to those of you who noticed I wa…

I've been away. But now I'm back. In this short episode, I talk about what led to me having to step away from both podcasting and Precinct Omega in general, what I learned from the experience and, a little bit, about what's coming up from Precinct Omega now that I'm back.By Robey Jenkins

I've mentioned Warsurge a little on social media, and I thought it was, perhaps, time to bring it more to the fore. So I was pleased when Nick and Rich, two out of its three creators, agreed to come on the podcast and talk about the game. Warsurge is a new miniatures wargame from Australia. They call it "universal", I call it "miniatures agnostic".…

I didn't realize this was my 50th news episode until I was finishing up the formatting. If it had occurred to me, I would've done something more interesting... and probably more coherent. Here are some links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thatevilone/roma-ad-astra https://www.northstarfigures.com/ https://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/ https://www…

I talked, two weeks ago, about how 3D printing would affect Games Workshop - TL;DR, they'll need to make changes to their business model eventually, but not in a way that will stop them being profitable. This week, then, I'm turning to the rest of the industry and trying to explain why small manufacturers, designers, artists and consumers need to b…

Paolo Parente announced last week that Dust Studio, the company behind Dust 1947 and related games is winding up. In this episode I take a look at the history of Dust as a gaming IP, its influence and shifting fortunes and why I think it's ultimately failed. Other related games: AT-43 Konflikt 47 Clockwork Goblin…

I recently read/watched/listened to a few social media commentator types (a lot like me) who all seemed to be of one mind that 3D printing wasn't a problem for GW.I very much disagree. Sort of. In the first of a two-parter, I take a look at how 3D printing may affect GW's business model and why, look at why people think it "isn't a problem" and why…

Deadzone 3rd edition appears, as if from nowhere! What's going on and is this genius or a horrible misstep by Mantic? Meanwhile, other microenterprises are releasing cool stuff! Killwager from Enemy Spotted Studios is on Kickstarter, whilst Eisenfront has released its first 2-player starter boxed set. What does all of this mean for Precinct Omega? …

All miniatures wargames seem to go through multiple editions, one way or another, but why? Why are new editions of miniatures games so different to new editions of other games and/or books? Why do we get so many, so often? Is it bad for the community or bad for the hobby? How often is *too* often for a new edition? I try to answer these and other q…

In this business, companies enter the market and companies leave it with a depressing regularity. But what motivates them to start and what leads to their departures? With the news that Impudent Mortal is back, IDW Games is gone and Freebooter's Fate is, astonishingly, still here, I dig into this question in a little more detail and ask what it mea…

So, earlier this week I accidentally deleted, just... hundreds of files. OK, so technically I had intended to delete the vast majority of them, but a mis-click ended up with me basically deleting my entire archive of podcasts and videos. For most purposes, no biggie. They're all uploaded to the Interwebz if I need them and, to be honest, I mostly d…

In this episode, I revisit the apparent demise of Guild Ball. No, really, it's dead. But only... kind of dead? Stuff happened. I talk about it. Also, Secret Weapon Miniatures is dead. Probably. Again, kind of. I talk about that. And Asmodee. Definitely not dead, but responsible for other things maybe kind of dying. But not really. Let's talk about …

This week, I turn to the sticky topic of command and control. I explain why I've resisted tackling the topic until now, take apart the relationship between IRL C3I and miniatures wargaming, and dissect the different ways games can and do handle the various challenges of abstracting the relationship of leaders and subordinates into stats and mechani…

I can only apologize for how long it took me to get behind this story. I was on holiday when it first broke and I thought it was a non-issue, so I ignored it and recorded a different episode, then I went away on another short holiday and the story continued to snowball. I got home and recorded this episode immediately, but I already had episodes li…