One does not simply walk into Mordor.

Peter and Will are back with their most famous style of battle report – a War of the Ring one! Beer, laughs and banter ensue.

One day, when the Esoteric Order of Gamers finally comes to its natural end and all about it and concerning it is forgotten, one thing may be remembered – the battle report videos documenting games of War of the Ring between myself and my old gaming buddy, Will. It‘s been quite a while since I’ve had the opportunity to film one, but the day has finally arrived! So grab yourself your beverage of choice, get comfortable someplace where you won’t be interrupted by any non-gamer who just might not understand, relax, and enjoy this hugely fun new session of my favourite board game, War of the Ring!

So uh, what’s it like, having such a short life cycle?

Peter and Will play Epic Warpath over some really incredible Gale Force Nine terrain!

My mini-season of battle reports from Will’s recent visit continues, and this time it’s an incredible game on probably the most spectacular tabletop of terrain I’ve ever had the good fortune to play on. That’s mostly thanks to Gale Force Nine, who sent me several boxes of their amazing pre-painted Gothic Sector epic scale terrain. You can see my unboxing of it all in this video.

The game is Epic Warpath by Mantic Games, and I’ve got to say I’m really impressed with this pretty streamlined, easy-to-use, and fun system for epic-scale scifi wargaming. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some different factions and painting them up too! While panting epic armies can be a bit of a chore, the results, as you can see, are undeniably stunning, and the scale makes for big, beautiful games. So enjoy this session, where we show off Epic Warpath at its absolute best, and have a lot of laughs at the same time!

This is stupid. We should be f***ing and drinking by now.

Peter and Will play the hilarious drunk-ass orcs game, Space Gits!

Mike Hutchinson is one of the great independent creators who is putting the fun back into tabletop miniatures games, and giving us all alternatives to staid, old, boring, clunky games like those released by certain huge corporate companies that will go unnamed. Cough. Space Gits is a fast (gasp!), fun, hilarious game about drunk-ass space orcs grabbing caps on a planet when all the competent orcs are away, and it brilliantly combines tabletop miniatures and dexterity game rules! I was lucky enough to be sent an example of the new scenarios Mike is concocting for his new Kickstarter campaign, which expands the base game (and allows you to grab a copy of the original game if you missed out the first time). But enough of my lacking, watch the video, then go back the Space Gits: here Come The Bastards Kickstarter. You won’t regret it!

Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.

My Tabletop Codex app gets its first functionality update!

If you haven’t tried out my fantastic rules app Tabletop Codex yet, what are you thinking? Go download it now! And now is the perfect time because I’ve just invested more in it by adding a great functionality update. Watch the video to find out more, and find the easy links to download it for Android or Apple phones and tablets at tabletopcodex.com.

Where are you going, so full of hope? THERE IS NO HOPE!

In this fantastically cinematic tabletop battle report, Peter and Will play the Necromunda: Ash Wastes scenario Cargo Run!

Will is back! It’s been way too long since my old gaming buddy has visited me to play some games, but the day is finally here. Let’s kick off this mini-season of fun battle reports with a spectacular game of Necromunda: Ash Wastes.

Will and I have played quite a bit of Necromunda over the years, going way back to the time of the original edition. It’s a rules system that’s really showing its age, and if you ask me, Games Workshop is really missing a big opportunity to create a brand new edition that streamlines and speeds up the game, but it’s still possible to have a really fun game if you’re willing to play a bit fast and loose – as we do in this battle report!

I’ve been meaning to use my big Cargo-8 Ridgehauler model in a game for some time now, and this is the perfect opportunity. So start your engines, spray your face with silver paint, and let’s get rolling!

Sextus, you ask how to fight an idea. Well I’ll tell you how… with another idea!

Peter showcases the amazing range of epic scale Gothic Sector pre-painted terrain from Gale Force Nine!

I do love a bit of tabletop terrain, and if it’s pre-painted so I don’t have to do any extra work, so much the better! Gale Force Nine just sent me this incredible range of epic-scale terrain from their Gothic Sector range, and I’m blown away. At last, great trees and roads for games like Armoured Clash, Adeptus Titanicus, Epic 40,000, and Legions Imperials, and Epic Warpath. Check it out!

I ran away from a battle. I’ve been running ever since

Peter reviews the Sultanate Faction Battlegroup for Armoured Clash by Warcradle Studios.

The final Armoured Clash faction is here, the Sultanate, and it’s certainly impressive how much Warcradle has released for this excellent epic scale game over such a short period of time.

Remember to download my Armoured Clash rules & reference before playing your own games – it’s in Tabletop Codex too!

Nobody asks to be a hero, it just sometimes turns out that way.

Peter unboxes two new expansions for Halo: Flashpoint by Mantic Games!

It’s great to see more stuff coming out for Mantic’s Halo: Flashpoint game, and I’m especially happy to see more aliens on the battlefield. Check out the new stuff – Rise of the Banished and Feet First Into Hell!

Any man who must say “I am the king” is no true king.

Peter checks out Kings of War for the first time with the new 4th Edition!

It’s a brand new year – the 14th! – for the Esoteric Order of Gamers, and I’m kicking it off with a new project – Kings of War by Mantic Games! Will this be your new favourite game of fantasy battles? Stick with me over the coming weeks as I unbox, build, paint and play (and of course, make a rules summary for) this rank and flank fantasy tabletop miniatures game.

I am destined for greatness, but those in power only see me as a sword.

Peter and Dylan play Armoured Clash, the epic scale tabletop miniatures game from Warcradle!

Warcradle really hit this epic scale arame out of the park – Armoured Clash is a great game, especially with a design team including ex-Games Workshop designer James Hewitt. I’ve been meaning to film a battle report for the game and here it is finally. Enjoy!

Everything is awesome!

Peter unboxes the tower defence game with big pixels – The Last Spell by Tabula Games.

Tabula Games make some very interesting games, as I’ve said many times before, and their latest is something a bit different – the board game incarnation of a popular tower defence video game. It’s called The Last Spell and leans heavily into the retro gaming aesthetic, with big pixel art and lovely little miniatures. The game is broken into two distinct phases (that even have separate rulebooks): the day, when you build your defences, get your resources, and buy equipment, and the night, when hordes of undead greeblies pour out of the purple mist and try to ruin your evening in a very permanent way. I’m looking forward to trying this one out, but in the meantime, check out my unboxing of the base game and expansions, freshly delivered after the Kickstarter campaign!

You supply the ink. The soldiers supply the blood.

Peter reviews the Alliance Faction Battlegroup for Armoured Clash by Warcradle Studios.

Warcradle keep releasing the cool models for Armoured Clash, and this time it’s the turn of the Latin Alliance. There’s also more great news in this video, because they’ve announced the return of Firestorm Armada, the classic spaceship combat game originally by Sparta Games.

Remember to download my Armoured Clash rules & reference before playing your own games (and recently updated) – it’s in Tabletop Codex too!

On any given Sunday you’re gonna win or you’re gonna lose.

Season Three of Blood Bowl is kicking off!

I made a lot of videos for Games Workshop last year, but unfortunately this year they’ve seen fit to not send me a single thing up to this point this year. So it was nice to see Blood Bowl: Season Three land on the doorstep. This is a very nice new edition with two great new teams, some slight tweaks to the rules, and some very useful new status counters. Watch the video for a full rundown – and check out the painted miniatures!