2025 in tabletop: my top 10

@finn

A mixed bag of boardgames and RPGs from 2025. No particular order, no agenda — just the ten releases I found myself reaching for most often.

Year-end miniature roundup

@alice

Two armies, one knight, one diorama, thirty character models, and a year of OSL practice. Plus the shelf of shame, which is still about the same size as last year.

Comparing dice towers I have owned

@finn

I've owned four dice towers. Two were great, two were terrible. Here's what I learned. What matters Factor Why Inside surface Felt or rubber. Plastic-on-plastic is loud and bounces dice...

Heroes of Vintaag campaign session 4

@finn

The party crossed the ridge and found the village deserted — recently deserted. Tools on tables, doors open. Three competing theories, no commitment. Retreated overnight.

Painting a 28mm dragon in stages

@alice

A 28mm dragon in three stages. This is the broadest possible breakdown — I'm skipping the dozen sub-steps because the point is the progression, not the recipe. Stage 1: Sketch...

Painting the Reaper Bones starter

@finn

Painting the Reaper Bones starter set so I have monsters for the RPG nights without the painting becoming a project of its own. The rule I set myself: one hour...

Eldar craftworld: first squad complete

@alice

A 2012 box of primer finally finished. Box-art scheme, four evenings of painting, and a lesson about why some sculpts paint faster than others.

Three RPG one-shots that landed

@finn

Mothership, Brindlewood Bay, and Honey Heist. Three completely different one-shots that all worked, for completely different reasons.

Studio reorganisation

@alice

I rearranged the painting desk this weekend. Before: After: The only thing that actually changed: I built two cheap MDF paint racks and forced every paint into one. The rule...

What I am bringing to the convention

@finn

Convention is in two weeks. Here's what's going in the bag. Games I'm running Heroes of Vintaag , one-shot, six hours, four players Mausritter , drop-in dungeon crawl, two-hour slot,...

Reviewing the new Citadel Layer paints

@alice

Three new Layer paints versus their old-formula equivalents. Better coverage on the warm side, no meaningful change on the cool side. Worth buying if you already use Citadel.

Game night: Spirit Island, three players

@finn

Brandenburg-Prussia at level 3, a near-loss in round four, and a comeback built on two fast cards in a single round. Won on round eight.

Brush care for the lazy

@alice

A brush care guide for people who, like me, will never actually follow a brush care guide. The minimum Don't leave brushes in water. Even five minutes is enough to...

A 30-minute review of Quacks

@finn

The Quacks of Quedlinburg. Reviewed in 30 minutes because that's about how long it takes to play. Rating: 7/10. Would play again. What it does well The push-your-luck loop is...

Marines refresh: before and after

@alice

A six-year-old marines force, refreshed in an hour per model. Three small changes that read as a completely different scheme at table distance.

Rules-lite vs crunchy: the eternal debate

@finn

Every group has The Argument about rules-lite versus crunchy systems. Both sides are right; neither is actually talking about the game.

Quick paint, three days, one squad

@alice

Three days. One ten-model squad. No agonising. The trick is to commit to "good enough on a moving table" rather than "good enough under a desk lamp at arm's length"....

Why I gave up on metallics for a year

@alice

Eleven months of forced non-metallic painting fixed my metallics. The trick was leaving the silver pots alone until my brain knew where the light was supposed to be.

Solo play: a quiet Tuesday

@finn

A quiet Tuesday at the table. Just me and Spirit Island on the solo two-handed setup. I lost. Cleanly. The blight cascaded on turn five and I never recovered. It's...

Underpainting before basecoat

@alice

There's a long-standing argument about whether underpainting on tabletop minis is worth the time. I used to skip it. Now I don't. What I changed Two things, really: I started...