Welcome to Tales & Tactics, where we dive into the fascinating world of tabletop games. From well-known classics to the more obscure and bizarre, we explore their rules and delve into their rich histories. Join us on this journey as we approach each game with the enthusiasm of a book club, unraveling their stories and strategies.
In this Beyond the Book companion to our Repent! Ye Foolish Gods episode, we look at how roleplaying games and wargames borrow from each other, going both ways. First we ask whether you should bring miniatures to your RPG table. Models make positioning, line of sight, and area effects clear, cut down on rules arguments, and look great on the table. But they also cost time and money to collect and paint, they can slow play down, and they can make a loose, freeform game feel more rigid. Then we flip it around and spend the second half on adding RPG ideas to wargames and their campaigns. Using the ongoing warband progression from Repent! as our example, we talk about named characters who build up a history, injuries and losses that stick, earning experience and improving your fighters, and the story a group gains as it carries its scars from one battle to the next. We close on how a good campaign lets players go from just playing a ruleset to telling their own story with it.
In this episode of Rules as Written, we dig into Repent! Ye Foolish Gods, the 2026 skirmish game from Snarling Badger Studios by Adam Loper and Vincent Venturella, in which a four model warband of cursed and discarded mortals fights its way up the divine hierarchy with the goal of killing a god. We break down the roll under D12 engine, the Supremacy and Deficiency mechanic that drives most tactical decision making, and a warband construction process that pairs six Septs against six warrior archetypes with genuine roster legality constraints. We spend most of our time on the campaign layer, where an escalating Extolment score governs enemy density and gates access to harder content, and where a six tier enemy AI system carries the solo and co-op play that the game treats as its default mode. We follow the progression loop through raid generation, the injury and death table, and the experience economy, up to the three stage endgame ladder of Legendary Monster, God’s Vanquisher, and finally the god itself.
In this Beyond the Book discussion, we explore the role of crunch in tabletop gaming. We discuss why some of the hobby's most beloved games are also its most complex, what makes players embrace or reject heavy rulesets, and how designers balance realism, depth, accessibility, and player engagement. Whether you love lightweight narrative games or thousand page rulebooks, we tackle one of tabletop gaming's oldest debates: when are the rules worth the complexity, and when are they simply too much?
In This week's Rules as Written episode, we dig into BattleTech: A Time of War's detailed character creation, sprawling skill system, tactical combat, and tendency toward troupe style play. We explore a functional and ambitious RPG whose greatest strength and greatest weakness may be the same thing: its determination to provide rules for nearly everything. A Time of War sets out to let you play almost anyone in the Inner Sphere, from MechWarriors and mercenaries to spies, nobles, technicians, and traders. But in trying to model an entire universe while remaining compatible with the BattleTech tabletop wargame, does it become too complicated for its own good?
In this episode of Tales & Tactics: Beyond the Book, we step back from any single title to take a broader look at the tabletop industry in our Wide World of Games discussion. We examine the growing influence of live play shows and roleplaying media on the hobby and how actual plays and streaming content have brought an enormous wave of new players to the table, while also instilling habits and expectations that don’t always serve the game well at home. We also consider the accelerating digitalization of what has always been an analogue hobby, from tools like D&D Beyond to digital character builders and virtual tabletops, and what is gained and lost when the physical experience moves to a screen. From there we explore the ongoing conversation around new editions of beloved games and what they mean for existing communities, whether they represent genuine evolution or commercial necessity, and the role players themselves play in shepherding a game’s identity and longevity through edition changes. We also dig into our design philosophy as hosts, making the case for rules and systems that generate meaningful, consequential outcomes at the table rather than leaning on GM fiat to paper over mechanical gaps.
In this special 100th episode of Tales & Tactics, our Rules as Written series turns to the world’s most played tabletop roleplaying game: Dungeons & Dragons 2024, the significant revision to fifth edition released by Wizards of the Coast as part of the game’s 50th anniversary. Our verdict is one of measured appreciation but honest critique that D&D 2024 is a polished, accessible, and a well organized game, but in striving to be everything to every player and every genre, it ultimately commits to nothing. Its mechanics are fundamentally heroic in nature, and that creates real friction when players attempt to bend the system toward darker, grittier, or more grounded settings. A game with stronger design convictions and one willing to plant its flag in a specific tone and theme would be a better game for it.
In this episode of Tales & Tactics Beyond the Book, We ask one of tabletop design’s oldest questions, how do you capture the chaos and decisiveness of close combat at the table? Inspired by the charge and shock mechanics of GMT’s Men of Iron: Norman Conquests, we explore how wargames and roleplaying games have approached this challenge from fundamentally different angles. From the momentum driven charge tables of hex and counter wargames to the action economy of d20 systems, the granular sword fight simulations of Rune Quest and WHRP, we examine what each design philosophy reveals about what close combat actually is in action; a physical contest, a psychological breaking point, or a dramatic moment. Along the way we ask why morale, arguably the decisive factor in real close combat, remains the thing most games handle least confidently.
In this episode of Rules as Written we ride into the age of Norman expansion with Men of Iron: Norman Conquests from GMT Games. Covering battles from Civitate in 1053 to Evesham in 1265, the game explores the rise of the Normans and the military legacy they left across Europe. We examine the Men of Iron system's approach to command, activation, shock combat, morale, and battlefield momentum, and discuss how these mechanics capture the realities of medieval warfare while remaining fast and approachable. Does Norman Conquests successfully model the tactics and leadership challenges of the Norman era? Join us as we take a close look at the rules and ask: How well do the rules model the history?
In this episode of Beyond the Book, we look at a growing trend in tabletop gaming: the rise of the "vibe game." From art punk RPGs and rules light indies to beautifully designed passion projects, vibe games prioritize mood, aesthetic identity, and emotional experience over complex mechanical systems. But where is the line between elegant minimalism and incomplete design? At what point does a game stop providing procedures and start relying on GM fiat, player assumptions, and cultural expectations to fill in the gaps? We examine what defines a vibe game, why they have become so popular, and how they compare to more procedurally robust systems like B/X Dungeons & Dragons, and other classic designs. Along the way, we explore the relationship between aesthetics and mechanics, whether strong vibes can compensate for weak structure, and why some games thrive as inspirational toolkits while others succeed as complete gameplay ecosystems. Are vibe games a new evolution in RPG design, or are they outsourcing game design to the people at the table?
In this episode of Rules as Written, we dive into MÖRK BORG, PIRATE BORG, Forbidden Psalm, and the rise of the modern “vibe game.” These visually striking indie RPGs helped define a new era of tabletop design built around mood, aesthetic identity, and fast improvisational play. But beneath the doom metal art, apocalyptic prophecy, and brutal minimalism lies a major design question: how much procedural game structure is actually there? We examine MÖRK BORG’s mechanics, themes, and OSR roots, discuss why PIRATE BORG may be the strongest and most complete version of the formula, and explore how Forbidden Psalm adds the kind of tactical and campaign scaffolding many Borg style games lack. Along the way, we ask whether these games are streamlined masterpieces of minimalist design, or whether they rely too heavily on GM fiat and inherited play culture to carry the experience.
In this episode of Beyond the Book, we dive into what happens when players must commit to plans before the action begins. From classic hex and counter simulations of naval warfare and air force games to the game Diplomacy of 1959 and more modern board games, pre planning systems force players to think like real commanders. Orders are written, actions are locked in, and once the turn begins, events unfold simultaneously. We explore how simultaneous activation changes the psychology of play compared to traditional I go You go systems, why hidden planning creates uncertainty and friction, and how different games handle the challenge of prediction, initiative, and command control.
In this episode of Tales & Tactics, our Rules as Written series covers Talon from GMT Games, a tactical sci-fi fleet combat game pitting the human Terran Confederation against the alien Talon Empire across a series of ship to ship engagements. We discuss how the game’s impulse based turn structure creates a tense and interleaved flow of action that will feel familiar to veterans of Starfleet Battles, while remaining accessible enough to bring new players into the fold. We also highlight one of Talon’s smartest design decisions in placing all essential game information directly on the counters themselves, keeping the action on the table and the rulebook on the shelf. Clean, tactical, and rewarding, Talon earns its place as one of the more elegant entries in the space combat wargame genre.
From dugouts and playbooks to stat sheets and dice rolls, this Beyond the Book episode dives into the world of tabletop sports simulation. We look at how designers have tried to capture the drama and strategy of real world sport without requiring players to throw a single punch or swing a real bat. From classic replay games to modern fast play designs, we explore what makes a sports sim feel authentic, what gets abstracted away, and why these games have such a dedicated following. If you have ever wondered how a tabletop game can recreate the tension of a full season or a crucial fourth down, this episode is for you.
In this episode of Rules as Written, we step up to the plate with Deadball by W.M. Akers, a fast, elegant tabletop baseball game that turns statistics, scorekeeping, and a handful of dice into a tense pennant race drama. We dig into the history behind the term Deadball, explore the real life Deadball Era of baseball, and look at how Akers translates that low scoring, small ball style into tabletop form. Along the way, we break down the game’s core mechanics, its evolving editions, the charm of the fictional Southern Circuit, and how it compares to other tabletop baseball classics. If you love sports history, clever design, or games that capture the feeling of their subject with surprising precision, this one’s for you.
In this episode of Tales & Tactics, our Beyond the Book series turns to hidden information and randomness as design tools in tabletop gaming. We explore how fog of war and hidden unit mechanics in board wargames create authentic battlefield uncertainty, forcing decisions under incomplete information, and how random tables and GM driven dice outcomes in RPGs produce genuinely surprising results that no amount of preparation could script. Across both genres, the throughline is the same; well designed uncertainty doesn’t undermine player agency, it deepens it.
In this episode of Tales & Tactics, we take a close look at Modern Tactics: Afghanistan from VUCA Simulations, a hex and counter wargame designed by Shayne Logan covering Coalition operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. We walk through the game’s core systems, including its alternating impulse structure, terrain and movement rules, and the unique challenges of fighting through walled compounds, grape fields, and wadis. We also break down the game’s asymmetric unit roster, examining how fanatics through to recruits force coalition players to approach each scenario very differently than a conventional wargame. With 20 scenarios spanning Canadian and American operations, and a design philosophy built around snap decisions, civilian presence, and rules of engagement, Modern Tactics: Afghanistan makes a compelling case for being one of the most tactically authentic modern warfare games on the market.
This week on Beyond the Book, we zoom out to explore the world of superhero tabletop RPGs as a genre, tracing their evolution from early simulation heavy designs to modern narrative driven approaches, and asking what it actually means to play a superhero at the table. We examine how different systems handle power scaling, team dynamics, and comic book logic, while digging into the tension between crunchy mechanics and cinematic storytelling, all to answer a core question: can any RPG truly capture the feel of superhero fiction, or are they all solving different parts of the same impossible problem?
This week on Tales & Tactics: Rules as Written , we dive into the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game to examine how Marvel built its own superhero RPG from the ground up and shaped it into a system focused on accessibility, structure, and brand consistency; we break down the d616 resolution system and explore Rank based power scaling, character creation through Powers and Traits. All while asking a central question: does this system truly deliver comic book action at the table, or does its tightly controlled design limit player agency in favor of maintaining the integrity of the Marvel universe?
In this episode of Tales & Tactics: Beyond the Book, we step back from individual rulebooks to explore how games represent movement and space on the tabletop in an episode we call “On the Grid.” From square and hex grids to broader area movement and point to point networks, we discuss the different ways designers structure how units and characters move through a game world. Looking at examples from classic board games and tabletop wargames, we consider how each approach shapes decision making, battlefield tactics, and the overall feel of play. Whether measuring careful hex by hex advances, maneuvering across defined regions, or navigating connected nodes on a map, this discussion examines how the structure of a game’s movement system quietly defines the strategy that unfolds across the table.
In this episode of Tales & Tactics: Rules as Written, we turn our attention to Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles, focusing on the second printing of this feudal Japan themed entry in the long running Commands & Colors system designed by Richard Borg. Drawing on several playthroughs, we discuss how the game captures the feel of battlefield command while remaining approachable and fast to learn. Its streamlined mechanics, distinctive unit abilities, and strong thematic focus on the wars of feudal Japan create an experience that is both tactically engaging and welcoming to newcomers. In our review we reflect on why Samurai Battles stands out as one of the most accessible entry points into the series, offering a lightweight yet elegant system that still delivers meaningful battlefield decisions.
