Brushes & Bayonets Podcast

Army Characteristics in Wargames

Today on the podcast, Edward and Josh dive into army or national characteristics in wargames. They discuss their uses, merits, and different historical periods that do or do not benefit from their inclusion.

Building Wargaming Communities

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded just before the new year, but Edward got busy with his MBA program and forgot to edit - direct all complaints to him!
In today's episode of Brushes and Bayonets, Edward and Josh discuss three different types of wargaming groups they have been a part of, along with how to grow the hobby and bring in new folks to wargaming.

Napoleonic Wargaming - Overview of an Era

Today Edward and Josh begin a new series where they talk about different periods and how to get into wargaming for them. First up is the venerable Napoleonic period, where they talk about why they love the period, what to look out for, what scales to try, and a few rules to consider when jumping in.  

Discussing the Multiplayer Gettysburg Campaign

Today on the podcast, it’s our pleasure to welcome Chris on the show, the host of the Gettysburg Campaign which was run on the Little Wars TV discord. Josh interviews him about the rules he came up with to create a full multiplayer campaign with fog of war, lost messages, big battles, and more. 

A Discussion on Scale

Today on Brushes & Bayonets, Edward and Josh broach a forbidden subject in miniature wargaming - our thoughts on scales and which we subjectively like best for certain periods. We go from 28mm to 2mm and for each major scale talk about what kind of game we think that size miniatures is best used for.

Writing a Medieval Wargame: Featuring Feldgrau Productions

Today it is our pleasure to welcome Chris, the man behind Feldgrau Productions on Youtube. Chris was kind enough to join us for a playtest of our in progress Medieval rules called Strategoi. We ask Chris about his favorite scales to paint, why he loves to paint Medieval miniatures, and go on many digressions about playtesting and game design.

Leaders in Historical Wargames

On today's episode of Brushes & Bayonets, Edward and Josh tackle the role of historical leaders in wargames, how they are modeled, and the way in which they factor into scenario design. They also talk about how the concerns of leaders on the battlefield are far divorced from wargamers, and how to bring these two different motivations together.
The blog mentioned on today's podcast by Edward is obscurebattles.blogspot.com

Writing a Medieval Wargame: Part 2

On today's episode of Brushes & Bayonets, Josh and Edward continue their discussion on designing a Medieval wargame, diving into the command and control system, the combat system, and how to make their game reflect the historical realities of the period.

Interview with Sam Mustafa

On today's episode of Brushes & Bayonets its our pleasure to interview Sam Mustafa, the esteemed designer of such games as Nimitz, Rommel, Blucher, and many others on https://sammustafa.com/. Today's topic revolved around playtest new games and scenarios to be both historically accurate and fun. 

Roadblocks in Wargame Design

On today's episode of the Brushes & Bayonets podcast, Josh and Edward take a look at some of the issues that have been plaguing their own wargame and scenario design, and help each other with potential solutions. Also discussed - was Pyrrhus overrated, and can a WWII skirmish ruleset be adapted to a grand tactical Napoleonics battles?