🎙️ Listen now: Spotify

In this episode of the “Grown Men Playing With Toys” podcast, Erik and Steve do something a little different — Steve takes the wheel while Erik rides shotgun, and together they explore what happens when you step completely outside your comfort zone and learn a brand new game from scratch.

While Erik was on away, Steve spent the weekend with Cousin Josh diving headfirst into Age of Sigmar — a game he had never really played before. What started as a casual hobby weekend turned into something surprisingly meaningful. Together they explore:

• The power of Faction Identity — why understanding what your army wants to do is the first and most important step when learning anything new
• Macro before Micro — how applying a strategic framework to an unfamiliar game can get you immersed and competitive faster than you’d think
• Playing with Intent — why being transparent about what you’re trying to do makes the game better for everyone at the table, and how it turns every mistake into a learning moment
• The Joy of Discovery — why the feeling of learning something for the first time is one of the best things about this hobby, and how Steve found it again in the most unexpected place
• What all of this means for 11th Edition — and why the upcoming rules shake-up might be exactly what we all need

Whether you’re feeling burnt out on the current edition, intimidated by a game you’ve never played, or just needed a reminder of why you fell in love with tabletop gaming in the first place — this one’s for you.

Whether you’ve ever shown up to a casual Crusade game only to discover every unit across from you is a hard counter to your army, argued uncomfortably over the pregame board setup, or just wanted your hobby to feel a little more narrative and balanced – this one’s for you.