Little Wars FM

By Little Wars TV

What's Little Wars FM about?

Join us as we explore historical wargames, interview game designers, and occasionally sip a dram of fine Scotch! Little Wars FM is a premium podcast supported by the patrons of Little Wars TV, the largest historical wargaming channel on YouTube. To listen to every episode of the show, join us on Patreon!

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Little Wars FM episodes:

05.12.2024
Is Miniature Air Combat Boring?
Plenty of miniature games for air combat exist--Check Your Six and Wings of Glory are played in our club--but they do have their limitations. Something both of those rule sets share in common (along with most others) is that they...
03.10.2024
15 Questions with Frank Chadwick
Today on Little Wars FM, we interview a legendary American game designer, Frank Chadwick. Frank's wargaming roots go back decades and include major titles like Volley & Bayonet and Command Decision. He remains very active developing new games, including an...
01.23.2024
1813 Campaign Consequences...Who Won?
With the Little Wars TV 1813 campaign concluded, we check in with two expert Napoleonic historians for their reaction. Who won our campaign? Would Napoleon's tactical and operational success change history and keep him on the French throne? Professor Alexander Mikaberidze...
01.04.2024
1813 Campaign Summer Negotiation
In the aftermath of our Spring 1813 Napoleonic campaign, Napoleon and Tsar Alexander meet for a heated negotiation. Many issues are on the table as both sides jockey for advantage in the Fall. Will any cities be swapped? Will Napoleon...
10.21.2023
Starting a Channel in 2023: Mark’s Game Room
Little Wars FM is the companion podcast to our YouTube channel, Little Wars TV, which we started over 5 years ago! A lot has changed on YouTube since then. What's it like to start a new wargaming channel now, in...
05.30.2023
How to Design a Great Campaign (Part 2)
This week on Little Wars FM, we return to the topic of wargaming campaigns. In Part 1 we talked about linear, or "ladder style" campaign systems. Today we tackle map-based campaigning like you saw in our YouTube Pyrrhic War campaign....
03.30.2023
Wargaming Campaigns with Henry Hyde
In Part 1 of our series "How to Design Wargaming Campaigns," we talked to Henry Hyde. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more knowledgeable historian of our miniature tabletop hobby than Henry! In Part 1, you heard just a few...
02.03.2023
How to Design a Great Campaign
This week on Little Wars FM, we dive into a juicy topic--miniature wargaming campaigns. Our Pyrrhic War campaign this summer was a huge success, both within the club and on YouTube. But if we're being totally honest...we've had our fair...
11.17.2022
”Fistful of Lead Reloaded” Rule Review
This week on Little Wars FM, Josh and Dieter review "Fistful of Lead: Reloaded" from Wiley Games. The first edition of this Wild West skirmish game debuted almost 20 years ago but the "Reloaded" update appeared in 2016. The Old...
10.21.2022
Gunfighter’s Ball Rule Review
This week on Little Wars FM, Josh and Dieter review Gunfighter's Ball from Knuckleduster Miniatures. This is a Wild West skirmish game written by Forrest Harris and Brian Martin in 2018. And it's just the first of several stops we...
09.22.2022
The Future of Virtual Tabletop Wargaming
Do you remember the early days of COVID lockdowns, when there was a sudden surge of interest in virtual tabletop gaming? Tabletop Simulator, Vassal, Roll20, and old-fashioned web cams suddenly felt indispensable. Even conventions tried to adapt with new virtual...
12.30.2021
15 Questions with Andy Callan
If you listened to our 6-part series on designing homebrew rules, you heard Tom and Greg reference Andy Callan's name many times as the original designer of "Loose Files and American Scramble" back in the 1980s. Loose Files served as...
12.17.2021
How to Write a Wargame (Part 6: Final Steps)
It's been a long journey, and today our homebrew rules writing guide takes its final steps. This is the last chapter in our exhaustive, multi-part podcast series on how to write a wargame. Months ago we started back at the...
12.03.2021
How to Write a Wargame (Part 5: Publishing?)
In the fifth chapter of our multi-part series "How to Write a Wargame," we approach the finish line. Now that you have a fun game refined through playtesting, you may start to wonder about next steps. Is this a homebrew...
11.18.2021
How to Write a Wargame (Part 4: Playtesting)
In the fourth chapter of our multi-part series "How to Write a Wargame," we discuss the role of play-testing. This is an absolutely critical part of the development process and we'll share some real-time feedback from our first round of...
11.04.2021
Salute 2021: Organizing the World‘s Largest Wargaming Show
After a lost year due to COVID, tabletop wargaming conventions and events are back! Today we're talking to the organizer of the largest single-day historical gaming show in the world, Salute. The Salute show is put on by the South...
10.07.2021
How to Write a Wargame (3: Developing Mechanics)
In this third installment of our "How to Write a Wargame" series, Tom & Greg delve into the heart of game design. Today's episode is a long, detailed discussion between two veteran designers on how to structure the turn sequence...
09.24.2021
How to Write a Wargame (Part 2: Research)
In part two of our homebrew rule series, Greg seeks out a hobby expert to offer insight on the American War of Independence. Jim Purkey of Fife & Drum Miniatures joins the show to help! What role did artillery play...
09.03.2021
How to Write a Wargame (Part 1: First Steps)
Writing your own wargame is a time honored tradition in this hobby. Maybe you have a brand new idea for something innovative, or maybe you and your friends have been adding innocent "house rules" to tweak an existing game. Eventually,...
07.01.2021
Painting Miniatures with Sonic Sledgehammer!
Little Wars FM is joined today by Troy, who you probably know as "Sonic Sledgehammer Studio." We have a fantastic chat about his miniature painting YouTube channel. Why is he called Sonic Sledgehammer and how has the channel grown so...
05.07.2021
How to Design Historical Wargame Scenarios
In this episode of Little Wars FM, Tom & Greg talk about the challenge of designing historical scenarios. These battles are rarely "equal" or fair, which presents a scenario designer with a variety of problems to solve. How to you...
03.26.2021
Board Game Design with Volko Ruhnke
This week on Little Wars FM, Tom and Greg sit down with legendary game designer Volko Ruhnke. Published by GMT Games, his innovative COIN series includes popular titles Fire in the Lake, Andean Abyss, and many more. We talk about...
01.28.2021
The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge
Little Wars FM talks to the creator of an annual, international painting event--the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Curt Campbell shares the origins of the idea, how it works, and why some playful peer pressure might just be the motivation we...
12.17.2020
Miniwargaming: A YouTube Trailblazer
Today on Little Wars FM Greg interviews Matthew from Miniwargaming, one of the oldest and largest miniature tabletop gaming channels on YouTube. Back in 2007 when Matthew and Dave started their channel, YouTube was in its infancy and their decision...
11.12.2020
Bringing Wargaming to the Classroom
It's a "back to school special" in the latest episode of Little Wars FM as Steve sits down to talk with high school history teacher Jared Fishman of the Hackley School! Jared is a long-time wargamer who integrates historical wargaming,...
09.17.2020
The Future of Wargaming (according to Osprey Games)
We talk to Phil Smith, the head of Osprey Games, about the future of wargaming and how he sees the tabletop hobby evolving. How does Osprey develop new games? Why are there so many skirmish wargames these days? What's his...
09.04.2020
Welcome to Little Wars FM!
In this quick introduction to the show, we'll briefly explain why we started Little Wars FM, what you can expect to hear on the show, and how frequently new episodes will air. This is a premium podcast supported by our...