Games with Brad: A new beginning

There is nothing that orcs like better than a good brawl (the two very nicely painted models are courtesy @wraithwisp).

Here at Between the Bolter and Me, my brothers and I spend most of our time building models and critiquing the scale of miniature firearms, such that we rarely play miniature games. In an effort to change that, I started to meet up with our longstanding friend and gaming buddy Brad to try out different games once a month. We have now been getting together for the past few months, playing games like Mike Hutchinson's dexterity-based orc brawling game Space Gits and @sovthofheaven’s mech combat game Flames of Orion. To inject a little randomness into what we play, we have taken to writing possibilities on a spin wheel and letting that decide what game we will play. Rather than discuss any particular game for this first post, I thought I would show a handful of images from our previous sessions.

Flames of Orion: Field Manual

The Flames of Orion Field Manual alongside Dark Spirit.

For the last few months, we have been posting about Flames of Orion, a mech combat game designed by Steve (sovthofheaven) of Under the Dice/Hive Scum. These posts have pertained to a particular mech that I developed over the years, named Dark Spirit. While the finalized version of the rules has been available digitally for a little while (you can buy a digital version of the book here, as well as download a streamlined version of the book with the complete rules for free), the physical copies of the book should be shipping out later in December. Excitingly, I just received my copy of the special Kickstarter-exclusive Field Manual version of the rulebook!

Flames of Orion: Dark Spirit artwork and lore

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.” ― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian

Flames of Orion, a mech combat game designed by Steve (sovthofheaven) of Under the Dice/Hive Scum, is officially out in the world in its finalized form! The physical rulebook is still forthcoming, but you can buy a digital version of the book here. Furthermore, you can download a streamlined version of the book with the complete rules for free (so you have no excuse not to check it out)! I took part in a playtest session of the game in the autumn of 2023, and developed an enigmatic character and their mech, known as Dark Spirit. At the time, Dark Spirit was just a minimally equipped mech with a light weapon which managed to do really well in a handful of games. Since then, my brothers and I have been playing the game intermittently over the years at different events, and Dark Spirit’s legend has continued to grow. I am very happy to say that Dark Spirit was included in the Flames of Orion rulebook as a mercenary that you can use in your own games. Beyond just having in-game rules, Martin McCoy created two pieces of artwork of Dark Spirit that are included in the rulebook, as well. I wrote some background lore for Dark Spirit which I wanted to share, along with Martin’s wonderful artwork, and some photographs of the model that Adam converted and painted to represent Dark Spirit.

Under the Dice Fest 2025: Day 3

Under the Dice Fest 2025 was an amazing time to see old friends!

In the past few years, the three of us at Between the Bolter and Me have made an effort to attend more gaming events and conventions, although, to be honest, we have primarily been attending events hosted by the Under the Dice/Hive Scum crew. May 16, 17, and 18 of this year was the 2nd Under the Dice Fest, and Adam and Greg made the trip to Connecticut to attend! The Under the Dice/Hive Scum crew have been tirelessly promoting the weirder and independent side of the miniature-based tabletop wargaming hobby. They have been shining a bright light on hobbyists interested in telling their own stories through miniature gaming and those willing to step outside the scope of the game rules as written, or even create their games and miniatures, to tell these stories. Every event they host is a gathering of amazing, like-minded people who are passionate about their interpretation of the miniature wargaming hobby, and something we do not want to miss. 

Gundam Artifact: Zaku III

Uncertain, Unwilling, And Empty.

Over the last year or two, we have been experimenting with Flames of Orion, a mech combat game designed by Steve (sovthofheaven). Last month, we finally converted and painted a model for the game, Dark Spirit, a mech that Greg has used in various forms for most of his time playing the game. The game recently completed a successful Kickstarter, prompting me to consider creating a small group of mechs to play in future games. Years back, I assembled a Gundam Artifact Rick Dias model, which is at a scale suitable for Flames of Orion, and I decided I could assemble a few more to make a Combat Unit for the game. This led me to assemble a Zaku III from their Phase 2 line of models!

Flames of Orion: Dark Spirit painted

Echoes Through the Empty Chambers of Heaven.

Earlier this month, we converted a model for Flames of Orion, a mech combat game that Steve (sovthofheaven) designed. It was an ideal time, as a Kickstarter is currently running to create a physical print of the book (which is available to download for free). It was also just in time for Under the Dice Fest, where we used the model in the Flames of Orion event, Beneath a Dying Sun!

Flames of Orion: Dark Spirit

Violence Dimension.

Over the last few years, we had the opportunity to playtest Flames of Orion, Steve’s (sovthofheaven) mech combat game. The game’s rules were recently finalized, with copies getting sold at Adepticon this year, but also available to download for free! The game is soon going to be launched on Kickstarter too! Each time we played the game, we used one of Steve’s mechs (sculpted by Ana Polanšćak of Gardens of Hecate), Dark Spirit. Over time, they developed quite a legacy and are even featured in a narrative piece in the rulebook. With Under the Dice Fest rapidly approaching this year, we thought it would be fun to create our own version of Dark Spirit so we can use them during the event!

Under the Dice Fest: Day 2

Under the Dice Fest Day 2.

We were fortunate enough to be able to attend Under the Dice Fest 2024 at the end of January. The first day was focused around the New England Mordheim Open event, which we covered in an earlier post. The second day was primarily focused around open gaming, though there were a few small events taking place: a Marvel Crisis Protocol tournament, a Magic: The Gather Commander Tournament, and the Flames of Orion World Championship. We also had the opportunity to set up some boards to play games set on Vastarian!

Flames of Orion - The Sumar Conflict

Pitch black resolve.

At the beginning of September, Steve (sovthofheaven) of the Under the Dice/Hive Scum fame asked if I wanted to take part in a playtesting session for his mech combat game, Flames of Orion. I had played a game of it at Rich Grimmond 2023 a few months earlier, and had a great time with it, so the opportunity to play a few more games was one I was not going to pass up (even if I had to drive quite a few hours to do it).

Rich Grimmond 2023 - Other Games

Out of step with the world.

Late last month I attended the Rich Grimmond 2023 event in Richmond, Virginia. While my brother Adam was busy playing games of Mordheim and Forbidden Psalm (for the The Rot of Hondious event), and Eric was taking photographs, I was free to interview attendees for Dragged into Turbolasers (listen to that here), and play other games, many of which were designed by people in attendance!