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. 

Under the Dice Fest 2025: Rusted Demon

The inaugural Rusted Demon competition was held at Under the Dice Fest 2025. Unlike other competitions like Games Workshop’s Golden Demon (of which Rusted Demon cheekily derives its name), Rusted Demon is primarily a converting and modelling competition, emphasizing creativity and kitbashing more than exquisite painting. The competition is very reminiscent of the annual SmashBash competition held by Matt (totally_not_panicking). We wanted to document the winning entries so that people not fortunate enough to attend Under the Dice Fest 2025 could see the exciting miniatures present.

Under the Dice Fest 2025: Day 2

"No one should ever be caged."

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 who are interested in telling their own stories through miniature gaming, as well as those who are willing to step outside the scope of the game rules as written, or even create their games and miniatures, to do so. 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.

The 2nd day of Under the Dice Fest 2025 featured this year’s New England Mordheim Open event, a competitive event for Games Workshop’s classic fantasy skirmish game, Mordheim. The event had an impressive 109 players battling over 54 lovingly crafted tables. Participants played three games throughout the event.

Dragged into Turbolasers 119 - Part 2: Under the Dice Fest 2025.

Under the Dice Fest 2025.

In part two of a special two-part episode, we interview people who attended Under the Dice Fest 2025, a small festival in Massachusetts celebrating miniature-based tabletop wargaming. The festival was designed to appeal to those who shy away from the mainstream iterations of the miniature wargaming hobby, focusing on those who want to play the games on their terms, sometimes outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or those who want to play old games which their publishers no longer support. It is highlighting those who are more concerned with telling a story with the miniatures they build than with creating something that would be optimal in terms of a game’s rule system. A punk rock approach to the miniature wargaming hobby, if you will. 

Under the Dice Fest 2025: Day 1

While darkness and ill-tidings are certainly the theme of many of the games played at Under the Dice Fest 2025, the camaraderie and friendship on display at the event was just the opposite.

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, though if we are being honest, it has largely just 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 those hobbyists that are interested in telling their own stories through miniature gaming, and those who are willing to step outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or even create their own games and miniatures, to do it. Every event that they host is a gathering of amazing, like-minded people passionate about their interpretation of the miniature wargaming hobby, and something we do not want to miss.

Dragged into Turbolasers 118 - Part 1: Under the Dice Fest 2025.

Under the Dice Fest 2025.

In part one of a special two-part episode, we interview people who attended Under the Dice Fest 2025, a small festival in Massachusetts celebrating miniature-based tabletop wargaming. The festival was designed to appeal to those who shy away from the mainstream iterations of the miniature wargaming hobby, focusing on those who want to play the games on their terms, sometimes outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or those who want to play old games which their publishers no longer support. It highlights those who are more concerned with telling a story with the miniatures they build than with creating something optimal in terms of a game’s rule system. A punk rock approach to the miniature wargaming hobby, if you will.

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!

Dragged into Turbolasers 107: Under the Dice Fest 2024, Part 2

Under the Dice Fest 2024, Day 2!

In part two of a special two part episode, we interview people who attended Under the Dice Fest 2024, a small festival in Massachusetts celebrating miniature-based tabletop wargaming. The festival was designed to appeal to those who shy away from the mainstream iterations of the miniature wargaming hobby, focusing on those who want play the games on their own terms, sometimes outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or those who want to play old games which are no longer supported by their publishers. It is highlighting those who are more concerned with telling a story with the miniatures they build than with creating something that would be optimal in terms of a game’s rule system. A punk rock approach to the miniature wargaming hobby, if you will. Below are time stamps of where you can listen to each interview!

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!

Dragged into Turbolasers 107: Under the Dice Fest 2024, Part 1

Under the Dice Fest 2024!

In part one of a special two part episode, we interview people who attended Under the Dice Fest 2024, a small festival in Massachusetts celebrating miniature-based tabletop wargaming. The festival was designed to appeal to those who shy away from the mainstream iterations of the miniature wargaming hobby, focusing on those who want play the games on their own terms, sometimes outside of the scope of the game rules as written, or those who want to play old games which are no longer supported by their publishers. It is highlighting those who are more concerned with telling a story with the miniatures they build than with creating something that would be optimal in terms of a game’s rule system. A punk rock approach to the miniature wargaming hobby, if you will. Below are time stamps of where you can listen to each interview!