Grown Men Playing with Toys
Join us as two best friends (strategic, stoic “Erik” and observant, energetic “Steve”) discuss topics and experiences that surround their world of Warhammer gaming.
Our goal is to balance sharing stories about our funniest, most frustrating, or straight up craziest Warhammer experiences (Steve’s goal) with deep, analytical thinking about the game and why it’s so enjoyable (Erik’s goal). Beyond that, it’s an excuse for two friends to talk and share how the lessons learned playing with our toy soldiers have enriched our lives and deepened our friendship.
Episodes
23 episodes
23 - He's a Peacock. You Gotta Let Him Fly!
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into an entertaining and detailed discussion about Warhammer models with wings. The episode features a "wing tier list", where Steve passionately evaluates models f...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:15:15
22 - One is a Genius, the Other’s Insane
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into the ongoing debate within the Warhammer 40K community about "competitive" versus "casual" play. They discuss the two stereotypes and why they don't think they ...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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58:41
21 - Death By Snu Snu
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they discuss how to deal with the potentially overwhelming influx of new detachments and model releases in Warhammer 40K recently. Erik shares his mixed feelings about the re...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:04:55
20 - Slaanesh's Pillars to 40K Success
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they talk about their Warhammer 40K goals for 2026. The guys will define a structure for how they are thinking of improving their Warhammer 40K gameplay. The episode ex...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:14:18
19 - Guess Who's Back, Back Again, Nurgles Back, Tell a Friend
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they discuss their recent Barn Hammer session, featuring a variety of Warhammer 40K armies and a pseudo crusade event that they put Cousin Josh through. The guys reflects on ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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57:50
18 - Barn Hammer Prep, Dwarves Come Up A Bit Short
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they reflect on a recent practice game featuring the Leagues of Votann list crafted in prior episodes. The guys delve into a holistic after-action discussion, analyze what wo...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:12:19
17 - The Nerfing Eye of Sauron
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast as they dive into how they define "overpowered" (or OP) units in Warhammer 40K. The guys will establish rough criteria for how they differentiate OP vs powerful /splashy but not...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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1:26:40
16 - I Taught My Peacock to Write a List - Part 2
Join Erik and Steve from the "Grown Men Playing with Toys" podcast as they dive into the importance of marrying the optimization of a list to different play styles. After receiving listener feedback, the guys discuss the importance of building ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:07:50
15 - I Taught My Peacock to Write a List - Part 1
In this episode of the Grown Men Playing With Toys podcast, hosts Erik and Steve dive into building a strong foundation for a Warhammer 40K list. They explore how to align your play style with matching detachments and units by using Steve's bel...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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1:12:06
14 - Command Points, a Codex, and Chores. The Struggle is Real.
Adulting is hard and life gets busy.....especially if you are a try-hard who gets over-invested in their hobbies like Erik and Steve.In this episode, the guys will talk about balancing their 40K goals with life's challenges and how they ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:15:22
13 - Big E’s Shame is Our Heretic Hall of Fame
In this episode, Chaos reigns as the guys play a game of Cool / Not Cool with the various Chaos Primarchs or sub-faction leaders. They'll talk about about the story arc of each Chaos leader, discuss the ascetics of models (when they exist...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:23:09
12 - Optimizer Prime, Heresy in Disguise
This is bound to be the most optimal episode as the guys are going to break down the latest subject that they have been bickering about. Listen in as Erik and Steve talk about how feeling passionate about doing your favorite parts of the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:11:19
11 - Teamwork Makes the Future Grim Dark
It’s time to talk about team 40K! In this episode, the guys walkthrough what is the teams 40K format, why they think it is so interesting, and the way it has impacted how they approach the hobby.Topics covered include:
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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1:07:41
10 - Our First Experiences in the Grim Dark Universe of 40K Content Creation
Time flies when you’re having fun! This is the 10th episode and the guys are back to answer 10 questions about their podcast. Listen in to see how they answer and chime in with your wants and ideas for future content. <...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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57:04
9 - Recapping the 2025 Fall Barn Hammer Classic
We just finished our fall Barn Hammer session. Join us as we relive it by talking about who did well, who rode the Struggle Bus, and who has some feelings to talk through.Share Feedback and Interact with us on our website:
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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1:17:05
8 - I Did My Mental Reps But Da Orks Be Too Kunnin’
It’s story time again. This time the guys will relive a recent Table Top Simulator (TTS) game that Erik played against Orks and how a combination of his hubris and inattention almost resulted in the game going horribly wrong for him.<...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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1:09:32
7 - Strike First, Strike Hard, No Guilliman!
Join the guys as they discuss play styles and how they can impact how you approach the game. Are you a Big Hitter swinging aggressively or an uber defensive blocker? Tune in to find out. Share Feedback and Int...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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1:15:24
6 - Friends Don’t Make Friends Play T'au
Steve is a bad person who makes his friends play T'au for his entertainment. Join the guys as Steve revels in Erik's suffering and they collectively relive the game. Spoiler alert, maybe Erik didn't hate it completely?
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:05:32
5 - What is Love? 40K Don't Hurt Me.
In this episode, Erik and Steve discuss play a game of "Yes, No, Maybe So" as a way to explore the various aspects of the Warhammer experience. They'll make light of how differently each approaches Warhammer and tease each other for the a...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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1:06:07
4 - Silly Necrons. Tricks are for Aeldari!
In this episode, Erik and Steve discuss their first experiences in Warhammer 40K. They relive the good, the bad, and the Aeldari and talk about what about those experiences stuck with them. Lastly, they discuss why they both had such diff...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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49:39
3 - What's Your 40K “Jenny”?
In this episode, Erik and Steve discuss the factions that they want to love but that don't quite love them back. They also will talk about some factions that they tried to avoid loving but ultimately fell for. Lastly, they will choo...
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1:01:31
2 - We are our faction. We are legion.
In this episode, Erik and Steve discuss why playing 40K can feel so personal. They share stories about times that they became too invested in their toys, talk about why that may be, and discuss how to potentially overcome it while still l...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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57:12
1 - Help! My friend plays Aeldari and I want to choke him out!
In this episode, Erik and Steve relive a traumatic but funny story from early in their playing days and discuss how to going through that experience has helped them better understand the game. They'll talk through how different factions a...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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47:14
