Grown Men Playing with Toys
Join us as friends (strategic, stoic “Erik” and observant, energetic “Steve”) discuss topics and experiences that surround their world of Warhammer gaming.
Our goal is to explore the intersection of casual and competitive 40K thru a 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 how to improve at it (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
43 episodes
43 - Are You Not Entertained?
Erik and Steve were supposed to sneak out for a game at the Local Game Store (LGS) this week and instead got stuck at home, so naturally they spent forty-five minutes turning that disappointment into a full breakdown of why playing 40K at the L...
42 - I'm Not Dead Yet: 40K's First Balance Update
Steve is fighting off a Nurgle infection, Erik is fighting off bad habits with Cursed Legion Necrons, and everybody on the internet is convinced their faction is dead. Spoiler....they're not dead yet. Erik and Steve are back to disc...
41 - Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to 11th Steve Goes
Erik is back from vacation to find that Barnhammer has been played without him. He's definitely not feeling jealous, FOMO, or left out and DEFINITELY is not punishing Steve for organizing it without him by making Steve lead the episode as...
40 - I Feel the Need...The Need for 11th
Erik is back from the tabletop trenches with a full debrief. He is two games deep into 11th Edition, has played four factions, and is ready to hype Steve up for an upcoming week of Barnhammer gaming. Along the way they cove...
39 - Thanos-Snapping My 10th Edition Lists
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve dive headfirst into the early days of 11th edition. Fresh off the MFM drop, deep in terrain mechanics, and (for one of them) staring down a freshly nuked wastela...
38 - Where's the Beef (List)?
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve take a hard left turn from their planned agenda and end up somewhere much more interesting. The cliffhanger from the All-Star Game has been rattling around in Steve's ...
37 - You Had One Job
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, the GMPWT 10th Edition All-Star Game gets its dramatic conclusion. The lists are built, the terrain is set, the store owner has been recruited as celebrity dice roller, and absolutel...
36 - Our 10th Edition All-Star Game
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik emerges from his mad science cave with an idea to help Steve with the end-of-edition doldrums. The result is the most creative thing they've attempted yet.....the GMPWT 10th Edi...
35 - Nobody Told Me the Dice Hit Back
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik shows up to record still licking his wounds, this time from a rough road race -except this time his own son quoted the podcast back at him like a tiny, devastating life coach. &...
34 - Pantheon of Woe: Population.....Me
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik confesses to a crime against his own hobby — being a grouch for two days because he played poorly in a game that he was playing against himself.Steve holds it together lo...
33 - There Is Only War... and Middle Child Syndrome
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve do something they probably should have seen a therapist about first — they apply the science of birth order psychology to the entire Warhammer 40K universe.The ...
32 - Be Excellent to Each Other
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 ...
31 - Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve do something a little different — they look backwards and forwards at the same time, connecting the dots between the past seven months of Erik's Crusade League and the...
30 - I'm Terribly Sorry Sir. I'm Afraid You Are Mistaken.
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve do one of the most uncomfortable things in 40K — they turn the camera on themselves and ask the question: what kind of mistakes do I actually make, and why do I ke...
29 - Mo' Models, Mo' Problems
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve tackle one of the most common experiences in the Warhammer 40K hobby — the impulse buy — and discover that they couldn't possibly approach it more differently.S...
28 - No More "And Then....."
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve do what grown men do best — argue about made-up words on plastic soldiers and ask the question no Warhammer 40K content creator has been serious enough to tackle: are ...
27 - List Hammer, Math Hammer, Feelings Hammer
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve discuss the community’s negative reaction to a recent Warhammer 40K Balance Dataslate. The conversation frames players’ reactions as a progression thru the steps of:&n...
26 - We've Forgotten What We're Fighting For
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve discuss being intentional about monitoring the pace of a game of Warhamer 40K. They share a framework for breaking pacing into two approaches—“tempo and trade”&n...
25 - I Think I C'Tan, I Think I C'Tan....
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve recap their recent Tabletop Simulator game of Warhammer 40K, where Steve took on Cousin Josh. They talk about how the matchup was setup as a "Steve faces the Boogeyman...
24 - How Our Gorilla Got His Groove Back
In this episode of the "Grown Men Playing With Toys" podcast, Erik and Steve delve into what constitutes a 'good game' in their Warhammer 40K sessions. They emphasize the importance of immersion, challenge, and long-term strategic value. Erik d...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 ...
