I have recently come to the realization that owning The Sanctuary technically makes me an international arms dealer.
We sell swords, axes, armor, shields, helmets, and assorted implements of medieval violence.
And we have customers from outside the United States.
Therefore:
Arms: Yes.
Dealer: Yes.
International: Yes.
I see absolutely no reason why additional context should be necessary.
Perhaps I’m a bard at heart, trapped inside the armor of a Paladin.
Either way, there are few things I enjoy more than telling tales that earn a laugh, raise a glass, or leave someone with a story worth remembering.
I’ll be wandering the Texas Renaissance Festival again this year. I usually travel solo and roam the grounds on my own—following whatever music, mischief, or adventure catches my attention.
I tend not to impose myself on other people’s revelry, but meeting new people is genuinely one of the highlights of Faire for me. So if you happen across a lone Paladin wandering the lanes, don’t mistake solitude for wanting to be left alone.
Say hello. Share a story. Point me toward something I shouldn’t miss.
Perhaps we’ll leave the Faire with another tale worth telling.
This moment is etched into my memory forever:
It was 1998. My friend's backyard 8' quarterpipe. We had never gotten "air".
The song "Barracuda" from Heart came on the boombox. The music did what years of riding had not -- made me fearless. And without putting on my helmet, or even my shirt, I hit the ramp faster than ever before.
I crested the edge of the ramp for the first time ever. Awesome moment!
Mighty Tom's Bunker has become one of my favorite game rooms I've ever had the chance to play in.
The walls are lined with sandbags, reclaimed wood, and military memorabilia, giving it the feel of a forward operating base instead of just another room with a gaming table. Every time you sit down, it feels like you're stepping into a command bunker where a campaign is about to begin.
What really makes it special, though, isn't just the décor. As a memorial to Tom Ferris, a war hero, we built the room to be played in. There's plenty of table space for sprawling miniature battles, room for terrain, and enough atmosphere that the game itself feels bigger. Whether we're running Gauntlets of Glory, Warhammer, or another large-scale tabletop battle, the room adds something you just can't get from a folding table in a garage.
I've played in a lot of game stores, conventions, and home setups over the years, and I think dedicated spaces like this are part of what makes the tabletop hobby so memorable. They become destinations where friends gather, stories are created, and campaigns are remembered years later.
I'd love to see what everyone else has built. If you've got a themed game room, bunker, dungeon, tavern, or gaming cave, post some pictures. I always enjoy seeing the creativity people bring to this hobby.
I've been playing airsoft for over 20 years, and somewhere along the way I stopped just buying guns to play with and started building a collection.
Like most people, I began with the idea that I'd own one good rifle. Then I wanted something better suited for CQB, then a rifle for outdoor games, then a DMR, then a support weapon. Before long, I found myself more interested in building authentic, role-specific replicas than simply adding another gun to the rack.
I enjoy researching real-world weapon configurations and recreating them as faithfully as possible. Choosing optics, lights, suppressors, grips, bipods, slings, and camouflage patterns has become just as satisfying as taking them onto the field. Every replica has a purpose, and each build reflects a different role or era that interests me.
These days, I probably spend as much time organizing the armory and working on new projects as I do actually playing. There's something satisfying about opening the safe and seeing years of work and countless small improvements all in one place.
People occasionally ask if I really need this many airsoft guns. The answer is probably not, but that's never really been the point. For me, it's no different than someone collecting classic cars, guitars, or military surplus. The hobby has become a combination of collecting, building, and appreciating the craftsmanship behind each replica.
I'm curious how many other long-time players have had the same experience. Did you set out to become a collector, or did you wake up one day, open your gun safe, and realize the hobby had quietly grown into an armory? I'd love to see everyone else's collections and hear the stories behind them.
The before and after of the Command Bunker. Next step is some stenciled numbers on each of the cabinets.
The plan was to record / edit battle reports of Gauntlets of Glory, Gears of Glory, or Guns of Glory. That's a lot of work for one person.
35 years later, I still love Hutch. I grew up on one, and I'll probably die on one.
My father owns most of the old Games Designer's Workshop and the Grand Europa project. His gaming table is 10' x 10' with portions that are removed to access the middle of the board!
Alas, his enjoyment comes from owning and setting the game up. He hasn't played with anyone in over 50 years.
I've been developing a modern skirmish game called Guns of Glory for the last couple of years, and after dozens of playtests it's finally starting to feel like the game I originally envisioned.
One thing I realized early was that I didn't want another "move, shoot, remove casualties" system. I wanted every decision to feel like the kinds of choices real soldiers have to make under pressure instead of simply optimizing dice rolls.
One of the biggest departures from other games is initiative. Every round, players secretly choose an initiative card that determines movement speed, shooting order, stance, Glory (the game's action resource), and temporary stat modifiers. Going first almost always means giving up something else, so the choice becomes an interesting tradeoff rather than an automatic decision.
Suppression is also a central mechanic instead of an afterthought. Pinning an enemy down can be just as valuable as wounding them because suppression degrades a soldier's awareness, making future attacks significantly more effective. It creates situations where controlling the battlefield is often more important than simply chasing kills.
Rather than assuming soldiers always know where every target is, Guns of Glory requires them to first detect their opponent. Awareness determines how much of a weapon's capability can actually be used, making observation and positioning just as important as marksmanship.
Automatic weapons also have a different role than they do in many games. Full-auto fire isn't simply "more attack dice." Instead, it creates suppression and adds to a global Chaos level, so laying down a wall of fire can shape the battlefield even when nobody is hit.
Equipment management is another area I've enjoyed designing. Every soldier has only six equipment slots, and weapons, armor upgrades, first aid, mission objectives, and even wounds all compete for that limited space. Getting wounded doesn't just reduce your effectiveness—it literally forces difficult decisions about what you can continue carrying.
One of my favorite systems is the battlefield itself reacting to the players. Excessive gunfire increases the global Chaos level. In our current narrative campaign, reaching maximum Chaos awakens an AI security system that begins deploying autonomous combat robots against every faction, forcing everyone to reconsider their priorities.
The campaign has become one of the most rewarding parts of development. Four competing factions aren't trying to wipe each other out as much as accomplish their own corporate or ideological objectives. We've already had games where the faction that escaped with stolen research considered the mission a success, while another force that suffered very few casualties ultimately failed because they never completed their objective.
We've also leaned heavily into physical components. The game uses 3D-printed dashboards with rotating dials for soldier attributes, gravity-fed equipment dispensers, equipment tiles, wound cards, and objective tokens instead of tracking everything on paper.
I'd love to hear what other wargamers think. What modern skirmish games have mechanics that made you stop and think, "I haven't seen that before?" I'm always interested in seeing clever ideas, even if they don't fit my own design.
