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Recapping the Warhammer 40K Narrative Event - August 31 2026
We partnered with Mountain United, a local charity, to put on the event as part of their ongoing narrative campaign in the 40K universe.
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Recapping the Age of Sigmar: Winter Slaughter 2026 Tournament
Jason here! I'm back with Ben, the organizer of the 2026 Age of Sigmar Winter Slaughter tournament, to recap the two-day miniatures event, discuss expansion plans, and show off a whole ton of pictures from what turned out to be an awesome weekend at a new venue. You made a lot of changes to the tournament this year! Which were your favorite updates and why? "New Year, new Venue! The Westminster Marriott proved the perfect venue--close to the highway, very welcoming, great staff, and a beautiful space. We’ll absolutely be back next year. More support! The outpouring of local help this year really set it apart from previous years in a way we couldn’t have expected. Local and national sponsors really helped bring the event together, but we were still able to keep that comfortable, local feel." You switched to a different venue--how did that go, and what did you learn from the process of moving the event? "I learned a LOT--this venue was almost twice as big as the last venue, and as such our target cap was bigger to match. I learned about space logistics, upgrading supplies, working with planning and design deadlines, and really getting comfortable working with a professional staff committed to the event being a success. A great learning experience every year." Walk me through the tournament itself. How'd you set everything up, what was the tournament structure, and how did it run? "Saturday night, myself and an awesome volunteer showed up to get all of the tables setup (complete with beautiful mats sponsored by Gray Matter Gaming). We provide mats and terrain for every match, and the venue had already laid out the tables for us, which really helped get the ball rolling and prepped for 2 solid days of Warhammer! Much like last year, the tournament was structured as 5 rounds (Three on day one, two on day two), with pairings based randomly within your record on day one, and by points on day two. This year, players not only competed for best general (most wins), but best in grand alliance. The event ran as smooth as any event ever could--both days started on time, every round ended on time. The space prevented anyone from having trouble getting to or around their tables. Every player was incredibly respectful, so we had no sportsmanship issues at all. Overall, I couldn’t ask for an event to run smoother." Did you have any favorite moments from the event? "Oh goodness, there were so many. I saw Archaon get charged by a horde of squigs (there’s a great picture) and get overwhelmed; I saw a masterful midgame movement to secure a narrow victory; But best of all, I saw 32 players cheering each other on, making great memories, and having a great time." Who won, and what kind of prizes did you have? "Prizes Prizes Prizes! To start the day off, our players came through the door and received a swag bag with event stickers, a custom 9 inch widget designed specifically for the event, dice, and winter mentos (ha!). During the event, we had enough prizes to hand out an incredible 5 raffle prizes every round- Just about every single player walked away with something from our table. We had mats, terrain, unit boxes, reminder tokens, all kinds of great prizes just for showing up and supporting the event. For our top finishers we had a custom widget set from Forged Honor studios, battleforce boxes, an army carrier, and more. This year we were proud to award prizes for Best General, Best in Faction, and Best Sportsman." Tournament Winners Lord of Slaughter (Best General): Thomas Burgett was back again and in killer form, successfully winning back to back Winter Slaughter events with his very unique take on Skaven and taking home the victory for Team Weak and Decadent. Best in Order: This was an extremely, EXTREMELY tight race, and was won by just 4 points. Derick Senter brought this award home for the Colorado Springs Community and the Average Gitz. Best in Destruction: Another very tight race, decided by a destruction versus destruction showdown between Ogor Mawtribes and Kruel Boyz. The Ogors managed to pull out an epic victory, and Best in Destruction was won by Schuyler Bishop of Al Pacacino Tactics. Best in Chaos: Best in Chaos also went down to the Springs community, this time won by Gene Murphy of the Average Gitz. Best in Death: The Best in Death award was fought over by just two Death players this year, and was won by Ryan C of Al Pacacino Tactics. Finally, Best Sportsman: In my opinion, the most important award--was chosen by the players, for the player who really lifted the spirits of the event and brought an excellent experience for each of his opponents and the players around him. This award was won by Jacob Williams of Al Pacacino Tactics. Gene Murphy - Best in Chaos Derick Senter, Best in Destruction Schuyler Bishop - Best in Destruction Ryan C, Best in Death Thomas Burgett - Lord of Slaughter (Winner) How did the painting competition go? "Both of last year’s judges, Vaughn and Jordan, returned this year accompanied by newcomer and Total Escape Games’ own Gwen. The team had a difficult task this year with more players than any previous year and an additional category. Last year’s best painted model category was split into best painted large model(60mm and larger) and best painted hero (smaller than 60mm), while as ever Best Painted Army returned. The judges worked late into the night scrutinizing every inch of every model to find the best submissions" Painting Competition Winners Best Painted Army: Steve Morrison, Gloomspite Gitz. These Gitz featured a winter theme that really unified the army, aswell as a fully functioning train! Crazy! Best Painted Large Model: Justin Foster, Iridan the Witness. Justin’s take on Iridan was stunning. Smooth transitions, dramatic lighting, and a real showcase of what you can do with a large canvas. Best Painted Hero: Jacob Williams, Murknob Belcha-Banna. Jacob’s submission was a perfect merging of disgusting swamp and unified, beautiful paint. From the detailed banner to the realistic swamp base, this model wowed the judges and took home the prize!" Steve Morrison - Best Painted Army Justin Foster - Best Painted Large Model Jacob Williams - Best Painted Hero Final Notes "This event was awesome. I love running it, I love the community, and I look forward to next year already! Always growing, I intend to expand to additional games next year--if you’reinterested in hosting a game over the weekend, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re hopingto add 40K and are open to other options. Additionally, next year we’ll be expanding the painting competition--you’ll be able to enter whether you’re playing or not. Exciting stuff! Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our sponsors. This event would not have come together without the help of the gaming community, and the outpouring of support was overwhelming. Thank you to Gray Matter Gaming for assisting with the mats and door prizes; To Baron of Dice for the grab bag and d3 dice; to Monument Hobbies for all the painting prizes, to Forge Honor for the custom swag-bag widgets and the trophy-widgets for our finishers. And finally, of course, thanks so much to you Jason and the team at Total Escape Games. Every year, as the event grows, TEG rises to the challenge and really steps up to help the event be a success. We couldn’t put it on without you, and we wouldn’t want to! As always, if you’re curious about the game, the event, how to get involved in the community,anything at all, don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much for your time Jason, have a great day!" There you have it, folks. I was able to drop by on Saturday for part of the event, and I can confirm it was a gorgeous new venue, with some beautifully-made tables, and an overall fantastic atmosphere. This is one of my favorite events every year, and I can't wait to see how Ben expands it next year. If you want to reach Ben, you can message him on Discord (moosimoto) or through the official Winter Slaughter Facebook page. PS, here's a photo dump from the event
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Recapping our Age of Sigmar: Fall Brawl Tournament
I sat down with Ben Wiley, a prominent member of the Denver Age of Sigmar community and the tournament organizer responsible for putting together all of our biggest and best Age of Sigmar tournaments at the store. We talked about running miniatures events, recap the results of the Fall Brawl tournament, and explore his upcoming plans for the Winter Slaughter, which will be his greatest undertaking yet! What goes into putting everything together for a big Age of Sigmar tournament like the Fall Brawl? When running a single-day event (referred to as an RTT, or Rogue Trader Tournament) There’s a lot to consider. How many players can I fit reasonably? Do I have enough mats? Enough terrain? How long should each round be to ensure enough time to play, but also make sure we aren’t here until midnight? The logistics can stack together, but taking it once piece at a time makes it easy enough--I enjoy putting these events on, so I’m up to the challenge! For someone new to Age of Sigmar tournaments, could you walk us through how the tournament plays out? What are the rounds/matches like, and how does scoring work? Absolutely! Each round is played over the course of 2 hours and forty-five minutes. We start early, so we can finish reasonably early, and there’s always a break for lunch. Pairings are random at first; round two you’ll play against someone with the same record as you; round three, you’ll play against someone with the same record, and usually someone close in score with you. We use the current handbook, and I’ll predetermine 3 scenarios--you’ll know those in advance, in case you want to read up or practice! Each scenario has it’s own scoring mechanics based on objective control, and a twist to make the game a bit more interesting if you’re playing from behind--pay close attention to these while playing! *Special note here: Attending your first tournament can be daunting, but I promise it shouldn’t be. Personally, I like to think of it less as a tournament, and more as an opportunity to play 3 full games, against armies you may not have seen before, in a welcoming and new-player friendly environment. Folks are there to compete, make no mistake, but not in a mean or rude way. We’re all here to have fun, and we want to make sure you do too! What were the highlights of the tournament? Cliché of course, but my number one highlight is always seeing new faces. We had a few players who were playing their first event, and they said they had a blast, which is always exactly what I’m hoping for. Secondarily, hearing “Ride of the Valkyries” play while a player charged in with 6 undead dragons was just an absolute delight! Who won the event, and what prizes did you give away to the top players? Our winner was Thomas Burgett, playing a Seraphon army featuring a wave of Raptadon Chargers (lizards riding lizards! Cats and dogs living together! Mass hysteria!). Prizes given away were a large-scale model to each player, along with a healthy amount of store credit to bolster their forces, all to the top 3 players. *Special Note: We gave away door prizes after every round, and a large door prize after the final round! How did the painting competition go? Who won, and how was the competition scored? The painting competition this year was very close in both categories. Events that I run are scored one of two ways--either I have each player cast a vote and the most votes win, or by panel. This year, I had a panel of 3 judges that viewed best painted army and best painted single model (players could only enter one or the other). Best painted army was won by Jacob Williams, with Kruelboyz Honorable mention to Steaphen Isaac, with Idoneth Deepkin Best painted model was won by Rowan Harper’s Droggz Da Sunchompa Honorable mention to Wyatt Moran’s Terrorgheist Both players received paint supplies for their victorious armies! *Special note: I do not require painting for my RTT events. Just come on out and play! It sounds like you’re planning to make this a yearly event. What do you have in mind for next year? Ideally, I’ll run three of these events each year: a Spring, Summer, and Fall Brawl! We want to keep the community engaged, and these events are a great opportunity to come out, meet new people, and play some great Age of Sigmar. What's the most fulfilling part of running an event like this for you? The community really makes these events special. Walking around through the tables, I get to see all kinds of cool moments: Critical die rolls Unexpected and Uncanny events New players grasping their army elements Seasoned players making strategic decisions that shape the tide of the game In some ways, I get to be part of every match, every round. It feels great. Tell me about the Winter Slaughter tournament you'll be running this winter! If Fall Brawl sounded like fun, boy oh boy are we in for it with Winter Slaughter! Winter Slaughter is a GT (Grand Tournament), held offsite to support a much larger crowd. More matches (5 rounds over 2 days) More prizes Swag-Bag door prizes for every entrant Best score? How about Best Overall General as well? Best in Grand Alliance An additional Painting Category (Splitting Single model into best infantry and best monster) More, More, More! We’ve got some awesome sponsors, a beautiful venue, and a fantastic community chomping to play, both competitive and casual. Come on out! *Special Note: As this is a larger event, we would like to see as many fully painted armies as possible- But if you can’t get painted, or need help, please please PLEASE reach out to me before you abandon all hope! All is not lost! We want to see you there! Painting Competition Entries I've included all the remaining miniatures and armies submitted to the competition because they're all too darn cool not to share! The remaining two armies submitted for best-painted army The remaining entries for best-painted miniature
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Recapping the Age of Sigmar: Winter Slaughter 2024
As some of you may know, we ran a two-day Age of Sigmar tournament on November 9th and 10th. It was an absolute blast of an event, and our first major offsite event, even in spite of an unfortunate snowstorm that blocked our Southern players from attending. Today I sat down with Ben, the Tournament Organizer of the event, to recap the weekend and look ahead to what he'll be running next time. Ben is a good friend of mine and previous employee of the store. He worked alongside our event manager to create a fun-filled 2 day Age of Sigmar event, designed to welcome both competitive and casual players alike. Running a big tournament like the Winter Slaughter is a ton of work. How did you get everything together? A lot of work, for sure! It actually started last year, when we ran our first winter 2-Day event. Folks had a lot of fun, but I felt like there was potential to do more, for a wider audience. That's really when the Winter Slaughter idea was born. First and foremost, I have to thank TEG for the continued support—there's no way this would have come together otherwise! The key was to help build a strong community—show up weekly, host bi-monthly events, really get folks excited. Eliminate as many barriers to entry as possible, and really make folks feel welcome. From a logistics standpoint, there was a lot to consider. What weekend is best? How many players do we want to support? What kind of venue do we need? A lot of action happens in the background to make these events successful, and you have to stay on task and organized to have a great event. Walk me through the event. How was it structured? What was the gameplay like? This was a 5-round event (3 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday), using Swiss pairings so that every player plays every round. Players had a set amount of time each round to setup and play their match, on a predetermined mission. Players were initially paired randomly, but afterwards, pairings are set by record, changing each round. You never play against the same opponent twice, and we had a healthy spread of different factions and playstyles. It was great to watch. What were your favorite moments from the event? I wouldn't really even know where to begin! As the organizer, I don't usually get to play (although I always have an army handy in case we have uneven rounds!). As such, I get to see a ton of gameplay—players rolling piles of dice at once, players making miraculous and critical plays, and getting to see folks who have never met before get to play and have fun. My favorite moment is when the community really comes together and focuses on playing the best game they can—it creates moments that you really can't see anywhere else. Who won, and what kind of prizes did you have? Prizes Prizes Prizes! Everyone loves prizes, and I like to hand out a wide spread of prizes to give everyone a chance to walk away with something cool and feel like they achieved something. We gave away: A door prize just for attending—custom dice and a 3 inch measuring widget. Prizes of various sizes between each round—models, gaming supplies, even a game mat. Prizes for best painted single model and best painted full army: This was really important to me—painting can be a huge barrier to entry, so we did not require painting for the event. However, I still wanted players who enjoy painting to be rewarded for their work. We had two beautifully painted full armies, and 6 entries for best painted single model. I had two community judges with the difficult task of choosing a winner for each category! The winner for best painted army was Chad Graham, with Daughters of Khaine. The winner for best painted single model was Jos Chang, who painted Katakros from his Ossiarch Bonereapers Army. And of course, prizes by record. We awarded prizes to first, second, and third place. Our top finishers as well as our painting winners also received a custom cup, engraved with the date of the event and the place they finished or award they won. Our First place winner was Thomas Burgett, playing Nighthaunt. Our Second place finish went to Wyatt Moran, playing Cities of Sigmar. Our Third place finish went to Matt Eimers, playing Lumineth Realmlords. For anyone who didn't win a raffle or one of the major prizes, we still had enough prizes to ensure every player (of 20) walked away with a token of our gratitude from the event. I like to give out a lot of prizes, and I have even more fun prizes in mind for next year including: Best in Faction for each Faction Best Sportsman Most Unique List It sounds like you’re planning to make this a yearly event. What do you have in mind for next year? I've got a lot I want to accomplish for this event—each year will be better than the last! Next year I want to increase the player cap, allow for more opportunities to play, and possibly expand to offer more games to play on Friday. With the community behind us, the sky is the limit for how great the event can be. Thanks so much for taking the time to cover the event! I had a great time running it, I love the community building we were able to do up to the event, and I hope to only see it grow in the coming year. Cheers! We had a ton of fun running this event, and can't wait to see the Age of Sigmar community continue to grow. We'll have more details to share about the events we're running alongside Ben next year, so stay tuned! If you can't get enough Age of Sigmar in your life, we also host open play every Wednesday night starting at 4p.
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