Most of the time on Playtesting.org I’m writing about Perseverance, my space-western QuestWorlds genre pack. But today I want to take a little detour. This post isn’t about Perseverance or even role-playing games — it’s about another side of my gaming life: miniature wargames, and how I’ve just started sharing them with my kids.

For years I’ve been waiting for the day when my children would be old enough to sit down at the table with me and discover the joy of miniature wargames. Like many gamers, I started imagining that moment long before it was possible — the dice, the laughter, the little dramas unfolding on the tabletop. Now that my kids are finally ready, I knew exactly where to start: One Page Rules’ Age of Fantasy: Skirmish.

Why Age of Fantasy Skirmish?

There are countless miniature games out there, but OPR’s skirmish system has a lot going for it when teaching younger players:

• Quick to learn, easy to remember.
• A low model count (no need to build 50+ minis before playing).
• Flexible, with simple yet satisfying rules.

For my kids, that balance of accessibility and tactical depth made it the ideal first step.

Paper Minis First, Plastic Later

Wargaming is two hobbies at once: playing the games and collecting and painting miniatures. As much as I love painting, I didn’t want to overwhelm my kids by starting with the “hobby” side. My goal was to get them rolling dice and telling stories on the battlefield first.

That’s why I decided to begin with paper minis. They’re cheap, quick to make, and they let us focus on the game itself. Later, if they fall in love with it, we can expand into the world of physical minis.

Enter Trash Mob Minis

For our first factions, I turned to the wonderful work of Trash Mob Minis. Their colorful, characterful designs are perfect for introducing kids to the hobby. For my sons, I picked out Fishmen and Orcs to start with, and they were an instant hit.

You can check them out at Trash Mob Minis on Patreon.

My Daughter’s Request: Goblins!

While the Fishmen and Orcs were fun, my daughter wanted something different for her first warband. She asked for Goblins — not just any Goblins, but a band led by a strong female chieftain, supported by fierce female goblin warriors.

The problem? I couldn’t find paper minis that matched that vision. So, I decided to create them myself.

Drawing a Warband

The official OPR Goblin army list didn’t quite fit the idea I had in mind, so I used the Orc list as the base for stats and organization. That way, the warband felt mechanically solid while still carrying the flavor of Goblins.

Then came the art. I grabbed my iPad, sketched out the designs, and later brought them into Inkscape to vectorize and color them. The process was surprisingly fun — a mix of doodling, refining, and imagining the personalities of each warrior.

The result? Here’s the first printed sheet, straight out of the printer:

My daughter’s very own Goblin warband, ready to clash with Fishmen and Orcs on the tabletop.

Here you have the first unit of fierce demale goblin warriors, cut out and mounted on simple 3D-printed bases:

Why This Matters

For me, this little project isn’t just about putting tokens on a battlemap. It’s about:

• Sharing a hobby I love with my kids.
• Giving them ownership over their armies.
• Showing them that creativity and play go hand in hand.

I don’t know if my kids will become lifelong wargamers, but I do know that right now, they’re excited to gather around the table, move their Goblins and Orcs, and shout “Charge!” as dice clatter. That’s more than enough.

What’s Next

Our next steps are simple: play more games, maybe expand the armies, and let the kids explore what they enjoy most. If they want to paint minis later, fantastic. If they stick to paper, that’s great too.

Either way, we’re creating stories together — and that’s what gaming has always been about.