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Warhammer 40,000 Army Playstyle Comparison (2026) Faction Beginner Friendly Army Size Melee Shooting Mobility Durability Typical Playstyle Great Starting Product Space Marines ★★★★★ Medium ★★★★☆ ★★★★☆ ★★★☆☆ ★★★★☆ Flexible, balanced, adaptable Armageddon Box, Combat Patrol Orks ★★★★☆ Large ★★★★★ ★★☆☆☆ ★★★☆☆ ★★★☆☆ Swarm, charge, glorious chaos Armageddon Box, Combat Patrol Tyranids ★★★★☆ Large ★★★★☆ ★★★☆☆ ★★★★☆ ★★★☆☆ Endless swarm and monstrous creatures Combat Patrol Astra Mil

If you've decided to jump into Warhammer 40,000, you've probably asked the question every new hobbyist asks: "What's the best army for beginners?" The honest answer? The one you can't stop thinking about. That's the famous "Rule of Cool," and it's stood the test of time because it's true. Rules change. New editions arrive. Balance updates shake up the competitive scene. But the army you love today will still be fun to build, paint, and play years from now. That said, some arm

Choosing your first Warhammer 40,000 army is exciting—and a little overwhelming. With dozens of factions, thousands of years of lore, wildly different playstyles, and some of the coolest miniatures ever made, it's easy to get stuck wondering if you're about to make the "wrong" choice. Here's the good news: There isn't one. Every Warhammer 40,000 faction can win games. Every army has passionate fans. Every collection starts with a single miniature. So instead of asking, "What'

How to Get Your RPG Players Talking to Each Other Instead of Taking Turns Talking to You One of my favorite moments as a Dungeon Master isn't delivering a dramatic monologue. It isn't revealing the villain. It isn't even watching the players solve a mystery. It's when I realize I haven't said anything in five minutes. The players are deep in conversation, completely in character. They're arguing over whether to trust the duke. They're teasing each other about last session's d

Every Dungeon Master eventually reaches the same crossroads. The Monster Manual is full of incredible creatures, but your campaign calls for something different. Maybe your players have learned the official monsters by heart. Maybe your setting has its own mythology. Maybe the story you're telling deserves a creature that no one at the table has ever encountered before. So you sit down to create a homebrew monster. Most DMs immediately open a blank stat block. That's understa

Ask almost any player what they hope to find at the end of a dungeon, and you'll probably hear the same answer: "A really cool magic item." There's nothing wrong with that. Finding treasure is one of the most exciting parts of Dungeons & Dragons. Magic items reward exploration, celebrate hard-earned victories, and help characters grow more powerful. But the most memorable rewards aren't remembered because they granted a +2 bonus. They're remembered because they became part of

One of the biggest mistakes new Dungeon Masters make isn't designing weak combat encounters. It's creating villains that only exist for the final battle. A memorable Dungeons & Dragons villain should do much more than threaten the party. They should embody the central conflict of your campaign. Every encounter with them—or with the consequences of their actions—should reinforce the story you're trying to tell. At Monkey Llama Games in Portland, Michigan, this is one of the st

Teenagers can be a tough crowd. They're too old for "kid games," too young for many adult game nights, and finding something that gets everyone off their phones can sometimes feel impossible. The good news? Every week at Monkey Llama Games, we see teens laughing, competing, and making memories around the table. These are the games they come back for again and again. Better yet, they're games that parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends genuinely enjoy playing too. If you

There comes a point in almost every relationship where life quietly changes the conversation. Instead of asking, "How was your day?" we ask, "Did you pay the electric bill?" Instead of dreaming about the future, we're coordinating schedules. Instead of sitting together, we're simply existing in the same room. No one decides they want this. It happens because life is full of good things that demand our attention—careers, children, mortgages, appointments, laundry, groceries, a

When people shop at Monkey Llama Games, they're not just looking for something to do. They're looking for a way to connect. A reason to gather around a table. A chance to unplug, laugh, create, compete, or simply spend meaningful time together. We thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain and share the five most popular games on MonkeyLlamaGames.com. These are the titles our customers keep coming back for, recommending to friends, and helping us reorder faster than we

"The opposite of play isn't work. It's isolation." Every generation worries that the next one is disappearing into something. Television. Video games. The internet. Smartphones. It's easy to look across the dinner table and see your teenager staring at a screen and think, "How do I get them back?" The uncomfortable truth is that the phone probably isn't the problem. It's simply where your teen's friends, interests, and identity currently live. What they're really searching fo

(Or: How Llama Accidentally Eliminated Two Adventuring Parties and What We Learned From It.) At Monkey Llama Games, we've recently managed something that every new Dungeon Master fears and every veteran player secretly laughs about later. We TPK'd two parties. Thankfully, everyone had a fantastic time, plenty of jokes were made, and no friendships were harmed in the making of these unfortunate adventurers. But it does raise an important question for new DMs: How do you make c

There’s a moment that catches a lot of parents off guard. One day your kid wants to show you every drawing they made, every strange bug they found in the backyard, every random thought in their head. Then suddenly they’re teenagers, spending more time in their rooms, answering questions with one-word responses, and living in a world that can feel just out of reach. For a lot of moms and dads, it can feel like the connection is slipping away. And if you’re feeling that way, yo

There are easier ways to spend your days than opening a game store. You can choose careers with predictable schedules, quieter weekends, and far less risk. You can avoid the stress of inventory mistakes, late shipments, broken tables, event planning, and wondering whether enough people will show up for the thing you poured your heart into. But you would miss this. You would miss the moments that remind you that people are, overwhelmingly, good. That communities still matter.

There’s a moment every new miniature painter experiences. You finish your first model, set it on the table, and think:“…Why doesn’t mine look like the ones online?” Good news: it’s usually not talent. Most beginner painters struggle with a handful of very fixable problems: Paint going on too thick Details disappearing Colors looking flat Shaky highlights Washes pooling everywhere Paint drying too fast on the palette Feeling overwhelmed by “advanced” tutorials The truth is tha

How to Make Your Players Need to See What Happens Next Every DM has felt it. You describe the tavern. You introduce the mysterious stranger. You unveil the ancient prophecy. You pause dramatically… …and your players stare back at you like you just assigned homework. It’s one of the most discouraging feelings in tabletop gaming. You spent hours preparing maps, NPCs, encounters, lore, maybe even custom music—and the party still decides to ignore the plot and spend forty-five mi

If you’ve ever sat down to run your first tabletop RPG campaign and immediately thought: “Wait… how do I actually make a world map?” You’re not alone. One of the biggest hurdles for new Dungeon Masters and storytellers is figuring out where to begin. Should you draw an entire continent first? Start with one tiny village? Design the dungeon before the map? Or the map before the story? At Monkey Llama Games, we help new and experienced storytellers tackle exactly these question

If you’ve ever wanted to try Dungeons & Dragons but didn’t know where to start, you’re in the right place. Creating your first character in D&D 5.5e (the updated 5th Edition rules) might seem complicated—but it’s actually a fun, creative process where you build your hero from the ground up. At Monkey Llama Games in Portland, MI, we help new players do this every week at our beginner-friendly events like Quest & Rest Monday and Storyforge Saturday. Let’s walk through it step-b

A Beginner-Friendly Guide from Monkey Llama Games If you’ve ever wanted to jump into Magic: The Gathering but felt overwhelmed, Commander is one of the most fun—and social—ways to start. It’s less about strict competition and more about big plays, creative decks, and memorable moments around the table. At Monkey Llama Games, Commander is a staple of our community nights, and this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started. What Is Commander? Comman

Some weekends come and go. Others become the ones your family talks about for years. The Mad Tea Party at Monkey Llama Games is built to be that kind of memory. This isn’t just an event—it’s an invitation to step inside a story. The shop transforms into a whimsical Wonderland filled with curious details, playful surprises, and moments that feel just a little bit magical. From the moment you walk through the door, the ordinary fades away and something special takes its place.