So, you’ve just bought a new, shiny game. You open the weighty box and behold a plethora of beautifully detailed but very, very grey plastic minis.

Have you ever considered taking your dungeon dives or TTRPG sessions to the next level? Want to paint your minis but don't know where to start or terrified you will do a bad job? Well, never fear, Kaioss Games is here.

Firstly, let's look at why to bother in the first place.

Taking your games to the next level 

It doesn't matter whether a mini is painted or not, your games are going to play the same. This also means it doesn’t matter if your painting of minis is OK or a masterpiece worthy of gallery entry, your game will play the same. However, the difference between playing with grey plastic vs painted minis is amazing. Generally, games come with bright artwork, colourful tokens and beautiful boards. Painting your minis adds to the experience and really lifts your favourite game. If you are a TTRPG player, painting your mini to match your character description adds a new level of immersion to the experience.

Wet weekend syndrome

We’ve all been there. It’s Sunday afternoon, raining and all your gaming buddies are busy. Out comes the phone and several hours of doom scrolling later you finally peel yourself off the sofa in a numb-brained haze. Now consider instead bringing out the minis and paints. Suddenly, you're immersed in your favourite gaming hobby trying to decide if your dwarven rogue would look better with fluorescent green or pink hair. A much more fun way to spend a rainy Sunday, no?

Mental health and wellbeing

Dr. Tara B. M. Smith states that: "Flow states from painting minis contribute to greater overall mental health, clearing minds and providing respite from everyday problems." We highly recommend reading Dr. Smith’s article titled Miniature Mindfulness: Finding Flow with Warhammer 40,000 Figurines.

Choosing mini paints

If improved games, more time with games and better mental health sounds good then let's get down to brass tacks.

You’ve decided you want to paint. You head to your favourite games store and my word, that’s a lot of colours. And they have strange names. Names like Imperial Navy (Blue), Ice Storm (Err… blue) and Elven Armor (Shiny blue).

But the good news is that you only need a handful of colours to start painting. There are some great starter sets out there that come with everything you need to easily get into the hobby and they come with a mini to paint too. We have starter sets from £25. They include, as well as all the things you need to start painting, an excellent how to paint guide from The Army Painter. The Army Painter also has a brilliant range of videos including ones specific to each set that guide you through painting your mini.

The Army Painter pioneered the Spray, Paint, Dip, Done method. Essentially, this means that you prime your mini, then base coat it, then finally add a quick shade wash to complete it as table ready. There are then a whole bunch of advanced techniques on top of this but the basics will give you a mini you are happy to have on your table.

We would recommend starting with a starter set and practising on some cheap minis before busting out your favourite game piece. Follow The Army Painter tutorials and you will be painting the legions of Mordor in no time. Most importantly, remember the words of Bob Ross: There are no mistakes, just happy little accidents.

As Summer gives way to Autumn and the nights start closing in, you know that Winter is Coming…

Time to crack open the paints.