Critical Hit celebrates its 4th anniversary! 🥳

We’re a little late in celebrating it, but Critical Hit has officially turned 4 years old! The anniversary was on January 12th, but at the time we had quite a few other announcements to make, such as articles on Gaslands, Konflikt’47, and more. So we’re taking advantage of this quieter period to finally blow out that extra candle and, of course, take a look back!

So, how did Critical Hit’s fourth year go?

As smooth as it gets. The site keeps growing: 261 articles to date (French and English combined). Our team of 7 writers allows us to consistently and thoroughly cover 8 tabletop miniature games: Star Wars Legion, A Song of Ice and Fire, Bolt Action, Konflikt’47, Gaslands, Marvel Crisis Protocol, Malifaux, and Guild Ball. Combined with the site’s availability in two languages, it’s only natural that our readership keeps increasing year after year:

But attracting readers isn’t enough to build a great content website. Retention is just as crucial. In other words, does our content truly resonate with them? Do they want to explore more articles after their first visit? The answer is yes! In 2025, each visitor viewed an average of three pages—a clear sign that our editorial direction is on the right track. Phew!

Fortunately, because our initial bet was a risky one: skipping breaking news and latest releases to focus solely on evergreen content. Personally, I’ve always seen news as a bit of a “trap” content type: it’s easy to write and draws in a lot of readers. But in the end, it’s just a flash in the pan, both for the writer and the reader. Once the hype fades, neither has truly progressed in their miniature gaming journey.

So rather than chasing short-lived trends, we focus on in-depth articles that are useful for both newcomers and experienced players. Because ultimately, I believe we’re all looking for an enjoyable wargaming site: a friendly hub where you can always discover something cool, tutorials or guides to improve, something that brings back the feeling of those hobby magazines we used to flip through together in the playground.

The impact of Critical Hit on player communities

Beyond offering in-depth content about your favorite miniature games, Critical Hit also points you toward Discord communities related to the games we cover. Because talking is great, but taking action matters too. The goal is simple: help you find people to play with. To give you the opportunity to fully enjoy these games without ever running out of opponents.

But does Critical Hit actually achieve this? What impact did it have on communities in 2025? To measure this, we tracked the number of clicks on the Discord buttons shared across the site. In other words, how many times were the Join the Discord group buttons clicked? We assumed that 1 click = 1 player redirected to the community (even if, admittedly, that’s not always the case in reality).

In total in 2025, there were 926 clicks across 34 Discord communities.

Here is the top 12 ranking:

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Looking back at this fourth year, author by author

Maurice’s recap: Bolt Action and beyond

Maurice: This year marked a major milestone for me: writing for a blog followed by thousands of readers each month. Naturally, my priority was to introduce you to Bolt Action and to create a comprehensive beginner’s guide.

Working within this editorial team is a real pleasure, especially thanks to Jack’s work as editor-in-chief. He provides outstanding support, showing great teaching skills when sharing the keys to effective SEO or patiently answering my beginner questions.

I also really enjoyed branching out into different topics: I covered speed painting, the budget required for miniature wargaming, and even Team Yankee World War III. Even though the latter remains a more niche game and those articles reached a more targeted audience, I truly enjoyed writing them.

In 2026, I fully intend to continue covering the Bolt Action range. I already have several ideas in mind for the coming months. Even though maintaining a pace of one article per month is quite a challenge, it’s a commitment I want to stick to. I’ll also be opening up coverage on Bolt Action’s “rebellious little brother,” Konflikt’47!

I hope that, on your side, dear readers, my content will continue to interest you and support you in your gaming sessions!

McKenna’s recap: a quarter of discovery

McKenna: Three months, three articles—but above all, great encounters! Being part of the Critical Hit team is an important step that pushes me out of my comfort zone. Sharing with you a passion I’ve nurtured for nearly 40 years is a true pleasure.

Ironically, I initially approached Jack to write about Star Wars: Legion. After reading my introduction, he instead guided me toward games that weren’t yet in the spotlight, such as Gaslands, which I now fully cover, or X-Wing, my latest piece. This has led me to reconnect with two areas I had long neglected: writing and photography.

Being a writer has also given me a great opportunity to connect with other enthusiasts like us. I’ve met kind and supportive people such as NorCal, Jérôme des Lutins, and even my next collaborator, who will contribute to my upcoming article on terrain in Gaslands.

2026 will also be a year of discovery, with more niche games that I’m excited to explore alongside you.

Jack’s recap: a rich but demanding year

Jack Brussell: 2025 was, for me, the year I invested the most in Crirical Hit. Of course, there was writing, but also site architecture and design, recruitment management, editorial direction, and the publication schedule. It was a lot of work, but absolutely worth it.

Today, I genuinely enjoy reading this blog, especially thanks to the team. I’d particularly like to tip my hat to Maurice, who accomplished a tremendous amount of work in just half a year!

During this fourth year of Critical Hit, I also had to step away from writing about Star Wars: Legion. Since I was no longer actively playing it—or at least not enough—I no longer felt legitimate leading that section. My current lifestyle naturally draws me toward faster games with more stable rulesets, such as Warhammer Underworlds, a game I’m very fond of.

Finally, this fourth year of Critical Hit was also marked by a partnership with Maxi Rêves, which is both rewarding and a clear sign of genuine interest in Critical Hit’s potential to bring people together, inform, and guide them.

Acknowledgements

The team would like to thank Mathieu from Maxi Rêves, everyone who contributed in any way to the creation of our articles, and of course, our readers for their support. We promise to keep delivering relevant and diverse content for Critical Hit’s fifth year!

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