The Little Metal Dog Show

A bit of a different one this time around. Recently, Chris and me got together to record our usual question and answer session (along with special guest Campfire Burning). What's normally reasonably short and sweet ended up as a marathon 90 minute recording. After some judicious edits, I got that down to an hour or so which *still* would've been too long to add to the end of an episode, so I've decided to put it out as a standalone show instead! We'll be back to normal with the next episode, but for now I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks as always for listening!

A card-driven episode! I'm joined first by Johnny O'Neal, brand manager over at Spin Master, to talk about their latest CCG Redakai. Based on a new cartoon series, it's aimed at a younger market but that doesn't mean that we're looking at a lazily thrown together license - Redakai has a design team behind it that has a fistful of Magic: The Gathering champions at the helm. Couple that with a truly innovative card system (they're 3D and lenticular!) and this could bring a whole new generation of gamers to the hobby. After that, I speak with David Sirlin, creator of one of 2010's greatest games, Yomi. With a heritage in video games - most notably 2D fighters - David has created a beat 'em up using cards and a Rock-Paper-Scissors mechanic. Sounds odd, but it's quick and brilliant.

An episode driven by our need to tell and hear stories. First of all Rory O'Connor, the man behind Rory's Story Cubes, tells me about the importance of telling a tale and how his Story Cubes came to be. While it's not the hardest game to play in the world, it's certainly speedy and entertaining, encouraging the use of your imagination. I'm also joined by author Michael Ward - his book, "Destiny Quest: The Legion of Shadow", is single handedly leading the charge of game books into the 21st Century. Forget your Fighting Fantasy, they're mere novellas in comparison to this...

Two words - Richard Garfield. The guy who single handedly started the whole Collectible Card Game genre with Magic: The Gathering. There's not many people who can say they're responsible for beginning a genre of game, but Richard can. As well as M:TG, he's also designed games like RoboRally, The Great Dalmuti, NetRunner, Vampire The Eternal Struggle... the list is huge. He's also just released his latest game, King of Tokyo, a battle of the behemoths! I ask him about pretty much everything I can (as you would, of course) and yet it still wasn't enough time to get everything out! Here's hoping I get the chance to talk with him again some day. Chris also returns this episode with answers to a stack of questions. If you want to get in touch with us, you can email us: michael@littlemetaldog.com and chris@littlemetaldog.com. Thanks to Gryphon Games for sponsoring this episode, and thanks as always to you for listening.

Two first timers join me this time around - one brand new to the industry, one riding high on the success of their premiere release. VicTim Games have just released ScrumBrawl, a fantasy based sports game - Vic Moyer, one of the founders of the company, talks about the joys of getting a game to print (and how it's even harder when it's your own). Meanwhile, W. David MacKenzie from Clever Mojo games has been there and done that, famously using Kickstarter to get Alien Frontiers in the hands of gamers worldwide. Currently overseeing the third printing of what was many people's 2010 Game of the Year, David seems to have done everything right! This is also the first episode of Little Metal Dog that sees us as members of The Dice Tower Network - for more information on all shows in the group, check out dicetower.com!

This episode sees me talking with House of Spirits designer Mark Thomas. We discuss what it's like trying to get your first game published as well as the trials and tribulations he has as a designer. I'm also joined by Chris to discuss what we're up to along with answering a few questions from listeners... This episode is brought to you in association with Eaglegames.net - Eagle Games and Gryphon Games are makers of such titles as Railways of the World, Defenders of the Realm and many other great games. If you check out their site (eaglegames.net) and use the coupon code LittleMetalDog on checkout, you can save 20% off your total order - and continental US customers get free shipping too!

Episode 20! A Euro special, but not the way you'd think. With interviews from Leonard Boyd and David Brashaw (the designers of upcoming Discworld-based game Guards! Guards!) and Gen42's John Yianni (the man behind Hive, Junkyard Racers and many more), this episode is a celebration of home-grown designing talent. Also, The Little Metal Dog Show has now been running for a whole year! There's a little thank you section at the end of this episode and I promise that next time around we'll be back to normal service. Plus we'll be 21. Perhaps an alcohol themed episode is on the cards...!

I was recently asked to tag along to the UK D&D Tweetup, held in Nottingham's rather splendid Mondo Comico store. A whole bunch of people hanging out, having a grand old time and playing D&D was too much to turn down, so I grabbed the laptop and did a bit of recording (so apologies for the slightly dodgy sound quality!). There's a chunk of the adventure I got involved in as well as quick chats with Sy, our illustrious DM, and event organiser Adam - an excellent time was had by all! I also got to speak to Sersa from SaveVersusDeath.com about the Fourthcore movement, taking Dungeons and Dragons to the limit. Cheers for listening!

It's that time again, another episode of The Little Metal Dog Show for your listening delight. This episode is back to the usual format - two interviews to check out! First of all I get to speak to lauded author James Lowder - he's been involved in gaming (particularly RPGs) for many years and is also responsible for editing the excellent "The 100 Best" books from Green Ronin Publishing. We talk about how they came to fruition and discuss some of James' favourite games (as well as get an insight into what his plans are for the future). After that, Todd Rowland from AEG joins me to talk about the juggernaut that is Thunderstone, what on earth the company are doing with Doomtown, the brilliant Legend of the Five Rings and their upcoming new hotness: Nightfall! There's also questions with Chris to round off the show as normal! You can get involved by checking out our brand new website which lives at http://littlemetaldog.com - have a look, there's a stack of reviews, features and interviews to delight and entertain! You can email us as well - we're at michael@littlemetaldog.com and chris@littlemetaldog.com. Thanks for listening!

A bit of a special episode this time around - while Chris and I do our normal thing at the end, this episode has only one interview, but it's great. I got to talk with Peter Olotka, one of the designers behind one of the greatest (and well known) games of all time, Cosmic Encounter, as well as a little hard-to-find title that goes by the name of Dune. Peter is an absolute legend in the world of gaming and first come up with the concept of CE way back in 1972 - in this extra long interview, we chat about how the game came about, how the industry has evolved in the past forty years and much more (including why Peter isn't the biggest fan of Sting...)

An internet celebrity special this time around on The Little Metal Dog Show! I'm joined this time around by two people I've been big fans of for a long time and am overjoyed to have them on this episode. First of all, Jeff Cannata from the wonderful Totally Rad Show joins me - as a new(ish) gamer, he's enjoying some incredible experiences and is spreading the word to thousands of people on TRS. His evangelism can only be eclipsed by one man and he's on the show as well... it's the one and only Scott Nicholson! Moving on from five years of producing his legendary Board Games With Scott video podcast, he's now making a new show: The Game Professor. We discuss everything from what made him stop BGWS to why so many video gamers are looking to new pastures. Chris returns from his Bridezilla taming antics to help me answer your questions - send them to littlemetaldog@gmail.com! As always, thank you for listening. Enjoy the show!

Another pair of splendid interviews from Michael Fox's Little Metal Dog studio. Beginning with Mark Kaufman, one of the co-founders of Days of Wonder (producers of Ticket to Ride, Memoir '44 and much more), they talk about the history of the company, what they're looking to do in the future as technology invades the world of board games, and -of course - discuss the upcoming Cargo Noir. This is followed by the return to the show of Daniel Solis, designer of abstracts and one of the most eloquent speakers on gaming. Is designing via crowdsourcing a viable proposition? Daniel will tell you! Enjoy the show and (if you fancy it) check out the blog over at http://littlemetaldog.wordpress.com - cheers for listening!

The first show of 2011 begins with host Michael Fox and Chris K from dicehateme.com discussing the best of what's to come in gaming in the new year - it certainly seems like there'll be a lot of good stuff to look forward to over the next twelve months! Michael also talks to North Star Games' very own Dominic Crapuchettes about how the company came to be, what they're up to at the moment and what they plan for the future (as well as talking about how a small independent games designer can defeat the glamour of Hollywood!)...

The final show of 2010 has a trio of interviews - first up it's Leigh Anderson, the author of a new book called The Games Bible. We talk about social gaming (which is pretty much perfect for this time of year) and how the idea for it came about. After that, there's a discussion with Kevin Tostado, the writer and director of the brilliant new documentary Under The Boardwalk. The film tells the story of Monopoly, a game which divides the playing community, as well as looking at the road to the 2009 World Championships. Finally, I speak to Holly Gramazio from Hide and Seek about her company's newly released Boardgame Remix Kit. From new rulesets to mashups of classics, the BGR is entertaining as well as packed with brilliant ideas. Also, as usual, there's questions with Chris (who has some very good news)! Don't forget that if you want to get in touch with the show, the email address is littlemetaldog@gmail.com. Thanks for listening and have a great festive season!

Another episode of everyone's favourite (well, some people's) game show! On this episode, I speak with two Stephens - the first one is Steve Buckmaster from Esdevium Games, the UK's biggest distributor. We discuss the UK industry's year and discuss how it may fare in the next 12 months. After that, there's an indepth talk with Stephen Buonocore from Stronghold Games in the US. We cover what it's like for a new company starting up in these austere times, their current plans and their forthcoming release schedule. Finally, as always, Chris and I tackle your questions!