Tabletop Game Talk

This week we talk about burnout, game burnout that is.  But first... Off Topic We start out talking about our current giveaway and our upcoming episode 50.  Send us your questions for extra entries.  Enter at TabletopGameTalk@gmail.com with subject "July Giveaway". Chris then talks about Kickstarters, Action Cats, Founders of Gloomhaven, and Crusaders. We get some feedback from Kitty and Steven then we go on topic. On Topic Lots of input from the listeners, thanks Sam, Christy, Caleb, Michael, Steven, Terrance, and Todd. We talk a about burnout and it's opposite that we finally call addiction.  Turns out there are a ton of games we are burned out on, but there are also a bunch we can't see burning out on.  Hmmm...

This week we talk word games with Gloria.  And Letter games which Chris doesn't care for at all.  But first... Off Topic Lots of talk about Dice Tower Con and our giveaway.  We're giving away Plague Inc and Arena For The Gods.  Email us to enter with the subject "July Giveaway" On Topic Eventually we get on topic and talk about Scrabble and other spelling games.  We also talk about some word games and how they differ.

This week we take the 4th of July into consideration and talk about yard and picnic games.  But first... Off Topic Chris is off to DiceTowerCon with Sydnie this week.  If you're in Orlando, give him a tweet @GameMasterChris. We're starting our newest giveaway, but the prize is TBD based on what Chris finds in Orlando.  In the mean time you can email your entry to TabletopGameTalk@gmail.com with the subject "July Giveaway" to enter. No new Kickstarters for Chris, but we do have feedback form Aaron and Steve on previous episodes. On Topic We spend a fare amount of time talk about traditional yard games and a lot of time reminiscing about these games.  Eventually we do get around to a few tabletop games that would transition fairly well to the outdoors though.

This week we talk about game demos and what we can learn from them.  But first... Off Topic Chris is back into the Kickstarter swing with Triplock, Gruff: Rage of Trolls, Bio-Logic, Rise of Tribes, and The Component Collector. We then get some feedback from Sydnie, Christy, and Sam to talk about. On Topic We start off thinking about game demos and if they are useful for learning games at home.  This quickly turns into a discussion about games that kind of do this already by having "first game" versions of the rules.  We end talking about some of the games we demoed at Origins last week.  

Gruff is cool!  And today I talk with Brent Critchfield, the designer, all about it.  Oh, and he has a Kickstarter going for the 2nd expansion which adds solo and co-op play, you can find that here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/31839895/gruff-rage-of-the-trolls or here http://www.studiowoe.com Basically Gruff is a game of battling goats guided by unique shepherds.  You pick a … Continue reading SC 010: Gruff →

Our first live show!  Origins 2017.   We go on topic in record time and talk about a ton of games we played, including... Century: Spice Road Barenpark Werewords Ren Fair Pengoloo Shahrazad The Lost Expedition Masters of Orion Wichhunt and more...    

This week we talk about bringing gaming ideas into our normal lives, and just a bit of educational games as well. Off Topic Come watch us live at Origins this week.  Friday June 16th, at 6:00pm in Room A215. Some Kickstarters to check out: Lords of Hellas https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/awakenrealms/lords-of-hellas Deception: Undercover Allies https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/152730994/deception-undercover-allies-0 Bio-Logic  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gaiagamestudios/bio-logic-microscopic-domination-inside-the-human And a couple quick questions this week from Sam (on what is "mass market" and "variants introduced by expansions") and Steven (on how to start going to Cons). On Topic We start out talking about Gamification in fitness (AppleWatch and FitBits).  And then there's a bit about apps that try to gamify tasks lists.  We then go into gamifying games with the goal of education which leads Chris to add a show on educational games to the future lineup. Follow us on Twitter @TabletopGameTalk & @GamemasterChris Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast And check out our patreon page at TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon  

Today I talk with Suzanne and Stephanie about Roll20CON happening June 24-25, 2017. Roll20.net is one of the leading online role-playing platforms and Roll20CON is their annual (this is the 2nd annual to be precise) convention to raise money to combat cyber bulling via the Cybersmile charity.  Go to Roll20CON.net now to sign up to run … Continue reading SC 009: Roll20CON →

This is episode 42, but does not contain any answers to the universe.  What it does contain is talk about house rules and changing up your game to suit your play style. Off Topic We have an origins day and time!  Friday June 16th at 6:00pm in room A215.  We'll be recording our first ever live episode.  Join us if you're in Columbus (at Origins). On Topic We talk about Monopoly, more than we should, but it was fun none-the-less.  We then talk Gloomhaven, Too Many Bones, and Werewolf (among others) variant rules.

This week we talk about bringing new people into the hobby.  From the types of games to use to the kinds of places to do it.  Josh wasn't able to be part of this show so we brought in Spencer and Sydnie to take his place.

This week we look at the rules.  Well rulebooks anyway.  What we like, dislike, and the various ways different publishers/designers approach writing rulebooks. Off Topic This is week two of our Mechs vs. Minions giveaway! We're still working on finding out our Origins time, holding out hope that all works out.  GenCon is official and Friday Aug 18th at 6:00pm. Kickstarters! Take the Gold: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cardlords/take-the-gold?ref=user_menu Sine Tempore: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lmstudio/sine-tempore?ref=user_menu We then get to some feedback from Thom, Steven, Micheal, Steve, and Christy. Finally a quick question on mobile game recommendations. On Topic We start off talking about a game that doesn't have a rulebook at all. We then look at the two rulebook format as well as the traditional one book format. We talk about what we (and you) like and don't like in your rulebooks.  We even get into a bit of real world rulebook review and writing activities.  

This week we talk about traveling with games. Off Topic We announce a new giveaway: Mechs vs. Minions! Then we talk briefly about the Bang lawsuit, there's more about that here: http://www.strebecklaw.com/court-rules-favor-cloned-tabletop-game-no-protection-us-copyright-law/ Next a big about Villages of Valeria vs. Lords of Waterdeep and then on to Kickstarters! Path of Light and Shadow: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2012515236/path-of-light-and-shadow Diceborn Heros: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/945679346/diceborn-heroes-a-co-op-dice-adventure-game Hardwood Dice Towers: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rwgdesign/hardwood-dice-towers-dice-storage-and-rollers-dand Here is the link to his twitch channel: http://www.twitch.tv/munchkinmetropolis We then get into some feedback and finally a quick question on starting a game collection. On Topic We got a ton of feedback on our boardgamegeek forum: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1777689/input-ep-39-traveling-games We talk games that are good for travel, those that start in small boxes (anything Tiny Epic and most social deduction games).  We also talk about game footprint considerations and repacking bigger games.  Oh and we even touch on airport security.  

In this episode I talk with JT, one of the founders of TheGameCrafter.com.  This site is even cooler than I thought and it keeps getting better. We briefly start with the history of the site but then jump right into all the options you have when designing games.  Laser cut custom shapes…I need not say … Continue reading SC 008 Interview: JT with The Game Crafter →

This week Spencer joins us (Josh is out of town) to talk about trick taking games. Off Topic First we get some feedback about past episodes including a comment about what "random" is in games that turns into an interesting debate.  We then get a quick question on game knock offs and how we feel about them. On Topic Spades, Hearts, Euchre, Moons, and Nyet!  All trick taking games.  We look at what makes them unique, fun or not fun (depending on your point of view) and what's different in the newer generation of trick taking games.

This episode we talk upgrades, enhancements, storage and more.  We talk about tricking your games out.  And thanks to Christy we cover all kinds of options. Off Topic First we get some feedback and answer the question, what is our favorite game mechanic? On Topic Chris gets lazy and just uses all of Christy's work (because it was awesome) as the show outline.  You can check out all her research, and others, at http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg - just take a look a the Ep 37 thread.