Tabletop Game Talk

Chris and Fletcher go it alone this week and they talk about game balance as it pertains to three kinds of games, 2 player dueling, competitive multiplayer, and co-op games.  And eventually they fall into a discussion as to whether balance and difficulty can really be separated at all. If you want to enter our 2021 giveaway, details are below. And if you're a winner this is the current list of games you get to pick from (more will be added throughout the year): Krosmaster Quest, Arkhanos, Catalyst, Quest: Time of Heroes, Blood Bowl (base game), Card Rogue, High Heavens, Room-25, Stop Thief, Imhotep, Clank!, Clank in Space, Arkham Horror 3rd ed, Between Two Castles, The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet & The Captain is Dead: Lockdown, Arabian Nights, Celestia, Mage Knight (base game), Dice City, Adrenaline, Crusaders: Thy will be done, Forum Trajanum, Clash of Rage, SmashUp: The Big Geeky Box (and a lot of expansions), Dire Wild, Firefly Adventures, Reef, Arena of the Gods, Munchkin Gloom, The Legand of the Cherry Tree, Squarriors: The Card Game, Renegade, Arkham Horror: Final Hour, and Steam Rollers 2021 Giveaway Rules (subject to change at anytime for any reason) Email anytime during the year will give you 1 entry for the rest of the year. Active patrons during the drawing will get entries based on their pledge level. Winner must email within 2 weeks to claim their game(s) and work out shipping, failure to do this will trigger a new drawing for that prize.  (In this case, the person will still be eligible for future drawings.) You may only win once in 2021 for this giveaway.  (If we do unrelated giveaways, you will still be eligible to win those.) Winner will pick from the current list of games, new games will be added over the year. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This is our first, monthly, role playing game episode.  Not our first role playing game episode in general, just the first where we make it a regular thing on the first Tuesday of each month.  Anyway... In this episode we talk about common misconceptions about RPGs.  Are they evil?  Hard to play and learn?  Do you have to be a good actor or story teller?  And other miscellaneous stuff.   We also announce our next 2021 game giveaway winner! And if you're a winner this is the current list of games you get to pick from (more will be added throughout the year): Krosmaster Quest, Arkhanos, Catalyst, Quest: Time of Heroes, Blood Bowl (base game), Card Rogue, High Heavens, Room-25, Stop Thief, Imhotep, Clank!, Clank in Space, Arkham Horror 3rd ed, Between Two Castles, The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet & The Captain is Dead: Lockdown, Arabian Nights, Celestia, Mage Knight (base game), Dice City, Adrenaline, Crusaders: Thy will be done, Forum Trajanum, Clash of Rage, SmashUp: The Big Geeky Box (and a lot of expansions), Dire Wild, Firefly Adventures, Reef, Arena of the Gods, Munchkin Gloom, The Legand of the Cherry Tree, Squarriors: The Card Game, Renegade, Arkham Horror: Final Hour, and Steam Rollers 2021 Giveaway Rules (subject to change at anytime for any reason) Email anytime during the year will give you 1 entry for the rest of the year. Active patrons during the drawing will get entries based on their pledge level. Winner must email within 2 weeks to claim their game(s) and work out shipping, failure to do this will trigger a new drawing for that prize.  (In this case, the person will still be eligible for future drawings.) You may only win once in 2021 for this giveaway.  (If we do unrelated giveaways, you will still be eligible to win those.) Winner will pick from the current list of games, new games will be added over the year. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we have a new logo!  And we talk about Magic the Gathering.  The basics anyway and how you can try the game without spending much (if any) money. If you want to enter our 2021 giveaway, details are below. And if you're a winner this is the current list of games you get to pick from (more will be added throughout the year): Krosmaster Quest, Arkhanos, Catalyst, Quest: Time of Heroes, Blood Bowl (base game), Card Rogue, High Heavens, Room-25, Stop Thief, Imhotep, Clank!, Clank in Space, Arkham Horror 3rd ed, Between Two Castles, The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet & The Captain is Dead: Lockdown, Arabian Nights, Celestia, Mage Knight (base game), Dice City, Adrenaline, Crusaders: Thy will be done, Forum Trajanum, Clash of Rage, SmashUp: The Big Geeky Box (and a lot of expansions), Dire Wild, Firefly Adventures, Reef, Arena of the Gods, Munchkin Gloom, The Legand of the Cherry Tree, Squarriors: The Card Game, Renegade, Arkham Horror: Final Hour, and Steam Rollers   2021 Giveaway Rules (subject to change at anytime for any reason) Email anytime during the year will give you 1 entry for the rest of the year. Active patrons during the drawing will get entries based on their pledge level. Winner must email within 2 weeks to claim their game(s) and work out shipping, failure to do this will trigger a new drawing for that prize.  (In this case, the person will still be eligible for future drawings.) You may only win once in 2021 for this giveaway.  (If we do unrelated giveaways, you will still be eligible to win those.) Winner will pick from the current list of games, new games will be added over the year. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we reminisce about what conventions used to be, what we miss about them, and what our dream convention would be (those get pretty dreamy).  We also make some announcements including our first winner of our ongoing 2021 giveaways!   If you're a winner this is the current list of games you get to pick from (more will be added throughout the year): Krosmaster Quest, Arkhanos, Catalyst, Quest: Time of Heroes, Blood Bowl (base game), Card Rogue, High Heavens, Room-25, Stop Thief, Imhotep, Clank!, Clank in Space, Arkham Horror 3rd ed, Between Two Castles, Anceint World, The Captain is Dead: Dangerous Planet & The Captain is Dead: Lockdown, Arabian Nights, Celestia, Mage Knight (base game), Dice City, Adrenaline, Crusaders: Thy will be done, Forum Trajanum, Clash of Rage, Gentes, SmashUp: The Big Geeky Box (and a lot of expansions), Dire Wild, Firefly Adventures, Dresden Files: coop Card Game (and expansions), Reef, Arena of the Gods, Munchkin Gloom, The Legand of the Cherry Tree, Squarriors: The Card Game, Renegade, Arkham Horror: Final Hour, Steam Rollers   2021 Giveaway Rules (subject to change at anytime for any reason) Email anytime during the year will give you 1 entry for the rest of the year. Active patrons during the drawing will get entries based on their pledge level. Winner must email within 2 weeks to claim their game(s) and work out shipping, failure to do this will trigger a new drawing for that prize.  (In this case, the person will still be eligible for future drawings.) You may only win once in 2021 for this giveaway.  (If we do unrelated giveaways, you will still be eligible to win those.) Winner will pick from the current list of games, new games will be added over the year. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we talk about how hard Spirit Island is.  And the difficulty of other games as well.  Where should the difficulty of CoOp games sit?  Is too hard bad, how about too easy?  Is there such a thing as a sweet spot for all of them?  No.  but we wish there was... Oh, and some people really like stats: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1591774/statistics-2000-games-pandemic Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we talk about box inserts.  The good, the bad, and the worst.  Why should we all just throw them out?  Chris tries to answer that (except for one kind that he doesn't know the name of but really likes). Oh, and we announce that we'll be getting a new logo soon (updated artwork) as well as new giveaways for 2021. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we look forward to 2021, and seem to be the only podcast that decided to put out an episode this week!  (ok, that's probably not true, but it feels like it's true)  In any case, we briefly sum up 2020 and then talk about all the cool things we hope for in 2021.  From kids to conventions, weddings to games, and a whole lot more. If you want to bring in the new year with the destruction of the Death Star, start your Disney plus version of Star Wars: A New Hope at 10:02 and 43 seconds New Year's Eve night.  (That'll make sense once you've listen to the start of the episode.) Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we look back at the Kickstarters we backed in 2020.  Or more accurately Kitty and Chris do and Fletcher tells us why he doesn't use Kickstarter.  We also start talking about some Christmas traditions and end with a debate on D&D alignments. If you want to bring in the new year with the destruction of the Death Star, start your Disney plus version of Star Wars: A New Hope at 10:02 and 43 seconds New Year's Eve night.  (That'll make sense once you've listen to the start of the episode.) You can see all the drawings for the contest entries here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t5ysdeCr9rLXZxjRqxPdd_nh7ANRCyt2neNZaFVxiGo/edit?usp=sharing Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week, inspired by The Queens Gambit (on Netflix) we talk about Chess.  Everything you ever wanted to know, except maybe chess rankings, we just forgot to talk about those.  But everything else, we talk about.  It's crazy entertaining to learn about Chess... no really! And we also announce who won our gift card giveaway! You can see all the pictures here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t5ysdeCr9rLXZxjRqxPdd_nh7ANRCyt2neNZaFVxiGo/edit?usp=sharing Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

The first rule about 2020 is that you shall not talk about 2020... or at least that's what it seems.  Monday night Kitty's audio recorder corrupted her audio (and Chris didn't have a backup recording) so we had to re-record on Tuesday night.  Tuesday night Fletcher's audio was all static for the first 20 minutes (but this time Chris learned from Monday and had a backup recording, but it's not as good as the primary recording).  So Fletcher is going to sound a bit distance after the intro and until about 20 minutes in. But once we got all the audio stuff figured out (you'd think we'd be good at that by now), we do finally talk about the 2020 games that we've played or are interested in. Last reminder: On Dec 14th (all entries must be in by the 13th) we'll be drawing a name to win a $250 gift card.  You can get entries in the following ways: Patrons automatically get entries equal to the $ level they pledge at. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and email us with your iTunes name for 10 entries. Email us and just say you want to enter will give you at least 1 entry (maybe more depending on the email). Play the game at the end of the episode (the last minute) and send us your result will also get you 10 entries. Good luck! Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

(Audio Note: Fletcher's audio is bad in his intro, but only the intro - we promise it sounds find later on.) This week we talk about how games end and what we like or dislike about those endings.  What is your favorite way for a game to end?  Have you given it any thought?  After this episode you will... On Dec 14th (all entries must be in by the 13th) we'll be drawing a name to win a $250 gift card.  You can get entries in the following ways: Patrons automatically get entries equal to the $ level they pledge at. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and email us with your iTunes name for 10 entries. Email us and just say you want to enter will give you at least 1 entry (maybe more depending on the email). Play the game at the end of the episode (the last minute) and send us your result will also get you 10 entries. Good luck! Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we try and talk about gaming over the holidays with the pandemic in mind.  And we do that, a bit, but we also have a few tangents here and there.  We may have scheduled a D&D session (Chris isn't sure).  We play a bit of heads up.  And at the every end we give you homework.  But doing that homework gets you entered into our holiday giveaway! On Dec 14th (all entries must be in by the 13th) we'll be drawing a name to win a $250 gift card.  You can get entries in the following ways: Patrons automatically get entries equal to the $ level they pledge at. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast and email us with your iTunes name for 10 entries. Email us and just say you want to enter will give you at least 1 entry (maybe more depending on the email). Play the game at the end of the episode (the last minute) and send us your result will also get you 10 entries. Good luck! Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we're a day late, but maybe not really since this will still be Tuesday (in the US) when it finally goes out... but late Tuesday.  Anyway...this week we talk about games that have inspired us to do things outside of the game.  And we talk about litter boxes.  And D&D.  And there's a surprise give-a-way too. The link all about the book House of Leaves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves   Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we are NOT talking about the size of the box.  No no, we're talking about the SIDE of it.  Ok, we're really not talking about that either.  What we're really talking about is the info the publisher puts on the box (often the side) for player count, time and age.  What's up with that and why is it almost never right? Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon

This week we talk about creating characters in role playing games.  We also talk about playing role playing games, and to bring it full circle we talk about character death.  This one is a bit long, but we were having so much fun talking about this subject, Chris couldn't bring himself to cutting it any shorter. Go to http://TabletopGameTalk.com/live to learn how to be part of our live audience. Follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/TabletopGameTLK http://twitter.com/GameMasterChris http://twitter.com/LawfulGoodMom http://twitter.com/NetFletch or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TabletopGameTalkPodcast Chris's facebook (let him know you're a listener in the friend request): https://www.facebook.com/steele22374 Join the conversation on Board Game Geek http://TabletopGameTalk.com/bgg Support us via Patreon http://TabletopGameTalk.com/Patreon