All posts filed under “Uncategorized”

May 9, 2017

Episode 103: Keith in a Sportsball Cap

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First the guys get caught up on each other’s lives. Andy talks about his vintage video game Icebreaker and its innovative “Level Grid” interface, and Keith considers his options for getting a 3DO multiplayer again. Keith talks about the start of season 3 of Fargo, and they discuss the challenges of learning Bridge. And any game for that matter. Then they discuss the issues relating to system mastery in RPGs. And any game for that matter. Then they lament the news of pending cancellation of TV shows they’ve been enjoying. Then they discuss “embarrassment humor,” and the conversation turns into a comparison/contrast analysis of The Office and Parks and Rec. Keith also compares & contrasts the American show House Hunters and the British show Escape to the Country.

April 25, 2017

Episode 102: No Cookie for Old Men

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First the guys discuss the merits of various types of chocolate chip cookies. Then they talk about Andy’s book, The Empty City, and the stories within it which inspired Icehouse and the entire Looney Pyramids system. They also discuss Illimat and Tak, new board games which also started as imaginary games. Then they talk about the time travel conundrum of showing a young artist who will become successful examples of the works they will eventually create in the future. Andy talks about the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Keith talks about stories he’s written (and wants to write) for his fantasy role-playing worlds. Andy talks about time traveler characters he’d written into a couple of his earliest game design projects, back in the early 80s, and provides a breakdown of the various machines and methods time travelers use to get around, triggered by the ring used TimeRider in the new series Dimension 404. Other media topics include season 2 of Fargo, and season 1, and the entire Coen brothers filmography. Keith and Andy give their answers to the question of which Coen brothers movie they like best.

April 18, 2017

Episode 101: Ready Player 101

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First the guys talk about cats. Then they talk about playing video games, with Keith rambling on about the Mass Effect series. Then they talk about cats some more. Next, they discuss time travel shows, specifically the just-canceled Time After Time, Making History, and episode 3 of Dimension 404. Next, they talk about cats again. After that, they get into a lengthy, spoiler-filled discussion of the book, Ready Player One, followed by a spoilery discussion of the most recent episode of the Americans. Lastly, they talk about racism in fantasy worlds, with one more mention of cats.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.

April 11, 2017

Episode 100: Ducks Don’t Read

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The guys note that this is their 100th show and give their answers to a common question: what are some of your all-time favorite games that you did not design? As part of this discussion, Keith mentions an interesting new poker variant, called Hollywood Squares. Regarding work, Andy talks about Drinking Fluxx, and the new rules that make it both awesome and dangerous, and talks about finally finishing the new edition of Nanofictionary, one change to which will be a new rule for who goes first, which they discuss. When they get to media, they have a long, spoiler-filled discussion about the season 1 finale to Legion. Other topics include the Americans, The Good Place, Rick & Morty, and the 8th episode of the fan series, Star Trek Continues.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside!

March 29, 2017

Episode 98: Keith & Andy’s Precious Little Podcast

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This week Keith is finally able to reveal the details of his mysterious “Project Ex” game: It’s “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Card Game,” which will be released later this year from Renegade Games! Keith also talks about marketing plans for Illimat which leads to a discussion of GenCon and summer travel plans in general. Andy talks about the total eclipse of the sun that will be happening on August 17th, and recounts some of the events that just happened at the GAMA Trade Show. Media topics include Continuum, Last Man on Earth, Time After Time, Fargo, Legion, This Is Us, The Americans, and Powerless. They also grouse about how unrealistically Hollywood portrays poker games and sword fights. Lastly, Keith mentions a new podcast he’s going to be appearing on, called Manifest Zone.

March 21, 2017

Episode 97: The 7th Voyage of JoCo

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Keith and Andy are fresh off the boat having had a grand time on the seventh Jonathan Coulton Cruise. Topics include the new improved game room, Andy winning Andy vs Everybody, Keith playtesting his new games (Project Ex and Action Cats), Andy playtesting his newest Fluxx prototype (Space Fluxx), and of course, the onboard entertainment, with particular shout outs to Song Exploder, the What’s Your F***ing Problem panel, and Greg Benson’s Morning Show.

February 22, 2017

Episode 95: You’ve Ruined Groundhog Day!

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Keith talks about things that happened in a recent RPG he’s been playing, in which a turning point was a moment when a magical fox said something rude to him. This leads to a discussion of what people enjoy about role-playing, and in specifically what his wife Jenn likes — and doesn’t like — about role-playing. We learn that Jenn dislikes close-up magic acts. They talk about a new song by the Doubleclicks that mentioned Gloom and Fluxx, then they talk about Codenames. Media topics include Legion, Infinity Train, Tim’s Vermeer, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Powerless, and The Lego Batman Movie. Keith hints again about Project Ex, and Andy talks about his new time travel board game in the works, Time Breaker. Keith mentions his dog, Ping, and Andy talks about Dave Bondi’s doggie. Lastly Andy talks about the return of Nanofictionary and he rants about a flaw he recently observed in the classic film, Groundhog Day.

February 7, 2017

Episode 93: Too Many Dogs

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First the guys discuss more silly expressions than they can shake a stick at. Andy talks about PAX South, and Keith talks about the Alamo Drafthouse. They talk about work projects, and get into a discussion about team play in board games. Keith describes a classic game called Fury of Dracula, Andy talks about the origins of Werewolf, and Keith talks about Yahtzee and Yacht, the game Yahtzee was based on. Keith shares his thoughts on Hidden Figures, and the other types of ketchup. Then they complain about how the changing march of technology (and magic technology) doesn’t impact fictional worlds the way it does in reality. Lastly, they discuss time travel shows, including Timeless and Seven Days.

January 17, 2017

Episode 90: Robocopping

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First, Keith talks Artificers in D&D and the issues around being a world-builder whose worlds are expanded upon by other designers, who don’t always understand the core concepts of the backstory. Keith also talks about variant rules for Illimat he’s been developing, including solitaire and team play. Andy mentions having seen and loved Hidden Figures, and then gets into a long discussion about Game of Thrones, which he’s finally been starting to absorb. He’s been using a technique called Robocopping, in which a friend watches the show with you, fast-forwarding through most of it, letting you watch just the most interesting parts and summarizing the rest of it for you.

January 10, 2017

Episode 89: Call Me Ben

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Andy & Keith talk about how they spent their holidays, then they discuss various issues about running RPGs. Then they talk about movies, including La La Land, Moana, Rogue One, Backstroke of the West, and the Vader Sessions. Lastly, Andy describes in depth the Star Wars movie he’d like to see, which would be about the life story of Obi-Wan Kenobi.