This episode was recorded when Keith and Andy were together for a change, since Andy is in Portland for the Gamestorm convention. They went to see Ready Player One together and spend most of this episode discussing the movie. They also talk slightly about the start of the new seasons of Legion and the Americans.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
After some yammering, the guys talk about new products they are about to release. Keith has an expansion pack for Action Cats! coming out for Tabletop Day, and Andy is releasing Get the MacGuffin and Anatomy Fluxx this week. Andy talks about AwesomeCon and how well the first ever Get the MacGuffin tournaments worked out. Keith has more to say about Ready Player One, having read the book again in preparation for seeing the movie, and they discuss some of the basic issues they have with the entire premise, from a world builder’s perspective. Keith compares and contrasts it with a book called Anno Dracula. Then they get into answering a listener’s question about how much you need to know about the history of an art form in order to become a creator, leading to discussions of how inventors build upon earlier works, issues that come up when working with someone else’s intellectual property, and when you need to consult with an expert on specific subject matter. They discuss their collaboration on Cthulhu Fluxx at some length. Lastly they talk about Timeless, and the challenges of creating a compelling time travel show.
Andy talks about the upcoming release of Get the MacGuffin and plans for running “raffle tournaments” to promote it at AwesomeCon and GameStorm. Keith talks about how both his and Andy’s games tend to be lighter, on the party end of the game design spectrum, and thus not usually well-suited for tournaments. Keith tells Andy about Hackfort, and about the JUMP Center in Boise at which the Treefort music festival was held. They talk about upcoming movies they haven’t yet seen, and Keith reports on the latest session of the D&D campaign he’s running. Andy talks about telling jokes during a job interview. Media discussions include Travelers, Counterpart, and the fact that there are just too many shows. Lastly they discuss Ready Player One, the book, in anticipation of the movie debut.
Keith just got back from England and talks about an unusual clock he saw there called the Chronophage. Meanwhile Andy just got back from Reno and talks about the GAMA Trade Show. It was held at the Peppermill casino, which Andy really liked, if for no other reason than the giant video screens they have everywhere. Andy talks about how excited everyone is about his new game, Get the MacGuffin, which goes on sale April 5th. Regarding media, they talk about David Letterman’s new show, Justice League, Three Billboards, and various others. Andy talks about seeing Weird Al and Emo Philips in concert, and Keith talks about how to destroy and reset the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lastly, they discuss the first episode of the new season of Timeless.
SPOTLER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
First the guys discuss their upcoming travel plans. Then Keith talks about watching the Oscars with his custom bingo cards, and they discuss the movie previews that were shown before Black Panther. They debate the question of whether Groundhog Day is science-fiction or fantasy, and discuss various genre definitions. Lastly they discuss Black Panther in detail.
SPOILER WARNING : CONTAINS SPOILERS
Keith just got back from this year’s JoCo Cruise and spends most of this episode telling Andy all about it. Meanwhile, Andy was at Toy Fair and talks about that a bit. They also talk for awhile about the challenge of writing the rules for a game, such that they won’t lead to incorrect interpretations and yet won’t be too overwhelming. Regarding media, they talk slightly about Counterpart, Travelers, and Star Trek Discovery.
First Andy talks about the recently announced plans for Star Trek Fluxxes, and talks about the name he finally came up with for his 31st pyramid game, Nomids. Then Andy gets heavy and talks about his current struggles with his aging father who’s becoming increasingly forgetful. Next they talk work and about some of the challenges they each face as entrepreneurs in an overly saturated marketplace. Lastly, they spend a lot of time discussing the season finale of Star Trek Discovery.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
First Keith reports on his recent trip to his hometown of Ithaca NY. Andy mentions that this year’s Burning Man theme is “I, Robot” and Keith tells Andy about a new game being designed by friends of his called Inhuman Conditions, which is about trying to determine if your opponent is a robot or a human. Then they talk about tattoos people have gotten featuring images from their games. Andy tells Keith about a memorable hand of Action Cats! Then they spend more than half the show talking about Star Trek: Discovery, which Keith has finally gotten caught up on.
First Keith talks about how things went in the first session of his new D&D campaign, and about a D&D event he just returned from called Level Eater 8. Keith mentions a couple who went looking for a dog they could call Kevin. Andy mourns the passing of Joe Frank, recommends a book by Roz Chast called Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, and asks if Keith has thought about going to Burning Man. Keith tells a morbid story, then they get into a big discussion about Star Trek Discovery, including some minor spoilers. Behind the spoiler curtain they also discuss The Good Place, Electric Dreams, and Black Mirror.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers inside.
First Keith talks about a new D&D campaign he’s starting up, which he’s going to be running “sandbox-style,” and Andy mentions At Your Service, a book of sandbox-style adventures Keith wrote for the Over The Edge RPG system. Andy talks about sending Get the MacGuffin and Anatomy Fluxx off to the printer, and Keith talks about the Action Cats! expansion for which Andy submitted a new photo. Then Andy follows-up on the story he told last week about a mysterious cat that showed up on his doorstep. Andy also announces the pending release of Russian Star Wars Fluxx. This inevitably leads to another round of Star Wars discussions, followed by some talk about Star Trek, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, 24, and the endings of TV series in general. Lastly, behind the spoiler curtain, they discuss several episodes of Electric Dreams.
SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers Inside!