This week the nerds talk about the number nine. They have at least nine thoughts about it. Andy has elaborate ideas for what he would do if he suddenly got the job of writing Star Wars Episode 9, then Keith tosses out his own ideas for how to finish the trilogy of Star Wars trilogies. Moving on to other media, Keith talks about a new show called Homecoming, and Andy gives his reactions to season 2 of Babylon 5, which they compare with Deep Space 9.
SPOILER WARNING: INCLUDES VINTAGE SPOILERS
Andy just got back from Burning Man so he spends a lot of this episode talking about his experiences there this year. He ran a lot of games at his camp, which hosts a game convention called RaiderCon, and had a great breakthrough while playtesting his new game, Are You a Robot?. Meanwhile, Keith just returned from DragonCon and interjects with stories from his weekend, where he played a lot of great games of Illimat and learned about Druid Law from Ken Hite. Andy describes a couple of the most intense Burning Man art projects he experienced, including a crazy stack of seven junked cars and a recreation of the Great Train Wreck. Other topics they discuss along the way include the works of Doug Michels, the future of Star Trek, Ed Harris in westerns and some spoilery theories about the next Avengers movie.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
First Keith talks about being in Ithaca again to help his mother, and Andy talks about the recent passing of his father. Then Andy talks about his plans for Burning Man, which leads to a discussion of robots. Andy reports on his progress with the design of ChronoTrek, and Keith talks about Action Pups! They discuss some media, including Humans, Making It, and Nailed It. Andy talks about Jenny Nicholson’s ideas for naming horses, the Renwick Gallery’s Burning Man exhibit, and gives more thoughtful answers to the favorite and least favorite aliens.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
First Keith reports on a couple of D&D games in the middle of playing, which included a scene with a fancy dance involving daggers. Then Keith talks about several podcasts he listened to recently, and some of the issues discussed thereon. The guys then talk more about their experiences at GenCon. Andy talks about awarding Homeworlds medal #17, and describes new ideas he’s been playing around with for a variation of the game that has no combat and a different end condition. Keith talks about Potion Explosion, Root, Arkham Horror, and the how difficult it is to walk the enormous exhibit hall when you’re busy running a booth. They talk about the meaning of name Delos, and Andy talks about an RPG called TimeWatch. Keith talks about media he’s been catching up on, including Cloak & Dagger, Castle Rock, and Making It. Kristin interrupts to bring Andy the first samples from the factory of Fairy Tale Fluxx and Mary Engelbreit Loonacy, and talks about the progress he’s been making on the Star Trek version of Chrononauts he’s currently designing.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
This episode was recorded during Gen Con at a Giordano’s pizza place. First Andy shows Keith his prototype-in-progress for a new version of Chrononauts based on the historical events of the Star Trek universe. Keith talks about playing backgammon at a family reunion, then they get into discussing what they’ve been doing at Gen Con. Keith talks about why he had two booths, and describes the four Writer’s Symposium panels he was on. This leads to a discussion of their favorite, and least favorite, alien races. Andy talks about running his newest Parsely game, Ducks on a Plane, then they play a couple of rounds of Andy’s newest social deduction game, Are You a Robot?. Lastly, the pizza arrives, and the guys have to stop talking so they can eat!
Andy and Keith start with a lot of non-spoilery discussions about Westworld, with small mentions of The Americans, Legion, Fahrenheit 451, and Into the Badlands. Then they discuss the Transformers at some length, and a few other things include The Crossing, watching movies on airplanes, and ducks. Andy talks about work stuff, having just finished up work on the last of 10 new products SKUs Looney Labs will be releasing at the end of the summer. Keith mentions work stuff he can’t talk about, and instead talks about growing peas and cucumbers in his garden. Andy talks about visiting his dad, who’s health is continuing to decline. Then they talk about seeing Fluxx and Gloom sold side by side in faraway game stores, which gets Keith talking about some new ideas he’s been having for Gloom. Lastly, after lowering the spoiler curtain, they discuss the penultimate episode of season 2 of Westworld.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
First the guys catch up on the stuff they’re each working on. Keith tells a story about a questionable decision by a tombstone manufacturer, and asks philosophical questions about sci-fi scenarios involving robots. Moving on to media, the guys discuss Legion, Better Call Saul, the Last Man on Earth, Dunkirk, the Greatest Showman, and Westworld.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
Andy complains about the expression “Pulling the trigger,” which leads to a discussion of the stun setting on guns in Star Wars. Then Andy talks about a great new way of preparing S’mores he just developed. Next, Andy talks about hammering out a design for Deep Space Nine Fluxx, now that the first two Star Trek Fluxxes are about to go to the printer. They discuss Star Trek for awhile, then move on to the Expanse, Westworld, Counterpart, Orphan Black, and lastly, the Avengers. Mostly these are high-level, non-spoilery discussions.
First Keith reports on how things are going with his current D&D campaign, and describes a really cool player involvement technique he’s been using. Andy reports on the status of the development of the Star Trek Fluxxes, and talks about his father’s declining health. Then they talk about Infinity War, for like, forever. They also discuss Westworld.
SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
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