All posts filed under “Parsely

Episode 202: The Adventure Place

This week the word is Adventure. The nerds talk about the definition of adventure and early computer games by that name. Keith talks about his progress on his Adventure Zone game, and Andy talks about converting the cardframes for older versions of Fluxx to the newer standard. A lengthy (and spoilery) discussion of Ken Grimwood’s book Replay then follows. Other topics include upcoming media, weird videos on the internet, and games by fast food restaurants. Lastly, they lower the spoiler curtain to discuss the first couple of episodes of season 4 of The Good Place.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 200: The Bison & Tennille

This week the word is Bicentennial. The nerds reflect on having recorded 200 of these shows, and share their memories of the national bicentennial in 1976. Then they talk about the custom Loonacy deck, featuring 24 of Goodloe’s cartoons of Keith & Andy, which superfan Leila put together for the occasion, and which you can actually buy! Andy reports on the status of the newest Fluxx decks in production, and talks about what subject matter he won’t consider turning into a version of Fluxx. Andy talks about Rick & Morty Fluxx, which has just been released, but only in Polish. Keith talks about a show called Nikita, which leads to discussions of other remakes, reboots, and spin-offs, and Andy mentions enjoying a web series with a real lawyer reacting to fictional legal proceedings.

Episode 195: Bram Stoker’s Chocula

This week the word is Chocula, so the nerds talk about monster cereals and their mascots at some length. Then they talk a lot about previews for shows and movies they haven’t seen yet. Keith talks about a new Eberron book he’s working on, and Andy tells Keith about finally getting to hear live handpan music, and more recent episodes of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio show. Lastly they speculate about the new Star Trek: Picard series, including a discussion of the ending of Voyager.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS VINTAGE SPOILERS

Episode 194: Superman vs. Spiderman

This week the word is secret-identity. The nerds spend a lot of time discussing superhero secret identities in particular. Other topics include the technical reasons for Superman’s powers, the definition of the birthday season, Jumanji, August Fool’s Day, and the new Star Wars area at Disneyland. Then they drop the spoiler curtain to discuss Spiderman: Far From Home at length.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 183: Defeating Clever Johnny

This week the word is Cruisin’, since Keith has just returned from the JoCo Cruise and has many stories to tell. Of particular note is the enormous D&D game he ran, with 70 DMs and over 400 players. He also reports on how the concert by TMBG was affected by a huge storm, and a new James Ernest card game he learned on the cruise. Andy talks about a movie he’s been hearing about called The Wandering Earth and one he just saw, called Apollo 11. After the Spoiler Warning they discuss the most recent episodes of the Orville and Star Trek: Discovery.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 181: Talk to the Hat!

This week the word is travel. The nerds discuss various aspects of traveling as much as they do. Andy talks about his experiences at Pensacon and shares thoughts about giving copies of his games to celebrities who portrayed characters in those games. Keith talks about his upcoming trip to the UK. Other travel topics include really long trips, traveling alone, logistical planning, the window vs. aisle debate, and watching movies and trying to sleep on planes. Andy talks about progress on Jumanji Fluxx and tells the story of meeting the actor who played Peter in the original movie. Keith reports on his Action Pups! Kickstarter. Then they drop the spoiler curtain to discuss the latest episodes of the Orville and Star Trek: Discovery.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 178: Just Don’t Die

This week the word is afterlife. The nerds discuss all the various types of afterlife stories, including recent shows like The Good Place and Dead Like Me, other forms of life after death such as zombies, vampires, and ghosts, resurrection in role-playing games, and the question of whether or not people in Heaven have cell phones or Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Keith ponders a world where dead can routinely be brought back to life for a fixed price, and talks about the hard limit on extra lives he built into his game Phoenix: Dawn Command. Then they talk about changing forms during resurrections and other fantasy situations, and Andy recommends a couple of books and movies with unusual afterlife ideas. Then they discuss a recent theory that Luke was dead the whole time. After the spoiler warning, they talk again about the last episode of Babylon 5, along with the season 3 finale of The Good Place, and the newest episode of Star Trek Discovery and the Orville. Keith also talks about starting to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 175: Fanthropology 101

This week the word is fandom, as in “What are your fandoms?” What does it mean to be a fan? The nerds each talk about their own fandoms, including being fans of their own creations. Near the end they bring down the Spoiler Curtain to discuss the first episode of season 2 of The Orville, followed by Riverdale and Babylon 5.

SPOILER ALERT: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Episode 173: Zooty! Zoot Zoot!

This week the word is endings. Topics the nerds discuss include the all-time best ending to a TV series, stories that had the perfect ending but then continued anyway, and stories that ended before their time. Media they mention include Newhart, MASH, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Americans, Journeyman, How I Met Your Mother, all of the Star Treks, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Buffy, and in particular, Babylon 5. They also compare Keith’s frequently re-run RPG game, Unusual Suspects, with Andy’s Parsely games.

SPOILER ALERT: CONTAINS VINTAGE SPOILERS

Episode 156: Game Designers Sitting Still Eating Pizza

designerseatingpizza

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!