This week the word is History. First, Keith takes about finding a very old note in a very old book. After some other discussions of historical stuff, the nerds talk at a high level about For All Mankind, The Expanse, Star Trek, and Arcane. Keith talks about starting a game of Tales from the Loop, and Andy talks about Olympus Fluxx and Loonacy. Next they discuss a bit more of House of Leaves. Lastly, they talk about Dune.
This week the word is Dolphins. The nerds reminisce about Bluestar, the almost-a-videogame about dolphins in space they worked on back in the nineties. They also discuss cetacean ops on the starship Enterprise. Andy talks about the most recent episode of Survivor and how much the game has changed since it started. Keith reports in vague terms on work stuff he’s been working on, and talks about his recent discovery of the Silent Disco. Next they continue their discussions about what book to read next, and Keith reports on his D&D campaign. After lowering the spoiler curtain they discuss the last few episodes of season 2 of Lower Decks, and the near-final few episodes of season one of Only Murders in the Building. Lastly, Andy shares a few reactions to the first episode of Ordinary Joe.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Cookies. Topics include the crime of replacing chocolate chips with raisins, the recipe for Sweet Dream cookies, the best gluten-free flour substitute, rigging a baking contest during a D&D game, and biscuits vs scones. Then they get into a long discussion about discontinued candy and other lost foods. Moving on to media, they talk about Foundation and Dune and the importance of wacky side characters in huge epic dramas. They discuss a few other shows they’ve been watching, including, of course, Taskmaster. Lastly they briefly discuss Lower Decks and What If?
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Quisling, for reasons that become clear only after Andy talks about watching old videos of Norm MacDonald. Keith talks about the Bar None candy bar raises the question of discontinued food products. Non-spoilery media topics include the movie Clue, Taskmaster, Only Murders in the Building, and the first few episodes of For All Mankind and Foundation. Next Andy talks about Chrononauts being discussed on the Sleep With Me podcast, which leads to a discussion of the euphemism, “bought the farm.” Keith talks about his D&D campaign and a custom miniature of his character he got from Hero Forge, then they vote another book off their list of book club candidates. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss Lower Decks and What If?
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Clue, since Keith has been watching Only Murders in the Building. This leads to a discussion of mystery stories in general and the board game Clue in particular. Next they again discuss Taskmaster, and Andy talks about buying the Golden Ticket game at Target. They begin a Survivor-style debate what book to read next, and Keith reports on his D&D campaign. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss Lower Decks and What If?
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is American, specifically the cheesy American version of things created elsewhere, including the American versions of The Office, Taskmaster, Iron Chef, and Ultraviolet. Digressions include the differences between American and English senses of humor, language differences, Doctor Who, and yet more discussions of Taskmaster. Next they discuss the last few stories in Donald Barthelme’s Forty Stories, and then discuss what to read next. After the spoiler curtain, they talk about the third episode of the season of both Lower Decks and What If?.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Collectors, and begins with the nerds talking about their own collections and various types of collectors. The discussion includes classic arcade games (including the obscure hit, Rip Off), Magic cards (and what it was like in the very early days), collecting topics ranging from curating to completeness, Keith’s story about the difficulty of obtaining RPG dice in Bulgaria, and the mystique of Cosmic Wimpout dice. Moving on to media, Andy talks a little about The Expanse and a lot about Taskmaster. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first two episodes of Lower Decks and What If? episode 2.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
Blurb: This week the word is Expansion. The nerds discuss the challenges of creating expansions for games, including issues like bloat, keeping current with changing source material, and needing to have something cool & new for the expansion vs. wishing for that cool new feature to be part of the core game. Some specific games they discuss (in addition to their own) are Talisman, The Lord of the Rings board game, Over-the-Edge’s Cut-Ups system, Cosmic Encounter, and even Monopoly. Then Andy discusses the process of developing two new expansions for the Star Trek Fluxx series of games, and Keith drops the code word “pomegranate.” Next they discuss the next difficult-to-read entry in their book club, which is Dictionary of the Khazars, by Milorad Pavic. Lastly, after the spoiler curtain, they discuss Debris, in particular episodes 9 & 10.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Unknown. The nerds talk about various unknowns, like hidden information in game design, stories in which characters are thrust into unknown settings, situations in which you don’t know who you are, things that are unknowable, and questions that meant to never be answered. Keith talks about unknowns in Eberron, and also mentions Bridgerton, Dexter, and the D&D campaign he’s run 60 times. This leads to a discussion of unusual adaptations of Shakespeare. Keith reports on finding the answer the “Blah Rhubarb Blah” question he asked last week, and the each talk about issues they’ve been having with mice. Next, Andy gives his final report on The Last Airbender, and Keith talks about obscure candy bars. Moving on to media, they discuss Chapter 2 of S. They also talk about Tolkien stories from the point of view of the eagles. Lastly, they drop the spoiler curtain to discuss the season 3 finale of Star Trek: Discovery.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.
This week the word is Christmas. The nerds talk at length about various holiday memories, favorite Xmas movies, new traditions, etc. Then they discuss chapter one of S, having talked about future candidates for their new book club segment earlier in the show. Keith mentions a radio bit he remembers that went “Blah Rhubarb Blah” which Andy replies to with Arrested Development references. Keith talks about Ted Lasso, then Andy shares a few thoughts about Fargo season 4. Lastly, they drop the spoiler curtain to discuss the newest episodes of Star Trek and Star Wars.
SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.