The State of Games, Ep. 169: The One About Toyetics

It’s a Christmas miracle – we’re back before the holidays with a new episode! The topic of toys as games and games as toys is one we’ve touched on a bit in the past on the podcast, but we thought it would be fun to dig a bit deeper. Plus, it’s particularly timely since ol’ Saint Nick will be dropping tons of toys down chimneys in a few days. So relax and get ready to reminisce about some of your favorite playthings from the past – and... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 168: The One About Getting Our Groove Back

Once again, it’s been awhile Dear Listeners. We’ve missed you, but we definitely haven’t forgotten about you. Darrell, TC, and I just needed a little break to enjoy the fall, with some time away from the table and conventions. Feeling like we needed a jump start to get our gaming motors running we turned to the best source of boundless energy and enthusiasm we know – Richard Launius. So settle in, we’ve got a lot of games to cover. And don’t... Read More

Gen Con 2019 Pictorial Recap

Ah, mid-August. That special time of the year between when all the big conventions are over and when school starts back up. It would feel heavenly if I didn’t have so much to do to put Legends of Sleepy Hollow to bed. But I digress from the topic at hand: Gen Con. Every year, Gen Con is our biggest show, and it’s filled with frantic meetings, and frenetic shopping. I took things a bit easier at this year’s convention, but it was still an epic spectacle, packed... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 167: The One About What We Did This Summer

We love recording The State of Games, but there are times when our hectic schedules don’t make it easy to make time for the podcast. This summer has definitely been one of those times. We’ve all been stretched thin by new jobs, heavy projects, and just a little bit of board game burn out. But we’re finally back and re-energized after seeing so many people and playing so many games over four conventions. So settle in and get comfy – we’ve got a lot... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 164 – The One About Unpub 9

It’s hard to believe that for nine years now, game designers have been gathering to bravely put their unpublished prototypes in front of total strangers and asking for them to help make everything better. It seems like just yesterday that I was traveling to Dover, Delaware to attend Unpub 2 at a small Fraternal Order of Police Lodge where there was just a handful of designers and attendees huddled around some beat-up tables, freezing half to death. And, now, over 2,000 people... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 160 – The One About Unplugging, Again

Sometimes our gaming podcast is less about games and more about experience. We hope you’ll indulge us a bit this time around, Dear Listeners, as we chat about what it was like to attend PAX Unplugged for the second year. Yes, we talk a great deal about the amazing food in Philadelphia, we debate the greatest cheesesteak, and we gripe about metal detectors, but we also try to convey the awesomeness that surrounds a convention that is now quintessential to the hobby. We hope... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 157 – The One About Just a Little Filler

Last podcast we pulled out all the intellectual stops and dove head deep into the rabbit hole of Game Theory. Judging from the listener numbers that wasn’t exactly what all you dear listeners wanted to hear. Oh well, at least we had fun discussing it! We wanted to get deep again with a chat about rules, if they’re getting worse in board games, and what we might do to fix them, but we decided to table that one for another time, return a bit to formula, and focus on... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 156 – The One About Mutually Assured Destruction

Most of the time on the podcast we’re just riffing on games we’ve played, or conventions we’ve gone to, or the best game with so and so mechanic, but occasionally we like to tackle something a bit heavier. This is just such a podcast. In this episode we brought in some extra brains from Matt Riddle to help us dive deeper into the math and rational thinking behind Game Theory. It wasn’t an easy topic to dissect but we think it was worth it. We hope you do,... Read More

The State of Games, Ep. 155 – The One About Gen Con 2018

Welcome, dear listeners, to another podcast about the biggest show on astroturf (really) – Gen Con! Even though Gen Con has become almost nothing but business, business, business for most in the industry, it’s still a fun, amazing, and exhausting spectacle that we look forward to every year. Let us know if you have some great tales from the show, or, if  you played something awesome participating in GenCant. We’d love to talk about your adventures on the podcast! ... Read More

Gen Con 2018 Pictorial Recap!

Hello, dear readers, and welcome to another year of Gen Con coverage! This year’s show had record attendance, and I was just as busy as always showing off awesome games and taking meeting after meeting after meeting with designers. But I did get a chance to escape the job from time to time and check out some really cool stuff. So settle in and enjoy this brief look into the good time that is Gen Con! The first part of our trip involved a stop in Nitro, West Virginia –... Read More