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In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting RPGs, and how incorporating board game mechanics can benefit RPG design. We also have some shout outs.

News: On the RPPR Patreon, on the newest episode of After Hours, we discuss the most horrifying spells in Dungeons and Dragons. On Recommendizer, Thad and I talk about good inspirational sources for zombie apocalypse games. Our next campaign on RPPR Actual Play is Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes. Check out this poster for the campaign!

Shout Outs

  • Who Fears the Devil: a collection of short stories about Silver John, who fights witches and ghosts in the Appalachian mountains.
  • The Night Ocean: a biographical novel of H.P. Lovecraft, his life, and the early days of fandom.
  • A Town Called Malice: a storytelling game inspired by Nordic noir and isolated small town horror.
  • Die: A comic series about RPG players entering in their fantasy campaign world
  • Terracotta Army: A worker placement board game about building statues for the emperor’s tomb.
  • Dread: A classic RPG that uses Jenga for its conflict resolution system.
  • Jury Duty: A reality comedy series about a fake trial and 1 real juror.

Music: Chillhops Essentials Spring 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:18:30 — 54.1MB)

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Many of us have at least a few failed game designs sitting around somewhere. Instead of lamenting those failures, we talk about how to leverage them to improve your skills and inspiration. Whether you’ve already got a game published or are just now thinking about entering the fray, we want to share some of our stories of failure turned into something positive from various angles of the tabletop game design field.

Panelists: Andrew Hackard [Munchkin Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games], Scott Morris [Director of Business Development, GTS Distribution], Mike Abrahamson [Game Designer, Adventurer’s Guild Games]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:22 — 41.0MB)

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News: Arc Dream needs GMs to run games at Gen Con. Get awesome rewards like a Delta Green raid jacket! Check out the details here.

Synopsis: With most of the RPPR crew out of town, Bill and I got together to discuss ways to add mini games inside a RPG. We’ve done it before in various RPPR games, but we haven’t fully explored the concept. Turning lock picking from a single skill roll to a puzzle can make the game more engaging for every player. However, figuring out what kind of mini game to add and how to integrate it can be tricky. We discuss some examples and how they work with the 8 types of fun, ranging from puzzles to board games or even other RPGs. We also have shout outs and anecdotes.

Shout Outs

  • I Am A Hero: Zombie apocalyptic character study manga. First 2 volumes are great.
  • You: A novel by Greg Stolze. Very Unknown Armies.
  • Young Justice: Teenage superheroes go on secret missions because Batman said so.
  • GM Word of the Week: A short weekly podcast by the Angry GM.
  • Fragged Empire: A post post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG with great art and interesting rules.
  • Nuclear Throne: Fight to sit on the nuclear throne!
  • The Grizzled: A co-op WW1 themed card game. Try to survive until the war’s end.

Song: Here Comes the 8-bit Empire by Ozzed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:34 — 29.2MB)

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