Episode 206: Cyberpunk 2018

“Akeyo offers moi a kazi. Tres facile, she says. Cho lucrative, she says. Faces always lie. Tatemae, hombre. Allez, my brain says. OK, my boca says. Weil she with Sergei. His gun is ookii. His ‘tude is zverskiy. Samurai always punish. Sergei no hablo Angelo. He hablo Gewalt.
The paise is gooood. The crew is prooo. The kazi is faciiile. In and out, bra. You win, bra.
But the street don’t lie: THE SYSTEM ALWAYS WINS!”

– Neff Jacks, hardboi runner

In this episode, we present a list of questions that define cyberpunk. If a game, book, or movie checks these boxes, it’s cyberpunk. If not, sorry, bra. Is Shadowrun cyberpunk? Is The Matrix? Listen for the definitive answers.

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Episode 197: Living Card Games

LCG, how can I explain? I’ll take it game by game it
To have y’all clickin’, kneelin’, playin’ it
L is for “living”, C is for “card”, scratch your temple
The last G, well, that’s not that simple
Oh, wait. It is. It’s for “game”. “Living card game”.
It’s three little words that’ll empty your wallet
Don’t complain to me, I called it.
Living? Seems I gotta start explainin’ it
You ever buy a game and try to build a deck
You find an opponent and play
And then left feelin’ wrecked
You get home, build more
But you need a card, so you go to the game store
And it’s over a hundred dollars?!
It’s not a front, a F to the R to the O to the N to the T
It’s just it’s an ultra rare.

It’s LCG time, what you see is what you get
There’s no need to for an aftermarket, just buy the set
How many players out there know what I’m getting at?
Who thinks it’s wrong that victories go to the deck that’s fat?
Well, if you do, it’s LCG, and you’re down with it
But if you don’t, gather your magic

Who’s down with LCG? (Yeah, you know me!)
“LCG” by Idle by Nature

In this episode, we talk about living card games and how to get started.

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Episode 196: Creature Feature: Golems

A return of a classic series: Creature Features!

In this installment, we talk about golems, the unstoppable clay (Wait, clay?) automatons, and similar constructs. Listen to find out how you can create a homunculus using porn and a horse uterus or a Seto Taisho through sheer laziness. We also discuss It!, the 1967 horror classic that shows how innocent we once were about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the durability of clay.

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Episode 193: Looking Ahead to 2017

To close out 2016, the year that hated the film and music industries, we discuss the TV shows, movies, and games we’re most looking forward to in 2017 (and some that we aren’t at all). We also discuss Kate Beckinsale’s marriages, how Alan is difficult to break up with, and the two Coreys!

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Episode 191: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Force AwakensA long time ago in a country far, far away…

Episode CXCI
The Hands Reopen

The Idle Red Hands have vanished. In their absence, well, 2016 happened. Sorry.

A youngish (very -ish) idealist, Jeremy, knows that the world needs the Idle Red Hands and dispatches his best pilot, Alan, to retrieve the old hosts. And Alan messed it up. What do you expect when you send your best pilot? Why not send your best spy or bounty hunter? Maybe have the best pilot fly them where they want to go. Was your best spy too busy engaging in dogfights to do what he was trained to do?

Anyway, one old host returns, but is it the right one? (Disclaimer: Fans of Wayne will be disappointed.) This new alliance reviews The Force Awakens just in time for Rogue One. (Timely as always, Idle Red Hands.)

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Episode 177: GM Corner: Post Session

Take two.

In this installment of GM Corner, we look at an important but often forgotten part of preparation: post session. This is the time to get feedback from players, assess how things went, and decide what to do next, which could include the important decision of whether or not to continue with the game.

We are without Wayne this week. What we lose in gaming insight by his absence, we gain in technical savvy (i.e., knowing that you have to press the record button to record).

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Episode 157: Game Stores

I’m gonna pop some tags,
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
I – I – I’m leaving, looking to come ba-ack.
The book was fifty dollars.
Game  Shop” – Idlemore & Red Lewis

In this episode, we discuss what makes a good game store, based on some observations we made during some recent trips to North America, and what could entice people away from online  retailers.

Game stores in your area:

Toronto
401 Games

Ottawa
Fandom II
The Comic Book Shoppe

Los Angeles
The War House

Philadelphia
Atomic City Comics

Schaumburg
Gamer’s World

The D&D image discussed in the introduction.

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