At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dice Tower West 2026

On this episode, Tom, Julie and Eric are live at Dice Tower West in Las Vegas taking questions from the audience and talking about the games they've played (with a brief Tom-less interlude from Eric and Julie). 01:01 - Dice Tower West Library and Most Played 03:59 - Julie in Demoville and Escape Rooms 06:06 - Julie Came With a List 08:24 - Star Wars: Battle of Hoth 09:28 - Tea Garden 11:01 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock 12:55 - Feierabend 15:21 - Merchant of Venus #100 16:47 - Fathom 18:38 - Shapely 21:03 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 28:28 - Eric and Julie Interlude 29:10 - E&J: Stuff on Tables 31:39 - E&J: Strange Things to Carry 34:05 - E&J: What Shouldn't Stay in Vegas 36:51 - E&J: Drawing a Crowd 39:34 - Question: Game Opening Disasters 44:42 - Question: Escaping Jail 46:44 - Question: Comprehensive Rulebooks 52:01 - Minor Tom Rant: Authority to Answer Questions 52:58 - Question: Art for Prototypes 56:31 - Question: Deluxe Editions 58:37 - Question: Less or More of a Genre Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

Julie's been to a castle! And GAMA Expo! We chat about those adventures for a bit before moving on to the topic of physical weight of our games. How heavy is too heavy? We also share a question from the mailbag, and collect some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:54 - Winter Woes and Dice Tower West 05:42 - Julie and Hoop and Stick 11:25 - GAMA Expo 14:21 - Heavy Games 33:08 - Question: What Is the Soup of Games? 41:04 - Lairs 43:34 - Chicago Grand Slam 46:50 - Hot Streak 48:18 - Wilmot's Warehouse 52:08 - A Place for All My Books 54:35 - Regicide Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

Julie's out this time, so Tom and Eric spend time looking back at Epic Game Events that they've been involved with at conventions over the years. What worked well, and what did not? Plus, a question from the mailbag about digital vs. in-person gaming, and Tom and Eric each present a full set of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:47 - No Julie, February Lull 01:35 - Live Show at Dice Tower West (Friday 3pm) 02:42 - Groundhogs and Polka Interlude 03:21 - Dice Tower East and Curling 06:14 - Epic Game Events 36:37 - Question: Live vs. BGA? 42:33 - Age of Galaxy 46:05 - A Message from the Stars 50:06 - Trasteros/Storeroom Inc. 52:56 - Nuns on the Run (2nd Edition) 56:05 - Suds and Malone 1:00:49 - Lords of Worlds Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

Tom and Eric are back from the Dice Tower Cruise, trying not to make Julie jealous, but failing miserably. We talk about games played, ports visited, and flights cancelled. Plus, we dive into the listener mailbag, and gather a new round of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:54 - Dice Tower West and The Library 02:33 - Merchant of Venus in The Library 04:26 - Dice Tower Cruise - Pre-Cruise 10:50 - Cruise: Most Checked-Out Games 21:57 - Cruise: St. Thomas Game Day 25:02 - Eric's Travel Woes 27:26 - Jibber Jabble 29:44 - Julie's Cruise Contribution 30:47 - Question: Too Social? 38:33 - JiSoGi: Anime Studio Tycoon 46:07 - Eternal Decks 49:44 - Ham Helsing 55:11 - Cosy Stickerville 59:03 - Fest Season Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we look at what happens when a production error is found in a game after it has reached the wild. What should producers do to make it right, and can they do anything at all? Also, a new dramatic Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - Storytime from Tom: Loading the Cruise Library 04:16 - Announcements: Gamefound (supportdicetower.com), Dice Tower West, East, and Vacation 06:33 - Dealing with Production Errors 39:14 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 47:55 - Wingspan: Americas 50:19 - Sanibel 52:44 - Harmonies 55:27 - Nocturnis 57:43 - Lairs 1:00:45 - Cookie Run Braverse TCG Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com 03:07 - 2006 Memories 05:09 - Where Were We In 2006? 18:50 - The Games of 2006 27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing? 31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement 42:07 - Add to Playlist 47:06 - Galactic Cruise 48:06 - Zooloretto 50:47 - Merry Murdle 53:52 - Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 57:10 - Heroes of Timeline Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy. 01:20 - Top Tens on Video 01:51 - Year as a Whole 07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak 12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era 14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods 20:06 - Guilty Pleasure - Deep Regrets, Moon Colony Bloodbath 24:38 - Favorite Classic - Race for the Galaxy, At The Gates of Loyang, Sentient, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, You're Bluffing 27:22 - Stand-Out in Our Favorite Genre - Bohemians, EXIT Advent, Threads of Fate, Rove 32:48 - Hoopiest Hula-Hoop - Spooktacular, Oddland, Zenith 37:05 - Thorniest Thorn - Feel Like a Fool, Lynx, Donald Duck in Happy Camper 41:38 - Rosiest Rose - Vantage, Formaggio, Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread 47:42 - Looking Forward to 2026 - Use Up All Your Sick Days, Vegan Cafe, Sail Legacy, Floe 50:35 - Announcements: Gamefound, Dice Tower Cruise, East, West Next Episode: January 13, 2026 Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we continue our discussion of RPGs by suggesting Role Playing Games that share popular boardgaming mechanisms, as well as giving Tom tips for getting a game started. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - A Story About Mail 02:22 - Eric at PAX Unplugged (inc. Hot Streak) 06:50 - Gift Guides, Dice Tower West and East 08:02 - RPGs for Boardgame Fans (detailed notes below) 37:55 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 43:03 - Formaggio 48:35 - Gnomic Parliament 52:13 - Carnuta 54:49 - Magic Number 11 56:54 - Insurrect10n -- Julie's Notes Where to go to get core book pdfs? DriveThruRPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/  Itch.io https://itch.io/  Cooperative play (yes the overwhelming majority of TTRPGs are cooperative) some extra cooperative leaning  Heckin' Good Doggos https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/405426/heckin-good-doggos  Teatime Adventures https://www.snowbrightstudio.com/teatime-adventures  Dice rolling - Also many many many ttrpgs use dice. Here are some examples D20 - D&D/Pathfinder https://www.dndbeyond.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorCdKoS-xSfI4e05Us81YGA4tHt8CmmaOWNN-9VTcnsAfXS5pBS, https://paizo.com/pathfinder  d100 (percentile): Call of Cthulhu https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/  Symbol-based dice: FFG Star Wars. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/starwarsrpg/ , Fudge dice: Fate  https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/    Area control Beak, Feather, & Bone https://possible-worlds-games.itch.io/bfb  Faction/War Song of Ice and Fire RPG http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/101026/A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Roleplaying-A-Game-of-Thrones-Edition  Mutant: Year Zero https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139453/MUTANT-Year-Zero--Roleplaying-At-The-End-Of-Days  Numenera: Destiny https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240655/Numenera-Destiny  Coyote and Crow https://www.allplay.com/board-games/coyote-and-crow-the-roleplaying-game/    Action points -  Level Up D&D PbtA  Using Action points Feng Shui https://atlas-games.com/fengshui  C&S: Rebirth  Mythras    Deck builder/Bidding Ok not really but Redigo is "Hand Management"  https://letsplayredigo.com/  Games using a standard deck of cards Castle Falkenstein https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2370/castle-falkenstein  Games using a custom or proprietary card deck - mostly they are being used instead of dice Dragonlance: Fifth Age https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/186462/dragonlance-fifth-age-dramatic-adventure-game-saga  Clockwork Dominion https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked  My Closest Pick Torg Eternity:A Thousand Faces of Adventure http://torg-gamereference.com/    Pick up and Deliver Solo/journal: Courier https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked   Delivered! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441018/delivered-a-solo-journaling-rpg  One shot Delivery Dragons https://shardsofblue.itch.io/delivery-dragons   Worker Placement? Become a GM Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we go fishing for Role Players, linking some popular aspects of RPGs to our favorite boardgames. Plus, our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:47 - Getting Cold 01:45 - Eric at Pax Unplugged 03:47 - Games at Tom's Daughter's Wedding? 05:10 - BGG Con, Dice Tower East, West, Cruise 06:37 - Fishing for Role Players 14:58 - Stat-Heavy Games: Pathfinder ACG, Mage Knight 17:48 - Character Building: Origin Story, Elder Scrolls, Too Many Bonews, Artisans of Splendent Vale 20:12 - Story-Based Character Progression: Call to Adventure, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Near and Far 22:17 - Campaign (Descent) vs. Combat: Wrath of Ashardilon, Wander the Cult of Barnacle Bay, Massive Darkness, Monster Hunter 27:36 - Silly: Dungeon Fighter, Dungeon Quest, Cora Quest, Munchkin, Talisman 30:31 - Exploration: Mansions of Madness, Clank Catacombs 32:57 - Storytelling: Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Tainted Grail, Oathsworn, Agemonia 35:03 - Video Games: Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Skyrim, GWENT 37:38 - Improvisational Storytelling: Freelancers, Wandering Galaxy, Adventure Party, Aye Dark Overlord, Once Upon a Time 41:22 - Teasing Next Time: RPGs for Boardgamers 42:27 - Rove 46:08 - Night Soil 49:04 - Mezen 52:50 - Gingerbread House 55:37 - Severton 1:00:35 - Spot It Catan Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected] Julie's Tales of Myth and Legend Preorder: https://gamefound.com/projects/van-ryder-games/tales-of-myth-and-legend-preorder?refcode=tMZTh1PtbUec1Vko4OGdaw

Tom, Julie, and Eric are back from Germany and ready to talk about games, food, crowds, and everything else they saw at Spiel 2025. 00:44 - Tired 01:50 - Official Numbers/Crowd Flow 07:09 - Travel Adventures and Weather 08:46 - What Was Different for Eric 11:31 - Food 13:35 - Eric's Birthday 15:44 - Julie's Author Signing 21:16 - Tom's Live Show 25:22 - Big Games 31:14 - How To Stand Out 35:51 - Limited Stock and How To Deal With It 40:17 - What Did We Go Home With? 44:12 - A Carnivore Did It 47:25 - Flow 50:50 - Ghost Lift 54:48 - Formidable Farm 58:22 - Leaders 59:52 - The Old King's Crown Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]