At The Table with The Dice Tower Episode 082 - Essen Anticipation 2026

Today, we look forward to the games being released at Spiel 2026 in Essen, Germany. We'll share insights on the games we've played already, and let you know what's at the top of our wishlists. 00:00 - Introduction 00:52 - Dogs vs. Inflatables 02:00 - Dice Tower Cruises (Plural!), Dice Tower West and East 03:43 - Eric at Tabletop Utopia (and G.I. Joe Deckbuilding Game) 05:39 - Off to Spiel! Dice Tower Booth 3R315, Cephalofair 3R200 08:41 - BGG's Spiel Preview 10:58 - Queen Alice 12:36 - Expansions: Faraway: Beyond the Veil, Lost Ruins of Arnak: Surprise Shipment, Harmonies: Crescendo, The White Castle: Boeki 13:54 - Timespan 15:24 - Sixty Below 17:12 - Endeavor Deep Sea: Uncharted Waters 17:34 - Kingdom Come Deliverance 19:14 - ASHES Blackout Protocol 20:20 - Night at the Zoo 21:43 - Gaudi 23:16 - Entropy 24:12 - Drillers 24:50 - Carl von Linné 26:32 - Harmonies: Pulse 26:50 - Nijar 28:16 - Inferno 1348 29:05 - Wildscape 29:42 - Similo Essen Deck 30:17 - Prague Unseen 31:53 - Diables 32:39 - Chronocritters 33:56 - Greylune 35:03 - Axia: Slayer Combo 35:49 - Inferno: Virgil, Charon, & Lucifer 36:11 - Enchanted Ivy 36:42 - Take Time: Mirage 37:15 - Avalon: The Riven Veil 38:20 - Forest Shuffle: Smokey Mountains 39:16 - Schadenfreude 40:08 - Medico 40:38 - Fishing 2 42:16 - The Glasgow Train Robbery 42:33 - Thessaloniki 44:26 - Greenwood 47:10 - Revenge of the Seven Dwarfs 47:44 - Maleficium: Fall of the Witch Hunters 49:06 - Mechs vs. Minions 49:44 - Carpet Racers 50:24 - Fearsome Floors 50:47 - Class of '89 51:18 - Fragments: Solara Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

Tom's been gaming, Julie's been gaming, and Eric will be gaming soon. The topic today is what happens when a game outgrows its original box. What do you do with too much gaming goodness? Plus, we have a double dose of Horror, and a usual quantity of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:54 - End of Summer: Essen, PAX, Cruise, Dice Tower West 02:47 - Tom at Dice Tower Retreat 03:54 - Julie's Retreat 05:07 - Eric at Tabletop Utopia 05:34 - Outgrowing Boxes 29:17 - Tales of Boardgaming Horror 40:03 - Temple Twist 44:27 - Hell of a Deal 49:10 - Planet Unknown 53:49 - Moon 58:20 - Journeys Afar: Ketsuki 1:01:50 - Brave & Bold

Tom kicks off the show by telling the tale of a church potluck that hid a surprise. We then continue our Game Night discussion by widening the scope to a larger community event at a local community center or library. The mailbag wonders what you should do when a small group at game night plays the same game every time, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Dice Tower West Early Bird Ends Soon! 01:22 - A Surprise for Tom 05:46 - Running a Community Event 35:51 - Question: Only Playing One Game? 43:24 - The Secrets of Warden Keene 47:14 - Six-Sided Seas 50:12 - Trinket Trove 53:44 - Avenue 56:15 - Sequence Queens 1:00:33 - Endangered Rescue: Chambered Nautalus - Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected] Dice Tower West: dicetowerwest.com

This time, we discuss the finer points of hosting a game night. From the guest list, to the planned games, to what to do about the food, we attempt to answer what seems like a simple question from the mailbag. Also, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:49 - It's Vegas Time (Dice Tower West) 01:19 - Tom's Birthday and Personal Talk 03:20 - Game Night 30:15 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 35:40 - Star Wars The Deckbuilding Game: Mandalorian and Empire and Rebels Reinforcements 40:17 - Forbidden Legacy 44:16 - Hercules and the 12 Labors 48:48 - The Pride Pursuit 51:41 - Strange Slot Simulator 56:38 - Tea and Rum Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected] Dice Tower West Registration dicetowerwest.com

Tom takes a brief respite before the end-of-year events hit, and before we discuss "simple" versions of popular games intended for the Mass Market shelves. Then, we answer a bunch of questions from the mailbag before moving on to a new batch of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - Hottest Days of the Year and Dice Tower West 02:06 - Too Many Games? 04:30 - Future Events: Spiel, PAX Unplugged, Internal Conventions 06:57 - "Simple" Versions 28:40 - Question: Theme or Mechanism? 30:00 - Question: What to Play? 34:34 - Question: Airing of Grievances? 38:29 - Question: Latecomers? 42:45 - Pondscape 45:38 - Sandcastles 51:20 - Miniature Adventures: Adventure 1: Goblin Trouble 55:10 - Dino Racer 57:31 - The Crew: Journeys to the Ends of the Earth Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

We're back from Gen Con with stories to tell! Lots of steps logged, games played, and high fives acquired. What were the big hits of the show, and where were we when the alarms went off? Plus, a completely normal amount of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:47 - Back from Gen Con 01:19 - Dice Tower West 02:07 - Biggest Gen Con Ever? and Construction 05:21 - What Did Gamers Run For? 08:26 - Artist Alley Has Gotten Crowded 09:00 - Dungeon Crawler Carl 11:34 - Games Played at The Booth: Citadels Duel 13:57 - Open Gaming at JW Marriott 15:48 - Geting Our Steps In 16:38 - Dedicated Publisher Rooms 18:18 - The Dice Tower Awards 19:53 - Loud Parties 21:02 - Light Games, CCGs, and RPGs 23:14 - Non-Game Purchases 26:30 - Paizo's New Boardgames 28:00 - Pins, Ribbons, and Trinkets 31:29 - Memorable Fan Interactions 32:52 - Tornado Warning 38:46 - Uh Oh, Dino 42:33 - Le Chocolat 43:37 - Drillers 46:58 - Panic Lab 50:05 - Invincible Season 2 52:01 - Kronologic Babylon 2500 56:39 - Wrap-Up Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we're poised for Gen Con 2026 and making plans. Where will we be? What games do we want? What games do others want? Who is good at thumbs? All will be answered along with a sprinkling of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:48 - Busiest Time of the Year 02:01 - Where Can We Be Found? - Booth 249 04:09 - New at Cephalofair - Buttons and Bugs Expansion 06:07 - Getting Steps In 07:19 - Game Bag Giveaway 07:55 - The Dice Tower Awards 09:11 - The Dwarves of Aquilon 10:23 - Meet the Final Girls - Julie on Friday Morning 10:47 - Eric's Gen Con Releases: Gudnak Means War, Mountain Goats Legacy 11:50 - Julie's Releases: Tales of Myth and Legend, Coloring Book 13:02 - BGG Preview List and the Nature of Thumbs 13:58 - Entropy 14:53 - Jason and the Argonauts 16:01 - Container 16:33 - Enchanted Ivy 17:18 - Mountain Goats Legacy 18:30 - Hercules and the 12 Labors 18:43 - Jibber Jabble 19:25 - High Society and 3 Witches 19:56 - Gruntz 20:12 - Torchlit 20:29 - French Toast 21:37 - Piñatas 22:06 - Kokeshi 23:08 - Book Club 24:28 - Fiction: Banned Books 25:07 - Golden Goal 25:24 - Under the Leaves 26:06 - Movie Night 26:17 - Stonk Market 26:26 - Triangulation 27:04 - Phantom Ink and Wordsy 27:21 - Endangered Australia 27:37 - The Game Makers 28:58 - Night at the Zoo 29:54 - Lairs 30:17 - Drillers and Lost Ruins of Arnak: Surprise Shipment 31:47 - Holliday Hijinks Friday Fright and More 32:12 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock 32:32 - Cascadia Alpine Lakes 33:02 - Nippon 33:49 - Wingspan Pocket 34:30 - The Old King's Crown 34:37 - Railway Boom 36:00 - Glasgow Train Robbery 36:16 - Tag Team: Arthur's Legacy 37:25 - Three Sisters Harvest Edition 37:53 - Forage 39:12 - SETI: Space Agencies, Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains, and Rock Hard 1977: Ear Candy 39:42 - Kingdom Crossing 40:19 - Shackleton Base: Below. Within. Above. and Fliptoons Season 2 40:54 - Moytura 41:01 - Tenby 41:20 - Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon 42:02 - Faraway: Under Starry Skies and Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette 42:10 - Gold Country 42:52 - Mythologies 43:11 - Scythe: Duel of Meloch 44:13 - Friendly Fishing 45:50 - Codenames: Critical Role Adventures 46:25 - Trick to the Future 46:45 - Chris Couch Games: Garden Clubs 47:23 - Crime Scene Tamperer 47:52 - Games Played in the Booth 49:31 - Container (Eric) 53:33 - Cthulhu: Death May Die (Julie) 57:55 - Falling (Tom and Julie) 1:02:17 - Stuff to Watch if You Can't Come to Gen Con Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

The team is back from Dice Tower East with stories to tell. What games were taught? What events ran well? What did Eric find in the library? Plus, we have a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a particularly pointy collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:46 - Games That Could Have Been Played at East 03:08 - Unloading from Dice Tower East 03:43 - Dice Tower East: General Thoughts 04:51 - Looming Gen Con 07:22 - DTE: Crowd Size 09:04 - DTE: The Top 10 10:09 - DTE: Number of Games Played 13:05 - DTE: Changes to the Library 16:55 - DTE: Eric Finds a Playmat 20:31 - DTE: Inflatable Curling 24:14 - DTE: Parsely 25:50 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Dwarves of Aquilon 28:29 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Cat Between Us 29:49 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Mechs vs. Minions 31:10 - DTE: Most Played Games 32:17 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 38:33 - Wispwood 43:30 - Inkwell 48:25 - Crafting the Cosmos 51:50 - Puppy Pile 56:53 - Wingspan Pocket 1:01:21 - Bunny Kingdom Town Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

Julie recounts her adventures at Origins 2026 before we delve into questions about Authenticity of Theme, Fan Interactions, and Teaching Race for the Galaxy. And of course, we close the show with a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Middle of the Year 03:59 - Last Minute Dice Tower East 04:32 - Julie at Origins 30:26 - Question: Teaching Race for the Galaxy 33:58 - Question: Taking You Out of The Theme 37:11 - Question: Fan Interactions 43:49 - Shapely 46:59 - Revisiting Mice and Mystics 49:55 - Soothsayers 52:25 - The Friday Fright 55:25 - Flip Voyage 58:18 - Tomatoss Questions? Tale of Horror? Hot Sauce Recipes? [email protected]

Tom tells us about his adventures in The Philippines before we spark some discussion from a Tale of Boardgaming Horror: What do you do when you learn your game design is similar to a game that already exists? Plus, we dive into the bag of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops and pull out some winners. 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Senior Slacking Revisited 02:05 - Tom's Journey - Travel Woes 04:07 - All aBOARD EXPO 18:35 - Focusing on Dice Tower East 19:36 - Language Issues 20:19 - Discussion of Horror: Parallel Game Design 35:16 - Grow Sky 38:51 - Deep Sea Divers of Jeju 42:21 - Flamenco 47:15 - Stratego Quick Battle 50:41 - My Book Nook 54:38 - Cloud City Flamenco Ad (Dancing Cats): https://youtu.be/mz7Qh79K8GA?si=JpknJaXuh22wgE5J Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]