Episode #81 - HOOK Club: Zoombinis with Brian Rodriguez McGovern

We round out the second season of Bundle Buddies by reflecting on our favorite games and episodes, discussing  the best way to raise babies to be gamers, and musing on the future of the podcast. WE LOVE YOU, LISTENERS! See you in the next season!  -- Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show.  

This week, Eric and a Covid-stricken Alex are joined by Malheurt, a drag queen finding the sublime in twitter jokes and fantasy tropes. They talk Pokémon, the ethics of looking up how to beat games on the internet, the majestic difficulty of Heroes of Might and Magic, and so much more.   Here’s what we played through this week: NIGHT OF THE CONSUMERS, by Germ Food Blast Rush, by Bipedal Dog Rusty Lake Hotel, by Rusty Lake Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show.

Alex and Matt talk anime, the tragic beauty of owning dogs, and Steel Magnolias before diving deep into the must-play 20 Minutes Till Dawn, which you should definitely buy instead of avocado toast. The ethical gamer holds court. Matt has opinions about Metroid: Dread. Alex takes a detour from Xenosaga into arguably stranger territory. Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show.

We welcome back 2nd time Bundleliber (Bundle Buddy) Andrew Heywood to the podcast! He and Eric have an in depth discussion on 2018 turn based strategy game Into The Breach. They touch on why JRPG's just don't cut the mustard nomo, chess puzzles, and loads of other things! Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show  

This week, we explore the utopian potential of Broderbund's edutainment classic Zoombinis. Here's to our Beloved Little Guys! To learn more about the game's design process, check out this article, written by two of the game's developers: Zoombinis and the Art of Mathematical Play Our cause is once again any abortion fund. We’ve donated: if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show.    

We have Joe Anderson and Tom Harrison, hosts of the hilarious Anime Sickos podcast, on to discuss all of the most important topics, including how terrible South Dakota is, how F-Zero GX isn't actually a racing game, and why Dragon Quest VI is better than Apex Legends. The pair also schools us on the true objective of their new favorite game, 20 Minutes Till Dawn. You don't want to miss this one, folks.  Here's what we played: Skuiggle, by MOKKA Macbat 64, by Siactro Quiet as a Stone, by Distant Lantern and Richard Whitelock Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show.

We sit down with prolific indie game champion Andrew, AKA Pizza Pranks, the creator and curator behind the video game bundle zine Indiepocalypse. We talk Sesame Street video games, what's missing with charity bundles, and games as the mid-step between activity and art before diving into his process for putting the zine together every month, using the fourth issue as an example. Our cause is once again any abortion fund! However, this week we are donating to National Network of Abortion Funds Collective Power Fund. It will redistribute direct abortion funding to 28 member abortion funds across more than 20 states and is concentrated in the South and Midwest, where it’s often hardest to get an abortion. The Collective Power Fund supports: Cost of an abortion Transportation to a clinic Childcare Lodging Abortion doula support All dollars raised will be redirected to local abortion funds on the frontlines of abortion access. We’ve donated to them, if you donate and send us proof we will shout you out on the show

This week, we have artist, educator, parent, and justice-seeker Alisha Maynoush Mernick on the podcast. She regales us about a recent series of unfortunate events with a freemium mobile game, sings the praises of some little-known app called "Tik-Tok", and updates us on gaming as a parent. She also absolutely ROASTS Alex in Eric's stead.  Here's what we played this week: Catlandia: Crisis at Fort Pawprint, by Polar Tabby DON'T WAKE THE NIGHT, by Brujería At Werk Soft Underbelly, by atelier✦zorra Our cause this week is Plan C. Plan C is an information campaign, started by a small but mighty team of veteran public health advocates, researchers, social justice activists and digital strategists. Plan C transforms access to abortion in the US by normalizing the self-directed option of abortion pills by mail. Check out their website for more information about this extremely pressing cause. We've donated to Plan C -- we encourage you to do the same. If you let us know, we will shout you out on a future episode.

This week the buddies are joined by the delightful Sebastian Quack. Sebastian is a founding member of the Invisible Playground network, co-director of Trust in Play, the European School of Urban Game design, and co-organizer of Drift Club. Since 2021, Sebastian has also directed Now Play This, a Festival of Experimental Game Design in London. We talk the potential of games as a medium, blurring immersion, and finding the edges of reality via high-tech and low-tech means.  Here's what we checked out this week: Akuto: Showdown, by Hut 90 The Search, by Jason Godbey Animal Lover, by Trainwreck Studios Once again, this weeks cause is ANY Abortion fund in the united states. Donate to one, send us proof. We’ll shout you out. Check out twitter for more details.

We lost him to civilization:    This was a crazy one, folks. Here's what we're reviewing:  Buck Up And Drive!., by Fabio Fantes Welcome to Elk, by Triple Topping The Wratch's Den, by PUNKCAKE Délicieux Once again our cause is any abortion fund in the United States. Donate what you can and we will shout you out in a future episode.