Remember when I said I may not have time to do this every day? Well, here we are.
This season continues to be the most fun and the most satisfying since our first season, for a lot of reasons that will need their own post at some point in the future. The tl;dr is if I still feel the way I feel right now when production is over, I will probably want to do at least one more season of the show.
So let’s catch up on what we’ve played the last few days…
On Day 8 we played Eldritch Horror. This is a sprawling and crazy game that is right in between Arkham Horror and Elder Sign. Because we are only doing a single game on most days this season, we were able to dedicate a full day to playing this game, and I think we ended up playing about 4 hours of actual game. The plan is to edit it into two episodes of world-saving madness.
I played with Pat Rothfuss, Stef Woodburn, and Jessica Merizan.
On Day [9] (HA HA HI SEAN), we played a wonderful indie game called Monarch, and then we played a worker-placement game called Champions of Midgard.
Monarch is a set collecting game that has all-female characters, which I thought was awesome in a male-dominated hobby. The artwork is gorgeous, the rules are incredibly simple and fast to teach and learn, and the gameplay is super satisfying. I know that the people who complain that Tabletop is somehow ruining gaming by not featuring complex and crunchy and barely-accessible war games will hate this game, and I’m really okay with that. I loved it, and it’s a great infection vector for our hobby. I played with Satine Phoenix, Ashley Clements, and Brea Grant.
Champions of Midgard flew under my radar until we were testing games for this year, and like all the games we eventually chose, I was on board after two turns. It’s a woker placement game with a little bit of set collecting and dice rolling that combines things I love about Lords of Waterdeep with things I love about Stone Age. If you’re into either of those games, I think you’ll dig this game as much as I do. I played with Chris Kluwe, Marisha Ray, and Alison Haislip.
Yesterday was Day 10, and I we played Tiny Epic Galaxies. I really love the microgame movement, and I especially love games with small footprints that pack a lot of play into their tiny box (hurr hurr hurr). Games like The Builders, Iota, Harbour, and any of the Tiny Epic games are great examples of titles that are great additions to any home library or travel collection. I played with Andy Weir, Mayim Bialik, and Tim Schafer.
It’s so nice to feel proud and satisfied, and not completely exhausted at the end of every day of production. I haven’t watched any of the stuff we’ve filmed, yet, but I feel like we’re getting some really good stuff, and that this is going to be a great season.
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I was just searching the interwebz for this info. Glad you are having fun this season and looking forward to the episodes.
You know what else is awesome in a male-dominated hobby? The great diversity of gamers on Tabletop. You have so many women playing on this show — often, as shown here, more women than men. People of all colors, too. I suspect this isn’t entirely conscious on your part, because you just have a diverse set of friends and colleagues, but it deserves mention either way.
Oh, it’s deliberate. I want to have as diverse a group of players as possible on every episode, because I know that representation matters. That my friends are diverse as well is just my good fortune.
I agree, and I agree. Can’t wait to start watching!
From what I have seen this hobby really is about 50/50 in terms of male/female. However from the prospective of many outsiders there is the perception of male domination in all things gaming so this is a great representation!
What do you mean “I will probably want to do at least one more season of the show”? I think you’ll find that you have to do TableTop until the end of time. Nothing will sate our appetite for undeserved lovely free stuff.
Joking of course. Continue for as long as you are happy to. That’s all that matters. Perhaps when you do retire, the show can carry on with a new host. Maybe you could regenerate into them on your last episode. Of course, whoever that new host may be must continue to be know as Wil Wheaton. It would be confusing otherwise.
😉
I can see it now: “Tabletop: The Next Generation”!
(cue music–daaah da-da-daaaaah….da-da-daaaaaah…..) 😉
I can’t wait for this season. Flashpoint and Horror are two of my favorite games! I was also hoping for this season you and the crew could add the extended versions of the play-throughs. I loved that in Season 2. Can’t wait to see this season.
I am so excited for the Eldritch Horror episode. It’s a game I always wanted to see on Tabletop, but I couldn’t imagine how it would work for your shooting schedule or the show format. It’s, as you said, so sprawling and takes forever to play. I’m so glad you were able to make it work.
Oh and also, this may have been mentioned before or perhaps it has already happened and I missed it, but I’d like to see the guys from the Hello from the Magic Tavern podcast on the show. I think they’d be perfect. Although, admittedly they are all men. I got into the podcast after Felicia’s recommendation.
https://hellofromthemagictavern.com/
One thing I love about your show is that all your guests are super awesome people. Not being anglophone, I never heard of most of them before. I google all of them after watching the show. That way, I can fill my watching/reading list as well as my to play list. Cheers!
Now that you’ve mentioned war games… if you’re casting about for games for next season, what about the old classic Diplomacy? Crazy simple rules, not too expensive ($21.60 on amazon), and most importantly loads of fun. 🙂 Best with 7 players, which gets pretty wild with seven people making secret alliances and backstabbing each other.There’s a recent (2008) Wizards of the Coast reprint.
I have too many open wounds from Diplomacy games in high school to even think about playlist on the show.
You know, Diplomacy was Henry Kissinger’s favorite game. Guest line up: Felicia Day, Seth Green,…, Henry Kissinger. Slam dunk!
I thought Kissinger’s favorite game was Getting Away With War Crimes.
Playing it on Tabletop might be the therapy you need…
Already looking up Monarch. Thanks, Wil
Wil, please don’t ever consider cancelling. We’ve bought more games after watching you play than for any other reason, My kids love getting an idea of how a game works in a fun presentation and not a school-like lecture. Even if you took a break from presenting, the format is still strong and we *also love the diversity of guests.
Any chance of a network picking up the series? We still have friends who don’t see YouTube as “proper” TV but would most likely love the show, if it were on SAT or cable.
With that that said, thank you for a great show, however long it may last, it’s been a blast.
I can imagine this can be a very laborious job, so it’s really wonderful to see you are having a great time as well as producing great content. Those two don’t always overlap…
Exciting stuff!!! 🙂
ps totally agree with a comment above about diverse group of people. So awesome!!
Microgames are great for parents. My wife always keeps a few in her purse so when we are out with the kids and have to wait for something we have something to keep kids occupied. Right now we stick with card games like Set or Dice games but I’ll have to check out some of the ones mentioned.
Oh man Set is such a great game.
Our bag always had Zombie Dice (with d12s as score counters), Story Cubes, and Ghost Blitz. Ghost Blitz shares some play elements with Set but takes up far less playing space. Plus, it has cute wooden playing pieces to grab.
Great idea with the d12’s!
Got Set based on your rec & my hubby & son really like it. Haven’t played a lot yet, but we had drastically different results in who won. That’s always good for a family game 🙂
“I know that the people who complain that Tabletop is somehow ruining gaming by not ” [insert whatever…]
Seriously, Wil, Can you please, please not listen to the a-holes or base any decisions about what to do with the show based on their petty little gripes:
It’s called: DON”T WATCH the show if it’s not for you!”
I have found so many great games by watching this show.
Why do I have to lose a great show because they’re loud and obnoxious? And petty. Have I said petty yet?
I don’t even get the whole hooplah about the rules the other season. Ok, so some rules were mixed up.
But if the game looks fun, I read the rules myself, figure it out and show other people.
Why did that have to be this big deal?
It’s not like I paid a fee to get the ‘authorized’ playbook. It just gives me a chance to see people play the game so i can decide if it looks fun for me.
Ok, vent over.
I love the show Wil and your blog.
Just tune it out. They’re just noise.
My 7year old son and I are so looking forward to the new series. We have bought about 10 games that you have played on the show and even had our own community event on tabletop day this year. Ignore the rules lawyers and naysayers the thing for me that makes Tabletop great is the genuine enjoyment you show from playing with your friends and family. It is infectious and we have begun sharing our games with others and had some great times. Can’t wait to see what the first game we buy from the new series!
Tabletop Rules! You folks are making the world a better place.
My wife and I have been getting in to Mottainai and 7 Wonders Duel lately. Both are wonderful but Mottainai has a bit of a learning curve unless you’ve played Glory to Rome. It’s not a difficult game, the mechanism is just not immediately intuitive – though it is why the game works so well and has such depth in a small package. After a few games, the mechanism starts to make sense and the richness of the game becomes apparent.
7 Wonders Duel is straight-up phenomenal. Not only is it easy to learn, but it’s the full Euro experience in a very short time period and very small box. The “Game-to-Cardboard” ratio is off the chart. I’d put it up there with San Juan and Agricola: All Creatures Large & Small for small but great 2p.
Oh, and if you add the 7-Wonders Duel drafting mechanism (two 4-card 1,2,2,1 draws) to Star Realms, it drastically reduces the swinginess of the game so you don’t get those occasional early blow-outs – and gets the game off to a faster start so the first few rounds aren’t so uneventful.
Cosplaying an adult… haha… I feel you. I could swear I was 26 a few years ago. Age. Meh. Beats the alternative.
3/4 of these games I’ve heard a lot about, but haven’t seen played so I’m excited to see how they work.
I too have bought games because of Tabletop…hell, it’s what got me into the hobby, and by extension my wife (and up until it must’ve gotten uncool to play games with their parents, our now-teenage kids)! So thank you for doing what you do, and I’m glad you’re happy doing it.
LOVING Tiny Epic Galaxies right now! It’s our weekly go-to game–definitely a new favorite. But, it’s out of print and I’m eagerly awaiting a reprint so I can get my own copy. I’m really looking forward to the new season and so glad to hear production is enjoyable for you again, Wil.
One more season? I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but yes please!
I really the fact that youre enjoying this season so much – that joy at playing new games does come across the camera and I think will let you relax and not stress (as much!) at the final product.
Patreon. It’s time. It’s ideal for episodic productions, even if they are seasonal (no episode, no dinero).
Start one now, to help fund current editing, and also build a better budget for next year.
Of course, you’d probably tell us to spend our money to “Play More Games!”(TM) instead of watching others play them…
Yes but why have you not played the glaringly obvious, monopoly?
Either you’re trolling, or you’ve failed to notice that not a single
“classic” board game has been played on the show, the reason
being that modern games are far superior in design.
We are asked to play classics all the time. Even though they aren’t my jam, and aren’t right for the show, they still appeal to a lot of people who have fond memories of playing them.
A release date for season 4, or even a quick update. That would be great.