Eldritch Horror on Tabletop and some other things I want you to know.

Tabletop’s Eldritch Horror Pt. 1 was released this week.

Speaking of horror, I think I mentioned that I had this idea for a 1970s-style ridiculous, bloody, Grindhouse horror film. I thought it was just a silly story exercise, but the more I thought I about it and the more I did the story work for practice, the more I wanted to do the story work to make it into a real thing. So I’ve been working on that. It isn’t on cards just yet, but it’s on the whiteboard and it has its own file of ideas and beats and characters and stuff. I don’t know if it’ll get made, but at the very least I’ll have a script to publish.

I’ve been using that idea as an excuse to watch a ton of actual 1970s ridiculous, bloody, Grindhouse horror films. I’ve thrown some classic exploitation films into the mix, and learned a lot about how those movies were made. Some of them are terribad, but most of them have a sincerity that is utterly charming and worthy of emulation in my own screenplay.

I’ve been leveling up my understanding of story and character construction with this book called The Anatomy of Story. It’s densely packed with information and examples, and it’s slow reading for me because I keep going back to review, and I’m making a ton of notes in my notebook, but I’m pulling in tons of XP with each chapter. If you’re interested in writing and want to understand how to build your story, I highly recommend it.

The Deuce is as amazing as I hoped it would be. I am hoping so hard that the series lives up to the pilot (which is a thing I never say, because pilots are generally not that great, since they have to introduce a ton of characters and information.) Franco has always turned me off (it’s not him, it’s me), but I fucking LOVE him in this show.

Blood Drive was not renewed by the network formerly known as Sci-Fi, which makes me a little sad, because Colin Cunningham and Christina Ochoa are brilliant in it (Christina should have had top billing and Colin should win awards), and I would watch them as those characters forever. But! It always felt like it should be a miniseries, and the last four episodes weren’t nearly as compelling as the first eight. I felt like they had to bail on the premise — each episode pays homage to a classic exploitation trope — to set it up for multiple seasons. There was so much great stuff in it, though, and I sincerely love that SyFy gave the project the greenlight. It was a risky project, to say the least, and it’s so cool to see a network that was profoundly risk-averse when I worked for them take the chance.

I read a bunch of short stories from Charlie Jane Anders when I was on vacation last week, and I loved them all. So I went to the bookstore yesterday to pick up All the Birds in the Sky, and while I was there, I browsed the tabletop game section. My finger is ten miles from the pulse of tabletop gaming right now, but I took pictures of some games there that looked promising to me:

Have any of you played any of them? I’m just looking for fun games to add to my collection, not necessarily games that are candidates for Tabletop, as Tabletop’s future is uncertain.

Also, not that it matters, but getting Twitter off my phone and mostly out of my life has been a really great choice. It turns out that not being kicked in the face by infuriating bullshit dozens of times a day is a pretty neat idea.

So that’s a bunch of stuff I want you to know. What do you want me to know? I’m enjoying these posts, because it reminds me of the early days of my blog, when you who read it and I who wrote it would interact more than we seem to these days.

 

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104 thoughts on “Eldritch Horror on Tabletop and some other things I want you to know.”

    1. I love how this episode of Table Top also guests two attractive women; yet G&S puts fuzzy bookman on the thumbnail. I hold this as proof that Legendary hasn’t stuck their noses in the entire process yet.

  2. Hi Wil, I was just wondering, since you stopped drinking due to your life overhaul did you also stop brewing beer? I was watching Acquisitions Intoxicated on Youtube and had the thought “I haven’t heard Wil talk about brewing in forever.” Was just wondering. Thanks for being cool.

    1. Yeah, since I don’t plan on drinking it, I haven’t brewed it. I still have all my gear, though, so I’ll make something neat at some point in the mysterious future.

      1. Home brewed root beer is a thing you could try. Perhaps ginger ale/beer? I haven’t tried it myself but always wanted the ex to. IIRC, alcohol only comes in with natural carbonation (and is thus minimal).

        1. Ginger beer! Amazing stuff! I don’t have anything useful like a recipe to share, just my enthusiasm for that refreshing beverage!

  4. Onitama is amazing. Something so divinely simple in trying to outsmart you opponent using the same few movement options which are different in every game. I bought a copy for our lovely hosts in LA as a thank you for letting us stay with them.
    Oceanos I haven’t played but tried to the year it released at GenCon (which I think was the year you were last there). Theme & art is awesome & at this point, if it’s got Antoine Bauza on the box like it does, I’m willing to buy sight unseen, I love his designs so much.
    If you haven’t tried these yet, highly recommend look at Terraforming Mars, Photosynthesis, Lazer Ryderz & Century: Spice Road (there’s also Century: Golem which is same game with different art I greatly prefer).
    Have fun gaming!

    3. Yes! Terraforming Mars is fantastic. Crash asteroids, dig mines, build cities, plant tree, etc. It’s a slow start, but progress snowballs later in the game, so don’t be worried if you make little progress in the first couple generations.

  5. Wil, thank you! Ten(?!) years ago, you and AI got me back into D&D after 20yrs away – and now I’m playing in 2 groups and co-DMing/writing a 3rd homebrew campaign. So, honestly, I cannot thank you enough. I don’t twitter well, and mostly use it as a news feed, so the idea of leaving the platform (as you did) is appealing. Anyway, back to Tabletop. If you do more episodes, any chance of doing a vintage episode? Would love to see you play the Dungeon board game. Any thoughts/memories from it?

    1. Dungeon the board game was great when I was a kid. It doesn’t hold up, though, because it’s basically all about luck and dice rolling.

  6. I want you to know that I appreciate you and Anne being vocal about health issues. I was reminded again of Anne’s twisted ovary after hearing about it happening to Busy Phillips, and Anne encouraging people to get a mammogram was in my mind (among other things) as I made my first-ever mammogram appointment earlier this year. And you, Wil, speaking so often about mental health, is really important as well. Thank you.

  7. Hi Wil, I loved the eldritch horror episode, and I hope the second part is posted soon. For the games that you mentioned I can only talk about Onitama, it’s a great strategic game, and if you like to think in your games but not with the complexity of chess you will really like the game. The production value is great and can be taught like in 2 minutes.

  9. Not on your list but I just picked up the Multiverse expansion for the DC deck building game. It combines the 4 different versions of the game into one massive set.

    Sorry for a non listed recommendation but my family love this game and you seemed to enjoy the Marvel one on your show

      1. You can’t beat Sentinals of the Multiverse for a superhero deck bulding game 😛

        Wil, I’m happy to hear you are wanting to look into more games. But why is Tabletop’s future uncertain?!? Have I missed something? For me it’s the best thing on youtube!!!

  10. I watch the eldritch horror one last night and this morning, mostly because it’s an hour and my attention span is such over 10 minutes i’m probably going to get distracted, Anyways, I immediately looked for pt. 2 because i didn’t look at when it was posted, because who does that? I’m sure a lot of people, but i can’t wait for pt 2.

  11. Onitama is a good game, quick, easy to learn, almost like an abstract chess. It’s not going to change the world or have you thinking about it days later, but as a filler game it’s very solida

  12. Cool you are writing horror. Some friends of mine out there in the shaky state make horror shorts that are really pretty amazing. Think you might take your story into screenplay form and do a low budget, friends and family acting, photoshop in the scary lighting movie? Just for fun?

  14. Bought Kanagawa last year at Essen, a fun game that scales well across all player counts. Gorgeous art, set collecting, tableau building and a hint of push your luck. A game you and Anne would surely enjoy together, though it is light on player interaction.

  15. Just a note -somehow the old episode of tabletop 5 year mission popped up on my you tube – so I watched it and now … I am addicted to this game – we have been playing it non stop since I found it online – so thanks AGAIN for adding to my family fun – you are the best

  16. I am reading a book that I think you might enjoy. It is all “Strange Practice” by Vivian Shaw. It is about a doctor who specializes in treating vampire, banshees, barrow-wights, mummies, etc. It is strange and very well written. Also I am enjoying reading “Magpie Murders” by Anthony Horowitz. It is a murder mystery inside of a murder mystery.

  17. Horror is a great movie genre for ROI; I’m sure you can get Jason Blum’s number right? With your screenwriting work, do you follow Scott Myers (@GoIntoTheStory and http://gointothestory.blcklst.com )?

    I started All The Birds a couple of months ago, but just wasn’t connecting. At some point, I’ll have to try it again.

    I’m super excited for March to get here for maybe the best month ever of novel->movie adaptations: Ready Player One, A Wrinkle in Time and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

  19. I’ve been listening to the Walkaway audio book checked out from my library. It’s hitting SO many nerves for me that I had to stop and send my best friend an emergency 2am message that he best haul his butt to the library to check it out so we may discuss and rant about its awesomeness together.

    1. Walkaway gave me so many feels! Wil and Amber Benson were my favorite readers, but all the readers were good and the number and variety of voices helped give the book a unique feel for an audiobook.

  20. Don’t know if you have already discussed this, but will there be another season of TableTop? BTW TT holds my great nephew’s attention. He’s 9mos. but when he heard your voice, he immediately stops what he’s doing to watch the show

  21. I want you to know that Pastiche is a good game and you should play it. I don’t think it’s flashy enough for TableTop, but I still like it. You get little easels for your works of art! So cute!

    And good for you for getting Twitter off your phone. I think that was super smart. 🙂

  22. Definitely recommend Grifters and Onitama! Kanagawa is good too but a bit fiddly. I haven’t played Oceanos but from what I’ve heard I decided to pass on it.

  23. Onitama is fantastic, highly recommend. The main difference as a chess-like is that the rotating move availability makes it much more difficult to predict moves past 3 or 4 plays, which is great for balancing the scales between a chess veteran and a general tabletop player.

    Oceanos I would pass on. It doesn’t have a ton of depth (hah!) and is outclassed by better drafting/tile placement/scoring games, such as Elysium or 7 Wonders.

  24. I recommend Kanagawa. It’s simple to teach not too long and paintings are really beautiful to look at. Most important, it is a fun game.

  25. I have not played any of the game you mentioned but I wanted to let you know how much you have influenced my family in playing board games. We have watched many of you Tabletop episodes, I say many because my son is 11 and some of the episodes are … well, not appropriate for an 11 year old. None-the-less, many of the gifts he has asked for has been based on the shows you have done. I really hope there is more Tabletop. We do appreciate the show.

  27. I watched Tabletop yesterday and every time you said “solve a mystery” the Ducktales theme started playing in my head. Wifey thinks I’m weird because I kept giggling.

  28. I’d still watch the hell out of your grindhouse movie. I have a sore throat and I’m trying to go to sleep early but my ceiling fan has the slightest wobble I can’t fix and the pull chains keep clinking. Clack clack clack clack.
    Fall came early and the leaves are changing several weeks early, but this week the mornings have been cool and foggy and the afternoons are hot. Claire and I went for a bike ride this evening and it was magnificent. We have been playing games almost daily, after her sisters go to bed. Mostly short, simple games like chutes and ladders, memory, old maid and candy land. She cheats. She’s sneaky about it though. I did the same thing as a kid. I look forward to more games and better games. I started a sentence journal. Take one journal and at the end of each day, write just one sentence. At the end of that year, start over with the next year, and so on. After a few years you’ll have snippets of your daily life. I loved the idea.

  29. My husband and I have played Onitama a couple of times. It’s a short game, but it’s also a pretty intense game to play intellectually. And there is one expansion already that adds more move cards.

  30. I saw a documentary recently about the grindhouse filmmaking scene in the Philippines in the late 60s-70s called Machete Maidens Unleashed. You should check it out if you’re still working on your horror script. Watching it and hearing the stories makes it sound like it was wild times down there making those films.

    1. Great documentary! Loved it!

      Not a genre for everyone, but there is something uniquely interesting about how many of those films were produced, shot, and how they were marketed.

  31. I keep expecting to see you in Asimov’s or Lightspeed or Clarke’s World. Actually, The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy might be a great place fro you too. I don’t know if you are reading short fiction but these magazines are the place to find the Hugo and Nebula winners. You may also like galaxy’s edge. It’s an excellent mix of reprints form the canon and new fiction, edited by Mike Resnick.

    As far as board/card games go, the X Men expansion for Legendary adds to the game in a very good way. My wife sons and I have enjoyed it tremendously. If you like Claremont and the original New Mutants, you will like this.

    As far as RPGs go, I think Modiphius may have developed the next logarithmic advance in this genre of gaming. The 2D20 system integrates all the best lessons of D&D, Fate & Savage Worlds and produces a system that integrates acting directly into the mechanics of the game. It’s incredibly flexible also. Conan, Star Trek and Tales From The Loop take the core mechanics and shift them across multiple genres. I cannot recommend this system enough to you. And Tales From The Loop is ET meets Strange Things… AMAZING.

    Peace.

  32. Hi Will,

    I think you might enjoy This war of mine because of the story that the game tells (in war not everybody is a soldier and war is really hard and injust to the civillans and makes you do stuff you do not want to do). On the downside it takes hours to play (7 to 8 is no exception), but it is so good that time flies.

    I fortunately have never been in a war, but on BGG you can read the impresive story of someone who endured the Sarajevo war and who now played This war of mine. You can find it here: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1816826/war-mine-review-survivor-siege-sarajevo

  33. Hey Wil!
    I really enjoyed the first part of the Eldritch Horror episode of TableTop! I usually try to hold out on watching the multi-part episodes until all the episodes are out so I can watch them all at once because I’m super impatient when I watch things, but in this case I’ll probably just rewatch the first part again when I go to watch the next part!

    Oh, random fun fact about Colin Cunningham: I met him briefly the very first year I went for a full weekend of ECCC, really nice guy! Pretty sure he and Drew Roy let me break no photos rule by taking a picture with me. This was coincidentally the same ECCC I first met you and gave you a coffee portrait, which was also the first coffee portrait I’d ever painted! Ah, memories!

    I really do need to post pics of art that I made after being encouraged by you! I’ve also really wanted to use some of the pictures you’ve posted on your Instagram of like palm trees and sunsets and such as references for art, but didn’t know how to ask about that? Also that gecko that posed for Anne? Come on! LOL!

    Anyhow, I’m rambling…further proof I should not be allowed on the internet while tired…hope you’re well! I should really stop while I’m behind…

  34. Hi Wil
    Firstly, thank you. I’m a 48 year old geek with two teenage kids and never been into playing boardgames with any kind of enthusiasm, until this year when I began watching TableTop. Your show introduced me to such a vairiety of games that I hadn’t dreamed existed, that: I now have many Keep note lists of different types of games; a growing collection of games; learned that I like tile laying or dice games; have a new topic to bore friends and family about; and my family now plays a board game or two on most evenings.
    Secondly, Onitama may have been the second or third game that I chose to purchase, from an ever growing list. The game is simple to learn and quick to play (15-20 minutes). Choosing just 5 movements cards from the 16 (?) available, you aim to capture your opponent’s Master or make it to his pagoda with both of you using the same rotating 5 moves. The production quality is great, every component has a place in the magnetic flap box and the mousemat style board is lovely to play on. My son loves this game.

  35. Totally get the social media thing. Nearly every post I’ve made today I’ve deleted 10 seconds after. I just don’t need the ‘kick in the face’ as you say. I’m off to read the The Anatomy of Story now, thanks for the recommendation.

  36. Hi Wil,
    The only one from your list that I’ve tested is Oceanos, and I found it quite disappointing. The theme is fun and the art is gorgeous but the game itself is basically nothing more than a “whoever draws the right cards wins” with no real strategy behind it. I’d potentially recommend it as a family-friendly game when children below 10 are involved, and even then there are better (if uglier) games on the market.

  37. I want you to know that when I was at Dragon Con in Atlanta over Labor Day, I went to a Q&A featuring some other ST:TNG actors. As we were waiting, I heard someone else in the audience ask, “Isn’t Wil Wheaton here?” And when the answer was “no,” their disappointed reply got a LOT of agreement. We missed you there!

  38. Let’s see…from back when people “talked” more on here…I did that triathlon. Before the Wil Wheaton versus Paul and Storm show in Dallas. I got the flat tire and another rider helped me fix it, because some people are awesome. Well, I had a lot of minor injuries and such after that, and it was my only one so far. BUT I think I might do one next month. That’s my news.

    I have no game suggestions, sadly, as I haven’t played anything in ages. Play lots for me! 🙂

  39. I own Grifters, and it’s a great deck-building game. Probably one of my favorite new games this year. It is extremely good and I would LOVE to see it in season 5 tabletop! Glad to see you’re making progress with your stories, and can’t wait to read the star wars one you wrote!

    1. Grifters is an absolute gem. Every time I have played it with someone new they have turned around and bought a copy. The “hand-builder” mechanic is oddly satisfying – it’s like a deck builder without all the reshuffling.

      I’ll also put in a vote for featuring it on Tabletop… ideally with a group of Leverage-connected of players 😉

  40. If you end up playing any of those games, will you consider reviewing them here on your blog?
    Also, you inspired me to get off twitter and it is SUCH A GOOD FEELING. Thank you!

  41. Onitama is essentially a pawn battle, which is boring and predictable in chess, but Onitama makes it much more interesting. It becomes a matter of moving your pawns through their paces, using the cards available to you at any given moment; using (controlling by your choices) the movements not available to your opponent to get close without being taken; and then using a movement held in reserve, or that you just got, that ey can’t respond to, to take a piece. There’s definitely an element of waiting for your opponent to make a mistake as the cards circle around, which does make it feel like a martial arts contest.

  42. My current favorite new game is Dice Forge. You all start with the same two dice and buy new faces as the game progresses, trying to accumulate resources you can spend on cards that give you neat new powers and victory points for the end of the game. It’s 2-4 players and scales well for every player count, and even the four-player game is quick. There’s also a neat mechanic to keep all the players engaged all the time: all players roll their dice at the start of each player’s turn, so you accumulate resources all the time and can only spend them on your turn.

      1. Building your die is more important in the long run. The dice never HURT – they just may not help as much as you would hope. Picking good upgrades when you have the chance is far more important than rolling well.

        Next time we’re in the same place, I’ll try to remember to bring my copy so you can take a look.

      2. I genuinely just laughed until I choked. Which is a big deal for me: “in a period when laughter has been difficult, he has made men laugh without shame.” (Frank Swinnerton on P.G. Wodehouse)

  43. Our family just discovered an “oldie but a goodie”– Dutch Blitz. It’s like Uno meets Speed meets Solitaire. Multi-generational. Fun as just a two player and well worth the expansion pack to get up to 8 players. We’ve been heavy into Puerto Rico, Terra Mystica and Doom with our kids lately so it felt good to fall back into straight a “see how fast you can go” and “trash talk for fun” game. And happy screenplay writing– sounds like a fun-for-you project– infinitely satisfying.

  44. I’m really sad to hear Tabletop may not make it another season. I’ve loved learning all the different board games and I’m excited for the future games to be played with my family. It’s been helpful for Christmas gift lists for myself. I never really know what I want for Christmas and now I do. I look forward to seeing how your screenplay turns out.

  45. Onitama is an AMAZING game. My husband and I play it together and everyone we’ve introduced to it loves it. We have the expansion too which I would recommend getting along with the original. This is the first time I’ve commented although I have long been a lurker on your blog. The mention of this game was enough to drive me from the shadows to let you know that you should buy it and play it. Thanks for sharing all the things you are working on! I am endeavoring to get back to creating as well, I am going to use Inktober as a motivator.

  46. This War of Mine. The video game itself has won over 100 awards. The kickstarted and now retailed board game is an unforgiving adaptation (like XCOM: TBG). It’s about surviving a war as a group of civilians, about the darker sides of humanity, about moral choices, about not thinking as a gamer (making very informed decisions) but as a survivor (making – timed – decisions with the limited information you have). A survivor of the Siege on Sarajevo reviewed the board game: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1816826/war-mine-review-survivor-siege-sarajevo

  47. Kanagawa is pretty good and relaxing game and simple enough to teach to non-gamers. It’s the only one of those I’ve played, but I’ve heard of Onitama and Oceanos.

    Congrats on unplugging from Twitter. I no longer look at my social media feeds since probably the beginning of this year and it’s much better for my moral (not to mention less time wasted).

    Was wondering if you had any news you could tell us about when season 2 of Titansgrave will be out? Haven’t really heard anything.

  48. I’d love to see a new season of Tabletop be something like ‘TableTop Classic’. There are many awesome older board games that were all pre-Settlers that have the same sort of feel as the ones we seen played now. And what’s cool is that many of them have been re-issued so they all look like the more modern games even though they might be several decades old. Some of these that I’d love to see played include:

    Car Wars
    Illuminati
    Cosmic Encounter
    Axis & Allies
    Battletech
    Talisman
    RoboRally
    Acquire
    Ogre
    Dark Tower
    Scotland Yard

    And although it’d be a massive pain to try and edit it down into a 2 part episode…

    Diplomacy

    1. This is an interesting idea. I’m not sure I could make those games (which I love) into compelling TV, but it’s an interesting idea.

  49. Thanks for the book link about screenwriting. While I don’t intend to write a script anytime soon, I did find a recommended link to a book called “Creating Character Arcs” by K.M. Weiland, which I plan on picking up to help me get over that hump.

  50. Onitama is the chess-killer for me. Super easy to teach. Different game every time because you switch out the movement cards. If you get it, pick up the expansion – Sensei’s Path – which gives you even more movement cards.
    Now, Imagine your Sensei was alone on the map, but he had elemental bending powers a la Avatar/Korra and had to fight and capture 1-3 other senseis on the map. That is Element.
    Check out what Ryan Laukat is doing. Above and Below & Near and Far are story telling boardgames that play like an RPG – especially the latter one.
    Clank! is a deck-builder that powers a dungeon crawl with a press-your luck mechanic. Don’t make too much noise or you will wake up the dragon!

    1. Just want to chime in on Above & Below, and Near & Far — very excellent games that combine worker placement along with just enough story to be really interesting. And they don’t drag out for very long either.

      1. Islebound just as fun and also by the same guy, and pieces and mechanics from those games can be used in the other games from this group. If no one has suggested it yet, I HIGHLY recommend Arena: For the Gods! Really easy to learn, but a lifetime to master! Okay its not othello. Its mortal kombat or street fighter in an arena done boardgame style rather than miniatures, so no complex rules, but man the strats run deep. And brutally fun. Be prepared to have one of your friends swear a vendetta against you after the game is over.

      2. If you’re into dungeon crawls then I’d give Gloomhaven a shot. Tiny Epic Quest is basically Zelda in a box without the IP. Alien Artifacts I tried at PAX Unplugged and loved it after later watching a video, think Imperial Settlers with that one as far as mechanisms. Also enjoyed the demo for Dragonfire. Captain Sonar is a loud realtime sub game for 8 that everyone seems to love, I have yet to play it. Also picked up One Deck Dungeon as a nice solo game for my lunch break.

        I tweeted to you right before PAX Unplugged that you should look into it. everyone I spoke to had a blast there!

    2. I also think Onitama is a great game and I am not a fan of chess style games.

      Oceanos just didn’t grab me. The others I have not really looked into.

      I did just get a great little game from Facade Games called Tortuga 1667. Really quick and solid game with great design aesthetic for groups from 2-9 and definitely better with 5 or more.

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