A typical day on the set at Tabletop

This is from my Tumblr Thingy. I thought it would be relevant to some of your interests.

QUESTION: Hello, I have a question about Tabletop (don’t worry, it’s not “when will you make more šŸ˜‹). When you would film an episode, when would the interstitial commentary from the players be filmed? Because it seems like they should be like, during breaks in the game, so that people can give their thoughts as they come up, but during extended episodes I can’t see where that would cut and film them and rejoin, so maybe it was after? I can no longer sleep at night, this question haunts me. Ok bye now šŸ˜Š

ANSWER: Good question, and you have it mostly correct.

What weā€™d do on a given day went like this:

  • I arrive and we run through the dayā€™s schedule.
  • I shoot the introductions for the two episodes we are filming that day.
  • The players for the first game arrive, go to makeup and wardrobe, then spend about an hour with the game publisherā€™s rep and Ivan Van Norman, our games expert, to make sure they understand the game and its basic strategy.
  • While they do that, I shoot the rules explanation for each game.
  • Players are seated at the table with me, and we begin. Each game has a rough halfway point, usually determined by the points scored, and weā€™ll break at that halfway point. For a narrative episode like an RPG, we’d break around the end of the second act.
  • The players and I are interviewed about what we did in the first half of the game. We call these OTF interviews. I believe thatā€™s a documentary term of art which meansĀ ā€œOn the fly.ā€
  • We play the second half of the game, until there is a winner.
  • We shoot the loserā€™s couch segment.
  • We shoot the trophy segment.
  • Now we shoot the OTF interviews for the second half of the game.
  • The players are finished, and we break for lunch. They can stay and eat lunch with us if they want, but most players choose to get on with their day.
  • The players for game 2 show up right as lunch ends. Theyā€™re always welcome to come before lunch, if they want to eat with us. Iā€™d say about half of the players did that.
  • We sit down, and play the first half of the second game.
  • We break and shoot OTF.
  • We finish the game.
  • We shoot the loserā€™s couch.
  • We shoot the winnerā€™s wall.
  • We shoot my OTF for the second half of the second game, so I can be finished and sent home as soon as possible. My union rules guarantee me 12 hours between when I leave set and when I come back, so we always try to get me wrapped (finished) early, so we donā€™t have to start later the following day.
  • We shoot the remaining OTFs.
  • Everyone goes home! Thatā€™s a wrap.

Iā€™m glad you asked this question, because I got to revisit some of the joy that I felt when we were making Tabletop, Geek & Sundry was the greatest place in the world to be making awesome content, and I got to play games for my job.

42 thoughts on “A typical day on the set at Tabletop”

  1. I have always been interested in how the behind the scene stuff works on TV ect.
    Thank you for sharing!

  2. That was cool – thanks Wil! Tabletop introduced my wife and I to modern board games and its now our primary hobby. Your show changed our lives in such a positive way – we really appreciate all the work you did on it!

  3. I’m glad you have such positive memories of the show! I still rewatch them sometimes. I was a bit worried you got to burned out to enjoy playing games, but it sounds like that is not the case.

  4. Thank you for the info behind the scenes. I loved watching Table Top and found so many new games to play with my family. Thank you for making such an awesome show!

  5. “My union rules guarantee me”. Ok this just really cracked up as I was thinking union rules for playing a game.

  6. Needless to say, I miss Tabletop dearly. I still throw on episodes to teach the games to new people and run them when we host Tabletop Day (though I’ve only just realised this year there probably isn’t an official one, have to do our own once virus situation is better under control.). The show was really something special. It led me to making so many new friends both online and off. Helped motivate me to do my dream visit to GenCon where I met so many and got me to come back again for 3 years afterward. Friendships forged there mean the world to me. I can’t wait to go back again when life settles once more.
    Thank you for this little throwback. Reminds me of good times and good friends.
    All the love to you, Anne, the family and all these mutual friends we have. Wishing all the good health more than ever.

  7. That was a great question and an even more fascinating answer. Loved it.

  8. Wil, thank you! That was actually quite interesting for this Tabletop fan. Please feel free to share additional content or thoughts or recollections when/if they come to you.

  9. This is a great series of game shows. I contributed and got my name on the wall and was so proud. I also have a bunch of Tabletop memorabilia items display proudly.

  10. I read the email header and thought ‘could Tabletop with Wil be making a comeback?’. Sadly, no, but interesting read nonetheless. Cheers.

  11. Thanks for the view behind the scenes. I wondered about the timing of those interviews as well.

    Thank you for making such a wonderful show, that cost me soooooo much money due to all the games I bought after watching you play them. All those games though provided 100ā€™s of hours of entertainment, which is a great return on investment.

  12. I had always wondered about that! Thank you, questioner, for asking and Wil for answering!

  13. Thanks for the insight.

    Just got to tell you, that we bought tons of the games you played on Tabletop and love them all! Also, when we play with friends and they tell us about that awesome game that we got to try sometime, but the rules are really complicated? Most of the time we just tell them: “No sweat – we’ve seen Wil playing that one – got the basics already šŸ˜‰

    1. Yes, we did the same thing here: If Wil played it, it must be good and we already kind of know how to play it! And Wil actually introduced me to the whole genre of coop games. Without Wil and Tabletop, I may have never found those games! He really brought a lot of joy in my life with this show!

  14. Thanks for this! I had the exact same question! Itā€™s really sad though, that the show ended. I recommended it to so many people and I got to give them my ā€œyou may know him from Star Trek, but he does so many other cool thingsā€ bit a lot! Thank you for making Tabletop while it lasted!

  15. Hi Wil…I have the season one poster with all the autographs on it, (currently framed hanging in my office up here in the San Francisco Bay Area). One of your interns sent it to me in one of those Mystery Box things along with some books and other trinkets she had laying around. While I have enjoyed it for years, I have always felt that it is very filled with nostalgia for and would like to know if you would you like it back to hang on the wall if your office? ‘Just want to do the right thing, here.
    (Akso, I love Non Judgemental Ninja)

    1. You’re so kind to think of me. I have one of those posters, already hanging in my office. I love that you have one, and I love that Melissa sent it to you. Enjoy it!

  16. After my divorce, when I was struggling to find ways to connect with my kids, I watched my first episode of Tabletop. Tabletop inspired me to try a tabletop games as a way of spending time with my children. Playing with them did exactly what I needed it to do and I am so grateful for Tabletop for giving me the push to make it happen. Thanks, Wil!

  17. makes a weird whimper in the back of her throat Set, schedules, lunch break. I didn’t think I would never be nostalgic for a shooting schedule but here we are. Also this is awesome insight into the inner workings and pacing of the show. šŸ™‚

  19. I can verify that even on the very first day of shooting, this team was professional, knew what they were doing and how they wanted to get the shots, and VERY helpful to some of the people who maybe didn’t have as much experience with being in a Real Hollywood-Adjacent Studio. I promise you that every half-hour TableTop episode you see was the result of hours of work before, during, and after the actual game playing, from the guest interviews to all of the music, graphics, and owlbear visitors that make each episode so delightful.

    I was and am proud to have been on TableTop and am grateful to Wil and Felicia and the rest of the G&D team for having me on.

  21. Okay, you’ve heard this a million times before i’m sure, but “Tabletop” was exceptional. It got me back into board games in a big way and in the process I passed the gaming “bug” on to family a friends. More importantly, it helped me rediscover the beauty of actually sitting down with people I care about. All this while sharing a common goal (playing a board game) for a few hours.

  22. Neat! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I’d also wondered how that worked, but never thought to ask. And I think now I have to go revisit some some Tabletop. Maybe start a Titansgrave rewatch while I’m at it…

  23. I enjoyed Tabletop immensely (still do, in fact) and it introduced me and my late wife to lots of really great games which Iā€™ve since introduced to our friends at games evenings. Even if I didnā€™t find the game particularly interesting, I always enjoyed the atmosphere you and the players created, and the important message you all conveyed, ā€œHey, weā€™re here to have funā€”winning is a bonusā€.

    I found your blog because I enjoyed Acquisitions Incorporated and I stayed because youā€™re an interesting, articulate and intelligent writer. Iā€™ve never watched any films you were in or Star Trek: The Next Generation, but you write very movingly about the good times and the bad times you have experienced and itā€™s always fascinating to catch up with your blog, so it has a permanent tab in my browser.

    Thanks for everything you do, and best wishes.

  24. Thank you for sharing this. I’ve actually been really struggling with depression lately, and one of the few things I still can genuinely enjoy lately has been re-watching Tabletop. You always seem to be truly having fun (even when you are having the worst of luck with the dice.) and it brings a smile to my face, if only for a little while. It almost feels like being in a comfortable group of people and it just feels nice. I’m not sure I can really put it into words. However, I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that one of the greatest losses to a lot of our lives was the ending of Tabletop bringing that sense of fun from you into our lives on a regular basis. This isn’t a criticism of you. You have to do the right thing, and obviously that wasn’t staying with G&S. Please just know that you are missed and what you helped create is cherished and loved. And it is still making a difference to this day. I just thought you might like to know that. So thank you.

  25. I really loved Tabletop. Your delivery of the games and the joy you had playing really came thru. I even got my wife (not a gamer) to watch some of them with me. I watch a lot of board game youtube channels, but I still feel like Tabletop was the best at conveying how to play while you had fun with all of the guest players.

  27. We love Tabletop and we wish it still existed so we could send you a copy of our game! You can tell that you genuinely love gaming, which makes all the difference.

    You also mentioned in your previous post that you love playing games with your sons, so we thought you and other readers might light to know that we have converted our game to a free print and play :-D. You get to be a scientist working at an awesome science facility called a synchrotron (a type of particle accelerator!) doing loads of cool projects and learning about the importance of things like failure and collaboration in science. There are two versions available for ages 5+ and for 10+, and we hope it will bring some science fun and inspiration to homes around the world during this difficult time.

    It is available for download here: https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Public/DiamondTheGame.

    May the science be with you and let us know what you think!

  28. Miss tabletop and miss the old Geek and Sundry. Miss you on Twitter (though I think you were right to leave). Miss seeing you doing regular stuff as yourself. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Stay safe.

  29. Like most here, I’m sure, I love Tabletop and miss it. I know that there were a lot of reasons that it ended. It was just so entertaining to see you having so much joy playing games with your friends and all of you having such a good time.

  30. Wil, just want to say that I got back into modern gaming because of you and TableTop. The production quality and rewatchability of those episodes is STILL unsurpassed. So many games (and also a table) that I purchased because of seeing them played on your show. And I still find myself saying when I get into a new-to-me game like Root, Warchest, Camel Up or Azul, ā€œMan, this game wouldā€™ve been so much fun to watch on TableTop.ā€

    Thanks. Now back to my Hitler hole…

  31. I first enjoyed then loved Tabletop. Miss the show a lot these days. I myself am trying to spread the word about boardgames through absolute beginners on my website and would like to ask you a few questions in an interview. Would you join me ? šŸ™‚

  32. Hi Wil! My husband and I and our two kids are huge Tabletop fans. Weā€™ve watched all the old episodes and discovered a lot of new favorite games thanks to you and your show, and now have family game time several days a week. With tabletop games continuing to be a growing market, what are some of your favorite games that have come out in the last few years?

  33. Tabletop ā€¦ theeee best! Thanks for everything you and your team did with that. Also, congrats on the Bicycle ambassadorship.

  34. I let my 8 year old girl watch the kids episodes and some of the ones that were PG. She was entranced. I then tried to show her all other tabletop style shows. She said “Wil Only” so we will watch all the ones she’s allowed to watch on repeat. Lol
    Thank you for getting me into tabletops and for captivating my family.
    Best wishes to you Will.

  36. Hi Wil, thank you for sharing about your experience Tabletop! The show was what got me even more into modern boardgames and I canā€™t thank you enough for introducing some of awesome boardgames. I have always been an introvert and I do not spend much time outside home and work to socialize, but watching Tabletop has encouraged me into joining my local boardgame communities. Since then, I have made a lot of new friends and been having a lot of fun learning and playing new games. Sending you love and best wishes from halfway around the world.

  37. Hello, I am from Poland.
    Maybe 4 years ago i watched my first TableTop video. Since then Boards games are my new hobby now i have about 100 board games.
    I loved watching those series even I cannot understand all (I had to). But I’d say my English improved after this!
    Now one of my desires is to play Battlestar Galactica against Wil šŸ˜€
    Cheers!

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