Category: Games

Here’s The Game Lineup for Tabletop Season Four

Posted on 22 April, 2016 By Wil

We looked at eleven million games, and playtested ninety-six thousand games, for season four of Tabletop.

The exact order that we’re releasing episodes and the exact timeline for the release isn’t set yet, and it isn’t up to me, but here are the games we’ve settled on for Tabletop Season Four:

Lanterns
Fury of Dracula
Mysterium
Code Names (with six players for maximum funtimes)
FATE Core RPG
Dragon Farkle
Flashpoint
Harbour
Eldritch Horror
Star Realms
Monarch
Star Trek – 5 Year Mission
Champions of Midgard
Steam Park
Tiny Epic Galaxies
Welcome To The Dungeon
Misspent Youth RPG

This season, I wanted to play games that were accessible to families, indie games, more RPGs, and at least one or two games that broke the rules I usually use to choose games. We start filming in a few days, and the season will be released starting in June or July. And because I know it’s going to end up being a FAQ: Titansgrave’s second season is in development right now. We’re aiming to film it in a couple of months, and release it in Autumn.

I hope there’s at least one thing here that you’re looking forward to, and PLAY MORE GAMES!!

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demons worry when the wizard is near

Posted on 22 March, 201622 March, 2016 By Wil

Still tired, and the pollen plus wind minus humidity has given me a headache that refuses to go away … but I’m better than I was.

If you’re one of the hundreds of people who reached out and offered a bit of kindness, thank you.

I wrote a story. It isn’t done, and it may never be published, but for the first time in ages, I felt like I needed to write it and get it out, so I could get my mind around what I have to write, so I can finally get back to what I want to write.

And actually doing that, instead of sitting around and actively not doing that … well, it was kind of a big and important thing for me to accomplish.

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Tabletop Season 4: Status Update

Posted on 31 December, 20151 January, 2016 By Wil

Reader T asked me in an email if there were any updates about, or news I could share about Tabletop Season 4. T mentioned that he liked the constant updates Geek & Sundry sent out during the production process of last season, and that he missed that sort of thing.

I began to reply that there “isn’t much to share, because there isn’t that much going on, except” … and then I wrote a bunch of stuff that disproved my original thought.

So, considering that T may not be the only person on this planet who wants to know what’s going on with Season 4, here’s the stuff that’s going on with Tabletop Season 4 which can be announced now:

We’ve taken a longer than usual hiatus because I was burned out, frustrated and unhappy after a really terrible experience with a (formerly) trusted friend last season, and wondering if I even wanted to do another season of the show. After a long hiatus that has allowed me to work on other things and rediscover the joy of playing games for the sake of playing games, as well as time to heal the wounds from Season 3, I’m back to work with my team, and starting to get things together for Season 4. We are in the game review process right now. From an original list of over 450 submissions, we’re actively play testing about 85 games, and that will be reduced to 18 or 20 games for the season. It’s 18 or 20 because we’ll probably do another one or two episodes that are two parts, but we won’t know for sure until we get down to about 20 games.

We’re not going to do gag reels and stuff this season. I don’t think they’re necessary, and they’re more trouble than they’re worth. We’ll still have a bi-weekly release schedule. I’m not sure if there will be something different to release on the off weeks.

One of the biggest changes this season affects me on a personal level as well as a professional one. We have asked the game publishers to send someone from their company to consult with us on rules and gameplay during production, so we don’t have to rely on one person to know the minutiae of 18 to 20 different games.

We are going to focus primarily on boardgames, as usual, but I have a couple of RPGs on my list that I really like, that I think could be really fun to showcase. We’re also going to look at more family games than we have in the past, because it turns out that families who watch together make up an enormous part of our audience. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to choose “kiddie” games, but that I’m looking at games that are fun for parents and kids to play together. For example, Tsuro, Ticket to Ride and Sushi Go! are all games that are really fun for adults and kids to play together, but they’re also fun for just adults to play together.

I have chosen two games already. They are Lanterns and Code Names. I’m also looking very seriously at Tiny Epic Galaxies.
We are planning to go into production near the end of April. We’re going to shoot for three weeks instead of two, so our schedule is a little less grueling. We don’t have an official release date, but I think the first episode of the season will be around the beginning of June.So, as you can see, maybe there’s more to share than I thought, and there it is. Play more games!!

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treasure type n

Posted on 22 December, 201522 December, 2015 By Wil

I’ve been enjoying being home so much, I haven’t made the time to sit down and write. Even though I want to write all the time and make lots of stories and stuff happen, I also sort of needed a vacation to just … exist, for a little while.

So I have produced many words (mostly on my stupid Tumblr thing), but I haven’t put them together into stories. It’s turning out to be even more difficult than I expected to switch gears from the long hours and specific demands that go with being an actor to the different hours and self-discipline that go with being a writer.

But I’ve been doing some stupid creative stuff on Instagram and Twitter, I guess, which is sort of goofing off and like eating junk food instead of preparing a healthy meal.

Still, I’m going to give it a try.

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Life Reboot: Status Report

Posted on 28 November, 201528 November, 2015 By Wil

It’s been just over a month since I wrote about rebooting my life, and I thought it would be a good time to check in, see how I’m doing, and give myself some grades. If you were inspired to reboot your life, maybe this is a good time for you to check in, too.

So the only way this works is when we’re honest with ourselves. We have to honestly assess how we’re doing, take credit and feel good about the stuff that we’re crushing, and work harder on the stuff where we aren’t. I think we also have to be gentle and kind with ourselves. Regardless of how you end up grading your efforts, if you can honestly say that you are doing your best — and you accept that your best can vary from day to day — you get points for that.

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