Fools Daily

In which Mike and Matt finally finish off the big box game discussion that they have been having with a chat about Epic and its various forms over the years. If I am honest I can't remember what we actually talked about in this episode , other than the fact its about Epic, as it was recorded quite a few weeks ago when we lost in the cricket to Australia at Lords. Of course this was a blessing in disguise as we then went on to beat India, smash the Aussies out of sight in the semi final and then in a glorious display of cricketing prowess (or a lucky deflection off Ben Stokes bat), went on to win the World Cup for the very first time. But you probably aren't listening to these for cricket discussions, more likely you are here for gaming chat. Well as I said, you get some of that, just not sure what form it takes.

In which Mike and Matt have a discussion about the wonder that is 7TV as they went to a Pulp based event over the weekend. And yes they did about as well as they normally do but with 7TV thats completely irrelevant as narrative wins the day. So tune in to hear the thrilling adventures of Dr Möbius and his robotic minions along with tales of the nefarious activities of crime boss Vincenzo Moretti. Learn how crime seemingly doesn't pay, how Captain America accidentally fell off a ship and how Matt has developed both a fear of hand grenades and a love of IKEA furniture. If you are inspired by what you hear then you can read more about our adventures on the tabletop in blogs by Andy Bascombe (https://baskivich.blogspot.com/2019/07/pulptastic.html) and Kieron Mulholland (https://cheaphammer.blogspot.com/2019/07/captain-america-fighting-for-victory.html) which give you a great insight into the mindset of the 7TV community. I wish I had found them 20 years ago.

In which Mike is supposed to be talking to long time game designer Rob Stoddard (http://www.http://www.rob-stoddard.net) about his latest project Conan: Savage Legends which is coming to Kickstarter on the 16th July. To be fair they do talk about Conan, which is an arena based boardgame where you play as one of the legends of the Howard universe along with two companions against you fellow players for riches beyond imaging (read the press release at https://www.s7tabletopgames.com/home/s7-games-to-kickstart-conan-savage-legends-on-july-16) but as is Mikes want, they go off on several tangents where we find out a lot more about ROb and his experiences in the games industry. I mean he starts off with a story about Mike McVey asking him to do some painting for the first Warmachine book and it just goes from there. They have a great discussion about playtesting methodolgies, how mainstream games differ from games produced for our hobby and Mike learns something he didn't know about Red Sonja. All in all it was a thoroughly interesting conversation and one we will hopefully continue at a future date. Oh and remember Conan: Savage Legends, July 16th Kickstarter.

In which sneaky Mike and bumbling buffoon Matt get back on track and talk about the wonderful Mordheim, a game which has spawned many imitators despite all its flaws. Its basically Necromunda in the Warhammer World so all the things we talked about in that episode apply here as well, great fun, terrible balance issues - especially if you are playing an ongoing campaign - and one crew that rules over them all in the form of the sneaky sneaky skaven. Thrown into the the episode you get a few name drops (clang) Mike tells the story yet again about the University of Altdorf and Matt, well Matt does what Matt does. Minus the dribble (though many would say with extra drivel)

In which we take a break from our recap of GW 90s games and instead join Mike and a plethora of dodgy sounding people to talk about the ongoing Dungeons and Dragons campaign that they are all playing in. So we are joined by Andy, Cathy, James, Chris and DM Joel as we get a catch up on how the campaign has gone over the last year and what the characters have been up to. Mostly this seems to be Krunk (Mikes character) getting the party into near death situations and then getting them out of it with a well timed critical role on the d20. We do talk some about how our characters have developed over the year and touch on what roleplaying means to us but thats a pretty big subject and we do have a years worth of adventuring to get through. Don't worry we hear from each player individually over the next few weeks / months / years (you know how it goes with this show) enabling you to become a lot more familiar with whats going on. We might even be able to persuade Emily to come on the show, though as she thinks this podcasting lark is all a bit silly I'm not holding out hope - bloody teenagers.

In which Mike and Matt start a series of casts talking about the Games Workshop big box games of the 1990s, which is a depressingly long time ago. The boy Rory wasn't even born when some of these came out which is a way I suppose of the universe letting you know that you are just some sort of piece of navel lint at a cosmic scale. Now there's a downer for today. Still you can cheer yourself up by listening to us. Well its not a punishment is it. Oh it is. Well shouldn't have been naughty then.

In which Mike and Matt (Jim and Bob unfortunately had other commitments) continue with their chat about Games Workshop big box games of the 1990s, today talking about the game which is probably the longest lived of all the content that GW has produced - yes its bloodbowl. From its beginning in 1986 to its current thriving state (the new halfling team is just wonderful) we give a very speedy run through of the history of the game and talk about why it has survived so long. Mike manage to resist going on another rant about Dice Cups and Matt , for once, doesn't poke the angry bear with a stick. He is prone to doing that you know, he just wouldn't let it lie. Must admit this chat brought back some great memories of smashing opponents into the ground and leaving their seasons in tatters as they tried to compete with only 5 fit players. Thats why we play right? Right? Hey, where are you all going. We have sweets.

In which Mike and Conrad spend some time finding out whats been happening in Conrads gaming life. Unlike the other two Conrad has still be playing regularly and travelling to events and stuff, things that, as you know, were sadly missing from Matt and Mikes past 18 months. So what do we learn. Well there are games from GW that have really complicated names, Shadespire and its variants are like crack cocaine to gamers, the new Tanelorn venue actually isn't that new and also has a complex backstory that would make George R R Martin think, blimey thats a complicated back story oh and that Conrad is still one of the nicest men in gaming and fortunately doesn't have a stroke whilst we are recording. Unless Red Braces is a euphemism that I've somehow failed to pick up on.

In which Mike and Matt make there long awaited return to the podcasting pool. Ok some people wanted us to come back. Well at least one person so this is for him. Yes after over a year away we've actually carved out some time to record something, even if it is basically what we have been writing on the blog for the past few posts. Its like an Audible version. Hope you like it and we are certainly planning on doing more but as with all these things it will be when it will be.

Something Stirs.

In which Mike and Matt (oh wait a minute Matt didn't show up so Mike had to go solo) chat with Neil and Paul from Workhouse Games about their forthcoming Kickstarter Project, Awful Orphanage which launches on the 22nd March 2018. This is a game that has been floating around in their heads for the better part of 3 years and unlike many of the games that you see on KS this isn't a big company doing a presale or a small company with unrealistic expectations of being the next Kingdom Death. No, in a refreshing change of events, these are guys who have thought long and hard about the product that they want to put out, have done all the sums and have invested significant amounts of there own capital to get the game to a place where they just need the funds to actually put it into production. Nice one. It helps that the game has a killer premise and the figures and art are absolutely lovely. You also get to hear Mike be absolutely gobsmacked at the price point - hint, its really really good. We'll definitely be backing it here and in 2018 thats not as done a deal as it was previously.

In which Mike goes on a little rant and Matt uses a big word. The basics of the rant is to do with the divorce of fluff and gameplay and how that effects performance on the tabletop. Its not about telling people how to play or saying that one way is better than the other but more about making sure that all choices are viable and sensible choices to make.

In which Mike and Matt shock the world by producing a second episode in a weekend. Today is the tale of their trip to the darkest wilds of Daventry to play in an Epic Armageddon event. Its taken 3 years to get to this point so they were desperate to make the most of it and so excited about how it went that Matt didn't even get out of bed to record the audio. Thats dedication. And now of course you all have the thought of Matt, naked in bed, recording his voice for your pleasure. You aren't getting that thought image out of there any time soon.

In which Mike and Matt recount the tale of epic derring do that was Bonescon 2018, which (spoilers) was a great success and hopefully there will be a Butterfly House there next year as well. They also touch upon the Epic tournament that they are heading out to and then get to the meat of the discussion as they talk about the recently released SAGA v2 and how they got on with their first couple of games. Listening back it does seem that Mike likes the sound of his own voice and poor Matt can hardly get a word in edgeways. If you have ever met Mike you know that this couldn't be possibly true as he is a shy and retiring type of character, very much content to sit in the background.

In which Mike is rejoined by Matt (sorry Conrad fans) to talk about whats been happening in the month of January. Its a tale of missed opportunities, possible futures and generally the usual sort of thing from a couple of old geezers who need to keep running to the bathroom every 5 minutes. It does contain a review of possibly the worst tabletop game that we have ever played though and it does get a bit ranty, so if you like that sort of thing then this episode is probably going to be right up your street. Overall grade for January though is pretty much could do better. That plan for 3 episodes a week is going swimmingly well after all :)

In which Mike gets a classy cohost in the form of the wonderful Conrad. Its been a while since we last heard from him and this episode is a catch up on whats been going on in his gaming life and how he seems, for the moment at least, t have recaptured some hobby mojo. Now I can't promise that we stay totally on topic for the 80 odd minutes of the show, just as I can't promise that Conrad doesn't get a bit silly in places (he is old and senile after all) but hopefully you'll find it worth listening to.

In which Mike and Matt record the first FD episode in 6 months. 6 months of peace and quiet ruined by a couple of middle aged old men blethering on about playing with toy soldiers. We have a very brief catchup on what happened in the second half of 2017 and then launch into discussion of plans for 2018. Hopefully those plans include more audio shows. But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

In which Mike and Matt do something that you would have thought that they would know better than to do and lay out what the plans they have for the summer. Its like mid year resolutions. Which is frankly a very stupid thing to do. Its especially stupid as if you asked them today what they said they were going to do when they recorded this then I'm pretty sure that they won't be able to remember and will make some sort of excuse so that they can go back and listen.

In which Mike and Matt talk about Bonescon and specifically the plans for the Fools Daily Butterfly House. Before we get there though we wander through SAGA, a trip to Warhammer World and a brief discussion about monochrome painting techniques. Polyglots, that what we are. Must admit I am very excited about the Butterfly House and hopefully if you are a regular listener to this show you are as well. Fun and Frolics will abound as a shining beacon of hope in the mass of competative gaming. Or it will be an utter disaster and Matt and I will be sitting twiddling our thumbs for 3 days. Either way its going to be exciting.

In which Mike and Matt are joined by James Hewitt, ex GW designer, to talk about his new venture Needy Cat Games. We cover his gaming background, his thoughts on where the industry is at the moment and what its like leaving the safety blanket that working for GW gets you. Obviously us being us the conversation then goes down several different paths, often at the same time as we discover what he's playing at the moment, gaming tropes / mechanics he likes, things like that. Oh and we also find out his views on Dark Knight (wrong) and GoTG2 (right). As an aside huge congratulations to Gav on his Gemmel, very well deserved.

In which Mike and Matt are joined by the extremely knowledgeable professional movie critic Dom (@dumb_luck89) to talk Spiderman: Homecoming. Unsurprisingly spoilers galore. Seriously, we give away all the big ones so don't listen until you have seen the movie. On the way we touch upon the various Marvel Netflix shows, meander around Legion (if you haven't seen it you should, its fantastic), prove Matt to be the absolute idiot we know he is and generally have a good movie chat for an hour. Indeed Dom was so much fun we are going to get him on again for movie and gaming chat. Its nice to be able to talk to someone intelligent now and again. Been a bit movie heavy last couple of episodes but gaming will resume next time around.

In which Mike and Matt are joined by the delightful Bunty (@Elessarion30) and talk movies. Mostly they focus on the excellent Wonder Woman which Matt hasn't seen, then talk Baby Driver and look forward to Homecoming. Thats pretty much it but it goes on for like 90 minutes. They love the sound of their own voices, have you noticed that?

In which Mike and Matt talk about Daffcon and why the 2017 event was cancelled. This is sad as we hate letting folks down and we did. However we do end on a positive note as we talk about our hopes and dreams for the resurrected multi system Smogcon, though time will tell on that one.

In which Mike and Matt talk many things, like the heat properties of glass, Test Match Special and of probably most interest to you, the gentle listener, campaigns. Mainly because Matt has had a very good idea about a town called Ascension that we are going to use to tie multiple different games systems together. meanwhile Mike has been writing a more traditional branching campaign for Dragon Rampant and putting together some rules for units to gain (and lose) bonuses depending on how well they do in the campaign. Frankly they are so enthused for the hobby that its almost nausea inducing, which means a huge hobby crash is probably just around the corner. Get em while it lasts kids.

In which Mike and Matt are joined by the crew from Paranoid Miniatures to talk Mythos. Mike and Matt recently had a game (Matt won!!!!!) so we talk about what we found, how we felt the rules worked, miniatures, pretty much everything. What we discovered is that Mike knows nothing about rules writing, that there are ambitious plans for the game (several new factions and additional models for existing ones) as well as narrative campaigns that sound a lot of fun. RIP Brian Cant.

In which Mike is again joined by a whole host of hangers on and a very special guest in the form of Justin Gibbs from Ninja Division. Justin has come on on the show to talk about the forthcoming Relic Knights (remember that) 2nd Edition that he is currently working on. We cover the basics of RK, what he feels are the USPs of the game and cover the substantial changes that he is making in this edition change over. If you have no idea of what Relic Knights is then Justin also explains that as well as the various factions. We also tackle one of the issues that killed 1st Edition in the UK, namely supply and get some pretty decent news. Enjoy

In which Mike is again joined by Conrad and Matt. Today Conrad goes off on one and Mike gets carried along with him, probably contradicting himself multiple times. Its come to something when Matt is the one on a podcast who isn't foaming at the mouth. If you ever listened to Grumpy Gamers then this will bring a tear to your eye.

In which Mike is joined by Conrad and Matt, something that normally brings disaster. The episode is supposed to be about board games but we start off with a long discussion about films specifically the new Arthur movie from Guy Richie. Eventually we do get to the games and discuss The Others, Blood Rage and Splendor amongst others.

In which Mike and Matt talk spoilers. Not what happens when you leave meat out in the sun to long but what happens when the internet gets overexcited and post pictures of stuff that they aren't supposed to yet - like the new 40k stuff. They touch on movie trailers giving away to much, leaks from NDA programs and much more in a chat that was only supposed to be 10 minutes while they waited for Conrad to work out how to use Skype.

In which Mike and Conrad talk Warmachine MkIII and the recent Welsh Open. When we spoke to him a while back about the state of WM Conrad was noncommittal to say the least. Has he changed his mind? Is he enjoying the game again? Has he crushed all before him and become the uber champion. You will have to listen to the episode to find out. I know such a tease. Frankly though, if you haven't worked out the answers already then I have a bridge i would like to sell you.

In which Mike and Conrad!!!!!!! talk about what Conrad has been up to the last 6 months. This is the first of hopefully a few Conrad episodes this week and today its all (I say all but its Mike and Conrad so they go all over the place) about Bolt Action.

In which Mike and Matt fill in a survey. Honestly, that's what they do. Modiphius put up one looking for feedback on the forthcoming Fallout Game and Mike thought it would be a good idea to record them filling it in! Now the fact that it takes them an hour to fill in a 5 minute survey should tell you that they may get sidetracked. Also you can hear Matt wet himself live on air. Honestly you can. Its very very very funny. Fill in the survey yourself (and hopefully demonstrate better bladder control) at http://www.modiphius.com/fallout-wasteland-warfare-survey.html

In which Mike and Matt talk discuss the attractions of new shiney and how they are drawn to play certain things in certain games. This all came about after Mike had an existential crisis brought on by the new 40k and the fact that he was trying to be good and use figures that he already had, rather than what he actually wanted to play.

In which Mike and Matt review Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and wonder if they saw a different film to the rest of the country. After working themselves up into a good old rant - you can almost hear the spittle hitting the microphone they turn their attention to other movie sequels which gives Matt the chance to abuse Mike about picking predictable choices and then picking predictable ones himself. Well apart from his last choice which was a good one.

In which Mike and Matt discuss there adventures at Salute and wonder why the smaller manufacturers put themselves through it. Its seems to be a massive amount of stress and up front expenditure without getting a massive return. We also touch on things like having a set of rules to sell with your figures and visa versa. Interesting stuff like that. Oh and Matt swears which was frankly worth the editing just for his apologetic comments afterwards. Looking forward to the discussion about this episode a lot.

In which we discover that the saying you can never go back is not strictly true. Yes Mike and Matt have been distracted by the forthcoming 8th edition of 40k and have a bit of a chat about what we know so far. Frankly its all the fault of Shadow War so we talk about that as well. Realise its been a while since the last episode but there is hope that in the next few months we can get back to something like a regular recording schedule. It would be nice.

In which, in honour of International Womens Day we have a special guest in the form of Bunty. We are supposed to be reviewing Logan and we do sort of but then we get all sort of sidetracked into other recent superhero movies, which then takes us to a little rant about DC movies and quite a big rant about Zac Synder. Oh and we talk about our mutant powers. Thats it really, though we do go on for quite a long time. Thanks to Bunty for putting up with the silliness. You can follow her on twitter @elessarion30

In which Mike, Lee and Matt get all nostalgic about when they were mere pimply faced youths and got the first version of Adeptus Titanicus, starting them on the Epic (you see what I did there) journey of their gaming careers. What this actually means is that they have a chat about the new version of Titanicus that is coming sometime this year and talk about a few blurry photographs that are doing the rounds. The first way sounded a lot more poetic though.

In which Mike and Matt have a catchup on the various Osprey rulesets that they have picked up over the last few months. Of course that doesn't mean they have actually played them but when has that ever stopped them giving an opinion. So basically you get first looks at Broken Legions and Chosen Men and a more in-depth discussion about Rogue Stars. Oh and they have 5 minutes on the new OGAM supplement Celts from Ganesha Games. You can also hear Matt try really really hard not to swear as he builds Malifaux plastics.

In which Mike and Lee, alongside a dalek impression by Matt talk Bloodbowl. Yes we do play GW games sometimes! Being old we've been playing BB for a long time and what better time to start playing again than the release of a lovely (and it really is lovely) new edition.

In which we discover another episode that was recorded a while ago. If it had been put out at the time it was recorded it might be slightly more relevant than it is now but hey its content right? Anyway Mike, Matt and Lee talk how they sucked at 2016 resolutions and how they are going to do so much better this year. We all know that this is a lie but we all play along with it anyway. Apologies for the end, I believe its called technical difficulties.

In which we discover that even though he is old Conrad has a better memory than Mike and reminded him that this episode was recorded like a month ago and then Mike completely forgot about it. In fact he forgot about it so completely that he has no idea what we talk about for an hour, only that its vaguely related to Dystopian Wars. What hope does this podcast have with an idiot like that in charge. I would ask for a refund if i was you.

In which Conrad and Des talk about The Roots of Magic - whats happened with the game since we last talked, Daffcon, Salute and the up coming Kickstarter and expansion for the game.

In which Mike and Conrad get to chat for an hour about everything that Mr Gonsalves has been up to over the summer. We cover Warmachine Mk III, Dystopian Wars, a little bit of Malifaux and then various WWII gaming type stuff. Amazingly Mike stays awake for all of it, even the Snoremachine discussion. You should treasure these gems with Conrad as he is very old and as you'll hear in the episode falling apart. Probably hasn't got long left with us and then these recordings will become part of the National Archive. And you will all be able to say, I knew him and he was great.

In which Mike and Matt get all serious and talk about how Matt is rubbish at games and then dive into his specific issues with Malifaux and how he is the worlds biggest chump when it comes to that particular game (well all games to be honest). We also talk about No More Room in Hell, the Fools Daily Roadshow, Daffcon and a little Kickstarter that the Terrain Shed is going to do. Phew, seems quite a lot when you write it all down.

In which Mike and Matt talk about going to Trent Bridge to watch England make the highest ever 1 day international score of 444 as well as the highest ever one day score by an English batsman. The tale involves sunscreen, ostrich burgers, long long drives in the car with dodgy sat navs and a jolly good road trip. Oh yes, we also went to Warhammer World for Matts first visit. Well there has to be some gaming content right?

Conrad, nothing else to say.

In which Mike and Matt talk about the other new gaming hotness of the moment, Congo. It seems likes its everywhere and Studio Tomahawk have made some great games in the past, but does Congo live up to that. Well we don't actually know because we haven't actually played yet. Which leaves this episode like an audio unboxing with a payoff to come later.

In which Mike and Matt talk about the new game from Warlord / Clockwork Goblin, Konflict 47. Now Matt is predisposed to like it, Mike is predisposed to hate it (it has guns and nazis) so do either of them change their minds? Somehow I doubt it as they are both stubborn old fools but listen and prepare to be amazed - not that amazed though, its not like one of those really good magic tricks where you spend the next two days trying to work out how they did it or did perhaps J K Rowling actually right a non fiction book?

In which Mike and Matt are joined by Joel to talk about their visit to Partizan. Of course it wouldn't be FD if they didn't talk about things like the Olympics TV coverage as well. Still they do talk about the show, Matt gets to name drop - CLANG!!! and Mike and Joel got to spend money.

In which Mike and Matt talk about if the gaming industry is over Kickstarter, especially as a pre sale system. The discussion was started by the performance of the latest Mantic one and as is normal with FD goes in all sorts of different directions.