Heart Piece Podcast

No one ever discovered anything by sitting inside their house. Well, thanks to the Internet, maybe that's not entirely true. Still, you can only experience so much within the comfort of your home/apartment/dorm/condo. If you really want to see what's out there, you gotta walk the walk! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the importance of regular exploration and how it can widen your social circle and improve your relationship building skills. There's also an Extra Piece at the end of this one! Head over to hppodcast.com and click on the episode post to check out the after-show. BONUS: The origin of Vania, Willy Wonker, LinkUp! RUNTIME: 47 minutes 46 seconds

Most everyone who's played an RPG knows a thing or two about party management. You've got to make sure you've got the right composition of do-gooders to vanquish the dark forces. However, we bet most folks haven't considered how they can use the same party management logic from video games to build better social circles in real life! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the idea of party management in video games to see how it can be applied in real life. Whether at work, in class, on the court or on the beach, we'll help you power up your social circles by making sure you've got the right kind of company for the situation! BONUS: Breath of the Mods, The Wiz, Boost or Break RUNTIME: 40 min

Today's the day. You got a good night's sleep. Your morning smoothie is ready. You printed 3 copies of your resume. You've got your phone. Your keys are in hand. You're wearing your lucky socks, your "hire me" blazer, and Joe Esposito is telling you you're the best around. Today's the day! You're halfway down the highway. Then it hits you. You forgot your pants... Job Hunt Quest Failed. You left a critical piece of equipment in your closet. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe talk about using the concept of inventory management in gaming to help with the constant struggle to make room for yourself, your job, your friendships, goals, dreams, relationships, health, and aspirations in the real world. You'd never hunt a Rathian without Antidote, so never go job hunting without pants!   BONUS: #POCcasters, The "Blue Suit", Link Up! RUNTIME: 40 min

Greetings HPeeps! Did you miss us? As we're sure you're aware, we've been on a bit of a cooldown. So we thought, why not talk about that for today's episode? Afterall, sometimes you need to ease back from the fast track and take it easy. Relax. Perhaps to re-energize yourself with a slice of pepperoni. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the importance of spending time away from the the hustle and bustle or everyday life to reconnect with yourself, others, and the world around you at your own pace. Your social life will thank you for it! Oh, and the answer was the Baroness Von Sketch Show. And it's not on Netflix. Sorry.   BONUS: HIRMA, Meet Mr. Miyagi, Bust-A-Doodle RUNTIME: 40 min

Visualize this moment in time whilst we paint you a picture. You are out perusing the internet and you strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. You say "ya-ma-to," they say "ya-mo-to," and next thing you know, you wake up in your recording studio at 6 am with a microphone in your face and an empty cup of what was probably coffee once with nothing but a foggy memory of your life choices over the past 8-10 hours to show for it. The real twist? That's kind of a true story. In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe are joined by the indie game developer behind the One Night Stand, the lovely Lucy Blundell. We chat about her games' recent nomination for an Independent Games Festival award, why she should marry her boyfriend and the logistics of milking cows (or people?) on the Nintendo Switch. Top it all off with gratuitous amounts of the late great George Michael and a hot and steamy version of a fan favorite mini

MAGfest 2017 was awesome! There's nothing quite like pressing your face against a friend's face, attending random elevator parties, playing Japanese rhythm games like no one is watching, having your face melted repeatedly by amazing artists and DJs, and planning the post-mortem services for your bank account after you finish buying ALL the merch. Yup, MAGfest is awesome. You know what's not awesome? MAGstress! There's so much to do! So many people and performances to see, games to play and pizza to eat! Just how the heck do you juggle the unjuggleable Con Life? In this episode, MasterWife returns to join MasterJoe as they recap their MAGfest 2017 experience and share the secret to making the most of your con experience without getting overwhelmed by the chaos. This episode is full to the brim so listen up HPeeps! Andrew Jackson! p.s. special thanks to all of our friends and listeners that we got to see and meet at MA

A wise person once said, the way to a man's heart is through his abdominal food bag. Turns out that's very much true! In this episode, Masterjoe is joined by the newly engaged gamer couple, Hotsammysliz (in his second appearance on the podcast) and Ms. Marvel! We chat about how their relationship progressed to the big questions, their plan to answer lots of repeat questions at MAGfest, and share some little known facts. For example, did you know that one of us can crochet? Which game does Sammy like better, Sonic Adventure 1 or 2? And what is a Stroopwafel?! Masterwife was busy working her big girl job and had to sit this one out but we hope you enjoy and miss her presence as much as MasterJoe did :

Note: Storytime HPeeps! We recorded this episode last week but before we could upload it, MasterJoe's computer died! The video card went bad so the computer had to be sent in for repair. 3-5 miserable business days later, we have our computer back and are happy to finally release this episode for you all. We hope you enjoy! Humankind has made lots of improvements over the years. We added motion to pictures, brought color to TVs, and made 2D relationships more appealing than their 3D counterparts. Wait, what? Just what the heck are we going to be talking about here?! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe are joined by special guest Justin Choe to discuss just what it is that makes 2D characters appealing and how we can use that knowledge to improve our real life relationships. We also sidebar into chatting about the treatment of real life Japanese women and whether or not Japanese feel that relationships are bothersome. We bet you don't know how to prono

Dating can be a grind for gamers. You're out there doing your best to climb the ladder but you just can't seem to rank up, or worse, you may be getting demoted. Maybe you've been looking for that Shiny Pokémon in the tall grass but keep running into Pidgeys. Or perhaps you've stomped all the goombas and dished out the coins only to discover your prince or princess was in another— well you get the idea. There's got to be a more effective way, right? MasterWife and MasterJoe explain the concept of "action-adventure dating" and how you can change up your dating strategy to start having better dates. Whether you're single or already in a relationship, there's something for you in this episode! Also, what the heck is Geocaching? Why isn't there a Geekeasy near us? And why shouldn't you name your newborn baby girl Sonic?! BONUS: Tetris Champion, Ben Briggs, Bust-a-Doodle  RUNTIME: 43 min

Do you smell that? The sweet yet slightly sweaty fragrance of the kind of soul food gaming that only happens once (maybe twice) a year? Thanksgiving brings people together, and when people get together, epic gaming occurs. MasterWife and MasterJoe share of their favorite Gamesgiving games to play with friends and family. After your done throwing down in the dining room, let us know how you throw it down in the living room! BONUS: The Origin of Wendy, U GAME IT, Bust-A-Doodle RUNTIME: 37 min

These are trying times in America. Tensions are high, opinions and thoughts are being flung left and right, and every venture out into the World Wide Web seems to be littered with more random encounters than Lufia 1. How can we navigate this minefield of high-powered opinions without unleashing our ultimate attack? Well, you could either stock up on Holy Water (or Max Repel if that's more your speed), or you can use a little thing called Empathy. MasterWife and MasterJoe use the concept of Back Seat Gaming to talk about the effects of empathizing with others as a means to achieve understanding and establish common ground. No one likes a back seat human. Learn to ride shotgun instead! HEY! Is that Another MHPotW bumper?! BONUS: NES Classic woes, Huemanatee, Link Up! RUNTIME: 43 min

Moving is hard. You literally uproot your entire life and transplant it into a new place. You have to find a new place to live, get use to your new boss, make new friends. You have to re-hang all of your nerd art (UGH)! Or maybe you're move is less drastic. Perhaps you're going to college or just starting a new job. Maybe you're moving from the basement to the attic, who knows. Started at the bottom... Getting acclimated to the "new" can be a big challenge, but as a gamer you're better equipped to handle that challenge than you think! MasterWife and MasterJoe share what video games taught them about how to conquer strange new worlds in real life. Say, is that an actual MHPotW bumper?? Don't forget to set the timer. BONUS: Life's Most Stressful Things, World 2 Quiz, Link Up RUNTIME: 36 min

Take a look at your Friends Lists and Follower counts. Of the [insert amount here] people on those lists, how many of their first names do you know? Do you know where they are from? What they like to do for fun? For work? Actually, do you know anything about any of them besides their gamertag or Twitter handle?Odds are, you don't know all that much about the real people who populate your friends lists. So how can we cure the anti-socialness of social media? Simple. By being brave enough to be social again! In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the idea of demystifying the mystery of avatars and getting to know the people behind them to form more meaningful relationships. Put on your bold pants, listener. This one comes with a challenge! Oh and enjoy the copious amount of Star Fox quotes because Star Fox Zero launches today :)BONUS: Boost or Break, Miitomo, Voice Actor Casting?RUNTIME: 43 min

Greetings from MasterJoe and Dr. MasterWife! It's been quite a while but the Masters are back in #HPHQ and better than ever. Thank you all for supporting us in our absence. In fact, this entire episode is about support! Life can be pretty challenging sometimes (don't we know). You may have an important test to study for or a big assignment at work to get done. Maybe you're just trying to tackle the Dark Zone in The Division. Just like in video games, when the going gets tough, the tough bring healers! Or engineers, or spell casters, or more healers! Always more healers. MasterWife discusses her long and arduous journey from graduate student to doctorate degree holder and MasterJoe spouts nonsense while reacting to multiple trigger words and phrases, resulting in a few songs and some movie quotes. Prepare yourselves HPeeps. Support is inbound! P.S.: Never get the airport sandwich. BONUS: Capt

MasterWife and MasterJoe are back from MAGFest 2016! Such an amazing festival/convention. This episode comes fresh off the ride home from the event so we just had to recap all the amazing time we had. If there ever was a gamer family reunion, this was it. We got to meet, see, and hang out with a bunch of old and new friends, jam out to some incredible music, and of course play a ton of games. If you weren't there this year, you definitely need to be there next year! RUNTIME: 28 min

What's this? Another episode of the HPP in the same week? Yup, and just in time for Valentine's Day. In this episode, MasterWife returns from PhD land to chat with Emma and Phillip at #HPHQ about an incredibly rare specimen in the world of tabletop gaming: A two-player card game! Originally created by Emma as a Valentine's Day present for her game-designer boyfriend, Heartcatchers is an adorable game of deception and secrets which is currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to be printed and shipped. Hey, we know a thing or two about Kickstarter ourselves :)BONUS: Boost Or BreakRUNTIME: 38 min

We have an idea for a movie. Drummer, a lady gamer, and a black guy all go to a dance contest. It's called, today's episode of the Heart Piece Podcast. Right? You're welcome. MasterJoe and MasterIce chat it up to talk about the revised theory of separation. Fun fact: It's not six degrees anymore. You're a lot closer to everyone else in the world than you think. Well, in theory at least.MasterJoe ran into the original Mario Bros. world record holder, Steven Kleisath, and got a visit from his old buddy Krysti Pride, who had some interesting news! Grab your Notepads and your TextEdits. It's time to talk about #hplinks! And please, peeps, don't let elderly people use seesaws.BONUS: Senior Seesaw, Circle of Gaming Life, Mario Bros.RUNTIME: 40 min

PUT THAT DOWN LITTLE JOHNNY! (Ahem) You know what's great about the Heart Piece Podcast? You can listen to it even while attending to your kids! After all, the gamers of the 80s are now becoming parents and some of them are having kids of their own. MasterIce knows about the joys struggles of parenthood first hand and shares some perspective on what it's like to make the transition to being a parent first and gamer second. Special appearance by his two kids, plus we share the number one game parents should be playing with their kids, as told by kids.BONUS: Caution: Snow, Boost or Break, Master Niece and NephewRUNTIME: 37 min

David Hayter is out of Metal Gear Solid. Kiefer Sutherland is out of 24. And I could have sworn I left my sandwich on the counter just a minute ago! Who can you trust these days? My brother MasterIce makes his debut as the interim co-host of our podcast, sitting in for MasterWife, as we talk about backstabbers, teamwork, and which one of those concepts Ubisoft's The Division will lean towards when it launches. We've even got some beta codes from the folks at Red Storm to give away. Trust us.   BONUS: Sinbad the Sailor, 8-bit Christmas, #BHPOTW, Grind & BoomRUNTIME: 29 min

So we learned a thing. When your bank sends you a new debit card right before you take a trip, take it with you so you can activate it, pay you podcast hosting services, and continue to be able to upload episodes! Sorry this one is coming so late we'd been in Florida having far too much fun. All is well now.Nevertheless, MasterWife makes her long awaited return to the cast. We talk about a foolproof way to keep your New Years Resolutions, our latest co-op game obsessions, the best sushi in South Florida (oh-em-gee, soo-goh-ee), our despair over a recent change at Chick-Fil-A, and what's coming down the pipe for the podcast in 2016!Also, sorry about the audio. Out of town so we recorded this in a car. BONUS: NYE Party, #TeamHoneyMustard,  RUNTIME: 24 min

We all know you can't please everyone in the gaming community, but do we really have to ruin the fun for everybody? Everywhere you look on social media these days there are people with opinions and counter-opinions that just leave you scratching you're head asking, "Why?" If you say "I think [insert game/console here] is great!" there'll often be a line of people at the ready to tell you why [insert said game/console here] is bad. Special guest AJ of BattleBuddiesGaming comes on the show to tell us why we as gamers should learn to live and let live and why we should let our inner kid shine bright, like a diamond, in the rough.BONUS: Snake's Fine Diamond JewelersRUNTIME: 58 min

Today we have a success story all the way from Japan! Jess and Matt, also known as @Tronbonneart and @MegaMat77, come on the show to tell us about how they met at NY Comicon, living the good life in Japan, and how they make their relationship work. Oh yeah and Gunvolt 2 and Gal Gun. BONUS: Fiy Gieri's Thanksgiving BucketRUNTIME: 56 min

You may have heard talk about the "gaming community" before but how many of us are actually part of a gaming community? What does it even mean to be part of a community? Why is community important for growth? Use the Force and join MasterJoe and special guest Chancellor D as they embark on an introspective journey to answer those questions as well the most important question of all: Batman or Superman?BONUS: The Origin of Chancellor D, Star Wars Predictions, NC Comicon RUNTIME: 42 min

Gamers are incredibly passionate folks, and truth be told, we don't always get along. As much as we love playing games with other people, we can get pretty nasty with each other really quickly. Sometimes feelings get hurt and friendships take critical damage, or worse, crumble completely. How can we avoid this and protect our relationships when our friends go 1-18 in that Halo 5 SWAT match?Dreweveryday brings the Drewniverse to #HPHQ and takes us to school on the subject of Transformative Mediation. Keep your notepad handy as we talk about how video game characters can set a practical example for how we can address our real world grievances with each other.   BONUS: What's up with HPP?, Drewniversal Healthcare Services RUNTIME: 38 min

Calling all nerds! Today we welcome our favorite South Florida nerd couple, DJ TONX and Rosemary, to #HPHQ to talk about nerd stuff. Namely, the Nerdporn Podcast and the Facebook community group Nerd Central. These days it's becoming much more socially acceptable— and even cool —to be a nerd, and yet many of us still hide our passion in the shadows. So we wanted to highlight Nerdporn and Nerd Central for being an awesome community where nerds can be nerds. Did we mention that TONX and Rosemary are our favorite SoFlo couple? Success story inbound! Oh yeah and MasterJoe is starting a new job today, no big deal. BONUS: New job, Boost or Break, Bars, The Story of Toesmary RUNTIME: 53 min

"Find your passion," they said. Well excuuuuuuse me princess but just how the heck am I suppose to do that?! In this episode we strike up a discussion about passion. What are the things that you would do no matter what? What do you care about? What are your pet peeves? Knowing what you're passionate about becomes way more important the older you get, so if you've been trying to figure it out, this episode is for you. Spoiler alert: you may have already discovered it without knowing!   BONUS: Loopin Louie, Powerline, 90s Board Games #KSFF2015 RUNTIME: 40 min

We were so stressed out last week that we didn't get around to recording an episode, so we thought it was only fitting to make today's episode about how to deal with stress. So we enlisted the help of our good friend, Runashleyrun, to help us discuss the following questions. What kinds of stress are there? How do they effect us? How do they effect others? How do we as gamers handle stress and what kinds of games are good for relieving stress? Grab your stress balls and breathing bags, heart pieces. Everything is going to be alright. In fact, we're starting to feel better already!BONUS: Kickstarter Film Festival, The French Whisperer, Teenage Mutant Giant Raisins, Secret EndingRUNTIME: 1 hour 14 minutes

What do you get when you mix a doctorate psychology degree in Applied Experimental Human Factors with video games? That's what Dr. Biscuits means to find out. After all, we all know video games can give us super human abilities, but what kinds of video games and just what kind of abilities are we talking about? Grab a pen and some paper because it's time to go to school. Bonus: Our first mail!, Boost or Break, Otis and Annabelle Runtime: 1 hour 2 min

Dave Proctor, co-founder of 13AM Games and producer of brand new exclusive Wii U indie title Runbow, comes by HPHQ to talk about how the very first 9-player party platfomer came to be. He also shares why Super Meat Boy and Brutal Legend are two his Top 3 favorite games of all-time. We play a special indie platformer-inspired version of Boost or Break, pick Dave's brain on how he balances work and his marriage, how to successfully run a video game company with your friends or family, and talk about exactly what it is that makes Runbow the most fun way to ruin your friendships since Mario Party.RUNTIME: 55 minWhat we talked about:www.runbowgame.comKeep up with 13AM Games!Facebook: 13AM GAMESRunbow Fa

Today MasterWife and MasterJoe celebrate their 2-year wedding anniversary by talking about video game weddings! From invitations to the isle, we share some ideas to help get you inspired in your own wedding planning. Despite our best intentions, we somehow manage never to mention the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and it's incredibly Japanese commercial feautring the amazing wedding of 2 card board boxes. We do, however, share some stories from The Vault about our honeymoon, like that time we pretended to be Jane and Tarzan. RUNTIME: 42 minutes

Some people think video games are for kids. Well new flash people: Video games aren't Trix. MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss the negative stigma that the mainstream population still seems to have when it comes to gaming. Is it really "a waste of time" or is that just what people like to say? As gamers, we think there's a bit of an education and a level of understand that needs to be applied to these kinds of statements. Sometimes, you just need put the controller in the other hand, ask some questions, and get to the source. Everything in moderation, of course, (except for listening to this podcast). RUNTIME: 50 min

Highly Entertaining Twitch streamer and pizza connoisseur Hotsammysliz comes by HP HQ to talk about pizza! He also discusses how he built the his stream community, known as the SWEG Kingdom, the significance of being a black streamer, his road to being partnered and the amazing relationships he's form along the way. MasterWife and MasterJoe also discover the origin of his nickname. We mainly talk about pizza though.   BONUS: Pizza Hut or Papa Johns?, Video Game Food Boost or Break, Spaghetti Boy, DJ SWEG RUNTIME: 1 hour, 3 min   Follow Hotsammysliz! twitch.tv/hotsammysliz twitter.com/hotsammysliz facebook.com/hotsammysliz

The only thing better than a party is a game party. In this episode MasterWife and MasterJoe discuss different ways to upgrade your party hosting game! We give tips on how to dress up your party invitations so your guests will want to RSVP (stop using Facebook basically), break down the science behind choosing who to invite for what, discuss potential places where you can host a party, and give a slew of party ideas to get your creative gears turning. We'll definitely be trying out some of the ideas we came up with in this episode. Ain't no party like a gaming party! BONUS: Our first iTunes Reviews, La Di Da Di, Spaghetti Boy, Power Juice RUNTIME: 52 minutes Check out the show notes at heartpiecepodcast.com!

Think back over your short or long list of people that you've met since elementary school. How many of them, in one way or another, did you meet because of games? How many of them do you remember by the experiences you shared gaming together? In this episode, MasterWife and MasterJoe take a look back at their own respective childhoods and reflect on what games brought them together with their friends and family members. Then they talk about what games and gaming experiences bring them together now as a married gamer couple. You might be surprised to hear some of their discussion! BONUS: Amazon.com, Playing House with Mario Kart 64, Rhythm Heaven Frog HopRUNTIME: 50 minutes

In this episode we chat with special guests Jehm Faulking and xoTreeHugger from the Insert Coin Theater Twitch stream team about platonic relationships! Intimate friendships with members of the opposite sex are a vital and sometimes tricky part of life. How do we make platonic relationships work? Why are these relationships important and why does the gaming community in particular need more of them? These answers and more await! BONUS:  Plutonium is a thing, Boost or Break, Xbox One, How'd you get your nickname?, HPP Panel? RUNTIME: 1 hour an 1 minute Episode art by: http://diegoroso16.deviantart.com/Visit heartpiecepodcast.com for the full podcast notes!

The parent-to-child dynamics of the 80s and 90s are largely different than they are now for the current day and age. Many of the kids who grew up playing Atari, Nintendo, and Sega are now all grown up and wondering how video games will impact their own kids. In this episode, we bring in veteran parent MasterDad to discuss how parents in the old days viewed video games and how they managed it from a parenting standpoint. Then MasterJoe talks about how adults today, who are gamers themselves, are thinking about how video games will influence their parenting. Also featuring some rare nuggets about MasterJoe's childhood and who was responsible for introducing him to Nintendo!EDIT: We learned after recording this episode that the President of Nintendo, Saturo Iwata, has sadly passed at the young age of 55. We are particularly saddened by this news as we are both avid Nintendo fans and have been enjoying Nintendo games since childhood. We would like to join wi

It's our first listener submitted topic! Local gaming. Online gaming. Robot parties. How can you navigate the pros and cons of both to help you build and maintain your relationships? Answer: Use Robots. After all, it's not the 90s anymore. The gaming industry as a whole is pumping out more online gaming experiences than ever before while games with local multiplayer offerings are far and few between. MasterWife and MasterJoe will be your trusty robot advisers with some neat tricks you can try the next time you set off to save the world with your (potential) friends.BONUS: America, Robot Halloween, Buck Henry's Fle Market, Unrest in Mushroom KingdomRUNTIME: 50 minutes

There are two things that every gamer can identify with: Games and cartoons. For some, these are merely a hobby. For others, they're a means of connecting with others and making life better. Games and cartoons are a common ground that a large portion of gamers share that not only bring us together, but provide us with opportunities to become better versions of ourselves. In this episode we had the pleasure of sitting down with SAMMUS, one of upstate New York's most prolific nerdcore rapper/producer to talk about her passion for games and cartoons and the path her life has taken as a result of her experiences with them. Put on your grown up hats and prepare to be inspired! BONUS: Boost or Break: Hype Man Edition, Squilliam Cuttlebutt, J.G. Wentworth RUNTIME: 55:05 Keep up with SAMMUS!http://sammusmusic.com/Soundcloud

Relationships are a dynamic and ever changing part of life. The unfortunate reality is that they don't always last forever. How do you hit continue after it's game over? That's the question we attempt to answer with our special guests in this episode. We got a chance to sit down with two of the developers of recent Kickstarter success story "a•part•ment: a separated place" to discuss what drove them to make a narrative driven game about breakups and relationships. BONUS: First crushes, Boost or Break: dating edition, the Ears of Truth, Apartment 2?RUNTIME: 1 hour

The team that plays together stays together. Or do they? Competitive gaming attracts some of the best talent in the gaming community and gives gamers a place to get together and show off their skills. There's certainly a particular camaraderie in the circles of the competitive scenes and bonds can be formed that last a life time. On the other hand, competitive gaming can sometimes bring out the worst in us. We invite our buddy and ex-competitive gamer Paige Turner to the show to talk about her experiences in the competitive FPS scene and about her new show, The Misadventures of Paige Turner.

Did you know that playing Harvest Moon is proven to make you 81% better at deciphering relationship dynamics? Did you also know that 42% of all statistics are made up? Well here's one thing that's definitely true: Harvest Moon is an awesome video game franchise. Even better, there are lots of relational goodies to learn from the games! In this episode MasterJoe takes an in-depth look at the characters of his all-time favorite Harvest Moon game and MasterWife breaks down the 5 Love Languages as told by Dr. Gary Chapman. Discover your Love Language. Take the test!

Gamers Unite! Twitter legend and retro gaming enthusiast @RETR0JOE joins us on the show as our very first special guest to share the story behind one of the most recognizable hashtags dedicated to the gaming community. This was such a fun interview and we really enjoyed chatting with Joe. Listen to find out what his favorite retro console and game are and how #gamersunite transformed into the movement it is today! There's plenty of extra content with this one so be sure to check it out below: MasterJoe's Major Heart Piece OTW The Original Gamer's Unite Website HDmyBoy - Play Gameboy games on your TV in 1080p! Say What? Retro Hoarders - Check out Joe's massive collection of retro games. Follow Joe!Twitter - 

The Sims is the gaming equivalent of Star Wars: Just about everyone has either played it or heard of it. Playing The Sims is like taking a course on the art or making friends. There's a lot to learn and even more to gain. MasterJoe breaks it down while discussing what is arguably the most important aspect of the game. MasterWife follows up by sharing some of her favorite games for friendship-building and explains the science behind why gaming with your acquaintances is such an effective way to level-up new relationships from bronze league to diamond. BONUS: XeroClone, Gandalf Commands You, #GamersUnite RUNTIME: 46 minutes 05 seconds

Animal Crossing sure is a fun game. You know what else is fun? Meeting new people! That is, unless you have trouble getting to know new people. If that's the case, this episode is for you! This week we break down the social awkwardness of breaking-the-ice with co-workers, classmates, and complete strangers. MasterJoe tackles the situation using Animal Crossing: New Leaf as a guide while MasteWife explains the science behind social phobias. Did we mention that introducing someone to the Heart Piece Podcast is a great way to start a conversation? We're on iTunes and Stitcher now! BONUS: Who's Watching, Yoshi Daycare Academy, It's Tricky RUNTIME: 36 minutes 37 seconds

By the Triforce, we've done it! This is our inaugural episode! Celebrate with us as we introduce ourselves to you all. In this episode, we share our story of how salsa dancing brought us together, give some shout outs and general advice, and explain how "Gamers of Love" became the Heart Piece Podcast. Thank you to everyone who believed in us and supported our Kickstarter campaign so we could make this podcast a reality. We hope you all enjoy our first episode!   RUNTIME: 50 minutes 36 seconds LEGAL: MasterWife and MasterJoe are not professionals and do not offer professional advice. All opinions are based on personal experiences and beliefs. This content and all future episodes of the Heart Piece Podcast are not intended to replace or be used as a substitute for professional consultation or service. If you are having a serious relationship issue, seek out the assistance of a licensed professional.