The State of Games

In this special “minisode”, Chris is joined by game designer Josh Mills to talk about his game, Milkman, now on Kickstarter from DHMG. Josh talks about the seven-year development of Milkman – its origins and changes over the long journey to potential publishing. All this, plus his earliest game designs using drug store checker boards, and his involvement in the video game industry.

In this episode, Darrell, TC, and Chris cover their highlights and hijinx from the Unpublished Games Festival in Hunt Valley, MD! You'll hear of new and unpublished games to be on the lookout for, as well as lots and lots of griping about hotel rooms and horses (if you want to skip the griping, jump to 52 minutes in). Plus, urban spelunking, progress on Milkman, the new Defenders of the Realm, and more!

In this special episode, Darrell, TC, and Chris jack into the matrix and talk about how artificial intelligence models - from ChatGPT to art creation AI - could change the board gaming landscape, as well as the entire world. All this, plus their favorite games of 2022, Christmas with Covid, expensive times at Disney World, Motor City, the pitfalls of trap music, the Fat Boys, and much more!

In this Darrell-less episode, TC takes control of the podcast to get some things off his chest as he and Chris talk about times when people and entities have totally crossed the line of conduct both in personal life and in the boardgame space. Buckle up, it's going to get bumpy. All this, plus rats in space, Russian spies, mutants, a couple of games that do neat things with dice, COBRA, some art critiques, and much more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC sit down and tell tales of everything they've been up to during the long hiatus, including a GenCon recap, a trip to Dollywood, Covid, and a complete computer meltdown. All this, plus impressions of the hottest roll-and-write in town  - Twilight Inscription - chasing tornadoes, a relaunch of the Dice Hate Me Games store, counting sheep, NASCAR racing, the king of Ireland, favorite spooky games, and more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, TC, and special guest Daniel Newman talk about upcoming projects – and some of the various adaptations and revisions that have been made, all for the sake of progress. All this, plus the works in progress at The Unpublished Games Festival, a rebuttal to our discussion on escape rooms in episode 181, how Time's Up: Title Recall is the best party game of all time, and how Compounded has been improved on Kickstarter!

In this very special episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC share news of the business separation between Dice Hate Me and Greater Than Games, why it happened, and what's in store for the future of Dice Hate Me Games as a wholly-independent publishing house, again. All this, plus Compounded news,  horse and moped racing, subway construction, Golem, the upcoming Unpublished Games Festival, gaming with the kids, French Toast, and more! 

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC take a deep dive into escape rooms and board games that adapt the escape room concept, including pros and cons of some of the most popular escape room board games released since 2016. All this, plus the roll-and-writes Three Sisters and Motor City, a proper Spring Break in Surf City, rekindling love for word games like Bananagrams and Scrabble, eternal love for Pan Am, the hotness of Elden Ring, and more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, TC, and special guest Keith Ferguson look back on the year that was, talking about their favorite games, those they wished they'd played, how they spent the holidays, and why Santa's Workshop is getting a second chance at life. All this, plus why Wordle is a thing, the mouthful that is MicroMacro: Crime City: Full House, the joys of bone-in prime rib, water cryptids, Fantasy Realms, a Power-Grid party, and more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC share tales from another trip to South Carolina to hang with King Richard, talking game design, doing some top-secret game development, eating so much food, and playing lots of games. All this, plus voyages in the party bus, the perils of Vampire: Rivals, rubbing and racing (lots of it), betting on the ponies in Long Shot, civ building in Imperium, recreating the perfect buddy cop movie in Code 3, and much more! 

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC are joined by special guest Justin Jacobson, president of Restoration Games, to talk about new editions of older games, whether they are good for the hobby, some of their favorites, and a few on their wishlists. All this, plus a deeper dive into the inner workings of Restoration, a look at new Board Game Arena titles Beyond the Sun and Lost Ruins of Arnak, fireballs, gaming a quarter mile at a time, and much more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC delve into games that may require you to set a specific calendar day (or, at least, a game night) aside to play, why they're still pretty awesome, and whether the stigma of extended play time might be a marketing myth.  All this, plus mutants, harpoon shortages in Tentacle Town , mad scientists, Pitch Black, the endearing Welcome To..., the joy of event gaming with Richard Launius (naturally), and much, much more!

In this episode, Chris and TC are joined by Daniel Newman and Tony Miller, game designers and founders of New Mill Industries, to talk about the benefits of small publishing, their company's “punk rock ethos”, and various upcoming projects. All this, plus predictions on fall convention attendance, Calimala, gladiators in a bowl, Fleet: The Dice Game, the genius of ButtonShy and Spielworxx, wrestling, mad scientists, and more! 

In this special 10th anniversary episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC look back on a very weird year of gaming and try their damndest to stick to tradition and select their best games of 2020. All this, plus progress on TC's My Father's Work, piracy in the 19th century, sharing some classics with loved ones, Draftasaurus, another game with camels, the adorable Beez, 2021 convention talk, Fiasco, Stellar, and much, much more!   

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC break out their six shooters and mount up to talk about western games, what makes that theme so awesome, and how it might possibly go horribly wrong on occasion. All this, plus Darrell's move out west to St. Louis, discussion of the big news of Transformers, GI Joe, and My Little Pony titles coming soon from Renegade Games, how good Pan Am really is, what's Ragusa's deal, anyway? - and so much more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC dig a bit deeper into TC's suggestions as to how Rallyman GT might be improved, how that went over like a lead balloon on BoardGameGeek, and chat about what makes racing games awesome. All this, plus our top five favorite racing games, the beauty of No Man's Sky, the canceling of cons for all of 2020, livestreaming with Strong Bad, the Spiel des Jahres nominees, saving Arkham - once again - and so much more! 

In this very special episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about life in the time of COVID-19, including a first-hand account by Darrell about his family living in a COVID-positive household and dealing personally with contracting the virus. We also lighten it up a bit by discussing gaming during lockdown, Aquatica, a rant from TC about Rallyman GT, livestreaming, more from Alexander Pfister, a free print and play from the Fleeples, and more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC dig into the podcast mailbag to talk about the effect of overly-negative and positive reviews on the boardgame community, the difference between impressions and critical thinking, and how all of it may influence fan purchasing. All this, plus a look at Marvel Champions LCG, being a boardgame influencer, how Azul: Summer Pavilion could be the best Azul yet, fly fishing, party games & more!   

In this special episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC look back on a year of gaming and share their awards for favorites published last year, discoveries that came out before 2019, and many more categories like Favorite Publisher, Biggest Surprise, and our Game of the Decade! All this, plus tales from the beach, Copenhagen Roll & Write, Foodies, getting old, Irish Gauge, Old West Empresario, Disney after dark, a roll & write rant, and more! 

Chris, Darrell, and TC get in the holiday spirit by talking toys - specifically, the special relationship between toys and games, and the effect “toy factor” has on consumers and the board game hobby. All this, plus Darrell's adventures in Philly at PAX Unplugged, Irish Gauge, throwing axes, Just One, Letter Jam, Word Slam, and other word-related things, bounty hunting in Star Wars: Outer Rim, Godzilla, M.A.S.K., and more!

Chris, Darrell, and TC are finally back in the podcasting saddle and ready to talk about their adventures at Camp Launius and the Gamers for Cures 24-hour Board Game Marathon! All this, plus Final Hour, Horrified, barbecue medals, Journeys in Middle-earth, the madness of video games, Tapestry, Era: Medieval Age, getting engaged, Scott Pilgrim, Disney+, Deep Blue, Nemo Rising, and more! 

After a two-month hiatus Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about all the big events over one crazy summer, including highlights from Origins Game Fair, Dice Tower Con, RuthCon, and Gen Con. All this, plus talk of the Nixon administration, camels, the controversial BoardGameGeek rebrand, the Sinister Six, Parks, The Artemis Project, racing with Richard Launius, fun in the Funkoverse, Medium, Homebrewers, Corinth & more!

 In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about spoiler culture, whether it translates to the board game hobby, how consumers & reviewers might avoid it all, and whether we should even really care. All this, plus Darrell dips into the dangerously addictive world of Warhammer, TC goes kayaking, Chris buys a scooter; a return to Fireball Island, Roll for the Galaxy, Crokinole, & The River; the Cardboard Edison Awards & more!

In this very special episode Chris, Darrell, and TC get some things off their chest that have been bugging them around the board game hobby and in life, such as geek shaming, lazy journalism, mental health nuances, and cultural perspective awareness deficiencies. All this, plus The River, some unexpected Kickstarter news, Detective: A Modern Crime Boardgame, the legend of Baahubali, Mensa Award winners & more!  

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC are joined by special guest Lesley Louder as they recount personal highlights, behind-the-scenes exploits, and lessons learned from the Ninth Annual Unpublished Games Expo in Hunts Valley, Maryland. All this, plus bad brie, Men at Work, the joys of trailer wrangling, TransAtlantic, fried chicken wind, Cartographers, ghost horses, Those Meddling Kids, My Father's Work & more!        

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about games that tell stories, either through dedicated mechanics and thematics, or by emergent gameplay. All this, plus Darrell's 40th birthday shindig at Dice Hate Me HQ, Arkham Horror 3.0 versus Arkham Horror 2.0, Beta Colony, news of TC's big move, more Modern Art, Gugong, volcanoes, fishing, My Father's Work, Jeeps, sand worms, coal mining, & so much more!       

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about the subtle art of selling games, what makes a good game versus what makes a good product, and the state of the board game market. All this, plus more Wingspan, Quacks of Quedlinburg, the vaguaries of game design credentials, The Boldest, Architects of the West Kingdom, dead men's parties, the glory of Glory to Rome, a bit of whining, Heroes of Terrinoth, and more! 

In this special episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC look back on a year of gaming and share their awards for favorites published last year - and even some discoveries that came out before 2018! All this, plus festivities from the annual DHM Holiday get-together, Escape from Colditz, a special sneak peek at Wingspan, expansions for 7 Wonders and Great Western Trail, fishing, dice, fireballs, Paper Tales, dogs, alpacas, Cryptid, castles, & more!  

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC recount all the fun, food, and fanfare at the 2nd annual PAX Unplugged gaming convention in Philadelphia, PA. All this, plus first plays of Keyforge, how TC broke Keyforge, Medium news, the final arrival of Fireball Island, the great cheesesteak debate, VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game goes digital, security theater, dim sum, Defenders of Champion City, Up N Over, & more!

In this jam-packed episode Chris, Darrell, and TC make up for lost time (almost a month since the last episode!) by talking about those modern classics that are influential but are just plain played out and don't hit the table anymore. All this, plus the bleeding edge of Essen Hotness like Blackout: Hong Kong, Underwater Cities, and Carpe Diem, unfortunate Keyforge deck names, listener shoutouts, Newton, more game theory, & more!  

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC decide to break down a couple of nuggets of wisdom from the good Dr. Reiner Knizia about American vs. German game consumerism and the genesis of game design in regards to what first sparks the flame: theme or mechanics. All this, plus CMON's business practices, Camp Launius, whether Arkham Horror 3.0 should replace AH 2.0, gunslinging, sleuthing, coin-bagging, ass-kicking, and so much more!

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC take a break from the more brainy discussions to talk all about the tapas of boardgames – fillers – and what defines them, if they carry a stigma, the difference of designing them versus longer games, and, of course, our favorites! All this, plus GrandCon, Boo-B-Q, hot wings, submarines, zombies, beer, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, mystics, Magic, & more!

In this episode Chris and TC are joined by special guest Matt Riddle to delve deep into global thermonuclear war, the Prisoner's Dilemma, evolutionary metagaming and other cerebral subjects related to the mathematical analysis of Game Theory. All this, plus strange business practices, Space Base, Welcome To..., cannibalism, End of the Trail, Nyet, Through the Desert, deconstructing two-player game mechanics, Between Two Cities of Mad King Ludwig, Jaipur, Infamous, & more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC recount the action, excitement, games, and spectacle from North America's biggest gaming convention, Gen Con! All this, plus the joys of flax scutching, secret lunch spots, previews of The Artemis Project and The Stygian Society, cupcakes in a cup, Gizmos, Tower of Madness, benefits of Lucas Oil Stadium, Scarabya, the Iron Design Challenge, Lucky's Misadventures, Jekyll & Hyde, and so much more!

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC share a list of the top 5 board games as submitted by listeners of the podcast and then share their own personal top 5s of all time. All this, plus tales from Dice Tower Con, Root, Carthago, Kickstarter scams, Monopoly in the 41st millennium, diet soda supertasters, Dungeons & Doggies, Caper, My Little Scythe, why Darrell compares himself to Stephen King, The Flow of History, a dip into the listener mailbag, & more!

In this episode, Chris & TC are joined by special guest Brad Smoley as they recap all the adventure, excitement, and bunches of board games played at Origins Game Fair! All this, plus the beautiful Coimbra, a sneak peek at the Target-exclusive Mega Land, some really bad party shuttle karaoke, discovering the Medium between the words butt and crater, Decrypto, Carthago, mining marl in Maastricht, John Corbett, & much more!

In this very special episode of The State of Games, five intrepid gamers set out to eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate their way across the galaxy in Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition! Join Chris as he attempts to guide his gentle peace turtles - the Xxcha Kingdom - in an attempt to defend his crown from five years ago (Episode 46) against Dan Patriss (Yin Brotherhood), Daniel Solis (Universities of Jol-Nar), Matt Wolfe (Naalu Collective), and Linus (Yssaril Tribes)!

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC discuss what makes the perfect package with aesthetics that accurately reflect the experience you can expect inside the box. All this, plus first impressions of Rising Sun, game development at Camp Sleepy Hollow, Barker's Row, the Carnies expansion, a new contest to win Harvest & Pioneer Days from TMG, Protospiel Atlanta, Otys, & more!

In this episode Chris, Darrell, and TC are joined by special guest Seth Jaffee of Tasty Minstrel Games to talk reprints, rebrands, & special editions, and what sort of effect they have on the hobby market. All this, plus International Tabletop Day, the Cardboard Edison Awards, Avengers: Infinity War, things that grind our gears about perception vs. reality on Kickstarter, Arboretum, plagiarism, Magic, Orléans, Puerto Rico, Eminent Domain Origins, and more!

In this more streamlined episode Chris, Darrell, and TC decide to just talk about some games they've been playing, their gaming habits, and whether they get to game enough or too much. All this, plus first-hand accounts of Fireball Island gameplay, the madness of seeing A Quiet Place in the theater, plays of Captive from Graphic Novel Adventures, Star Wars: Destiny, joys of dice drafting, Feudum, Majesty: For the Realm, and, of course, camels.

In yet another extended episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC share experiences from the 8th annual Unpublished Games Festival in Baltimore, Maryland! Hear tales of lost programs, playtests of My Father's Work, Maastricht, Homebrewers, and Those Meddling Kids, diversity and etiquette, TC signing a game, and Shark Tank. Plus, game news about Van Ryder's Graphic Novel Adventures, Restoration's Fireball Island tour, new tiles for Azul & more!

In this extended episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC share experiences from one of their favorite gaming conventions, PrezCon, and then discuss what makes a con great, what they hate, and play a little Marry, Fling, Kill. All this, plus straight talk about Gen Con housing, 7th Continent, trading & negotiating in the Elysian Quadrant, fishing in Nusfjord, Fireball Island news, Charterstone, totally breaking an Unlock, the ION Award, Smile, Carnies & more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC revisit the topic of board game expansions – whether they're necessary, which game lines have jumped the shark, and which are absolute essentials. All this, plus more one hour wonder action in Welcome to Centerville & Pioneers, vehicular Matchbox car mayhem, busting Cthulhu in Arkham Horror, secret designer beach weekend, Time Barons, Psycho Raiders, Powerships, and other weirdness!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC talk about those wondrous gems that hit a super sweet spot in about an hour, and some of the magic behind their designs. All this, plus the Louder d20 challenge, fun at Camp Launius, Chronicles of Crime and lots of dead cats, a giveaway contest for the Endeavor reprint, what really grinds our gears, Otys, Nautilus Traps, Fog of Love, Maastricht, camels, and so much more!

In this special episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC look back on the year that was and share their awards for favorite games published last year - and even some discoveries that came out before 2017! All this, plus Ethan Louder's choice for Family Game of the Year, lots of space things, dinosaurs, horse racing, thieves, Fireball Island, Bob Ross, The Thing, Battle for Rokugan, Downforce, samurais, board game counterfeiting, Calimala, and more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC share experiences and games played at the annual Dice Hate Me Holiday get-together; Chris does a little solo casting on his #HolidayRoad about Merlin and the evolution of Stefan Feld's games. All this, plus adult playgrounds, Santa's Workshop, DropMix, beer, Whistle Stop, the Squatty Potty, Favelas, getting old, Waldschattenspiel, building French canals, Bruges, Macao, & more!

In this episode, Chris, Darrell, and TC talk Thanksgiving, Doctor Who: Time of the Daleks, Mario Odyssey, Fury of Dracula, new publishing companies, and more, and are then joined by Lesley Louder to share favorite moments from the very first PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia. All this, plus a classic Darrell rant about scarves, Dogs, Amish pretzels, the rise & fall of Coaster Park, Claims of Gold, and Black Gold.

In this episode, Darrell returns from Essen Spiel to join Chris and TC in a lively discussion about how value is calculated (and often estimated) by publishers and consumers for games in retail, online, and on Kickstarter. All this, plus how awesome Brussels and Lufthansa can be, Doctor Who, Euro and dinosaur game design challenges, Azul, Clans of Caledonia, what's up with Mayfair, Arkham Noir, cows, marl, how this time Darrell (doesn't) get the finger, and more!

In this episode, Chris, TC, and special guest Keith Ferguson set the Halloween mood by sharing their best spooky, creepy, or macabre retheme for totally mundane games. All this, plus Keith shares the little nightmare before his Christmas game - Santa's Workshop - was published, the new Legend of the Five Rings, Conquest of Paradise, guerilla marketing, grave robbing, electrocution, zombie camels, & more!

In this episode, Chris, TC, and Darrell decide to continue the biyearly tradition of talk about SPIEL, the world's biggest board game convention in Essen, Germany, including Darrell's upcoming adventure, most anticipated con releases, and trip tips. All this, plus Whitehall Mystery, Beeeees!, an early peek at Tribes: Early Civilization, a little Nintendo talk, Legends of Sleepy Hollow, Modern Art & more!

In this episode, Chris, TC, and special guest Ben Pinchback of Fleet and Wasteland Express Delivery Service fame chat about the biggest trends in boardgaming, from the earliest days of roll and move, to the CCG days of Magic: The Gathering! All this, plus Legends of Sleepy Hollow, Liguria, Charterstone, Dragon Island, the joys of Backgammon, HeroQuest, sharks, monster trucks, reprints, and more!