We're Bad At Games

Episode 49 | Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present, KYLE! We celebrate the history of this funny little podcast, and play Kyle's least favorite board game (but literally everyone else we know who has played it has enjoyed it), When I Dream. Thanks so much for listening! Here are links to our personal handles if you want to follow us onward. Peace and love, Hayden, Patrick, and Brandon (and Kyle)

Episode 48 | Faithful WBAGers, it is with heavy hearts that we announce this will be the second-to-last episode of We're Bad At Games. We have loved EVERY MINUTE of doing this show, and we couldn't be more grateful to everyone who's been along for the ride with us. Check out the ep to hear more than this description could ever say. We play Hatoful Boyfriend again if it helps. Make sure to tune in next week for the grand finale of We're Bad At Games.

Episode 47 | We talk about Google's rumored entrance into the console wars, and how they might fit into the existing landscape with the Big 3. We then continue our quest for good grades, young love, and world domination in the Japanese pigeon dating simulator, Hatoful Boyfriend.

Episode 46 | We use the legendary videogamedunkey's awesome video about difficulty in games to jumpstart our own discussion about how video game difficulty affects enjoyment and replayability, and which games in our experience have done a particularly good or bad job at nailing the right difficulty. Then we do our first ever repeat game, but it's one that we should have gone back to a long time ago. Ladies and gentleman, back and better than ever, Hatoful Boyfriend.

Episode 45 // The World Health Organization (WHO?!?!) has just added gaming disorder to their book of diagnoses. We three experts give our opinion. We then play the best game we've ever played, ever, on the show, Coffeepot. It's not even worth describing, hearing is believing.

Episode 44 // We answer a faithful viewer and friend, Cesar's questions live on the show! We talk about our most memorable gaming soundtracks and how Patrick would change the ending to the new God of War (Dad of Boy, that is). We then play our first ever spoken parlor game, 20 Questions, where we read each others minds live on the show.

Episode 43 // We changed our recording schedule so we could give a prompt recap ep for E3! We give our biggest takeaways from gaming's biggest event, including Microsoft's increasingly promising market positioning, Sony's power move of epic trailers, and Nintendo's cornering of the indie game market. We're particularly pumped about The Last of Us Part 2, Anthem, Spiderman, and Pokemon Let's Go!

Episode 42 // Our discussion is kind of a crap shoot this week, but we do talk about the ongoing litigation between Fortnite and PUBG. So that's cool. Then we play Phrase Party Lite, which is about as fun as it sounds.

Episode 41 // We give our first timely discussion in WBAG history and give our upcoming expectations, hopes, and dreams for E3 2018. We then continue in our fumbling game of he-said she-said (Geli's back, btw), Aye Dark Overlord.

Episode 40 // We're officially over the hill! To celebrate our 40th, we're pumped to welcome our good pal and gaming connoisseur, Geli Workman to the show! Geli's intro includes a titillating discussion about Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption, and female leads in video games. We then play one of our favorite games we've ever played: an improvisational game of pass-the-buck, Aye Dark Overlord.

Episode 39 // We talk about crossovers we'd love to see, like riding the Batmobile in Settlers of Catan! (Or more hopefully, Jedi in Super Smash) Then we enter the third world again, the virtual world, as we test our bomb defusing skills in the VR game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

Episode 38 // We play make-believe this week in more ways than one! The discussion revolves around what game we'd go pro at if we actually had the talent to do so and didn't waste our time making a podcast talking about it. Then we take the whole viewers debate one step further by playing our first VR game on the show, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!

Episode 37 // We talk about the phenomena of Kickstarter gaming, where you can back indie games and make them come to life! Will this replace your friendly neighborhood game store?! (probably not.) We then finish our sad sad foray into Gloom, a game that wasn't backed on Kickstarter.

In honor of Star Wars Day, here's a re-release of Episode 20 where we talked about our first and favorite Star Wars games. At the time we were pumped about Episode VIII, but there's always a reason to be pumped about Star Wars! May the fourth be with you!

Episode 36 // We haven't been giving tabletop gaming its due lately, so we remedy that with a conversation about our favorite board game mechanics, from the focus bar in Civilization: A New Dawn to "the haunt" in Betrayal to card drafting in Innis. Then we start a new game with an excellent game mechanic in its own right (transparent cards!)...Gloom! Also, is there a reappearance of the Scottish girl???

Episode 35 // Swag is back! This time we talk about the absurdity of the yearly repackaging of sports gaming franchises in the age of DLC and auto updates, and where we see similar models in the rest of the video and board gaming world. Then we tackle another ClickVenture from clickhole.com that leads to the most musical episode of WBAG ever...yes, there is a lot of singing.

Episode 34 // It's finally time to talk esports, and we found an actual expert! We welcome our friend, fellow podcaster, and former esportsman Justin "J-Swag" Graves to talk about one of our favorite topics that we've been dying to get to. This is a discussion you don't want to miss! Then we put a cherry on top with a sports themed ClickVenture from clickhole.com, where we must convince Michael Jordan to become a plumber!

Episode 33 // We talk about what we're currently playing which leads to a fun discussion about the interesting coop console game A Way Out, the monster of a board game Gloomhaven, and Brandon's embarrassing list that starts with Rocket League and ends with Clash Royale. We then present the epic finale to our adventure in Untold: Adventures Await.

Episode 32 // DRAKE PLAYED TWITCH SO THAT MEANS GAMES ARE MAINSTREAM NOW RIGHT?? We talk about it. Then we jump into the next round of Untold: Adventures Await where we find out if our heroes have the cajones to cross the great divide.

Episode 31 // The sweeping phenomena of PUBG and Fortnite, especially the latter's cross platform play, heads up our discussion of the lasting significance and impact of mobile gaming and how it could change the landscape of gaming forever. We then continue our adventure in the guided RPG, Untold: Adventures Await, where our heroes get themselves in a few more sticky situations.

Episode 30 // If you've ever wondered how WBAG came to be, this episode is for you! We talk about the early beginnings, our original name ideas and way more. And if you've never wondered that and couldn't care less, skip ahead to Untold: Adventures Await, a Fiasco-esque board/RPG that'll knock your socks off.

Episode 29 // Brandon gets bleeped! What got him so riled up we had to download a bleep sound effect? Discussing the hot gaming topic surrounding the ethics of loot boxes of course. This is a great ep in a lot of ways (great discussion, very important developments on the merits of Luke Wilson, etc.) and it all ends with another rousing round of Spit It Out.

Episode 28 // A discussion about the impact and looming obsolescence of flash games leads to another rather nostalgic episode, which is becoming a theme lately here at WBAG. We then play Spit It Out, where we do our best to SPIT OUT correct and incorrect answers in a fun, fast paced party game.

Episode 27 // We continue the WBAG tradition of talking about things WAY after they've already happened by giving our predictions and then revealing the winners of the 2017 Game of the Year awards. Needless to say, Brandon is very upset Clash Royale didn't get a nod. We then dive headfirst into a steaming pile of The Metagame, a fun mix of improv and party card game.

Episode 26 // It's our Valentines Day episode (for us!) so we celebrate with candy, Kyle (Other Kyle that is), and a riveting discussion on voice-over acting in games. The game this week is The Metagame, and it's a game within a game within a podcast about games.

Episode 25 // In honor of our quadranscentennial, our silver jubilee, 25 years of WBAG, we devote our full discussion to the mighty Pokémon franchise. We discuss our first experiences, and our authoritative opinions on the arc of the franchise, and how Pokémon played a significant role in Brandon and Scottie getting married. Oh, and then we play Funemployed again.

Episode 24 // We talk about LOST for an uncomfortable amount of time, and then you get a chance to hear three Sony fanboys actually say nice things about Xbox. Not only that, we talk about why Xbox is shaking up the entire industry (spoiler: it's Game Pass). The game this week is Funemployed, one of our favorite improv party games, with a special WBAG variant.

Episode 23 // We start the episode talking about you know who, discuss game accessories past and present, and delve into another rip roaring round of Snake Oil, the pitch-giving card game from the creators of Apples to Apples.

Episode 22 // We start this one off with a BANG by playing HQ live on the air in real time! We then talk about the sociological implications of HQ (seriously), discuss Luke Wilson's connection with the tooth fairy, and pitch each other quite ridiculous products in the card game Snake Oil from the creators of Apples to Apples.

Episode 21 // We split hairs on the definition of a sweatshop, talk about which games we're looking forward to in 2018 (which makes this essentially a rehash of episode 8), Scottie talks about how her math students are contributing to worldwide butterfly extinction, and oh yeah, we finally finish our Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Also big shout out to Sneak Attack! for the story inspo.

Episode 20 // We're feeling the hype, so we talk about our first and favorite Star Wars games. Scottie discusses her love of Boba baths, Brandon continues the WBAG tradition of learning new words, and the gang continues plodding along through a Dungeons and Dragons adventure that couldn't be more on the rails if it was a literal locomotive.

Episode 19 // Find out if there's a ghost in the new studio, spread some Christmas cheer, talk about how to get into character in RPGs, and find out what happens when you let an NPC make the majority of your decisions as we continue our Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Episode 18 // We talk palindromes, Patrick gives a debrief of PSX, it's Scottie's BIRTHDAY (on the day of recording), and we continue our wacky adventures in Dungeons and Dragons.

Episode 17 // Scottie graduates from sole guest to sole host, and WBAG celebrates its first episode with three guests! We talk about how all of us except for Scottie are bad at math, how Patrick is bad at first date ice breaker questions, our favorite party games (defined as games for groups where the sole purpose is to have fun), and continue our foray into our Dungeons and Dragons adventure.

Episode 16 // Scottie, Brandon's wife, joins the cast for the next few episodes to tackle a campaign of Dungeons and Dragons, the famous seminal role playing game, and makes the whole show much, much better. In honor of DnD, the crew discusses the joys and pitfalls of cooperative gaming.

Episode 15 // We find out that if we don't have a discussion question we end up talking about games we've burned out on. But then our spirits significantly improve by playing a story based fantasy game called Once Upon A Time.

Episode 14 // We talk about the demise of split screen console gaming, what we miss and what we don’t miss about it, and the subsequent rise of couch co-op games. Then we dive into a deliciously macabre card-based German game, Black Stories.

Episode 13 // We discuss whether or not we trust game reviews, dive into the etymology of idioms, and play our most academically stimulating game so far, In Pursuit of Grammar. We're bad at games, and we're bad at grammar.

Episode 12 // We discuss the value (or lack thereof) of in-game trophies, discuss the most famous actor in the world (spoiler: it's Luke Wilson), and continue the high school drama of everyone's favorite Japanese pigeon dating simulator.

Episode 11 // In our first recorded episode since launch, we jump back into podcasting the only way we know how: a pretty simple discussion question and the strangest text adventure we've ever played, a Japanese dating simulator where we play a human girl looking for love in a school of pigeons.

Episode 10 // We talk games with best replay value (which means Brandon gets his long awaited, short lived Clash Royale segment), Hayden compares his personal attempts at Oregon Trail to the recorded WBAG attempt (spoiler: Hayden is bad at games), and then we channel our inner high schooler during a rousing bout of the Wikipedia Game.

Episode 9 // The 20 cent debate continues, we talk specifics on our favorite games from E3, and peril befalls our troop traversing The Oregon Trail, of course.

Episode 8 // We start with a Fiasco debrief, give our VERY belated reactions to E3, and begin our foray into maybe the most popular game we've played so far, The Oregon Trail, which leads to some of our most heated discussion yet...of course it's about oxen. Of course.

Episode 7 // We're so pumped about the discussion question this week that we named the episode after it. Get into board gaming! We also play out the epic, unexpected finale to Fiasco.

Episode 6 // "What we're playing now" leads to a chat about Rocket League, Borderlands, and Sentinels of the Multiverse, then the grand adventure of Fiasco kicks off with a bang (and a lot of unnecessary accents).

Bonus Episode // If you're dying to hear about how we set up the parameters in our new game Fiasco (or if you can't get enough WBAG!), this bonus episode is for you.

Episode 5 // Our new game Fiasco is an RPG so we talk unexpected DnD joys, toss some comps, and set the stage for our next grand adventure.

Episode 4 // This week we discuss ideal movie/book to game adaptations, give an unfounded, unsponsored plug for cutebabybuy.com, and (FINALLY) finish up our ill advised venture into Zork. We did it, kind of.

Episode 3 // A discussion about what we get from gaming transitions to how the parameters in games impact the real world (TED talks are mentioned!), MAJOR progress is achieved in Zork, we meet #kindguy, and Patrick learns some new words.

Episode 2 // More Zork, biggest gaming regerts, For Honor's lack of honor, immovable rugs, and lots and lots of confusion.

Episode 1 // Welcome to the first episode of We’re Bad at Games, a weekly podcast featuring game talk, game debate, and live game playthroughs. This week we get into our first game Zork and discuss console wars, getting cold feet, old computers, the TV show Numbers, and much more!