We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
This time, we continue our discussion of RPGs by suggesting Role Playing Games that share popular boardgaming mechanisms, as well as giving Tom tips for getting a game started. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - A Story About Mail
02:22 - Eric at PAX Unplugged (inc. Hot Streak)
06:50 - Gift Guides, Dice Tower West and East
08:02 - RPGs for Boardgame Fans (detailed notes below)
This time, we go fishing for Role Players, linking some popular aspects of RPGs to our favorite boardgames. Plus, our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
Tom, Julie, and Eric run through their game plan for Essen Spiel 2025, including where they'll be, and what games are on the internet's radar, as well as trying to narrow down what three games are of the most interest to them personally.
Tom is stuck in traffic, so Julie and Eric take control to discuss what it takes to setup a booth at Essen. How do you get all that stuff overseas, and how do you minimize what has to come back? And of course, there are Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
Tom begins by recapping his adventures at the Dice Tower Retreat, and looks forward to the World Series of Boardgaming, before turning to the topic of figuring out what to do with your game collection after you're gone, and why it might be a good idea to make some choices sooner rather than later. Later, we share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, peek into the mailbag, and gather a collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:51 - Tom at the Dice Tower Retreat
02:25 - The World Series of Boardgaming
04:58 - Dice Tower Cruise, Dice Tower West, Spiel
06:03 - Planning for the Future of your Collection
Tom sits at the small table. Eric's parents make friends on a cruise. Julie travels the country spreading boardgames wherever she goes. We also talk about what surprises await in those little pockets of games in places where you don't expect to find them. We delve into the mailbag for some pertinent questions, and we gather a new crop of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - School Has Started, Dice Tower West, Cruise
Eric starts the show by sharing tales of his European adventures, which leads Tom to share some of our plans for Spiel in October. Then, we discuss the process for adding art to your game. How do you find an artist? How long does it take to draw a picture of a horse? What if the horse is holding a corn dog? Later, we share a tale of horror and a question, and move on to our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
We are back from Gen Con, and ready to talk about our adventures! We discuss the crowds, the events, and the games we enjoyed, and maybe a little about the food we ate as well. We also share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and share our latest crop of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:46 - Announcements: Dice Tower West and Dice Tower Cruise
We're on our way to Gen Con! And here are the games we're most excited about (as well as the ones that are getting the most buzz online). You'll also here where to find us in Indy, where we plan to eat, and how we plan to survive the Best Four Days in Gaming.
00:45 - Releases in the second half of the year.
02:23 - Preparing for Crowds at Gen Con - New Cart Policy
It's time to recap our adventures at Dice Tower East 2025. We discuss the games we played and events we ran, and you also get to hear what Eric and Julie got up to when working at the Dice Tower Booth, which includes brainstorming ways to get Tom to remember the difference between Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:46 - We Didn't See Each Other
01:45 - Gen Con is Around The Corner
03:26 - Dice Tower East: New Space
05:40 - Eric and Julie: How Do You Spend Small Amounts of Free Time?
09:28 - Library Checkouts: My Father's Work, Hot Streak, Bomb Busters, So Clover, Cretaceous Rails, Fromage, River Valley Glassworks, Lord of the Rings Duel, Toy Battle, Castle Combo, Sky Team, SETI, Galactic Cruise
16:26 - Eric and Julie: Favorite Old Game To Teach? - Fearsome Floors, Ra
19:05 - Variety of Games Played: Space Base, Ready Set Bet, My Father's Work (again), Merchant of Venus, Cosmic Encounter
25:33 - Missing Deep Regrets
26:16 - Eric and Julie: Game To Make Tom Play?
28:34 - Events: Parsely, Andrew Bosley Can't Draw, The Hobby
Today, we discuss our recent travel adventures. Eric has returned from a Ninja Escort Mission and ran into gaming opportunites at every turn. And Tom and Julie have the full scoop on the 50th Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. Then, we finish the show with a gathering of our latest Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:48 - Convention Season - Dice Tower East
01:53 - Playing Only Older Games
04:01 - What We're Doing at Dice Tower East: Parsely, Wits and Wagers
This time, Tom gives us an update on his replay of the Catan expansions before we take a big look at small games. What are the pros and cons of games that can fit in your pocket? Also, we share a new Tale of Horror, as well as our latest batch of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
01:03 - Summer: Origins, Dice Tower East, Dice Tower Cruise, Gen Con
Tom, Julie, and Eric run through the nominees for the German Game of the Year awards before focusing on the episode's main topic: box covers. How does what you put on the front of the box attract a particular audience? We also have a tale of horror? as well as a question from the mailbag, and of course our usual assortment of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - Summer is Here?
03:07 - Spiel des Jahres Nominees - Bomb Busters, Flip 7, Krackel Orakel
10:04 - Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominees - Endeavor: Deep Sea, Faraway, Looot
12:03 - Kinderspiel des Jahres Nominees - Cascadia Junior, Le Clan des Souris, Top die Torte
This time, Tom gives us an audio tour of the new Dice Tower Studios in Ft. Myers, with tales to tell about the adventurous move. We present a Tale of Amazement and delve into the mailbag, and we close the show with our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
01:09 - Moving to Ft. Myers
04:51 - The New Studio
23:04 - Tale of Amazement
28:55 - Question: What to do with a whiner?
34:16 - Linkx
37:18 - Primates
41:18 - Deep Regrets
46:33 - Cat Crimes
48:49 - The Ministry of Lost Things: Lint Condition
This time, Tom shares his adventures in Mexico, and Julie has tales to tell from Greece. Then, we kick of our discussion of video games that feel like board games with Eric's obsession with Blue Prince, before moving on to a bunch of other electronic games, including some that have made the leap to boardgames. We open up the mailbag for a question and Tale of Horror, and break down our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
Tom is busy moving the studio, so Julie and Eric invite Robert Geistlinger from Arcane Wonders (and also Julie's husband) to join in a discussion about boardgame production. Where do the materials that go into our games come from? What do you look for in a manufacturer? And why doesn't everybody print their games in Cleveland? And of course, we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:52 - Where's Tom? and Who Is Robert?
03:08 - Announcements: Dice Tower East and Dice Tower Cruise
03:55 - Game Production: Why We're Not Discussing Tariffs
05:27 - Where Does the Material Come From?
11:41 - Where to Start? Price Point or Wish List of Features?
18:35 - How Long Does It Take For The Back-and-forth?
28:05 - What Else Are You Looking For Beyond Price?
37:31 - Why Not Just Make Everything in the US?
49:44 - Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops (a primer)
51:48 - The Case of the Curiously Correct Blueprints
Today, we focus on what designers should do when they've built a design on an existing game. How much borrowing is too much borrowing? We also look ahead to some upcoming events, share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and run through our latest batch of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:49 - Tom's Apology
01:25 - Dice Tower Cruise and Dice Tower East
01:52 - Tom's Catan Update: Seafarers
02:53 - Upcoming: Studio Move, Origins, Greece, College Visits
Anmelden
