This time, we're poised for Gen Con 2026 and making plans. Where will we be? What games do we want? What games do others want? Who is good at thumbs? All will be answered along with a sprinkling of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:48 - Busiest Time of the Year

02:01 - Where Can We Be Found? - Booth 249

04:09 - New at Cephalofair - Buttons and Bugs Expansion

06:07 - Getting Steps In

07:19 - Game Bag Giveaway

07:55 - The Dice Tower Awards

09:11 - The Dwarves of Aquilon

10:23 - Meet the Final Girls - Julie on Friday Morning

10:47 - Eric's Gen Con Releases: Gudnak Means War, Mountain Goats Legacy

11:50 - Julie's Releases: Tales of Myth and Legend, Coloring Book

13:02 - BGG Preview List and the Nature of Thumbs

13:58 - Entropy

14:53 - Jason and the Argonauts

16:01 - Container

16:33 - Enchanted Ivy

17:18 - Mountain Goats Legacy

18:30 - Hercules and the 12 Labors

18:43 - Jibber Jabble

19:25 - High Society and 3 Witches

19:56 - Gruntz

20:12 - Torchlit

20:29 - French Toast

21:37 - Piñatas

22:06 - Kokeshi

23:08 - Book Club

24:28 - Fiction: Banned Books

25:07 - Golden Goal

25:24 - Under the Leaves

26:06 - Movie Night

26:17 - Stonk Market

26:26 - Triangulation

27:04 - Phantom Ink and Wordsy

27:21 - Endangered Australia

27:37 - The Game Makers

28:58 - Night at the Zoo

29:54 - Lairs

30:17 - Drillers and Lost Ruins of Arnak: Surprise Shipment

31:47 - Holliday Hijinks Friday Fright and More

32:12 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock

32:32 - Cascadia Alpine Lakes

33:02 - Nippon

33:49 - Wingspan Pocket

34:30 - The Old King's Crown

34:37 - Railway Boom

36:00 - Glasgow Train Robbery

36:16 - Tag Team: Arthur's Legacy

37:25 - Three Sisters Harvest Edition

37:53 - Forage

39:12 - SETI: Space Agencies, Forest Shuffle: Smoky Mountains, and Rock Hard 1977: Ear Candy

39:42 - Kingdom Crossing

40:19 - Shackleton Base: Below. Within. Above. and Fliptoons Season 2

40:54 - Moytura

41:01 - Tenby

41:20 - Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon

42:02 - Faraway: Under Starry Skies and Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette

42:10 - Gold Country

42:52 - Mythologies

43:11 - Scythe: Duel of Meloch

44:13 - Friendly Fishing

45:50 - Codenames: Critical Role Adventures

46:25 - Trick to the Future

46:45 - Chris Couch Games: Garden Clubs

47:23 - Crime Scene Tamperer

47:52 - Games Played in the Booth

49:31 - Container (Eric)

53:33 - Cthulhu: Death May Die (Julie)

57:55 - Falling (Tom and Julie)

1:02:17 - Stuff to Watch if You Can't Come to Gen Con

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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The team is back from Dice Tower East with stories to tell. What games were taught? What events ran well? What did Eric find in the library? Plus, we have a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a particularly pointy collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

00:46 - Games That Could Have Been Played at East

03:08 - Unloading from Dice Tower East

03:43 - Dice Tower East: General Thoughts

04:51 - Looming Gen Con

07:22 - DTE: Crowd Size

09:04 - DTE: The Top 10

10:09 - DTE: Number of Games Played

13:05 - DTE: Changes to the Library

16:55 - DTE: Eric Finds a Playmat

20:31 - DTE: Inflatable Curling

24:14 - DTE: Parsely

25:50 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Dwarves of Aquilon

28:29 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Cat Between Us

29:49 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Mechs vs. Minions

31:10 - DTE: Most Played Games

32:17 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

38:33 - Wispwood

43:30 - Inkwell

48:25 - Crafting the Cosmos

51:50 - Puppy Pile

56:53 - Wingspan Pocket

1:01:21 - Bunny Kingdom Town

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Julie recounts her adventures at Origins 2026 before we delve into questions about Authenticity of Theme, Fan Interactions, and Teaching Race for the Galaxy. And of course, we close the show with a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Intro

00:45 - Middle of the Year

03:59 - Last Minute Dice Tower East

04:32 - Julie at Origins

30:26 - Question: Teaching Race for the Galaxy

33:58 - Question: Taking You Out of The Theme

37:11 - Question: Fan Interactions

43:49 - Shapely

46:59 - Revisiting Mice and Mystics

49:55 - Soothsayers

52:25 - The Friday Fright

55:25 - Flip Voyage

58:18 - Tomatoss

Questions? Tale of Horror? Hot Sauce Recipes? tom@dicetower.com

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Tom tells us about his adventures in The Philippines before we spark some discussion from a Tale of Boardgaming Horror: What do you do when you learn your game design is similar to a game that already exists? Plus, we dive into the bag of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops and pull out some winners.

00:00 - Introduction

00:51 - Senior Slacking Revisited

02:05 - Tom's Journey - Travel Woes

04:07 - All aBOARD EXPO

18:35 - Focusing on Dice Tower East

19:36 - Language Issues

20:19 - Discussion of Horror: Parallel Game Design

35:16 - Grow Sky

38:51 - Deep Sea Divers of Jeju

42:21 - Flamenco

47:15 - Stratego Quick Battle

50:41 - My Book Nook

54:38 - Cloud City

Flamenco Ad (Dancing Cats): https://youtu.be/mz7Qh79K8GA?si=JpknJaXuh22wgE5J

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Tom is out, so Eric and Julie discuss books that have become games: from public domain classics to the latest multi-million dollar bestseller tie-in. Plus, we approach our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

00:48 - Where's Tom?

01:38 - Senior Slacking

04:18 - Dice Tower Events: East and Cruise

05:01 - Books Into Boardgames

46:27 - Winter Rabbit

56:08 - Seas of Strife

58:50 - Winnie the Pooh Serious Detective

1:05:34 - Pandemic Rising Tide

--

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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This time, we take a look at Legacy games, and the ways players modify them in order to be less like a legacy game. But is something lost in the translation? Plus, we have a Tale of Horror, Roses, Thorns, and Hoops, and Tom's still grumpy about Stephen Sondheim.

00:00 - Intro

00:50 - Broadway

01:39 - Maycember

02:30 - Summer Cons: Dice Tower East, Gen Con (Booth #249), Dice Tower Cruise

04:38 - Small Games, Little Joy

05:39 - Legacy Games

30:22 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

35:54 - Terraria

43:03 - The Queen's Dilemma

49:53 - Sanctuary

55:15 - The Case of the Curiously Quiet Theater

58:20 - Wool Street

1:02:31 - Colosseum: The Grand Spectacle

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Julie shares more news about her new position, after which we discuss the finer points of Hype. How does one manage excitement about a product when it's not necessarily playable yet? Then, we have both a question from the mailbag and a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

01:18 - Summer Approaching - Hot Games at Dice Tower East

03:00 - Gamefound Pledge Manager - www.supportdicetower.com

03:55 - Julie's News Continued

06:25 - Hype

28:57 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

34:14 - Question: Card Sizes

37:56 - The Emerald Flame

42:28 - Rollie

46:27 - The Cat Between Us

49:43 - Tag Team

53:08 - "Normal" Human

55:28 - Star Trek Space Hunt

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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This time, Tom crows about another victory for Vasel's Law with the announcement of The King's Gambit. Then, Julie pens her own Tale of Boardgaming Horror (but she makes Eric read it), and we move on to a field of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:47 - Back from Dice Tower West

02:20 - Dice Tower East and Cruise

06:37 - The King's Gambit and Vasel's Law

26:57 - Julie's Tale of Boardgaming Horror

37:43 - Pirate Borg

43:06 - Finspan

45:52 - First Giants

49:41 - Art Decko

52:49 - The Winds of Numa Sera

57:12 - Catan on the Road

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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On this episode, Tom, Julie and Eric are live at Dice Tower West in Las Vegas taking questions from the audience and talking about the games they've played (with a brief Tom-less interlude from Eric and Julie).

01:01 - Dice Tower West Library and Most Played

03:59 - Julie in Demoville and Escape Rooms

06:06 - Julie Came With a List

08:24 - Star Wars: Battle of Hoth

09:28 - Tea Garden

11:01 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock

12:55 - Feierabend

15:21 - Merchant of Venus #100

16:47 - Fathom

18:38 - Shapely

21:03 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

28:28 - Eric and Julie Interlude

29:10 - E&J: Stuff on Tables

31:39 - E&J: Strange Things to Carry

34:05 - E&J: What Shouldn't Stay in Vegas

36:51 - E&J: Drawing a Crowd

39:34 - Question: Game Opening Disasters

44:42 - Question: Escaping Jail

46:44 - Question: Comprehensive Rulebooks

52:01 - Minor Tom Rant: Authority to Answer Questions

52:58 - Question: Art for Prototypes

56:31 - Question: Deluxe Editions

58:37 - Question: Less or More of a Genre

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Julie's been to a castle! And GAMA Expo! We chat about those adventures for a bit before moving on to the topic of physical weight of our games. How heavy is too heavy? We also share a question from the mailbag, and collect some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:54 - Winter Woes and Dice Tower West

05:42 - Julie and Hoop and Stick

11:25 - GAMA Expo

14:21 - Heavy Games

33:08 - Question: What Is the Soup of Games?

41:04 - Lairs

43:34 - Chicago Grand Slam

46:50 - Hot Streak

48:18 - Wilmot's Warehouse

52:08 - A Place for All My Books

54:35 - Regicide

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Julie's out this time, so Tom and Eric spend time looking back at Epic Game Events that they've been involved with at conventions over the years. What worked well, and what did not? Plus, a question from the mailbag about digital vs. in-person gaming, and Tom and Eric each present a full set of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:47 - No Julie, February Lull

01:35 - Live Show at Dice Tower West (Friday 3pm)

02:42 - Groundhogs and Polka Interlude

03:21 - Dice Tower East and Curling

06:14 - Epic Game Events

36:37 - Question: Live vs. BGA?

42:33 - Age of Galaxy

46:05 - A Message from the Stars

50:06 - Trasteros/Storeroom Inc.

52:56 - Nuns on the Run (2nd Edition)

56:05 - Suds and Malone

1:00:49 - Lords of Worlds

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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Tom and Eric are back from the Dice Tower Cruise, trying not to make Julie jealous, but failing miserably. We talk about games played, ports visited, and flights cancelled. Plus, we dive into the listener mailbag, and gather a new round of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:54 - Dice Tower West and The Library

02:33 - Merchant of Venus in The Library

04:26 - Dice Tower Cruise - Pre-Cruise

10:50 - Cruise: Most Checked-Out Games

21:57 - Cruise: St. Thomas Game Day

25:02 - Eric's Travel Woes

27:26 - Jibber Jabble

29:44 - Julie's Cruise Contribution

30:47 - Question: Too Social?

38:33 - JiSoGi: Anime Studio Tycoon

46:07 - Eternal Decks

49:44 - Ham Helsing

55:11 - Cosy Stickerville

59:03 - Fest Season

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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This time, we look at what happens when a production error is found in a game after it has reached the wild. What should producers do to make it right, and can they do anything at all? Also, a new dramatic Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:50 - Storytime from Tom: Loading the Cruise Library

04:16 - Announcements: Gamefound (supportdicetower.com), Dice Tower West, East, and Vacation

06:33 - Dealing with Production Errors

39:14 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

47:55 - Wingspan: Americas

50:19 - Sanibel

52:44 - Harmonies

55:27 - Nocturnis

57:43 - Lairs

1:00:45 - Cookie Run Braverse TCG

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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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.

00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com

03:07 - 2006 Memories

05:09 - Where Were We In 2006?

18:50 - The Games of 2006

27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing?

31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement

42:07 - Add to Playlist

47:06 - Galactic Cruise

48:06 - Zooloretto

50:47 - Merry Murdle

53:52 - Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

57:10 - Heroes of Timeline

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy.

01:20 - Top Tens on Video

01:51 - Year as a Whole

07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak

12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods

20:06 - Guilty Pleasure - Deep Regrets, Moon Colony Bloodbath

24:38 - Favorite Classic - Race for the Galaxy, At The Gates of Loyang, Sentient, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, You're Bluffing

27:22 - Stand-Out in Our Favorite Genre - Bohemians, EXIT Advent, Threads of Fate, Rove

32:48 - Hoopiest Hula-Hoop - Spooktacular, Oddland, Zenith

37:05 - Thorniest Thorn - Feel Like a Fool, Lynx, Donald Duck in Happy Camper

41:38 - Rosiest Rose - Vantage, Formaggio, Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

47:42 - Looking Forward to 2026 - Use Up All Your Sick Days, Vegan Cafe, Sail Legacy, Floe

50:35 - Announcements: Gamefound, Dice Tower Cruise, East, West

Next Episode: January 13, 2026

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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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)

37:55 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

43:03 - Formaggio

48:35 - Gnomic Parliament

52:13 - Carnuta

54:49 - Magic Number 11

56:54 - Insurrect10n

--

Julie's Notes

Where to go to get core book pdfs?

DriveThruRPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/

Itch.io https://itch.io/

Cooperative play (yes the overwhelming majority of TTRPGs are cooperative) some extra cooperative leaning

• Heckin' Good Doggos https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/405426/heckin-good-doggos

• Teatime Adventures https://www.snowbrightstudio.com/teatime-adventures

Dice rolling - Also many many many ttrpgs use dice. Here are some examples

• D20 - D&D/Pathfinder https://www.dndbeyond.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorCdKoS-xSfI4e05Us81YGA4tHt8CmmaOWNN-9VTcnsAfXS5pBS, https://paizo.com/pathfinder

• d100 (percentile): Call of Cthulhu https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/

• Symbol-based dice: FFG Star Wars. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/starwarsrpg/ , Fudge dice: Fate https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/

Area control

• Beak, Feather, & Bone https://possible-worlds-games.itch.io/bfb

Faction/War

• Song of Ice and Fire RPG http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/101026/A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Roleplaying-A-Game-of-Thrones-Edition

• Mutant: Year Zero https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139453/MUTANT-Year-Zero--Roleplaying-At-The-End-Of-Days

• Numenera: Destiny https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240655/Numenera-Destiny

• Coyote and Crow https://www.allplay.com/board-games/coyote-and-crow-the-roleplaying-game/

Action points -

Level Up

• D&D

• PbtA

Using Action points

• Feng Shui https://atlas-games.com/fengshui

• C&S: Rebirth

• Mythras

Deck builder/Bidding

Ok not really but Redigo is "Hand Management" https://letsplayredigo.com/

Games using a standard deck of cards

• Castle Falkenstein https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2370/castle-falkenstein

Games using a custom or proprietary card deck - mostly they are being used instead of dice

• Dragonlance: Fifth Age https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/186462/dragonlance-fifth-age-dramatic-adventure-game-saga

• Clockwork Dominion https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked

My Closest Pick

• Torg Eternity:A Thousand Faces of Adventure http://torg-gamereference.com/

Pick up and Deliver

Solo/journal:

• Courier https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked

• Delivered! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441018/delivered-a-solo-journaling-rpg

One shot

• Delivery Dragons https://shardsofblue.itch.io/delivery-dragons

Worker Placement?

Become a GM

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

💾

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.

00:47 - Getting Cold

01:45 - Eric at Pax Unplugged

03:47 - Games at Tom's Daughter's Wedding?

05:10 - BGG Con, Dice Tower East, West, Cruise

06:37 - Fishing for Role Players

14:58 - Stat-Heavy Games: Pathfinder ACG, Mage Knight

17:48 - Character Building: Origin Story, Elder Scrolls, Too Many Bonews, Artisans of Splendent Vale

20:12 - Story-Based Character Progression: Call to Adventure, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Near and Far

22:17 - Campaign (Descent) vs. Combat: Wrath of Ashardilon, Wander the Cult of Barnacle Bay, Massive Darkness, Monster Hunter

27:36 - Silly: Dungeon Fighter, Dungeon Quest, Cora Quest, Munchkin, Talisman

30:31 - Exploration: Mansions of Madness, Clank Catacombs

32:57 - Storytelling: Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Tainted Grail, Oathsworn, Agemonia

35:03 - Video Games: Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Skyrim, GWENT

37:38 - Improvisational Storytelling: Freelancers, Wandering Galaxy, Adventure Party, Aye Dark Overlord, Once Upon a Time

41:22 - Teasing Next Time: RPGs for Boardgamers

42:27 - Rove

46:08 - Night Soil

49:04 - Mezen

52:50 - Gingerbread House

55:37 - Severton

1:00:35 - Spot It Catan

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

Julie's Tales of Myth and Legend Preorder: https://gamefound.com/projects/van-ryder-games/tales-of-myth-and-legend-preorder?refcode=tMZTh1PtbUec1Vko4OGdaw

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Tom, Julie, and Eric are back from Germany and ready to talk about games, food, crowds, and everything else they saw at Spiel 2025.

00:44 - Tired

01:50 - Official Numbers/Crowd Flow

07:09 - Travel Adventures and Weather

08:46 - What Was Different for Eric

11:31 - Food

13:35 - Eric's Birthday

15:44 - Julie's Author Signing

21:16 - Tom's Live Show

25:22 - Big Games

31:14 - How To Stand Out

35:51 - Limited Stock and How To Deal With It

40:17 - What Did We Go Home With?

44:12 - A Carnivore Did It

47:25 - Flow

50:50 - Ghost Lift

54:48 - Formidable Farm

58:22 - Leaders

59:52 - The Old King's Crown

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

💾

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.

00:59 - Bookkeeping: Dice Tower East, West, Cruise

01:57 - The Weather in Germany

03:12 - Eric's First Time Back Since 2019, What's Changed?

07:18 - Where Will We Be?

Dice Tower Booth: 3 R315

Van Ryder Booth: 2 E280

Live Show, Sunday 1:30pm: Hall 4

09:30 - Dice Tower Essentials Interlude: Aquatica Duel, On Stage, Raas

11:44 - Live Plays

13:47 - Warning from Julie

14:38 - Sunday's Live Show

16:35 - Eric's Growing Wishlist and Shipping Woes

22:20 - The Games of Essen - So Many

28:20 - Orloj

29:27 - Recall

30:07 - SETI: Space Agencies

30:32 - Feya's Swamp

31:51 - Nature

33:15 - Covenant

35:00 - Ada's Dream

35:43 - Sanctuary

37:16 - Coming of Age

38:55 - Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette!

39:08 - Echoes of Time

40:52 - White Castle Duel

41:33 - The Voynich Puzzle

42:15 - Underwater Cities: Data Era and LOTR Duel: Allies

42:38 - Luthier

43:12 - Aquaria

44:14 - Julie: Use Up All Your Sick Days

45:32 - Eric: Severton

45:56 - Tom: Cereal Killer

46:52 - Julie: The Stalker

47:30 - Eric: Leylines

48:35 - Tom: Kronologic Cuzco 1450

50:22 - Julie: Parks and Potions

51:29 - Eric: Winnie the Pooh: Serious Detective

52:47 - Tom: A Carnivore Did It

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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