Hambone kicks things off with a quick introduction (00:17). The guys get right to it and talk about a programing board game called Colt Express that they played the previous night (01:20).

The focus of the episode is West End Games' Star Wars RPG (06:08). Discussion starts with how completely Star Wars has penetrated popular culture (06:12) and Hambone gives a quick history of the game (06:48). Stu breaks explains how the RPG kept Star Wars alive. (07:40). The Ewok Movie comes up (08:20). Stu theorizes that the initial appeal of the Star Wars RPG laid in the fact that the books gave you access to more material from the movies (09:28).

Stu explains the basics of the system (10:31) and explains how the game gave birth to the Expanded Universe (11:13). Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy comes up (11:53) and Stu explains how those books paved the way to the larger Star Wars' modern pop culture explosion (12:37). The Science Fiction Book Club comes up (13:22). Hambone runs through some of the publications dates and cover art for the various editions of the rules (13:50) and Stu voices his disappointment in the design and illustration in the third edition (14:18).

Conversation turns to the game's approach to universe building (15:00). They discuss adventure modules, the Kathol Rift campaign (16:38) and the Galaxy Guides, which brings the guys to the topic of toys (17:27) and the joy of weird aliens. There is the inevitable comparison to Star Trek (19:57) and that segues to a quick chat about angry Star Wars fans (20:54) and inclusivity (23:43). Stu talks about his up and down relationship with Star Wars (25:00).

Hambone shifts the gears out of the heavy stuff to talk about how the game handles Jedi (26:30) and a digression into miniature play wraps things up (28:00).

Finally, we end on a happy note, as Hambone is excited that his copy of the Big Trouble in Little China board game finally arrived (29:00)

The guys say their good-byes (31:13).

*

Correction: Stu has a tick and keeps calling it the Star Wars Extended Universe. While that word usage isn't wrong, the moniker is actually the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Requisite variety and its implications for the control of complex systems

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