Dice Exploder

TranscriptThis week I’m joined by Tasha Robinson, film editor at Polygon, Games on Demand aficionado, Golden Cobra honorable mentionee, and author of this excellent piece about today’s game and mechanic: Fall of Magic and the five and a half foot long handprinted scroll at its heart.There’s a lot to say about such a unique physical object, and also a lot to cover about maps in RPGs at large. We get into all of it. Consider this the third part of the travel series this season opened with.Pack your bags. It’s a heck of a journey.Further reading:* Fall of Magic by Ross Cowman* Tasha’s article about Fall of Magic and City of Winter* Tasha’s article about larps about AI* Tasha’s archive on Polygon* Tasha’s Golden Cobra honorably mentioned larp The Regency Committee on Decorum and Punchbowl Poop Prevention* Rusalka by Nick Wedig* Wild Beyond the Witch Light* Doskvol Street Maps by Tim Denee* Blades in ‘68 on Twitter* Beak Feather and Bone, another mapmaking game from Possible Worlds Games* Dread by Epidiah RavacholSocials:Tasha on Bluesky and Twitter.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey via Breaking Copyright.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptIn the year of our lord two thousand and twenty, many things occurred. But one of those things was the cultural event known as Blaseball.Blaseball was, more or less, a simulated baseball league that ran one game an hour, one season a week, that players could bet on and then use their winnings to vote for global rules changes. It got... weirder from there. And bigger. And memeier. It became nothing less than a lifestyle.And then, this past summer of 2023, it ended.What made it such a phenomenon? What made its fans so passionate? Was Blaseball even a game? And what will we do with ourselves now that it’s gone?This week Sam is joined by Chris Greenbriar, former moderator of the team discord for the Core Mechanics (that’s one of the teams from Blaseball) to reminisce and celebrate Blaseball’s legacy and everything that made it beautiful.Further reading:Blaseball’s websiteThe Blaseball fan wikiThe Seattle Garages bandcamp and the Fourth Strike Records website.The Great Soul Train Robbery in both original two page and zine length.Empires of EVE: the EVE Online history book series17776, which we didn’t mention but which you should give a glanceSocials:Join the Dice Exploder Discord if you need to talk with Chris directly.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.

TranscriptThis week Sam is joined by Jason Morningstar of Bully Pulpit Games, known for Fiasco, Night Witches, and many other excellent games.Jason brought on transparency, a concept originating in the Nordic larp community, which describes the separation of player knowledge from character knowledge (similar to dramatic irony. We go through a whole library of example games in this one as we talk through genre, safety tools, playing to lose, and the deployment of secrets. Jason’s enthusiasm for this topic is infectious - there’s so much to think about here! If you’re listening and a designer, I’m pumped to hear what shenanigans you find to get up to with transparency in your own games.Further reading:The Mixing Desk of LARPThe Golden Cobra Challenge, live now!The Fool’s JourneyFiasco second editionWelcome GuestsParanoiaBluebeard’s BrideMontsegur 1244Star CrossedSocials:Jason on Bluesky and dice.camp.Bully Pulpit Games and their Patreon.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptDouble the cohosts, double the mechanics, double the Kickstarters to back! This week, Sam talks with Kali Lawrie and Dan Phipps of Gem Room Games about Mork Borg by Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr: its graphic design and the Calendar of Nechrubel.Mork Borg is famous for the absolute assault on the eyes [complimentary] committed by its graphic design. In this season of the podcast about how mechanics can be more than just rules, I really wanted to cover it. And who better to do that with me than Gem Room Games, authors of Dukk Borg, the mashup of Mork Borg and DuckTales? We talk about the look, comedy, and sheer commitment of Mork Borg in this double-stuffed episode.Dukk Borg by Gem Room Games is on Kickstarter right now.Further reading:Mork Borg: https://morkborg.com/Sam’s other favorite Gem Room Games game Subway Runners: https://gemroomgames.itch.io/subwayrunnersSocials:Kali on Bluesky and Twitter.Dan on Bluesky and Twitter.Gem Room Games on Bluesky, Twitter, and itch.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey via Breaking Copyright.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptThis week, Sam talks with Tan Shao Han about stress from Brinkwood by Erik Bernhardt, a character resource originally from Blades in the Dark by John Harper.This is one of those episodes where to talk about the mechanic in question, we kind of have to talk about the whole-ass game around it because so much of Brinkwood is tied up in stress. And in this case, we really had to talk about two whole-ass games, because so much of what makes Brinkwood stress interesting is how a few small tweaks from Blades in the Dark ripple out through the design and lead to big changes in play.Get ready for the full firehose of mechanics: this is an episode jam-packed with delicious, crunchy examples.Further reading:Brinkwood by Erik Bernhardt: https://brinkwood.net/Blades in the Dark by John Harper: https://bladesinthedark.com/The Blades in the Dark discord: https://discord.gg/uXwCKq3Thoughts on Forging in the Dark by Small Cool Games: https://smallcoolgames.itch.io/thoughts-on-forging-in-the-darkAn Amateur’s Guide to Hacking Blades in the Dark by past cohost Michael Elliott: https://notwriting.itch.io/an-amateurs-guide-to-hacking-blades-in-the-darkSocials:Shao on Bluesky, Twitter, and his personal website.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey via Breaking Copyright.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptThis week, Sam talks with his middle school buddy David Block about We Are But Worms: A One Word RPG, other lyric games, and experimental art at large.Some topics discussed include:* Art* Games* Poetry* ListsThe best place to find David is on the Dice Exploder Discord.But No More: A One Letter Supplement for We Are But Worms: A One Word RPGYou can find Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch @sdunnewold.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.

Game designer and Fate enthusiast wendi yu discusses the Fate Point economy, the balance between mechanics and narrative in role-playing games, the challenges of crafting aspects in Fate RPG, and the importance of specificity in game design and art. They also explore the concept of trying out new identities and discuss a game that served as a gateway to story games.

TranscriptThis week, Sam talks with Morgan Nuncio about cramped quarters, a move from Uncharted Worlds. Some topics discussed include:* Travel in story games* Making this move at the beginning, middle, or end of a scene* Moves as training wheels* Stonetop’s “keep company”* Wanderhome* For the QueenYou can find Mo on Twitter @SirenaBesos.You can find Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch @sdunnewold.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

Clayton Notestine, expert on hexagons and RPGs, discusses the birth of RPGs, the advantages of hexes over squares, and the modularity of hex maps. The podcast covers leaving hexes empty for storytelling, hex flowers in RPGs, and the joy of drawing maps with hexagons.

Coming August 17th, 2023: DICE EXPLODER SEASON 2.(Here’s a transcript of this trailer.)That’s right, we are back next week with an all new season. It's 12 new episodes, 13 new co-hosts diving face first with me into the world of tabletop RPG design one mechanic at a time.This is gonna be a season that's a lot about flavor and vibes and how those things themselves are fundamentally mechanics in these games. We've also got a trio of episodes about different ways to depict travel, and of course a few deep dives into crunchy grindy bits of games.Our longest episode yet. Our shortest episode yet. Splorts!Tell your siblings and your niblings! Join our Discord if you can’t wait that long.See you soon. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diceexploder.substack.com