The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast

Tony McRee of Rolling Dice and Taking Names blasts us into a new episode of The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast! Today the gang talks about some of the games they've been playing including Oltree, Dune Imperium, Merchants of the Dark Road, DinoGenics, Dice Throne, Camel Up and Last Light. Then Don, Steve and Jamie throw down a review of Richard Garfield's The Hunger from Renegade Games. Tony T, as always, wows the audience with this vast knowledge of all things gaming industry in his award-winning news segment. And finally, the Founders dive into a discussion about what games they would like to see in the BoardGameGeek top 100 ranking. The Hunger Overview 00:48:13, The Hunger World Review 00:51:17, News with Tony T 01:16:08, Games We Would Add to the BGG Top 100 02:17:33

Hey Now Cabalists! After a 3-month hiatus, the Secret Cabal Founders are back in action. Today we jump right back into the swing of things bustin’ balls, crackin' wise and yammering on about the games they love to play. Then Tony T doesn’t even miss a beat jumping back into this newsman shoes and gives us the best damned tabletop gaming news roundup you've ever seen. Then finally the gang talks about what they've been up to for the past 3 months while Jamie was "laying around" as Steve puts it. News with Tony T 01:53:00, Catchin Up With The Founders 01:31:03

Hey Now Cabalists! This audio is an update regarding my (Jamie) health and recovery, when the podcasts may return, the 2021 Kickstarter pledge manager, and a few stories of great things that happened during the past few months. Too Long, Didn't Listen? Here's the short version. My recovery is coming along. Still seeing doctors about some issues I’m having but we’re optimistic that we can get the issues cleared up soon. We’ll know in May if the treatment was completely successful, and the cancer is gone, or we need to do more work. We have a Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast recording sessions scheduled for this weekend and hope to begin releases the show again at the beginning of April. I’m easing back in and hope that I can make it work. Crossing fingers. Lords, Battletome and Express to come in the coming months. The 2021 Kickstarter Pledge Manager will be opening this week. Please keep an eye on your email for the link so you can close your pledge, select add-ons, make donations and Late Pledge. It’s Bill Shatne

The feed has gone silent, and Jamie is here to tell you the whole story as to where the Secret Cabal has been.

Don and Jamie open the show discussing a topic from the forums regarding our favorite Holiday movies and transition into our main topic - The Island of Misfit Games. Just like in Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in which Rudolph, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius discover the Island of Misfit Toys, Don and Jamie visit a different island at which strange, broken, or unattractive - yet fun to play - games reside. Can we find homes for these misfit games?

Ho Ho Ho and Happy Holidays Cabalists! It's time for the Secret Cabal's 2021 Christmas Special! Today we start out with the weirdest Chris story you'll ever hear so get ready. And then of course we dive into some games we've been playing including Kokopelli, Ghostbusters Men In Black Ecto-Terrestrial Invasion, Sub Terra, Heads Up, Trophies, Just One Online, Unsettled, Brick and Mortar, Betrayal Legacy and Betrayal Widows Walk. Don, Jamie and Chris slide into a feature review of the amazing Sleeping Gods from Ryan Laukat. Then Tony T crushes it with the last gaming new segment for 2021 while the rest of us yammer on in the background. Then we roll right into an irreverent version of The Newlywed Game where the founders find out how well they know each other. And of course, like all Christmas special you'll get a bunch of great Cabal Christmas songs and our annual Secret Santa tradition. Sleeping Gods Overview 01:07:46, Sleeping Gods World Review 01:11:59, News with Tony T 01:42:09, The Newlywed Game Founders E

In episode 57 Bender starts out by talking about his recent game of Heirs to Heresy: The Fall of the Knights Templar from Osprey Games. Then the gang talks about their first foray into the Fallout RPG from Modiphius. Then the Lords round out the episode with a discussion about the things in RPG that they hate - their tabletop roleplaying game pet peeves.

Awwwww yeah, It's Cabal Time! Today the Founders talk about the Rock Apes and Tony's new career as a Rock Ape Hunter and a bunch of games they've been playing including Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, Savannah Park, Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein, That Time You Killed Me, Galaxy Hunters and Radlands. Then Don and Jamie jump into a feature review of It's a Wonderful World from designer Frédéric Guérard. Then Tony T wows the crowd with the greatest tabletop gaming news segment in the known universe. And finally, the gang takes a look at 5 game designers including Ryan Laukat, Uwe Rosenberg, Corey Konieczka, Martin Wallace and Stefan Feld and discusses their body of work. It's a Wonderful World Overview 01:11:06, It's a Wonderful World Review 01:14:48, News with Tony T 01:37:35, Designer Bodies of Work 02:26:45

Chris, Don and Jamie dive into a discussion about games that have a single standout mechanism that elevates its game to something special. Each of the gang lists three games that they feel include one of these brilliant mechanisms.

Hey Now! It's time for some irreverent Cabal shenanigans! Today the gang chats about some games and hobby junk we've been getting into including Imperial Steam, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber, Dinosaur World, Furnace, and Elfenland. Then Jamie and Don get into an overview and review of Anno 1800 from Kosmos and designed by Martin Wallace. After Tony T goes through all the most important news items in the entire world, the Founders get into a discussion about giving potentially great board games a second chance. Anno 1800 Overview 00:59:59, Anno 1800 Review 01:06:10, News with Tony T 01:37:49, Second Chance Board Games 02:36:29

Today the Lords start out episode 56 by discussing their new campaign using the Fallout RPG from Modiphius. Jesko explains the setting and the rest of the gang details the characters they'll be playing. Then the group takes a question from a listener asking which we more value, campaign story arcs or our own personal character's story arc. And finally, the Lords each give one pick of a video game that they think would make a great tabletop RPG.

Hey Now Cabalists! Episode 242 starts with an announcement regarding Don playing a game of Europe Divided with the designer of A Gest of Robin Hood and Red Flag over Paris, Fred Serval. The match will also have running commentary by its designer Dave Thompson! The match will be held on November 13th, 11am PST (2pm EST). Check out https://tabletop.events/conventions/sdhist-con-2021 for more details. Then the gang jumps into talking about some great games we've been playing including Isle of Skye, Scythe, Tapestry: Plans and Ploys, Empire of the Stars, Box One, Northern Pacific, and Juicy Fruits. Then Don and Jamie jump into a feature review of Martin Wallace's Struggle of Empires from Eagle-Gryphon Games. Tony T collects and delivers a bonkers series of news articles and currently running Kickstarter projects while the gang chirps in the background. Then finally the Founders jump into a Short Topic Extravaganza including discussion about too many Kicsktarters, how hard should a co-op game be and do the BGG ran

Don and Jamie welcome Honorary Founder Matt Evans of Board Game Replay to celebrate Halloween with some spooky, creepy and super fun horror video games! Most of the games discussed in this episode are by indie developers but are inexpensive giving you a good bang for your buck - or scare for your buck in some cases. Please check out https://www.thesecretcabal.com/express-77-horror-video-games for a full list of the games discussed. Also check out https://www.youtube.com/boardgamereplay for all of Matt's amazing videos.

It's Halloween and the Founders are back to scare your pants off! First the gang talks about their recent trip to Columbus Ohio for Origins Game Fair. Then they get into some games they've been playing including Return to Dark Tower, DC Deck Building Game, Lost Ones, Bitoku, Seasons and Voidfall. Then Chris, Don and Jamie jump into a feature review the Battlestar Galactica retheme, Unfathomable from Fantasy Flight Games. Then Tony T throws runs down all the tabletop gaming news that matters to you, the Cabalist. And finally, to honor our feature review, we pitch some horror movie board game rethemes that we'd love to see made. Oh, and throughout the entire episode the gang is visited by the Gatekeeper from the old Nightmare board game to give us some Halloween pop quizzes. Unfathomable Overview 01:08:55, Unfathomable Review 01:13:28, News with Tony T 01:40:49, Spooky Rethemes 02:28:13

In episode 55, The gang starts out by having Aaron reveal his purchases at Origins Game Fair 2021 and then jump into a listener submitted question about how the Lords prepare for campaigns as Game Masters. And finally, the Lords discuss roleplaying fear, game mechanisms that promote fear in players and running spooky adventures for the Halloween season.

The Cabal is back for another dose of insubordinate nonsense! Today the gang talks about some great games including Magic the Gathering, Khora: Rise of an Empire, Immortals, Scooby Doo: Escape from the Haunted Mansion, Run Cowboy Run and Intrepid. Then Don and Jamie feature review Clash of Cultures Monumental Edition from designer Christian Marcussen and Wiz-Kids. Then Tony T pulls out the news articles if runs down all the most important things happening in the tabletop gaming world. Then finally the Founders discuss Unwritten Rules in board gaming. Clash of Cultures Overview 01:01:28, Clash of Cultures Review 01:06:22, News with Tony T 01:29:51, The Unwritten Rules 02:30:57

Enter, Ye Gods of War! In Volume four of Battletome, a podcast about the miniatures gaming hobby, Bender, Aaron and Jamie discuss all the games and hobby project they've been getting into lately including Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, Don't Look Back, Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats, Myth and Goal, and Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels. Then Aaron and Jamie dive into a feature review of Star Wars Legion published by Fantasy Flight Games and Atomic Mass Games!

Don and Jamie are so happy to be joined by Joel Eddy of Drive Thru Games and Rodney Smith of Watch It Played to talk about gaming conventions. We discuss the question, are Board Game Conventions still as relevant as they once were to the gaming industry - both publishers and convent creators.

Awww yeah, the gang is back in action for another bananas episode of The Secret Cabal! Today the Founders chat about the games they've been playing including DinoGenics: Controlled Chaos, Paleo, Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms, Ankh: Gods of Egypt, Seastead and Chronicles of Crime 1400. Then Don and Jamie dive into a feature review of the classic Vlaada Chvátil game, Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization from CGE. Then Tony T, as always, wows us with the best gaming news there is to hear, and the gang wraps up the show with another Short Topic Extravaganza with topics including is it okay to turn down designers when they ask you to playtest? Do you like long turns with few rounds or fast turns with tons of rounds? And do we believe in bigfoot and UFOs? Through The Ages Overview 01:12:13, Through The Ages Review 01:16:31, News with Tony T S 01:46:34, Short Topic Extravaganza 02:48:21

In episode 54, The gang starts out by talking about their recent roleplaying game battery recharging hiatus and their meeting to discuss what we're going to play next included - Fallout, Shadowrun, Pulp Cthulhu and Star Wars. Then the Lords take a question from Cabalist Brett regarding creating and running dastardly villains and how to do it without feeling like a dirtbag. Then finally the group talks about all kinds of gaming group styles, look at their own gaming style and discuss the impact style has on enjoyment.