Fools Daily

In which Mike and Matt finally finish off the big box game discussion that they have been having with a chat about Epic and its various forms over the years. If I am honest I can't remember what we actually talked about in this episode , other than the fact its about Epic, as it was recorded quite a few weeks ago when we lost in the cricket to Australia at Lords. Of course this was a blessing in disguise as we then went on to beat India, smash the Aussies out of sight in the semi final and then in a glorious display of cricketing prowess (or a lucky deflection off Ben Stokes bat), went on to win the World Cup for the very first time. But you probably aren't listening to these for cricket discussions, more likely you are here for gaming chat. Well as I said, you get some of that, just not sure what form it takes.

In which Mike and Matt have a discussion about the wonder that is 7TV as they went to a Pulp based event over the weekend. And yes they did about as well as they normally do but with 7TV thats completely irrelevant as narrative wins the day. So tune in to hear the thrilling adventures of Dr Möbius and his robotic minions along with tales of the nefarious activities of crime boss Vincenzo Moretti. Learn how crime seemingly doesn't pay, how Captain America accidentally fell off a ship and how Matt has developed both a fear of hand grenades and a love of IKEA furniture. If you are inspired by what you hear then you can read more about our adventures on the tabletop in blogs by Andy Bascombe (https://baskivich.blogspot.com/2019/07/pulptastic.html) and Kieron Mulholland (https://cheaphammer.blogspot.com/2019/07/captain-america-fighting-for-victory.html) which give you a great insight into the mindset of the 7TV community. I wish I had found them 20 years ago.

In which Mike is supposed to be talking to long time game designer Rob Stoddard (http://www.http://www.rob-stoddard.net) about his latest project Conan: Savage Legends which is coming to Kickstarter on the 16th July. To be fair they do talk about Conan, which is an arena based boardgame where you play as one of the legends of the Howard universe along with two companions against you fellow players for riches beyond imaging (read the press release at https://www.s7tabletopgames.com/home/s7-games-to-kickstart-conan-savage-legends-on-july-16) but as is Mikes want, they go off on several tangents where we find out a lot more about ROb and his experiences in the games industry. I mean he starts off with a story about Mike McVey asking him to do some painting for the first Warmachine book and it just goes from there. They have a great discussion about playtesting methodolgies, how mainstream games differ from games produced for our hobby and Mike learns something he didn't know about Red Sonja. All in all it

In which sneaky Mike and bumbling buffoon Matt get back on track and talk about the wonderful Mordheim, a game which has spawned many imitators despite all its flaws. Its basically Necromunda in the Warhammer World so all the things we talked about in that episode apply here as well, great fun, terrible balance issues - especially if you are playing an ongoing campaign - and one crew that rules over them all in the form of the sneaky sneaky skaven. Thrown into the the episode you get a few name drops (clang) Mike tells the story yet again about the University of Altdorf and Matt, well Matt does what Matt does. Minus the dribble (though many would say with extra drivel)

In which we take a break from our recap of GW 90s games and instead join Mike and a plethora of dodgy sounding people to talk about the ongoing Dungeons and Dragons campaign that they are all playing in. So we are joined by Andy, Cathy, James, Chris and DM Joel as we get a catch up on how the campaign has gone over the last year and what the characters have been up to. Mostly this seems to be Krunk (Mikes character) getting the party into near death situations and then getting them out of it with a well timed critical role on the d20. We do talk some about how our characters have developed over the year and touch on what roleplaying means to us but thats a pretty big subject and we do have a years worth of adventuring to get through. Don't worry we hear from each player individually over the next few weeks / months / years (you know how it goes with this show) enabling you to become a lot more familiar with whats going on. We might even be able to persuade Emily to come on the show, though as she thinks

In which Mike and Matt start a series of casts talking about the Games Workshop big box games of the 1990s, which is a depressingly long time ago. The boy Rory wasn't even born when some of these came out which is a way I suppose of the universe letting you know that you are just some sort of piece of navel lint at a cosmic scale. Now there's a downer for today. Still you can cheer yourself up by listening to us. Well its not a punishment is it. Oh it is. Well shouldn't have been naughty then.

In which Mike and Matt (Jim and Bob unfortunately had other commitments) continue with their chat about Games Workshop big box games of the 1990s, today talking about the game which is probably the longest lived of all the content that GW has produced - yes its bloodbowl. From its beginning in 1986 to its current thriving state (the new halfling team is just wonderful) we give a very speedy run through of the history of the game and talk about why it has survived so long. Mike manage to resist going on another rant about Dice Cups and Matt , for once, doesn't poke the angry bear with a stick. He is prone to doing that you know, he just wouldn't let it lie. Must admit this chat brought back some great memories of smashing opponents into the ground and leaving their seasons in tatters as they tried to compete with only 5 fit players. Thats why we play right? Right? Hey, where are you all going. We have sweets.

In which Mike and Conrad spend some time finding out whats been happening in Conrads gaming life. Unlike the other two Conrad has still be playing regularly and travelling to events and stuff, things that, as you know, were sadly missing from Matt and Mikes past 18 months. So what do we learn. Well there are games from GW that have really complicated names, Shadespire and its variants are like crack cocaine to gamers, the new Tanelorn venue actually isn't that new and also has a complex backstory that would make George R R Martin think, blimey thats a complicated back story oh and that Conrad is still one of the nicest men in gaming and fortunately doesn't have a stroke whilst we are recording. Unless Red Braces is a euphemism that I've somehow failed to pick up on.

In which Mike and Matt make there long awaited return to the podcasting pool. Ok some people wanted us to come back. Well at least one person so this is for him. Yes after over a year away we've actually carved out some time to record something, even if it is basically what we have been writing on the blog for the past few posts. Its like an Audible version. Hope you like it and we are certainly planning on doing more but as with all these things it will be when it will be.

Something Stirs.

In which Mike and Matt (oh wait a minute Matt didn't show up so Mike had to go solo) chat with Neil and Paul from Workhouse Games about their forthcoming Kickstarter Project, Awful Orphanage which launches on the 22nd March 2018. This is a game that has been floating around in their heads for the better part of 3 years and unlike many of the games that you see on KS this isn't a big company doing a presale or a small company with unrealistic expectations of being the next Kingdom Death. No, in a refreshing change of events, these are guys who have thought long and hard about the product that they want to put out, have done all the sums and have invested significant amounts of there own capital to get the game to a place where they just need the funds to actually put it into production. Nice one. It helps that the game has a killer premise and the figures and art are absolutely lovely. You also get to hear Mike be absolutely gobsmacked at the price point - hint, its really really good. We'll definitely b

In which Mike goes on a little rant and Matt uses a big word. The basics of the rant is to do with the divorce of fluff and gameplay and how that effects performance on the tabletop. Its not about telling people how to play or saying that one way is better than the other but more about making sure that all choices are viable and sensible choices to make.

In which Mike and Matt shock the world by producing a second episode in a weekend. Today is the tale of their trip to the darkest wilds of Daventry to play in an Epic Armageddon event. Its taken 3 years to get to this point so they were desperate to make the most of it and so excited about how it went that Matt didn't even get out of bed to record the audio. Thats dedication. And now of course you all have the thought of Matt, naked in bed, recording his voice for your pleasure. You aren't getting that thought image out of there any time soon.

In which Mike and Matt recount the tale of epic derring do that was Bonescon 2018, which (spoilers) was a great success and hopefully there will be a Butterfly House there next year as well. They also touch upon the Epic tournament that they are heading out to and then get to the meat of the discussion as they talk about the recently released SAGA v2 and how they got on with their first couple of games. Listening back it does seem that Mike likes the sound of his own voice and poor Matt can hardly get a word in edgeways. If you have ever met Mike you know that this couldn't be possibly true as he is a shy and retiring type of character, very much content to sit in the background.

In which Mike is rejoined by Matt (sorry Conrad fans) to talk about whats been happening in the month of January. Its a tale of missed opportunities, possible futures and generally the usual sort of thing from a couple of old geezers who need to keep running to the bathroom every 5 minutes. It does contain a review of possibly the worst tabletop game that we have ever played though and it does get a bit ranty, so if you like that sort of thing then this episode is probably going to be right up your street. Overall grade for January though is pretty much could do better. That plan for 3 episodes a week is going swimmingly well after all :)

In which Mike gets a classy cohost in the form of the wonderful Conrad. Its been a while since we last heard from him and this episode is a catch up on whats been going on in his gaming life and how he seems, for the moment at least, t have recaptured some hobby mojo. Now I can't promise that we stay totally on topic for the 80 odd minutes of the show, just as I can't promise that Conrad doesn't get a bit silly in places (he is old and senile after all) but hopefully you'll find it worth listening to.

In which Mike and Matt record the first FD episode in 6 months. 6 months of peace and quiet ruined by a couple of middle aged old men blethering on about playing with toy soldiers. We have a very brief catchup on what happened in the second half of 2017 and then launch into discussion of plans for 2018. Hopefully those plans include more audio shows. But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

In which Mike and Matt do something that you would have thought that they would know better than to do and lay out what the plans they have for the summer. Its like mid year resolutions. Which is frankly a very stupid thing to do. Its especially stupid as if you asked them today what they said they were going to do when they recorded this then I'm pretty sure that they won't be able to remember and will make some sort of excuse so that they can go back and listen.

In which Mike and Matt talk about Bonescon and specifically the plans for the Fools Daily Butterfly House. Before we get there though we wander through SAGA, a trip to Warhammer World and a brief discussion about monochrome painting techniques. Polyglots, that what we are. Must admit I am very excited about the Butterfly House and hopefully if you are a regular listener to this show you are as well. Fun and Frolics will abound as a shining beacon of hope in the mass of competative gaming. Or it will be an utter disaster and Matt and I will be sitting twiddling our thumbs for 3 days. Either way its going to be exciting.

In which Mike and Matt are joined by James Hewitt, ex GW designer, to talk about his new venture Needy Cat Games. We cover his gaming background, his thoughts on where the industry is at the moment and what its like leaving the safety blanket that working for GW gets you. Obviously us being us the conversation then goes down several different paths, often at the same time as we discover what he's playing at the moment, gaming tropes / mechanics he likes, things like that. Oh and we also find out his views on Dark Knight (wrong) and GoTG2 (right). As an aside huge congratulations to Gav on his Gemmel, very well deserved.