RPG Review Board: Recent Episodes
RPG Review Board
When President Ulysses S. Grant formed the Department of Justice in 1870, he made special provision for a bar of review regarding the new pass-time sweeping across the land: role-playing games. This bar was meant to establish a standard of quality to ensure that “neckbeards, dorks, geeks, quiet bookish girls, and Guys Who Are Way Into Anime, If You Know What I Mean” were not adversely affected by poorly drafted rule sets and incomprehensible lore dumps. In a nation still attempting to heal from the wounds of the Civil War, it was sadly necessary. Today, the RPG Review Board continues that proud tradition. Gamers can rely on the Board’s judgments, knowing that any game recommended by that august body has passed rigorous standards of fun-evaluation and only the most exacting tests for rules balance and accuracy.
The RPG Review Board Podcast celebrates their first year of production! In honor of this historic event, we turn the tables and give our gift to you, dear listener: an episode a few days earlier than expected. In this episode, the judges take a look back on the games they reviewed and the times they… Continue reading Episode 24: Year In Review
My game can beat up your game! New editions of RPG systems are inevitable, but they don’t have to cause heartache. Judges Case and Adam dive into the whos, hows, and whys of RPG editions and rules updates in this episode.
Long, long ago in a decade far, far away, there was a different Star Wars and an RPG set in that very different galaxy. A galaxy where you could feel the Force. Stop sniggering! This is a family show.
Sir, the players are revolting! They’re always revolting, but this time they’re taking over the microphones! Perpetual players Trey and Heidi talk about what it’s like to review RPGs from a player’s perspective.
Revenge of the ampersand! Our judges take on a fantasy RPG with roots in many editions of the great grand-daddy of games that put words together with this funny little thingy in between. Are the judges amused? Entertained? Shaken, not stirred? Give a listen.
Judges Adam and Nathan talk about Gen Con 2022. They review what they are attending, and what they are looking forward to at this year’s convention. More Megagames. More board games. More RPGs. More rules for grappling.
Let’s talk mutants in a blasted nuclear wasteland! No, let’s talk Mad Max biker gangs in a blasted nuclear wasteland! Well, we can agree on the wasteland. And that free PDFs can be pretty great.
We return to memory lane, this time with Trey and Nathan. They discuss how they got started in the hobby and reminisce about the environment, culture, timelines, and games they experienced early in their gaming career.
Open the Cryo-Tubes! Behold a game frozen in time! Join the judges as they examine a game from the early history of the hobby returned to life in the modern world.
Our most self-important judges talk about why modern and science fiction settings for RPGs play a distant second fiddle to the fantasy genre. Come for the five-dollar words, stay for the obscure references.
Vehicular manslaughter. It happened and this game made it happen. Need we say anything more?
Sometimes, you can find yourself with more RPG groups and games than you know what to do with. Other times, you may find your dance card empty. How can you engage with the tabletop RPG hobby when it’s just you and a room full of shiny dice? Two of our judges address that very subject… Continue reading Episode 13: In Chambers – Solo RPGs
Sometimes you need to step away from your immersive and complex RPG campaign and just have an evening of something different. Maybe you can be treacherous subjects of a powerful queen, maybe you can be…fake wizards? Or…a skull? Hey, it’s only for an evening.
It’s a walk down memory lane as two of our judges talk about the very first time they played an RPG. Embarrassing 80s pop-culture references included.
Gun shots! Roundhouse kicks! Explosions! How does it feel to be in an action movie all the time? And what is the deal with these squirrels? The Board attempts to provide answers.
Heidi and Case each make a top five list of monsters. No one really asked for them to do so, but what can you do? Heidi’s list is terrifying, Case’s is ridiculous. Is that a spoiler?
Sexy angels, teenage vampire hunters, and that squinty guy obsessed with aliens: all these and more make their appearance in this game built on trashy television. The Judges enjoy themselves, perhaps too much.
Trey and Case talk about wonder and whimsy in RPGs. Then they get sidetracked into a Dr Who conversation. They go back to whimsy and then talk Dr Who again. It’s all very confusing. And whimsical!
Judges Adam and Nathan relive their experiences at previous GenCon conventions with a focus on Megagames, which are asynchronous events involving 40-60 players. These games incorporate elements of board games, role playing, intrigue, and more.
You’re some sort of being, from some sort of place, but now you’re here, and there are a lot of cats. The Judges attempt to part the veil of whimsy and ambiguity around the British game with the Russian name.
Judges Adam and Heidi chat about superheroes in popular culture and tabletop roleplaying games. Grab a beverage and listen in on a super-casual chat about super-stuff. Cats optional.
Does that cape really go with those tights? When is an RPG like a grocery store? The Judges weigh in on the superhero genre and rules-light systems.
The judges take off their robes and slip into a comfortable talk over coffee. This month, Nathan and Case talk about rogues and roguish characters in games. Come for the thoughts on being a GM for larcenous PCs, stay for the war stories of rogues past.
Is it really that good to be bad? Listen in as the Judges deliberate on a game where everyone is up to something, the guards are getting suspicious and sometimes people get tossed out of windows.