Dice Exploder

• Inventory Tetris (Mausritter) with Quinns

  Transcripts available at diceexploder.comMausritter is an old school dungeon crawling game where instead of playing as elves fighting dragons, you play as mice fleeing from owls. It’s not unlike any number of other old school games like Cairn or Into the Odd, but its inventory system is the only inventory system I’ve ever actually liked. Does it work differently than other games? At a raw numbers level, not really! But instead of a bunch of paper bookkeeping, Mausritter turns items into little cardboard squares like board game pieces that you put in a grid on your character sheet. That physicality makes all the difference.Further ReadingMausritter by Isaac WilliamsThe Lonely Oak by Victor LaneCairn by Yochai GalBlades in the Dark by John HarperQuinns Quest on youtube and patreon.SocialsQuinns on Bluesky.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon

  --------  

  59:06

  --------

  59:06
• The Brainer VS The Brain-Picker (Apocalypse World 2e/3e) with the Bakers

  Transcripts available at diceexploder.comApocalypse World 3rd edition is on Kickstarter right now. In many ways, it hasn’t changed much. In many ways, it's a whole new apocalypse. So I thought it'd be fun to have on the Bakers and go through a playbook - the Brainer in 2e vs its equivalent the Brain-Picker in 3e - and ask them about every single change on the sheet, from updating the basic moves all the way down to a single name on a single picklist.Further ReadingApocalypse World: Burned Over 3e on Kickstarter and a preview of The Brain-PickerApocalypse World 2e handouts, including the BrainerDesigning a seduce or manipulate replacement on the Dice Exploder PatreonPreview the Bakers’ seduce or manipulate replacement on their PatreonSocialsMeguey and Vincent on Bluesky.The Baker House BlogSam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon

  --------  

  1:12:30

  --------

  1:12:30
• Actual Play: Void 1680 AM Community Broadcasts (with Ken Lowery)

  Transcripts available at diceexploder.comTo close out this miniseries on actual play, I wanted to feature a game that I think uses actual play as a game mechanic. Hear me out. Void 1680 AM is a solo playlist-building game in which you create a fictional radio broadcast. Except when you're done, you can send it to the game's creator (this week's cohost Ken Lowery), and he'll broadcast it out onto the real radio via the AM antenna in his garage (and on YouTube).Obviously it feels different to play the game knowing it's going to go out on air. But I think it feels different even just knowing that it could go out on air. And while most actual play feels first and foremost like an act of performance, Ken's broadcasts feel more like an extension of gameplay and an act of community building. How's it feel to be inside all that? Come take a listen.Further ReadingVoid 1680 AM by Ken LoweryVoid 1680 AM Community Broadcasts archives on YouTubeSam’s Void Community BroadcastChinese larp of Void on InstagramCharacters Without Stories featuring SamSocialsKen on Bluesky and itch. You can purchase physical copies from his imprint Bannerless Games.Sam on Bluesky and itchThe Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon

  --------  

  49:18

  --------

  49:18
• Actual Play: 4AM at a Diner (Last Train to Brooklyn) with Linnie Schell

  Transcripts available at diceexploder.comLast Train to Brooklyn is an actual play from Twice Rolled Tales where they play Last Train to Bremen on a New York City subway car. It's also probably my favorite actual play full stop. Why? I think because it leans into what I'm most excited about this medium: treating capturing the act of play more like a documentary than a means towards fiction. It's excited at least as much about its nonfiction story as its fictional one.Today I've invited Linnie Schell, one of the main creatives behind Last Train to Bremen, to come give me a beat by beat director's commentary on everything that went into it, all building to the moment I really wanted to highlight: its ending.Further ReadingTwice Rolled TalesThe RuPaul videos Linnie mentionsComedy Book by Jesse David FoxLast Train to Bremen by Caro AsercionSocialsMaia on BlueskySam on Bluesky and itchThe Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon

  --------  

  1:06:32

  --------

  1:06:32
• Actual Play: An Uncomfortable Offer (Maia's Game Room: The Electric State) with Maia Wilson

  Transcripts available at diceexploder.comOne of my favorite parts about these episodes where I'm highlighting a single moment from an actual play is how many practical lessons I can bring back to my own table by going beat by beat through a significant moment in play. And today, Maia Wilson has brought a particularly significant moment from her show Maia's Game Room in which one character, in desperate straights, is pressured by an NPC to pay for his help with sex.It's an intense moment. It may not be for you (and this episode may not be, either). But I think there's no better way to learn about how to establish good communication and try to keep people safe at the table than by breaking down a specific example. Plus, when you get this right like I think Maia and her table do, the results can be cathartic and compelling. Let's get into it.Further ReadingMaia's Game Room: Electric State, episode 5The Battle of Primrose Park: Playing for Emancipatory Bleed in Fortune & Felicity by Jonaya KemperThe Electric State rpgThe Electric State art bookSocialsMaia on BlueskySam on Bluesky and itchThe Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon

  --------  

  48:35

  --------

  48:35

More Arts podcasts

Trending Arts podcasts

About Dice Exploder