What Would The Smart Party Do?

Episode 183 – Unacceptable! (a.k.a. It’s Not You It’s Us) There are a plethora of gaming events to go to these days and you meet all kinds of people and playstyles. Often this is a cause for celebration, a way to pick up new ideas and techniques. Sometimes though, it’s suboptimal. There are still some people who haven’t got the memo about gaming with others, and this time the lads aim to set thing...

Episode 182 – How To GM with Justin Alexander The lads are delighted to have returning Good Friend of the Show, RPG producer and designer at Atlas Games, Justin Alexander. He’s got a new book coming out, available in all good purveyors of such things,  So You Want To Be A Game Master . Join for great insights, some not seen or heard before on the Alexandrian (or maybe anywhere!) and to get a uniqu...

Episode 181 – Gaming in Ukraine with Tasha from idearoll Fresh from The Kraken gaming retreat, the lads have met old friends and made new ones. Chief among those is Tasha from the idearoll youtube channel, who joins them this week to talk about gaming events, the scene in Ukraine and challenges of the current environment. A great episode full of enthusiasm and community spirit! You can find the id...

Episode 180 – Shadow of the Weird Wizard with Rob Schwalb Returning special guest Rob Schwalb, creator of Shadow of the Demonlord, Punk Apocalyptica, D&D designer and more, returns to the show to tell us all about his design process and work on his new Kickstarter, Shadow of the Weird Wizard. The Kickstarter project page is here: Shadow of the Weird Wizard . If you dig actual plays, check out...

Episode 179 – Pendragon 6e with David Larkins Returning special guest David Larkins, Line Editor for the King Arthur Pendragon RPG joins the lads to talk about the new edition, it’s starter set and get back to basics on what Pendragon is all about for new players and old hands alike! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 178 – Starforged With Shawn Tomkin Returning special guest Shawn Tomkin, designer of Ironsworn and of particular interest this time, Starforged. It’s an excellent Sci Fi RPG and well worth digging into, which is exactly what the lads do this time! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 177 – Wilderness Travel Fancy a trip to the Isle of Dread!? This episode the lads take a look at traveling in the wilderness, how to make it interesting and what tips and trips can improve the journey. If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 176 – Dungeons Not Dragons Whether you’re from the old school days of white-lined maps on blue backgrounds, or newly arrived at the idea of maps, scouring the internet for your Roll20 backgrounds, dungeons have a long and storied history in RPGs. Join the lads as they look back over the years at dungeons, what makes them good and how they can be used better. If you dig actual plays then ch...

If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll know we love AGON, powered by the Paragon system. This time the lads are delighted to be joined by Sean Nittner , the co-author and independent game designer Tim Denee , who’s done some great stuff with the game. Come on in for a deep dive on the game design process, what makes these sets of games great and how to squeeze more gaming juice from your sessions! Ev...

Episode 174 – Beyond Dread Portals ( a.k.a. Climinal ) This time the boys are joined by Good Friend of the Show and returning guest Dr Mitch and Newt from D101 Games to talk about their new project Beyond Dread Portals. A game for those wanting to move slightly away from what D&D has to offer, but with some familiarity so the leap of faith isn’t too scary!

Episode 173 - Third Floor Wars (a.k.a. Third Party Podcaster) A third podcaster, Craig Shipman from Third Floor Wars joins the lads this time to talk about some of our collective GM experiences at running three different games. From Blades in the Dark to Savage Worlds by way of Call of Cthulhu, this mighty triumvirate of gaming tells you what's hot and what's not, with tips, tricks and experiences...

Episode 172 - OGL OMG (a.k.a. Version Wars) There has been no end of social media frenzy about Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast and their attempt to introduce a new Open Gaming Licence. What is? Why are they doing? What's everyone upset about? Does it impact your game at the kitchen table? Find out, all this and more, with special guest Mat from Steamforged Games. If you are interested in the legal a...

Episode 171 - 2022 Retrospective (a.k.a. A Polite Golf Clap) A look back on the past year, what's been good for gaming, what can we look forward to and more. A genial fireside chat with your amiable hosts. If you are interested in solo play for Ironsworn as mentioned check out this channel . If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, th...

Episode 170 - Star Wars (a.k.a. Live Long And Prosper) A chance to reminisce among other things, the lads chatter about bringing Star Wars into your gaming life and what's good about that. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you! Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_party Email: thesmartparty@hotmail.com Ko-...

Episode 169 - Mechanics Drive Play (a.k.a. Long Chambery Things) Following on from emergent play in the last episode, the lads go through a cornucopia of games and systems to talk about mechanics which drive different styles of play. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you! Twitters: twitter.com/the_sma...

Episode 168 - Emergent Play (a.k.a. Play To Find Out) From thick books of lore to many-paged character backgrounds, how do you get cool stuff to the table? Do you even bother with all that and play to find out instead? The lads chat about how to get more juiciness from your gaming sessions. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, the...

Episode 167 - One D&D (a.k.a. There Can Be Only One) The guys are keen for a deep dive into the latest D&Dizzle news, fresh playtest documents, talk of a new approach, a lengthy train in the run up to the most recent evolution of the world's largest RPG, "One D&D". If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, the lads love to...

Episode 166 - Radiant Citadel with Ajit George (a.k.a. A New Hope) The guys are joined by lovely human and creator and project lead of Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel , Ajit George. Discover how the project came about, what to expect from the latest D&D offering, how it's different from what's gone before and much more! You can find Ajit on Twitter , or check out his website for more of h...

Episode 165 - D&D in the 70s (a.k.a. A Gateway To Wider Experiences) This time Gaz & Baz are reunited to talk about playing D&D back in the day. Joined by D&D designer and Good Friend of the Show, Jonathan Tweet, plus legendary DM Hollis Monroe, the guys talk through early experiences before Greyhawk existed and you had to make your own worlds of wondrous adventure. If you dig actual plays and rev...

Episode 164 - Escape Rooms with Rafael Chandler Another Stunt Baz in the shape of Mat from Steamforged Games , a returning special guest in the splendid form of Good Friend of the Show, Rafael Chandler ; what more could you ask for? Rafael has a successful Escape Room business and is (at time of recording) launching a Kickstarter for a 100+ puzzle escape room in a box which becomes a roleplaying g...

Episode 163 - New Gaming Tech (a.k.a. Is Verisimilitude a Word?) There's a foreword this time from Baz to let you know what's going on in his life, thoughts are with him right now. The episode was recorded before his recent sad news, and after the into message regular Stunt Baz and author of the Burn After Running blog joins Gaz to talk about new gaming tech. What developments have their been in R...

Episode 162 - Zombies with Dirk the Dice (a.k.a. Goldeneye Caused It) The Unknown Stunt Baz, Dirk the Dice off of The Grognard Files podcast joins Gaz this time to talk about zombies in popular media and in particular, games. From their origins to the hugely popular K-Zombie films and TV, how do we get more shambly bois in our games? You can chat to Dirk on the Twitters here . If you dig actual pl...

Episode 161 - Justin Alexander Interview (a.k.a. Was Dragonlance Railroady?) Armed with "Stunt Baz" Guy Milner off of the Burn After Running blog , this time Gaz interviews RPG producer and designer at Atlas Games, Justin Alexander. The chat covers the excellent RPG resource The Alexandrian , as well as what's hot at Atlas Games and some great game design discussion. If you dig actual plays and re...

Episode 160 - Blade Runner (a.k.a. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) One of the most universally recognised IPs in geekdom, Blade Runner is a staple of the lad's early film experiences. Now Free League are bringing the films (and other media) to life with a new RPG set in futuristic LA. Designer Tomas Härenstam guests to explain more about this highly anticipated game! If you want to hop on bo...

Episode 159 - Superheroes (a.k.a. Not All Heroes Wear Capes) With great podcasting, comes great responsibility to listen. Or something. This time the lads go through some Supers RPGs. What are they about? Do they match the genre? Are they any good? All this and more awaits. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel . Get in touch, the lads love to hea...