When Rome Burns

What if your favorite video game was actually a CIA recruitment tool? In this eye-opening episode, Michael Stevens uncovers The Black Watchmen, an alternate reality game that teaches players real intelligence techniques while recruiting 50,000 agents worldwide. This isn't just entertainment. It's psychological warfare disguised as fun. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How Alice & Smith built a game using a...

What if one guy with 56 ships could completely obliterate 330 enemy vessels in a single battle? In this episode, Michael Stevens breaks down how Admiral Yi Sun-sin turned the Battle of Hansando into the naval equivalent of bringing a chess master to a checkers fight. 🎯 What You'll Discover: • The crane wing formation that trapped 73 Japanese ships between an island and certain death • How Yi deli...

What if a $2 indie horror game could haunt you longer than any blockbuster AAA title? Michael Stevens discovered that Stray Cat Crossing, a free RPG Maker game from a solo developer, achieves something most big-budget horror games can't: genuine psychological terror that sticks with you for days. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why this cult classic proves that creative limitations often breed the best in...

What if the worst moment of your career turned out to be the setup for your greatest victory? In this episode, Michael Stevens tells the incredible story of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who went from tortured prisoner to Korea's most legendary naval commander in just months. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How Yi rebuilt Korea's navy from 13 ships to an unstoppable force that never lost a battle • The "be like a m...

Can a video game actually help you process grief better than traditional therapy? Michael Stevens explores In Between, an indie puzzle game that uses gravity manipulation and surreal visuals to guide players through the five stages of grief. Created by a tiny three-person team over four years, this isn't your typical gaming recommendation. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How the game's difficulty curve li...

Ever wonder how one man with 13 ships could face down 330 enemy warships and somehow win? Michael Stevens breaks down Admiral Yi Sun-sin's impossible victory, showing exactly how the Korean naval genius turned certain defeat into one of history's most brilliant tactical masterpieces. This isn't just another war story. It's a masterclass in turning desperate circumstances into devastating advantage...

What if everything you learned about the Crusades in school was basically medieval propaganda? In this eye-opening episode, Michael Stevens tears apart the Hollywood myths and church-approved stories to reveal what actually happened when 100,000 Europeans decided to march 2,000 miles to Jerusalem in 1096. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why only 15,000 out of 100,000 Crusaders actually made it to Jerusale...

What if a $2 million board game could teach AAA video game studios how to actually connect with players? In this episode, Michael Stevens breaks down how League of Geeks turned Armello from a simple tabletop concept into a digital phenomenon that punched way above its weight class. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How a $305,000 Kickstarter became a multi-million dollar success story • The four victory con...

Most digital board games feel like cheap knock-offs of the real thing. They strip away everything that makes tabletop gaming special and slap on flashy animations to hide the emptiness. But Armello? This game figured out how to be digital first and board game second. Michael Stevens breaks down exactly how this Australian indie hit cracked the code that bigger studios keep missing. 🎯 What You'll...

What if 12,000 men could change the course of Christianity forever? In this episode, Michael Stevens breaks down the First Crusade's final, bloody push to Jerusalem in 1099. From 60,000 crusaders who started the journey, only a fraction survived to see the Holy City's walls. What happened next would echo through history for a thousand years. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How crusaders built 60-foot sieg...

What if Christianity's greatest military force nearly collapsed not from enemy swords, but from sheer starvation and desperation? In this episode, Michael Stevens reveals how the Siege of Antioch became the First Crusade's most brutal test, where elite warriors were reduced to eating leather and the fate of an entire holy war hung on one man's betrayal. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why Antioch's 4-mile...

Only 40,000 out of 100,000 crusaders made it to Jerusalem. What happened to the other 60,000? In this episode, Michael Stevens reveals the brutal reality of medieval warfare that history books sanitize. You think you know about knights in shining armor? Think again. The First Crusade wasn't some noble quest - it was eight months of starvation at Antioch, followed by a massacre that left 70,000 dea...

What if the Crusades weren't won by faith, but by Facebook-level military tech? Michael Stevens breaks down how a bunch of medieval pilgrims became Europe's deadliest war machine, and it all came down to gear that cost more than most people's houses. Turns out crusader knights were basically medieval tanks. Their equipment ran about the same price as a small farm, and when you're dropping that kin...