Never Say Die!

After languishing in Widows territory for so long (thanks to our unplanned, extended break), Drew and Rafe move to something a little more family friendly: 2022's The Bad Guys for an animated heist flick. How does this feature hold up to the less-animated pictures we've looked at so far? How will our hosts handle adding anthropomorphic animals to their draft rosters? Should game masters use differ...

It's Inter-MISSION time: Drew and Rafe are back with our Widows Inter-MISSION to finally put a button on this film's discussion! They talk about things they missed the first time around with Widows and stat their draft characters, talk about films they wish they had merchandise for, maybe hit on a game they want to develop, and announce the next Heist movie they'll be taking on. Interact with the...

2018's Widows marks a departure from the other heist films we've looked at so far and marks the first time we've explored the heist as a dramatic film instead of an action/comedy piece. This month we look at a second group of unskilled heist specialists, much like Bottle Rocket, but in a far more dramatic fashion and with much bigger stakes.  Please let us know what you think about this episode! Y...

It's Inter-MISSION time: Drew and Rafe are back with our longest Inter-MISSION yet! They talk about things they missed the first time around with Bottle Rocket and stat their draft characters, go over a tidal wave of listener responses, talk about directorial debuts, and announce the next Heist movie they'll be taking on. Programming Reminder: There will not be new episodes of the podcast in Augus...

So far, every heist we've looked at this season has been accomplished thanks to the efforts of a highly-qualified team of specialists. This month we're looking at a subgenre of Heist films that undermines that resolution: the incompetent criminals. We talk about Wes Anderson's debut film, 1996's Bottle Rocket, featuring Owen and Luke Wilson as part of a criminal team with bigger ambitions than tal...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to talk about Sneakers and things they might have missed the first time around. They discuss a slight scheduling change for August, stat their Sneakers characters, give their favorite song/movie title swaps from the podcast homework, and announce the next Heist movie they'll be taking on. Interact with the show on Instagram  and  Twitter or email us...

While our hosts haven't shared their individual short-lists of movies to pick from, Sneakers was surely on both of them. Rafe and Drew talk about this iconic 1992 heist film, complete with an excellent plot and a star-studded cast. Listen as Rafe dislikes baseball movies, Drew torments himself with his draft selection, and the duo rave about one of their favorite movies, which holds up incredibly...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to look at Fast Five and things they might have missed the first time around (which isn't much). They discuss the new Doctor Who, respond to listener feedback, stat their Fast Five characters, give their prison break situations from the podcast homework, and announce the next Heist movie they'll be taking on. Interact with the show on Instagram  and ...

Next up in our Heist season is the fast cars and physics-free Fast Five, which marks the first time one of our movie selections may have actually broken one of our heists. Listen as Rafe and Drew discuss what makes a good "stupid" movie, ramble about the movie's flaws, and come up with a gamification that sounds really similar to something we've done in the past. We hope you laugh a lot at this on...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to look at Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and things they might have missed the first time around. They discuss some of Rafe's Star Wars inspired ideas for D&D, stat their Rogue One characters, give their ideal break-in locations from the podcast homework, and announce the next Heist movie they'll be taking on. Interact with the show on Instagram  ...

We started our season at the apex of the Heist movie genre, so now we're trying something a little less traditional: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We talk about the benefits of less-traditional heist films like this one, discuss the toxic fanbase surrounding the franchise, and explore the benefits of building a game that will absolutely end in a total party kill. Don't lose hope though, because ho...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to look at Ocean's Eleven and things they might have missed the first time around. They discuss the recent Oscars, outlining the story in-game for the players, alternate casting for the movie, and more. Later, they dive into listener feedback, and give a new assignment for Podcast Homework, before announcing the next Heist movie they'll be taking on....

Rafe and Drew are still overdue on our next episode (it's coming! we promise!) but we wanted to get something on the feed for those of you waiting. Rafe does an annual Oscars prediction episode on his other podcast, so we're sharing it here as well. WARNING: This episode does contain a small amount of explicit language. It's not much, but it's different from how we normally run things, so we wante...

With all that's been going on thanks to the holiday season, real life, and more, we are overdue with our regularly scheduled episode, but Drew and Rafe sat down to record a special holiday special that we're calling "Never Say Die: Welcome to the Party" (because Die Hard is a Christmas movie). We talk about some of our favorite holiday movies as well as some of our favorite movies and gaming exper...

We're getting the band back together and kicking off our Heist season with 2001's Ocean's Eleven, one of the best contemporary heist movies we could find. We gush over Danny and Rusty's chemistry and the way the movie allows each of its specialists to shine before we steal songs from the soundtrack, draft the beginning of our heist crew, and talk about gamifying flashbacks and ticking clocks. It m...

We're back! Drew and Rafe sit down and outline expectations for our second season of Never Say Die! as we dive into the Heist film genre. What makes a heist film? What specifically makes up our definition of a heist film? What segments from the show are returning? What's being cut? And why won't this be the only time you hear us talk about Hudson Hawk? All of your questions will be addressed withi...

It's time to wrap up our Kids on Bikes season so Drew and Rafe return to rank the movies they've watched over the season, both as films and as Kids on Bikes movies. Then, it's time for the final episode draft, where we whittle down the characters we've picked to a final team of seven mundane kids and one peripheral adult. Who will stay and who will be cut? You'll have to listen to find out. Before...

We're getting one more movie discussion in before we call it a total wrap on our Kids on Bikes season, mostly because we've been called out for calling The Goonies the movie that started the Kids on Bikes movement. Watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial means facing our fears, much like many of the characters we've discussed this season. Can Rafe and Drew overcome their nightmares to see the beauty o...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to look at Vampires vs. the Bronx and things they might have missed the first time around. Even bigger, however, is the release of the Kids on Bikes: Second Edition rules to Kickstarter backers, so Drew and Rafe spend a lot of time talking about some of the changes that have made their way to the final cut and their roles in the test-play group. They...

It's time for our last movie selection of this season: 2020's Vampires vs. the Bronx. Given the film's references (both intentional and unintentional) to other Kids on Bikes movies, it turns out this is the perfect film to wrap up our Kids on Bikes season. Rafe and Drew talk about the movie and then revisit some past ideas of how to best gamify the film for use at your gaming table. Oh, and there'...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe are back to look at The Gate and things they might have missed the first time around. They dive into listener feedback, give their answers for Podcast Homework, and chat about Crowd-Funded projects that have caught their eyes recently. Finally, they reveal the movie they'll be talking about for our next episode, which is Drew's last pick as the Kids on Bikes...

We return to the '80s for Rafe's last pick of our first season: 1987's The Gate. This is a movie that Rafe chose blindly. Did this go as well as his first blind pick, The Kid Who Would Be King? Rafe and Drew talk about the movie and then start to dive into ways to open... and close... The Gate for the players at your gaming table (hint: it has nothing to do with Zoids... or does it?).  Hopefully y...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe follow up their lengthy conversation about It: Chapter One with things they might have missed the first time around. They dive into listener feedback, give their answers for Podcast Homework, and chat about Crowd-Funded projects that have caught their eyes recently. Finally, they reveal the movie they'll be talking about for our next episode, which is Rafe's...

Buckle up, folks, because there's a lot to talk about with this month's selection, It: Chapter One, making for one of our longest episodes to date. Not only do Drew and Rafe talk about this 2017 film, but they also go into the 1990 miniseries, the original novel, and even a couple of references to the 2019 follow up, so be warned: spoilers abound! After an in-depth discussion about the film and ou...

It's Inter-MISSION time! Drew and Rafe follow up their conversation about Stand By Me with ideas they might have missed the first time around. They dive into listener feedback, which includes the birth of a new segment for the future: Podcast Homework. For this month's Podcast Homework, they reveal the movies that make their definitive list discussed in the last episode. They chat about Crowd-Fund...