Panda's Talking Games

Show us how you use daydreaming as GM prep! Phil and Senda talk daydreaming, both intentional/focused and not, as well as where we do it best and when and how you might want to write MORE

Show us how you get the old group back together! Phil went on a trip and did some game prep for a very unique and specific circumstance, and we’re going to talk about it. Welcome MORE

Show us how you run or play a game when you’ve only dabbled in a particular IP! Phil and Senda talk being the GM or being a player when you’re not the expert in something MORE

Hey friends! We ran into a crunch and needed to turn out a lower stakes episode this week, so here we present to you (drum roll please!) a chit chat! If this is your first MORE

Show us how much of a game you can replace before you may as well write your own! Senda and Phil chat about the Ship of Theseus syndrome of games (if you replace all the MORE

Show us how you get emotional investment in one shots and the beginnings of campaigns! Phil and Senda talk player and GM responsibilities and faking it til you make it, along with some other ideas MORE

Show us how you handle conditions and agency! Character agency vs. player agency — is there a difference? Phil and Senda talk agency and conditions, and when conditions have the potential to infringe on player MORE

Who's an NPC? How can we categorize them? Let's talk non-player characters (and the sometimes spectrum)!

Show us how you run a game when you are less than enthusiastic about it...maybe? Phil and Senda talk running games as a gift or favor for folks (when you are not a professional GM), how to get onboard or find a way to be onboard, and when it's maybe not worth it. 

Show us how you breathe life into your setting at the table! How do you make a setting feel alive, engaging, and evocative? Phil and Senda discuss in this off the cuff episode. 

Show us how you make an encounter (in whatever context) challenging without being *too* challenging! Phil and Senda talk GM knowledge vs. NPC knowledge, planning challenges and encounters, and not nerfing your players special powers on the reg. 

Show us how you introduce a new setting to players! Phil and Senda talk setting considerations, ways to do setting introductions without turning on the firehose, and recommendations for getting folks up to speed quickly. 

Show us your gaming plans for 2024! We're taking the gentle on ramp after our holiday and talking about some of our aspirations for the new year, both gaming and personally. What are some of your gaming aspirations?

Show us how you use leading questions in your games! Phil and Senda talk leading questions, as well as how and when to use them effectively. Unfortunately two thing happened this episode: 1. Phil’s mic MORE

Show us what you’re grateful for in gaming this year! Phil and Senda record a quick episode before American Thanksgiving to tease apart some of the things we are really grateful for this year when MORE

Show us how you….okay. Hang on a sec. [The screech of a soap box being dragged out from a closet] Real talk. There’s a lot of discourse currently occurring about bleed on a number of MORE

Show us how you slide some character beats into an action oriented game! Phil and Senda talk about the spectrum that is character driven games and action driven games, and how to push your slider MORE

Show us how you play more games! Phil and Senda….both had quite a few weeks there, but we’re happy to be on mics again, even if we kept it pretty short. This week, we talk MORE

No cliffhangers today! Phil and Senda talk about the second part of the question regarding GM brain and anxiety — some common GM anxieties and ideas about how to address them (besides just the old MORE

Show us how you can use improv at the table to alleviate your recall anxiety! Phil and Senda talk improv and GM anxiety at the table, with a helping of other resources for practicing improv MORE

We’re bringing it back! Way back before the pandemic, Phil and Senda were well on their way to kickstarting this game. We’ve just picked it back up again and we’re working hard! We were a MORE

Show us how you manage being REALLY into your game when not everyone is! Phil and Senda talk about the disparity of time spent thinking about a game between player and GM, as well as MORE

Finishing up last week’s topic (barely!), we’re bringing it home by merging in the discussion of GM brain with GM style and GM supports. Bamboo Lounge for Patreon backers today! Find these and more at http://patreon.com/mmp. MORE

Show us how you find the right kind of game for your GM brain! Thanks to a comment about a quick aside from a few episodes ago where Senda mentioned in passing that her attachment MORE

Show us how you set a scene to give it genre feel and manage pacing! Phil and Senda talk scene setting — pacing, description and set up, spotlight, and participants — for genre emulation and MORE