Some Derps Talk About Games

Raid Review: The Voidspire, March on Quel'danas, The Forgotten Chimaera and Sporefall It's a little wild to do four of these in one but yes, there were four different raids in 12.0 of Warcraft. Plus, the death of DBM, Weakauras, and other addons in the APOCALYPSE. A new style of raid design for a new era of WoW. The only question is: What do we think of all that? ----------------------------------...

The Immortal Jeff: Our New Commander Format The other day, when we were playing Commander, we wondered what it might look like to have Ian Malcolm, Chaotician just sitting in the middle of the table at all times. What would the game look like? Would that be fun or crazy? What other rules might look like along those lines? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to wat...

The Boys' reached its series finale! Mango watched a show called Reggie Dinkins! We've been playing Diablo 4! There's a new Star Wars movie and we don't even really care to go see it. The new DnD is off to a banger start. Maybe there's something in all of that for us to talk about. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at h...

So, on Monday, Ripples in the Sand begins! And because the game starts at level 6 with a number of characters who don't have access to artifacts, we're going to be designing artifacts for Honest Harvey the Graverobber, Eka the Tortollan Historian, and the field medic Silas van Polk of the IVth Legion. Join us as we weed through the specifics of Pathfinder 2e rules and try and make interesting, uni...

Two weeks ago, the Winter 2026 Ceran game came to a thrilling conclusion! The city of Krahz-shek will never be the same. Brothers came to blows! The Skaven invasion was put into the gutter. And Druidbull had a big dinosaur the whole time. With the end of the campaign, we're taking a minute to go over the last few months, chat about the game, and all the little nooks and crannies it uncovered! Join...

Gamers, it's been about a month since the launch of the Midnight expansion. The new systems are in. The new classes are in. The new addon changes are in. It's a big pot and we're stirring it constantly. What do we think of new stuff? Is the new story good? Do the addon changes make sense? How are the new dungeons and raids? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to w...

There really isn't any company out there like Blizzard Entertainment. In a world devoid of third places, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, and Diablo 4 have become that for very, very many people-- including Buddy and Mango. So, in a world where Jeff Kaplan gives his five and a half hour interview to Lex Friedman charting the course of those early days, and Jason Shrier published a book called Play...

A few years ago, Buddy laid out his theory for Roguelitification: How the development of roguelikes has created a world where players don't want one linear experience, they want a planar experience where they explore the game systems in the world around them. With the launch of Slay the Spire 2, maybe it's time we revisit and update some of our roguelitification thoughts! -------------------------...

Gamers, did you know that Magic: The Gathering does crossovers with major IP constantly? They've done Marvel, Magic: The Gathering, even niche little tiny baby IPs like Final Fantasy. Well, today, we'd like to ask the question: What Universes Beyond would be the wildest direction for them to go? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Che...

The 2026 Forecast Episode Well, there's a ton of stuff coming up in 2026, including the new Magic Set, the new WoW expansion, and a new return to Marvel and Star Wars. What are we hyped for? What are we interested in? What are we dreading? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at https://www.youtube.com/@somederpsplaygames...

Our great friend, Cerryan has a little card in his collection all the way back from 2003. That card is Biorhythm, an eight mana sorcery that maybe wins you the game on the spot. Well, Biorhythm just got unbanned. It's a new card reentering an old format with new opportunities for new game winning plays. What does the rest of the banlist look like? What do we want unbanned? Crucially, what cards th...

OK, stop me if you've heard this one before. You're loading up an RPG and you can make whatever decisions you want. You can make your character a total chad or butt ugly. You can make him a douche or a charmer. What we call that kind of protagonist? An avatar. And the opposite, where you're inhabiting a complete character, that's authored. Tonight, we're going to chat about both! -----------------...

In a strange corner of the RPG space, there's a new insistence about how DnD ought to be played. Close adherence to time metrics needs to be prioritized. DnD's roots as a minitature wargame need to be respected. That all that came before us was once good and now we look upon false idols. Jeffro Johnson wrote How to Win at D&D in 2022. Mango and Buddy have read it. What do they think of the OSR tre...

It's been a long, cold year in New Hampshire but now that both Derps talking about games are up here, January means snow, ice and the best, damn podcast awards show this side of appalachia. We've got games, tv, movies, and most importantly-- Magic: The Gathering to hit on, so let's get it twisted. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? C...

Manaforge Omega Raid Review! We have gotten AotC. We have played into Xal'atath's plans. We have killed Dimensius and imprisoned his power in the Dark Heart. The only question that remains: How was the raid? Was it good? Was it bad? Was the loot cool? Was the loot lame? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at https://www.y...

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Out now on Netflix and kind of watchable in theatres, Guillermo del Toro's next film, Frankenstein has just premiered! Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and the newest ingenue, Mia Goth, let's get into the details! Was it good? Was it bad? Was it book accurate? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Che...

In the world of storytelling, there's plenty of advice about what to do. What not to do. What to show. What to hide. Alfred Hitchcock talks about suspense. Trey Parker and Matt Stone talking about but and therefore. The holy grail: Show, don't tell. What happens if you follow those rules to a T and still end up making something dogshit? -------------------------------------------------------------...

ARC Raiders: Shooting Extractors who try to Extract from this Shooter It's a new day, a new game. This one is ARC Raiders, an extraction shooter by the folks behind The Finals. Their love of technical gunplay, usable consumable gadgets, and a set of lore that's deeply strange and maybe cool? Tough to say! But it definitely got the hooks in us! ------------------------------------------------------...

Because we're nearing the new arc for the next Ceran game, it looks like we should talk some more about what the new pitches entail. In particular, I'm thinking: How do we attack different genres in TTRPGs? What does it look like to stage a war game in an RPG? What does it look like to run a horror game? Can you do different DnD games and styles? ---------------------------------------------------...

Buddy is back from Australia, gamers! That means that there's a lot to catch up on, so let's take a look at what's what! What is a game? How do we feel about the new Commander changes? What's going right or wrong with Legion Remix? How does choice affect storytelling in games? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at https:...

Villains What do villains mean in our stories? What's the difference between an antagonist and a villain? What are the best villains we've ever encountered? How do villains work? Buddy just wrapped two tabletop arcs that had competing archetypes for villains. How did they play out? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at h...

What's the Opposite of a Plot Hole? Loooooong time ago, we had a whole big podcast about plot holes. Are they good? Are they bad? What is Mango's Iron Law of Worldbuilding? Well, interestingly, something we didn't consider in that conversation is the opposite of a plot hole. In other words, a plot pedestal. What is it? How does it work? Is it good or bad? The video that inspired this convo: https:...

Guys, We Have Infinity Things To Talk About Given that it's been more than a month since our last cast, it turns out there's a ton of stuff that has happened. It's getting a little wild. Silksong wasn't even announced at the time of the last podcast and now it's been out for two weeks. Plus, we played Emperor, we've played more DnD and a lot more to talk about. ------------------------------------...

More Grab Bag! In accordance with us failing to materialize topics, we're going to rip through a bunch of things that are percolating right underneath the surface. On the docket: GenCon! MTG Proxies 11.2 First Impressions DK Bonanza ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these episodes live? Check us out at https://www.youtube.com/@somederpsplaygames or twit...

Look, Up in the Sky: Superman! Would you look at that. Nine months (or something) since our last movie review. Today's foray back towards the monoculture: Superman! James Gunn's entrance into the DC Superhero Universe has arrived with gusto. What do we think? Good? Bad? And what's all this about a secret harem? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Want to watch these ep...