The Classic Gamers Guild Podcast

The PRGE Tapes II is here! We're back from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2026 with a special episode packed with interviews, stories, and plenty of Sierra nostalgia! We caught up with Sierra legends, game developers, musicians, documentary filmmakers, and fellow adventure game fans to talk about their projects, memories, and experiences at PRGE. We also share some of our favourite moments from th...

This week, comma, Anna and Paul rank adventure games from tough to cruel, with each pick making that hint book harder and harder to resist. Mangia!   Our episode on Codename: Iceman   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death    The Phantom Fellows Pin/M...

Welcome to a special edition of the Classic Gamers Guild Podcast: The PAX Tapes! Anna spent PAX West 2026 helping Roberta Vaughan’s Retro Adventures bring the FMV Zone museum to life and catching up with the people who make games and gaming history so memorable. From Sierra legends to today’s creators, here are the conversations she recorded along the way.  Interviews included Lorelei Shannon, Rob...

This week Anna and Paul are joined by friend of the show AdventureGameGeek as they break down some of the strangest moments in adventure games. They also go on a side quest about bellybutton coitus—which only solidified the overall theme. Mangia!   Shek out AdventureGameGeek's YouTube  channel for some exquisite adventure game content!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam  ...

This week Anna and Paul played Space Quest: Vohaul Strikes Back and spoiler, they both fell in love with it. So they brought on one of its developers, Frederik Olsen, to dig into the making of it—all while walking you through the game itself. It's a good time, MANGIA!   Download & Play Vohaul Strikes Back! (We recommend playing it in ScummVM)   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GO...

This week Anna and Paul are discussing their adventure game pet peeves! From minor annoyances to irrational irritations to absolute deal breakers, it's a good time all the way through the chaotic ending. MANGIA!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Deat...

This week Anna and Paul played Beneath a Steel Sky for the first time and they had a LOT to say. This one is pretty thorough. At some point the amount of data in human sperm comes up, and that's when it also becomes educational. MANGIA!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost G...

This week Anna and Paul talk about Relationships in adventure games. Which was the most toxic? Who could do better but probably won't? Who's the best flirt and who had the best sexual tension?! All this and more, MANGIA!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't A...

This week Anna and Paul played Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror and then they tell you like, allll about it.   Mangia!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death    The Phantom Fellows Pin/Magnet by CanvasQuest!   The Phantom Fellows Players Companion...

This week Anna and Paul played Broken Sword: A Circle of Bloody Templars, or some variation of that, and they very exhaustively, very nerdily, walk you through it. Mangia! Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows ! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App Store   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death    The Phantom Fellows Pin/Magnet by Can...

This week Anna and Paul are matching vibes to games. Ten vibes, to be precise: Cozy, Spooky, Lonely etc. They give their fav game for the mood and then a matching recommendation. It's a good time, Mangia!   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death    Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Mac App...

This week Anna and Paul are discussing Adventure Game Houses! Well, twenty of them anyway, there's a crazy amount of houses in adventure games if you start looking into it. They also try to define what a house in an adventure game is and they learn a little about themselves along the way. Also Paul says BDM instead of BDSM, several times, because quote "acronyms are hard". Mangia! Shek out OneShor...

This week Anna and Paul are discussing Adventure Game Series-is.  Which series' had the best first entry? Which had worst first game, but got dramatically better? Which series deserved one more game or should have stopped one sooner? All this and more, mangia! Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death  Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows is...

This week Anna and Paul are deep in Torin's Passage, a game by Al Lowe that is considered by many to be a hidden gem in the Sierra catalog. What did they think of it? Unclear! Press play to find out and mangia!   Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death    Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower   Ma...

This week Anna and Paul are... I don't know how to word this. They're like, well first of all they're talking a lot. Seems to be kind of a theme with this show. But more specifically they've come with 7 music selections (each) and are going to play 30 second (ish) clips of their choices and talk a bit about what makes them exceptional examples of an adventure game soundtrack score. It's a good tim...

This week Anna and Paul do a Top 10 ranking of the best adventure game endings EVER OF ALL THE TIME. It's fun and it's for you so please, mangia Shek out OneShortEye's Phantom Fellows Documentary: The Ghost Game that Isn't About Death  Spoiler Free Time Codes! To skip... Dagger of Amon Ra - Skip to 7:22 Gabriel Knight - Skip to 10:47   Thimbleweed Park - Skip to 13:50 Freddy Pharkas - Skip to 19:0...

Join our hosts Anna and Paul as they embark on a nostalgic journey through gaming history's most memorable and beloved locations! In this episode, they count down their top 10 in-game locations that have captured players' imaginations for decades. Whether you're a veteran adventurer who solved every Sierra puzzle or a newcomer curious about gaming's roots, this episode celebrates the artistry, cre...

Well, here it is! The fifth and final game in the Quest for Glory series. and it's an amazing game! Anna says so. Anna tells Paul. Anna tells everyone! Mangia!   Play our adventure game!  The Phantom Fellows  is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower    Mac App Store The Phantom Fellows Pin/Magnet by CanvasQuest! The Phantom Fellows Players Companion (Guide to Must-See Moments!) Grab a Phantom...

Anna and Paul each choose their personal favorite top 10 LucasArts game, and then declare a winner! Tune in to see what game reigns supreme!* Mangia!     As promised a link to this awesome article The Secrets of Monkey Island's Source Code by Frank Cifaldi Play our adventure game!  The Phantom Fellows  is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower    Mac App Store The Phantom Fellows Pin/Magnet by...

Paul and Anna each rank their personal top 10 Sierra games of all time, then combine the lists into a single shared ranking with a clear #1 winner. King’s Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, Gabriel Knight, and more all enter the mix, and the way they stack up is not what most people would predict. ORRR IS IT?! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN PS at some point says FM Towns twice and he meant to say PC-98 MANG...

Paul and Anna walk the listener through the fourth entry in the Quest For Glory Series. Is it their favorite in the series? Can a computer game make you cry? What the heck is up with that Leshy? And a name that tune segment that will leave you guessing! Mangia! Sprite credit to Jack Povlitz! Play our adventure game!  The Phantom Fellows  is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower    Mac App Stor...

Paul and (mostly) Anna walk the listener through the full game auditorily, and Paul explains why this entry is his favorite in the series so far! Mangia! Sprite credit to Jack Povlitz! Play our adventure game!  The Phantom Fellows  is out now! GOG   Steam   itch.io Fireflower    Mac App Store The Phantom Fellows Pin/Magnet by CanvasQuest! The Phantom Fellows Players Companion (Guide to Must-See Mo...

Composer Ken Allen shaped the soundscape of an entire Sierra era, from Space Quest to Kings Quest, and that unmistakable Sierra logo fanfare burned into every retro-gamer's brain. Now he’s back with a full new soundtrack for SpaceVenture, and we go deep into how it all came together. In this episode, Ken walks through the craft behind his new score, the evolution from MT-32 to modern orchestral li...

This week Anna and Paul sit down with legendary Sierra animator and artist, Al Eufrasio! They go behind the scenes at Sierra on what it was like to work there, how projects were conceptualized and executed, and they also chat a bit about animation, including where to find good, modern animation. It's an illuminating conversation so cozy up and Mangia!   Play our adventure game! The Phantom Fellows...

This week Anna and Paul played Quest For Glory 2: Trial By Fire and as per the rules of podcasting, they're going to talk into microphones, at you, for quite some time—largely staying on topic while occasionally wandering into a narrative side quest, as to create a more layered listening experience for you, the listener. I have no idea what I'm even saying at this point, Mangia! Play our adventure...