The Download's tracks

First the guys discuss Keith’s newest Kickstarter, for his card game Action Cats! Then Keith talks about research he’s been doing into the history of party and parlor games. Lastly, they spend a lot of time discussing superhero movies, specifically Spider-Man: Homecoming and Wonder Woman, and before that, the preview for The Inhumans.

First the guys talk about what they’re each up to, including Keith’s newest Kickstarter. Then they talk about how movie sets of important locations, like the Oval Office, must get re-used by various film productions. Andy observes that many episodes of the original Twilight Zone series were westerns, and wonders if the real reason for that was the easy availability of western-themed backlots at th...

First, Keith talks about his new van, the first real copy of Illimat. and the upcoming start of his Action Cats kickstarter. They yammer about the issues around owning an older car. Keith talks about an unpublished role-playing game which employs Tarot cards, called The Nightwood Society, by a friend of his friend named Dan. Keith talks about a new board game called Potion Explosion, which leads t...

First, Keith talks about the van he just purchased, which they named Knut. They then get into a lengthy discussion about the rules of an imaginary world in which a role-playing game takes place and the role of the game-master — if any — in such a game. They compare RPGs to Improv and discuss how limitations versus openness-to-anything are both important. Keith talks about how he and his wife both...

First the guys discuss production issues each of their companies are currently dealing with, including delays caused by overseas manufacturing. Keith talks about a new D&D campaign he’s running, and about Zorak’s search for a new henchman. Andy talks about Wickerman, a regional Burning Man event he and his friends had just returned from. Media topics include Wonder Woman, other superhero shows, an...

First Andy talks about the muddy camping trip he just returned from, a Burning Man regional event called Playa Del Fuego. Keith and Andy each then talk about the work projects they are focused on right now, and the tricky process of making sure that a game’s rulesheet is clear enough to learn the game from. Keith talks about the new Twin Peaks, having softened his initial views. Other media topics...

First the guys get kind of heavy and serious, discussing the aging process as it is affecting each of their fathers. They also talk about the process of choosing titles for these shows. Then they talk about work stuff, and fake-work stuff, and they each discuss their plans for seeing the total eclipse of the sun this summer, along with GenCon, Burning Man events Andy attends, and Keith’s Illimat R...

First Keith talks about his recent trip to Portugal, where, among other things, he enjoyed seeing the roof cats of Porto. They discuss the mystery of why we have different names for foreign geographic locations than the names used by the people who actually live in those places. Keith mentions a couple of books including Anno Dracula and Last Call. Andy reports on some of the stuff going on at Loo...

First Keith talks about getting his computer fixed, and other things he did this weekend. Andy talks about developing two-player rules for his party game Choose One, which works for 3-10 players as published. They discuss a recent top ten list of great games published by Paste Magazine, and they discuss stories about normal people discovering the world isn’t what they thought it was. Media topics...

First the guys get caught up on each other’s lives. Andy talks about his vintage video game Icebreaker and its innovative “Level Grid” interface, and Keith considers his options for getting a 3DO multiplayer again. Keith talks about the start of season 3 of Fargo, and they discuss the challenges of learning Bridge. And any game for that matter. Then they discuss the issues relating to system maste...

First the guys discuss the merits of various types of chocolate chip cookies. Then they talk about Andy’s book, The Empty City, and the stories within it which inspired Icehouse and the entire Looney Pyramids system. They also discuss Illimat and Tak, new board games which also started as imaginary games. Then they talk about the time travel conundrum of showing a young artist who will become succ...

First the guys talk about cats. Then they talk about playing video games, with Keith rambling on about the Mass Effect series. Then they talk about cats some more. Next, they discuss time travel shows, specifically the just-canceled Time After Time, Making History, and episode 3 of Dimension 404. Next, they talk about cats again. After that, they get into a lengthy, spoiler-filled discussion of th...

The guys note that this is their 100th show and give their answers to a common question: what are some of your all-time favorite games that you did not design? As part of this discussion, Keith mentions an interesting new poker variant, called Hollywood Squares. Regarding work, Andy talks about Drinking Fluxx, and the new rules that make it both awesome and dangerous, and talks about finally finis...

After a short discussion of sci-fi conventions both recent and long ago, Keith and Andy spend most of the episode discussing media. First, Keith points out just how many time travel shows are currently on the air, comparing this time travel overload to the overuse of vampires in recent media. Then they spend a lot of time discussing the new series Time After Time, followed by an in-depth discussio...

This week Keith is finally able to reveal the details of his mysterious “Project Ex” game: It’s “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Card Game,” which will be released later this year from Renegade Games! Keith also talks about marketing plans for Illimat which leads to a discussion of GenCon and summer travel plans in general. Andy talks about the total eclipse of the sun that will be happening on Au...

Keith and Andy are fresh off the boat having had a grand time on the seventh Jonathan Coulton Cruise. Topics include the new improved game room, Andy winning Andy vs Everybody, Keith playtesting his new games (Project Ex and Action Cats), Andy playtesting his newest Fluxx prototype (Space Fluxx), and of course, the onboard entertainment, with particular shout outs to Song Exploder, the What's Your...

First the guys talk about the JoCo cruise, for which they depart in just a few days. Then Andy talks about Toy Fair and the newest products Looney Labs was showing off there, including Andy’s Amsterdam Coffeeshop coffee table book, which he’s been working on a lot recently. Andy talks about “Designer Whiplash,” a game inventor’s problem in which playtesters get burned out by too many rule changes....

Keith talks about things that happened in a recent RPG he’s been playing, in which a turning point was a moment when a magical fox said something rude to him. This leads to a discussion of what people enjoy about role-playing, and in specifically what his wife Jenn likes — and doesn’t like — about role-playing. We learn that Jenn dislikes close-up magic acts. They talk about a new song by the Doub...

Keith talks about an RPG he’s playing, which leads to discussions of books by Tim Powers and Roger Zelazny, and also games involving tarot cards and objects that look different from what they actually are. Then they reminisce about classic kids shows, in particular The Electric Company. Andy talks about being interviewed about the early days of Live Action Role Playing by author Jon Peterson. Movi...

First the guys discuss more silly expressions than they can shake a stick at. Andy talks about PAX South, and Keith talks about the Alamo Drafthouse. They talk about work projects, and get into a discussion about team play in board games. Keith describes a classic game called Fury of Dracula, Andy talks about the origins of Werewolf, and Keith talks about Yahtzee and Yacht, the game Yahtzee was ba...

First, Keith talks about being back in his old home town of Ithaca NY, and the travel nightmare he went through to get there. They discuss quotes they’ve been quoting slightly incorrectly. Andy talks about the newest Fluxx design he just cranked out a prototype for, with the help of his friend Dr. Leila: Anatomy Fluxx. Next they discuss travel plans and upcoming events, including the JoCo Cruise....

First, Keith talks about snow in Portland. Then the guys discuss a bit from Robot Chicken which they have found highly quotable. They discuss the projects they’re each working on for a bit, then they get into media, discussing Travelers, the OA, Continuum, Boardwalk Empire, Manchester by the Sea, Hidden Figures, This Is Us, Journeyman, and the Magicians. Then Keith talks about a role-playing game...

First, Keith talks Artificers in D&D and the issues around being a world-builder whose worlds are expanded upon by other designers, who don’t always understand the core concepts of the backstory. Keith also talks about variant rules for Illimat he’s been developing, including solitaire and team play. Andy mentions having seen and loved Hidden Figures, and then gets into a long discussion about Gam...

Andy & Keith talk about how they spent their holidays, then they discuss various issues about running RPGs. Then they talk about movies, including La La Land, Moana, Rogue One, Backstroke of the West, and the Vader Sessions. Lastly, Andy describes in depth the Star Wars movie he’d like to see, which would be about the life story of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

First Andy & Keith talk about how they spent their holidays. Then they yammer about watching TV, and videos on the internet, and watching shows via streaming. They discuss an imaginary show called “Designated Survivor Survivor”. Then they get into a deep conversation about RPGs, the different player styles they attract, and a home-brew system Andy & Keith invented long ago called Dungeons & Tunnel...