The Download's tracks

This week the word is tragedy, since Andy lost two close friends recently (Amber Cook and Kory Heath). After discussing the concept of tragedy for a bit, the nerds lighten the mood by pivoting to comedy, and spent awhile discussing their favorite comedy movies and TV shows. After this, Keith talks about some of the games he’s been playing, including at AmberCon, then Andy talks about work he’s bee...

This week the word is horror. The nerds discuss different aspects of the horror genre and why it’s appealing (or not). They also discuss their favorite horror stories in various categories. Moving on from these horrors, Keith talks about playing The Devil’s Dandy Dogs and other games at GameHoleCon, and chocolate Jenn brought back from Japan. Then Andy talks about Word Fluxx, which just went to th...

This week the word is canal, because Andy just had a root canal. The nerds tell stories about both teeth and canals. Then they discuss their favorite dogs! These topics take a lot of time. Toward the end they each report on work stuff and talk a little about TV they’re watching, specifically Rings of Power, Time Bandits, and Agatha All Along.

This week the word is Western. The nerds discuss the elements of a classic western, and Keith talks about his new western-themed Eberron book, Frontiers of Eberron. They also discuss their favorite westerns, in various categories, and Andy muses about the idea of making a Wild West Fluxx. Then Keith reports on his dog’s health and the release of WayFinder. Moving on to media, the nerds discuss top...

This week the word is hoard. The nerds discuss the differences between a collector and a hoarder, and various hoards they each have. Then the guys talk about travel, first Andy's trip to Burning Man, then Keith's trip to DragonCon. Next, since a fan at GenCon requested that they discuss their favorite dragons, Andy & Keith talk about their favorite dragons! Lastly, Keith talks about the latest...

This week the word is delay because Keith recently had some serious travel delays, which he tells us all about. Andy also talks about a few things delayed, including the Looney Oracle and Hundred Acre Wood Fluxx. then Keith reports on GenCon and D&D stuff. Moving on to one of their favorite things, the nerds discuss their favorite dream-related stories. Lastly, they discuss recent media, inclu...

This week the word is horse because Andy has decided to learn to ride a horse, since his friend Firefly just happens to teach horseback riding. Keith & Andy then spend a lot of time talking about their favorite horses in various categories. Other topics include Islandia (the old “multi-user dungeon” they both played in long ago), Medusa in cake form, Ithaca, and Keith’s D&D campaign. After...

The word is Car and the nerds discuss their favorite cars, in various categories, including real-life cars, sentient cars, and versions of the Batmobile. Then Keith talks about his experiences at Origins this year, and discusses the idea that D&D is actually one of the earliest cooperative games. Then Andy discusses lessons learned from playtest #8 of Starbase Armstrong, which was the most suc...

The word is Eleven and the nerds start by discussing things they like about the number 11. Andy also mentions 11 Fluxx ideas he’s been working on. Then they get into a discussion of their favorite time travel shows which takes up most of the show. After that, Keith talks about his new campaign on Patreon and gives an update on Wayfinder. Lastly, they talk slightly about recent media include Star T...

The word is Chrononaut and the nerds are here to discuss their favorite time travel movies. But first, they have to discuss terms and edge cases like time loop tales and alternate reality stories. Then they discuss a long list of time travel movies as they each struggle to decide which to call their favorites. Next Keith talks about being a Guest of Honor at BatesCon #1 and other work stuff, then...

The word is castle because Keith just got back from running 9-days of D&D games in an actual castle. Next the nerds talk about their favorite castles. Then Andy talks about his recent travels, to Washington Indiana to see the total eclipse of the sun. Moving on to media, they talk a little about a bunch of new shows they haven’t watched much of yet. Keith talks about Hot Chocolate Cafes in Edi...

The word is breakfast and the nerds talk at length about their favorite breakfast foods, with particular focus on their favorite breakfast cereals. Then Keith talks about his most recent adventures, including running games at back-to-back conventions and the upcoming kickstarter for his new game, Glim. Then Andy reports on his recent trip to MidSouthCon. Other topics include Baron Munchausen, Tenn...

The word is movies and the nerds talk at length about the movie-going experience, categories of movies, and in particular, their favorite science fiction movies. First they deal with the heavy-hitters, discussing their favorites from within the most well-known franchises, then they discuss their personal all-around faves. They also talk awhile about what favorite thing to discuss next time. Then t...

The word is bars, in particular candy bars. The nerds spend a lot of time talking about their favorites, including limits on what counts as a candy bar, discontinued favorites, and recent trends. They also touch on bars, coffeeshops, and cafes. Then they discuss what topic of favorite stuff to discuss next, and debated the issues involved in naming a favorite movie. Next Keith talks about work stu...

The word is videogames, and the nerds spend a lot of time talking about their favorite videogames, breaking the subject down by type, era, and platform. Then Keith talks about his recent travels to Toronto to film more Six Sides of Gaming adventures, and Andy talks about the disappointing misprint in his new release, Camping Fluxx. They discuss media slightly, including Barbie and the new season o...

The word is favorite and the nerds give their own answers to five “What’s your favorite…?” questions which it’s essential for every pediatrician to have ready answers for: Dinosaur, Insect, Superhero, Animal, and Princess. (Unsurprisingly, they spend quite a bit of time on a couple of those.) Moving on to other topics, they discuss Keith’s next video appearances as well as scrambled eggs. Media to...

The word is character so the nerds talk about their favorite characters, what makes for a fun character to role-play, who’s really the main character, and what’s important in being a person with good character. Keith talks about appearing on the next season of Legacy of Worlds. Andy talks about being Frank, the person everyone knows (and his friend, Anthony’s sister) in a game of Over The Edge. Th...

The word is calendar and the nerds talk about calendars, in particular Advent Calendars and Andy’s Y2K Calendar T-shirt. Other holiday related topics include Keith’s lil RPG, Snow Globe, his favorite Christmas tree ornament, and a disappointing pop-up Santa bar in Portland. Keith talks about the next D&D game he’ll be running and gets a couple of suggestions about it from Andy. He also talks a...

The word is paradox and the nerds have many thoughts about paradoxes and time travel and alternate realities. Topics include Zeno’s paradox, the grandfather loop, and of course, Andy’s game Chrononauts. Media they discuss includes Bodies, Loki, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the Terminator 1 & 2, Back to the Future, Star Trek, Marvels, and Alien 1 & 2. Andy has a lot to say about the JFK ass...

The word is charcuterie, so the nerds start by sharing their thoughts on charcuterie boards. Andy announces that Leila is taking over the job of doing the sound editing on this show, then they talk about Hearts and Whist and Icehouse and Magic. Keith reports on GameHoleCon and shares his spoiler-free thoughts about Bodies and Loki Season 2. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the fina...

The word is camping. The nerds discuss their love of camping trips and Andy mentions that Camping Fluxx just went to the printer. Then they talk about Keith’s latest appearance on the Six Sides of Gaming livestream, and Keith talks about games he plans to run at GameHoleCon. Andy then talks a bit more about his big Across America road trip and the living souvenir he returned with: a new kitten, na...

The word is remix. The nerds recorded this episode live when Andy visited Keith during his big Across America road trip, and they start by continuing discussions they were having over breakfast about alternate-timeline-20-years-later remixes for Battlestar Galactica, Brooklyn 99, Rick & Morty and Firefly, all inspired by this Breaking Bad 2 video: https://www.cbr.com/breaking-bad-2-fan-video/...

The word is musical. The nerds talk about special musical episodes, musicals in general, and the new musical episode of Star Trek. Then Keith mentions the sad news that his mother passed away, and spends some time eulogizing her and celebrating the many ways she encouraged his creativity. One example they both get nostalgic about are the giant Icehouse pieces she made out of cloth & stuffing b...

The word is well. The nerds have a surprising amount to say about wells. Then they talk a bit in non-spoilery terms about the stuff they’ll be talking about after they drop the spoiler curtain, which they do pretty early in the episode because they have so much media they want to discuss, namely the Star Trek Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover episode, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, and...

The word is Leila since this is episode 313 and Leila’s birthday is 3/13. (They forgot to mention it on the show, but Leila provided all the vocalizations for this podcast’s opening.) Andy tells a few Leila stories, including the reason why her Burning Man nickname is Panama. Then Keith has stories from his recent trip to Origins, and talks a little about the newest Spiderman movie. They also talk...