The Staying In Podcast - four pals talk video games, board games, and movies

Tom Cruise and co are back for another unlikely operation in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and we, of course, have opinions. Over on the tablecloth, we’re letting The Sandcastles of Burgundy from Ravensburger wash over us, “enabling” others with Kinfire Delve from Incredible Dream Studios, and all the lovely stuff we got up to and saw at the biggest board game event in Blighty: UK Game...

Thousands and thousands (and thousands) of pages later, we’re ready to share thoughts on Kodansha’s wine and food manga The Drops of God. Over on the tabletop, we take a deep look at The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game from Office Dog Games, which effortlessly captures the spirit of The Lord of the Rings. Plus the only review you need of Libellud’s Harmonies. All that, and remembering to...

Don’t be a chicken; give our latest a listen. There’s a return to form for the MCU with Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, the lush board game adaptation of the video game which is a card game in Contention Games’ Slay the Spire: The Board Game, and the calming influence of Very Very LITTLE Studio’s Hidden Cats 3: Steampunk. All that, and delicate editing, on Ep224. 00:00 - Chicken? Kentucky Fried, Chicken?...

Let’s get fancy, shall we? First there’s talk of a lovely trip to Egypt (and talk of the less lovely “Pharaoh’s Revenge”), plus the supremely shmancy Nintendo Switch 2. Then it’s off to a murder mystery in the White House with thoughts on Netflix’s The Residence. Keeping within high society we’re rubbing shoulders with Dogubomb’s Blue Prince, and then it’s back to the more sandy landscapes for CMO...

It’s all the twos on episode two two two, as two of us chat about… uh… two times two (four) big topics. The chaps talk about football (!!!) and why it’s so neat to go to events you might not normally attend. Back in much more familiar territory, we bring you a battle report from Salute 52; a miniatures wargames event run by South London Warlords. If that weren’t more than enough, then we’re also t...

Head to the tabletop with us, as we review the piratical Captain Flip from PlayPunk, and the fiendishly family-friendly EXIT Kids: Riddles in Monsterville from Kosmos. Plus a dissection of what makes The Ultimate RPG Game Master's Worldbuilding Guide from James D’Amato such worthwhile advice to read. All that, and what Jurassic Park is really all about, on Ep221. 00:00 - The Thing 02:37 - Captain...

It’s a bumper episode, so let’s get straight into it: we played so many games and saw so much stuff at AireCon, so Ep220 is all about it. There’s dexterity push-you-luck Strike, Witcher spin-off Gwent: The Legendary Card Game, the gorgeous Australis, nostalgic Divide & Conker, and smile-inducing board games like G.R.I.M. INC. and Things in Rings. And Fishing. And new hotness Daybreak. And incr...

On the tabletop, us four oldies take to the battlefield with the deeply strategic and surprisingly accessible Battalion: War of the Ancients from Osprey Games, and dive beneath the waves in Pacifica from Thames & Kosmos. Meanwhile, in the courtroom, we take a look at Capcom’s shockingly generous compilation Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy , and then pronounce judgment on Marvel’s latest,...

Having your world turned upside down is one thing, but having a whole new dimension added? That's tough! The Plucky Squire from All Possible Futures digs into this idea with approachable puzzles and tricky action. Meanwhile Wizards Cup from Pandasaurus Games is a two player magical duel with gorgeous art and a tight little footprint. Speaking of footprints, Katmai: The Bears of Brooks River from O...

Is Civilization from Avalon Hill and Gibsons Games still able to command 10 hours of your attention more than 40 years after its initial release? Can The Roottrees are Dead outdo Hypnospace Outlaw at Internet nostalgia and Return of the Obra Dinn at amateur sleuthing? Blending poker and heists, do we have a good enough hand to win The Gang ? Are Ritz crisps? You have questions, and boy, do we have...

We find out why Fireside Games’ co-op boardgame Castle Panic remains a masterpiece and how its wonderfully welcoming all-ages version My First Castle Panic brings in younger players while remaining entertaining for adults. Then a look at why the sheer amount of planning for a weekend playing Avalon Hill’s Civilization has been an early part of the overall joy of running this epic length event game...

Logging on to our (impressive!) virtual reality future with Meta Quest 3S , why we’ve head back to Stardew Valley after the embarrassment of riches included in the Stardew Valley v1.6 update from ConcernedApe, and returning to a classic with Amanita Design’s Samorost . All that, and a sheep (or a pariah?), on Ep215. 00:00 - Santa Trauma 05:07 - Meta Quest 3S 30:12 - Stardew Valley v1.6 41:02 - Sam...

A mega massive wrap up of all our favourite things we discovered in 2024, including:  Codenames , Duolingo , The Rise of the Golden Idol , Thank Goodness You're Here! , Thunder Road Vendetta , Hundreds of Beavers , Essen , Balatro , Midnight Mass , One Shot RPGs, Dungeon Crawler Carl , Deadloch , The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game , Wilmot's Warehouse , Godzilla Minus One , Cyberpunk 2077 ,...

We’re getting ready for a gaming Christmas! From the board game stack we’re setting our timers and taking in the fireworks show spectacle of Skyrockets: Festivals of Fire from Floodgate Games, figuring out if we prefer apples, oranges, or Gandalf in supersmart trick taker My Favourite Things from Play For Keeps, and forging fine art and trying to get away with it in Belratti from Kosmos. Away from...

We’ve smashed through the single page RPGs Pride and Extreme Prejudice and Crash Pandas from Rowan, Rook and Decard, and also gotten to the tabletop the kid-friendly The Colour Monster from Devir and Kosmos and Stomp the Plank from The Flying Games and Hachette. Plus a closer look at Color Gray Games and Playstack’s stupendous sequel The Rise of The Golden Idol . All that, and, yes, it’s one of Hi...

Spookily funny party game Ghosts Can't Draw (Big Potato Games), strategic sci-fi in Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Osprey Games), the frighteningly good Agatha All Along , and a David Mitchell mystery series called Ludwig ; there’s loads of great geek stuff stuffed into just under an hour of audio. All that, and tooth chat, on Ep211. 00:00 - Dental Battleships 05:52 - Ghosts Can't Draw 16:22 - Undaunte...

A full report on our trip to the biggest board game show in the world - Spiel Essen - plus our favourite games from the show; Gibberers by Hobby Japan, The Chronicles of Berg by Rybysel Games, and Final Girl by Van Ryder Games. Then back at home we catch up with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 . All that, and lightning striking twice, on Ep210. 00:00 - Spiel Essen 16:15 - Gibber...

Why the digital edition of Codenames from CGE Digital just might be 2024’s best digital adaptation of a board game, Castle Combo from Catch Up Games and Hachette is a winning combination of tableau-building and card drafting, and the joys of a local Oktoberfest. All that, and how it’s all kicking off in here , on Ep209. 00:00 - Watching the golf, the legendary John Daly, and “rough pubs” of Britai...

Doing it live with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Live In Concert , stacking shelves in CMYK’s Wilmot's Warehouse , travelling with Catch Up Games’ Faraway , and being lied to with Odd-Meter’s Indika . All that, and teasing a child, on Ep208. 00:00 - How do you define “relax”? 05:24 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Live In Concert 11:16 - Wilmot's Warehouse 27:59 - Indika 45:42 - Faraway...

Our board game review this episode is Wolfgang Kramer and Hachette’s Expeditions: Around the World , then we go hands-on with Coal Supper’s cheeky British slapformer Thank Goodness You're Here! , plus we’ve been watching the awesome whodunnit Deadloch . All that, and a well-worn bleep button, on Ep207. 00:00 - Brits abroad 07:37 - Thank Goodness You're Here! 26:37 - Expeditions: Around the World 4...

It’s equal parts video games reviews and board games reviews on this episode of the podcast, with our takes on Extra Nice’s SCHiM and Bethesda’s Quake , as well as Brotherwise Games’ Dungeon Kart and Thames & Kosmos’s My Island . All that, and three increasingly old men, on Ep206. 00:00 - Brat Summer 07:22 - Quake 20:50 - SCHiM 33:23 - Dungeon Kart 48:47 - My Island On this episode were Kris (...

Following in grandma's footsteps with Ravensburger’s Garden Heist , saying goodbye to a whole era of movies with Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine , and stepping into the exclusion zone with Osprey’s Zona Alfa . All that, and snowballs, on Ep205. 00:00 - The secret sauce for keeping cool 05:25 - Garden Heist 17:30 - Pete's Chilly Willingtons 19:02 - Deadpool & Wolverine 37:51 - Frosty Bottoms...

On this episode of our gaming and geek culture podcast, we’ve got video game reviews of mysterious adventure This Bed We Made from Lowbirth Games, as well as character platformer Kirby and the Forgotten Land from Nintendo, plus a board game review of evolutionary tile-place-em-up In the Footsteps of Darwin from Hachette. All that, and curious culinary currencies, on Ep204. 00:00 - Themed restauran...

Storytelling-strong, narrative-rich video games are the catch of the day, with reviews of Still Wakes the Deep from The Chinese Room, as well as Don’t Nod’s Jusant , plus we go hands-on with Courtisans by Pandasaurus Games. All that, and what’s up, doc, on Ep203 00:00 - Wedding prep 08:23 - Jusant 23:40 - Still Wakes the Deep 42:16 - Courtisans On this episode were Kris ( @DigitalStrider ) and Sam...

It’s a board game extravaganza, with big chat and in-depth reviews of Horrified - Greek Monsters and Mycelia from Ravensburger Games, and The Adventures of Robin Hood from Thames & Kosmos. All that, and a stagless stag, on Ep202. 00:00 - The appendix is the essence of man 07:05 - Stag 09:58 - The Adventures of Robin Hood 27:46 - Horrified - Greek Monsters 41:07 - Mycelia 57:32 - Subscriptions...