What Would The Smart Party Do?

Episode 66 - A New Campaign 2018 It's the start of a glorious new year and the lads discuss what they've got for Christmas, how to start a new campaign, what new and exciting games they may be setting up for 2018 and other goodness. Do you remember Transhuman Space? That and more could be in the offing this year... Give sacrifice to the Patreon fund , and we'll keep attending great events, and rec...

Episode 65 - Rafael Chandler Interview Author of one of the finest novels of modern times (Baz knows his stuff on this), video game designer and RPG creator Rafael Chandler joins the boys for a discussion about his works and many other fun things! Find out about Splatterpunk horror games, the enigmatic El Degollador (The Decapitator) from Peruvian history, how the creation process works for games...

Episode 64 - End of Year Review 2017 It's been a funny old year. Or has it? Baz and Gaz go over what's been happening, talk about their favourites, and upcoming things that tickle their collective fancy. Throw a copper piece into the Patreon fund , and we'll keep attending great events, and recording more content for you, dear listeners. Both of you. If we get enough funding we'll dish out some fa...

Episode 63 - Dragonmeet Review & Interviews After a great time as part of the #Podcastzone at Dragonmeet, the guys got together for a review of the event and also mixed in some of the interviews and brief chats they got while gadding about. Hear from OSR guys such as Luke Gearing [19:20], the Lamentations of James Raggi [28:55], the silvered tones of Patrick Stuart [34:05]; plus, what's new in Cha...

Bonus Episode - Black Hack at Dragonmeet The lands went on a jolly to Dragonmeet and have a full episode in the pipe - but along the way they spent some time in the bar chatting to David Black of The Black Hack fame, gate crashed by Chris Mc Dougal Donald Duncan Dowall from Into the Odd . Throw in a dollar or two to the Patreon fund , and we'll keep attending great events, and recording more conte...

Episode 62 - Preparing For Dragonmeet If you're going to try a one day gaming convention in the Big Smoke, then Dragonmeet is the place to be. What to expect though? Baz and Gaz lead you through everything that's going down, provide stories of previous adventures, and fill you in on some tips and tricks, along with highlights not to be missed. Most of all, they look forward to meeting both their l...

Ken Rolston, known for his work on Elder Scrolls (Morrowind and Oblivion), Paranoia and many other gaming successes, joins us for a chat about all things game related. From his long and storied history in the hobby, producing an RPG, the state of the video gaming industry, RPG tips and stories, to many amusing anecdotes, Ken was a delight to chat to. In his own words: subversive, perverse, deconst...

You're in a German Schloss, it's 4am, and you've been drinking and eating fit to burst. What could top this off? Chatting to President of Chaosium , Rick Meints about Runequest, running Chaosium, the fan community and ducks. Slurred words are obviously a result of being sleepy, and sound of enjoyment in the background is... well, people enjoying themselves. We recorded live and there is a bit of b...

Episode 61 - The Grognard Files Baz and Gaz are joined by Chris (a.k.a Dirk the Dice) from The Grognard Files , to talk about old, comforting RPG gaming. Something eldritch occurred with Gaz's voice and he sounds like a dusty robot, but never mind that, our guest has a syrupy voice, sweet and soothing as if from the Sabden Treacle Mines. The guys talk Grognard Files , old school stuff like Runeque...

Special Guest and Great Old One, Sandy Petersen (creator of Call of Cthulhu and mind behind Petersen Games talks to us about his upcoming board games, getting into Call of Cthulhu and his foray into video games. A fantastic German gaming retreat happens once a year in the old East Germany and this is one of several on-site interviews. As a result sound quality isn't 100%, but the content is! You c...

We reviewed Blades in the Dark a few weeks ago and now Baz has taken it out for a spin with his gaming group. For your delectation we present a bonus 'cast - an hour of actual play! Become a Patreon and we can get you the character creation audio too! Throw in a dollar or two to the Patreon fund , and we'll keep getting you more stuff. Email the guys Find them on the Twitters: @the_smart_party Dir...

A fantastic German gaming retreat happens once a year in the old East, and Gaz was there once again. He comes back loaded with interviews, the first of which is a debrief of the event with Andrew Kenrick, former White Dwarf editor and Managing Editor at Cubicle 7 and publisher of the excellent Dead of Night rpg. We discuss the high quality of the event, why you should play Delta Green as well as C...

Episode 59 - Fria Ligan Interview with Tomas Härenstam This week, it's special guest time once again, and the the affable from The Free League came along to talk to us about Mutant Year Zero, Tales From the Loop, their new Kickstarter and more! If you're really quick, you might just be able to get in on the Forbidden Lands Kickstarter - an open-world survival tabletop RPG with art by legendary Swe...

Episode 58 - Blades in the Dark - with Iain McAllister of Giant Brain fame! The lads have been playing the excellent Blades in the Dark by John Harper, and Baz even went out of his comfort zone, running it as a low-prep game at a convention. Hear what is so good about this game anyway, and maybe a couple of foibles. You can find Iain's blog here: Giant Brain Game reviews, reports from UK Games Exp...

Episode 57 - Playing Up (a.k.a Player's advice for players) We have books full of gaming advice for GMs, but where is all the help for players? What can you do to help your fellow players out? Shouldn't we all just be helping each other have a great time? All this and more answered in this episode, with your genial hosts, Baz and Gaz! We don't do Kickstarters for the podcasts, but we do have a Pat...

Episode 56 - ShaCon All Over (a.k.a Savage Worlds and ShaCon Convention) The UK's inaugural Savage Worlds convention has happened and Gaz was there as Guest of Honour! Baz asks searching questions about this Savage Worlds thing as may some people haven't yet heard about it or played it. It's not Earthdawn after all. Something weird happened with Gaz's mic this time round, but don't worry, the lads...

Episode 55 - Licensed Games with Mat Hart If you've heard about Guild Ball and the Dark Souls board game, you'll have heard of record-breaking Kickstarters from Steamforged Games . The lads have an extensive chat with the loquacious Mat Hart about RPGs, licensed games, kickstarters and what he's having for tea. We don't do Kickstarters for the podcasts, but we do have a Patreon. Throw in a dollar...

Episode 54 – Counting Beans Special Guest time once more! The Gents speak to Paul Baldowski, joint creator of the excellent All Rolled Up gaming accessories, prolific blog writer, author of the Cthulhu Hack and more! We also chat about the latest games from Sweden and try to work out why we love them so much. Like Stranger Things? Play The Future Loop! Want a sweet Fanzine from The Smart Party? Th...

The lads are back from holiday! They've been reading stuff, playing games, going to conventions. This week they just about Games Expo, ConDamned and not wearing pants. Also! Bonus content - preparing characters for a con game or maybe just rolling them up at the convention table. Why do one over the other? You can find out about ConDamned on t'Facebook group . If you fancy getting involved in UK G...

Special Guest time again! We’re too good to you. This week the lads chat to Mike Mason, Line Editor for Call of Cthuhlu at Chaosium. Kult of Keepers – who or what are they? Secrets from Black Library and 40K roleplaying. What does a line developer actually do? Organised Play and being on different sides […]

Episode 51 – All Rolled Up & Swedish Gaming Special Guest time once more! The Gents speak to Paul Baldowski, joint creator of the excellent All Rolled Up gaming accessories, prolific blog writer, author of the Cthulhu Hack and more! We also chat about the latest games from Sweden and try to work out why […]

Episode 50 – Back to the Future Prepare to travel back to the times of Black & White TVs and only three channels on your TV. The Smart Party take us back to their roleplaying beginnings, through to what they’ve been playing at conventions only days ago. Guest comments, special features, Smart Party Healing Potions, […]

Episode 49 – Ten Things We’re Jonesing For (a.k.a. Chasing the Dragon) This week the guys talk about ten of their current favourite gaming things. Everything from Post Apocalypse to Super Heroes, trying new things, system specific conventions, alternate history, Asterix, blogs and more! Next time it’ll be our 50th episode! Drop us a line […]

Episode 48 – Ten Interesting Mechanics (a.k.a. Systems Are Doing It For Themselves) There are a plethora, nay myriad of systems out there, so what are some good ones? The lads chat through some of their favourite ways of rolling funny shaped dice. Thanks to the d20 Future Show for inspiring this week’s topic. Want […]

Episode 47 – The State of the Smart Party (a.k.a. You’re Safe From Fireballs on a Bus) This week the guys have a good old ramble through what’s going on in their gaming world at the minute, including new purchases, Baz’s game that he’s writing and more! Want more of the same? By becoming an […]