Board games, video games, comicbooks, movies, TV and more. Uncovering the hidden indie gems you’ll wonder how you ever lived without; diving deep into the franchises you already know and love.
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Nolan’s latest masterpiece is an epic subject of conversation on this episode, in which we ask the big questions. Is it okay to compare the film to the poem/book? Are you really watching the movie if you’re not at an IMAX? Rattlesnake is an all out slugfest in the Wild West, from Michael Hardacre, Roland MacDonald, and Osprey Games, and it’s the sort of chaos we love. Plus mrdboy brings us MR FARMBOY, a game that looks like an equally pleasant spin on Stardew Valley, but is actually all about automation and building a farming empire. All that, and rubbing the wrong region, on Ep253.
If you need cheering up, then Shrinking, an Apple TV series about coming to terms with loss and grief is, surprisingly, a very good choice. Meanwhile Star Trek: Captain’s Chair - To Boldly Go is an expandalone deckbuilder from WizKids in which you explore the galaxy, with a friend or solo, in the name of the Federation. And finally, a deep dive into the world of official and knock off Transformers toys. All that, and the sound of running water, on Ep252.
Take the humour and playfulness of the LEGO games, mix it with the depth and (much of) the gameplay of the Arkham games, all while covering a fascinating mix of The Batman’s history - both fictional and aesthetic - and you’ve got Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight, which we dive into on this episode. Then we’re looking at Unstoppable, which is bringing solo and co-op play to the tabletop via Renegade Game Studios. Rulebook aside, this is a surprising and very enjoyable deck builder with lovely interactions, compelling upgrades, and a dopamine-firing power curve. Finally,
Games, games, and, uh, more games, in our landmark 250th one of these things. There’s an argument over the best Bond as we take a shot at 007 First Light from IO Interactive, which feels like a young 007 by way of Uncharted and Hitman. While on the smaller screen we’re slinging swords at decks of dastardlies in a mobile classic reinvented: Card Crawl 2 from Tinytouchtales. Then it’s off out to a trip to UK Games Expo 2026, with lots of chat about the thoughtfully miniaturised Magic Maze Pocket from Sit Down! Games and the community-owned reinvigoration of Netrunner from Null Signal Games. Not
Is Mixtape a “real game”? Honestly, who cares; we love this coming-of-age story set in the 90s, from Beethoven and Dinosaur, and Annapurna Interactive. It’s quick, it’s robust, and it’s memorable, and that’s what we’re after from narrative-focused experiences like this. Snackaroo is advanced Snap by way of Aardman, for up to 5 players, and while it’s a children’s game for sure, it’s got enough meat in the bun for the parents of those kids too. It’s from Rudi Biber and Ravensburger, and we really like it. Plus the wood glue is out for a QoL project to make a complex setup more simple, with the
Hunters in a Scandinavian forest try to track the beast in, well, Beast, a hidden movement board game from Studio Midhall via Zatu, and we think you’re going to love this mighty (and huge) experience when you bring it to your tabletop. For a more chill time you’ll want to check out This Is a Gardening Show from Zach Galifianakis et al, which is, as you might expect, a gardening show… of sorts. Or for a chilling time there’s Widow’s Bay, a comedy horror that will have you laughing out loud and leaping behind the sofa in equal measure. Plus why we’re revisiting a classic (?) with The King of Que
If you’re looking for a great way to train your brain every morning, as well as understand how the devil a classic puzzle - the cryptic crossword - works, then Minute Cryptic should be on your phone. If that’s too much, but you still want something (surprisingly) cerebral then, yes, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is for you. It’s got a lot to say about the modern world for a film that, superficially, is about fashion. On the smaller screens, if you’re looking for something completely unique, yet probably a bit of a bargain considering it’s been out a while, we recommend Death Stranding, from Koj and
Quick reviews and impressions of geek-adjacent books is the thrust of this one. There’s My First Adventure: Discovering Atlantis, which is a traditional-feeling choose-your-own-adventure book via Hachette, as well as a closer look at Dead Beard’s Curse: Smart Book from Peasoup, which uses augmented reality to take “turn to page XX”-type books to another level. And the book chat goes on: if you love food and curious crime, you’ll gobble up Butter by Asako Yuzuki via 4th Estate. As is often the case, it’s an episode of other “firsts”, including a first Pokémon and Mario game, and how us as paren
On the tabletop we’re building up the walls with dexterity and memory game Castel Boom from Kiwizou by way of Hachette, and building up a case with MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park from Hard Boiled Games, also via Hachette. Away from the board games and into the realm of RPGs, we’re meeting up online with strangers and playing roleplaying game oneshots with StartPlaying (and the brilliant La Lionne Cosplay). After that it’s off to Germany - via Denmark - and building LEGO’s spin on Neuschwanstein Castle, plus we relax with a new season of a classic TV show; yep, we’re getting back into Scrubs.
A Staying In exclusive? Yep! We’re among the first people in the UK to play Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison, which is a game about risking what you can on what you think you can get away with, themed on the game of cat and mouse found in works like Catch Me If You Can. It’s a stonker; you heard it here first. Of course there’s loads of other things to talk about coming out of AireCon 2026. We start getting very close to each other (and strangers) with Yubibo’s novel Twister-with-fingers from Jelly Jelly, and building (pleasingly broken) engines in Thief’s Market, PickPocket’s fresh lick o
We’re getting old, so the only kind of exciting rave we’re interested in on a weekday is Arcade Archives Rave Racer from Bandai Namco, by way of Hamster Corp - a game previously trapped in the arcades of the 90s, re-released for home consoles. Then we talk about another throwback, this time to a kind of genre that was massively popular a few years ago, that is getting a new spin: the flip and draw Flip Pick Towers from Osprey, Rob Fisher, Adam Porter, and Beatrix Papp. We round out the show with an unbelievably hot new boardgame called Eternal Decks from Hiroken and Mujunsha, which is a co-op
It’s time to dredge up some painful memories of Tom Clancy games with Predator: Badlands, then it’s onto cheerier topics, like a discussion on Marvel’s latest short run TV series Wonder Man and whether it might be the start of a new era for the MCU. Having already properly dated the show with a recent “holiday” we turn to Game Dev Story from Kairosoft, a fairly casual but very revealing management game, then it’s off to the Jazz Age with Gatsby from Catch Up Games via Hackette. All that, and an incorrect use of butter, on Ep242.
It’s time to get a grip on mobile gaming, so we go hands-on with MCON from Ohsnap, a dedicated MagSafe controller attachment for your phone that’s perfect for Android and iPhone gaming, as well as emulation and game streaming. We also throw down with the latest from Big Potato Games, the old-timey-charity-donation-by-way-of-marbles-em-up, Whirly Derby. And then there’s Duel for Cardia from Hans im Glück, a lovely and super affordable simultaneous action card game that takes up no room at all - except for in our hearts. All that, and the many forms of baths, on Ep241.
We take a (sometimes one-eyed) look at two weird (outsider art?) horror-adjacent video games from Critical Reflex on this episode, Mouthwashing from Wrong Organ and Arctic Eggs from The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, and Cameron Ginex. Then on the AAA side of the scale is the ridiculously slick open world assassin adventure Ghost of Yōtei from Sucker Punch. Meanwhile, on a more family-friendly board game theme, we think about how best to introduce board game mechanics to much younger minds while reviewing Minecraft Builder & Biomes Junior from Ravensburger. All that, and confessing to a
We take a deeper look at two extraordinary MachineGames titles, the adventure straight from the silver screen Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Wolfenstein: The New Order, which features simply some of the best writing in video games. We also turn to two puzzle platformers, the classic time-bending of Number None’s Braid, and the co-op joy of LEGO Voyagers from Light Brick Studio, the only game that feels like playing with plastic bricks. Over on the tabletop there’s a good amount of time spent on the bright and punchy Tag Team from Le Scorpion Masqué and I-cut-you-choose cosy set collec
As we head into 2026, we take a look back at our favourite things from 2025.
Our Christmas episode is here, so get your nog on. And why not open an entry in a very special fantasy miniatures advent calendar slash tabletop game from Oakbound Studio - Once Upon A Time In The Woods. And when we’re not unwrapping gifts, we’re talking about Ecuador, 2001, and the grip of football with despelote from Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena, and Panic, and the surreal, delicate, thoughtful adventure that is A Pizza Delivery from Eric Osuna and Dolores Entertainment. All that, and it’s all downhill from here, on Ep237.
After 15 long years of waiting, Skate 4 is here in the guise of Full Circle’s skate. and there are things about it we have to get out in the open. Equally long cooking in the oven is a love of wrasslin’ so of course we were going to chat about the documentary (?) WWE: Unreal at some point. And finally, there’s Gwent: The Legendary Card Game from CD Projekt and No Loading Games, which brings the digital game found in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt into the real world (wooden tables and all). All that, and trawling through the C section, on Ep236.
It’s been board games Christmas of late with this year’s Essen Spiel having just concluded, PLUS we’re joined by board games industry bigwig Rob Trounce, so we use this as a wonderful excuse to talk about lots and lots of board games. In particular? Well, there’s Tax the Rich by Alion, which is a trick-taking game with politics at its core, as well as Night Soil by Grail Games which has… well… quite a different theme. And then there’s Joyride: Survival of the Fastest from Rebellion Unplugged, a racing game of driving fast and dirty. Away from the cardboard and plastic, we also get time to talk
Coming in at the top of our newly-invented genre - mobile games to play while standing in a queue - is CMYK’s Wavelength, a perfectly-pitched adaptation of the tabletop game of the same name. If that weren’t enough, Cuh-Muh-Yuh-Kuh is also putting out Magical Athlete, a game with a solid pedigree, given a fresh lick of 80s illustrated school book paint, by way of a living legend of board games. But that’s not all the cardboard we have for you, oh no! We take a look at Wonderbow’s asymmetric game of hiding, chasing, and bluffing: Kelp - Shark vs. Octopus. And with scary season on its way, we th
Prepare thy brow, because it is about to be situated much higher than usual (when listening to this podcast at least). While it might not be from THAT game company, Sword of the Sea from Giant Squid continues its genetic lineage and - dare we say it? - improves upon its legacy in a multitude of ways. On the tabletop, Ravensburger’s latest spin on the modern board game classic is Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons and, yeah, it’s very VERY good. Plus a charming change of pace with some dinosaur pet pals, via the child-friendly BalaDino from Kiwizou. All that, and controversial (???) feelings about p
Feeling old? You might do after this episode. A classic old Nintendo series has had a big new twist, and it’s got us asking “is Mario Kart World made for us?”, plus heading back to the nineties with Humongous Entertainment and Mega Cat Studios and the re-release of Backyard Baseball ’97. In case that weren’t enough old video games, there’s more action from Hamster’s Arcade Archives series, with a look at Namco’s Air Combat 22 and Aqua Jet. Away from the screens, over to the tabletop, and headed back in time to mythological Greece, Cyclades Legendary Edition from Open Sesame Games is another cl
It’s all about games, games, games (and apples) on this episode. There’s a review of Jungo by Cocktail Games and thoughts on Agatha Christie's Death on the Cards from Modiphius, both of which got lots of outings in the most appropriate space for them: while on holiday. If you’re after a bit of virtual tourism and/or you reckon yourself handy with a DSLR then Matt Newell and Annapurna Interactive’s Lushfoil Photography Sim is very much for you, and if you want to live another life entirely (well, lots of lives, actually) then you’ll want to give Time Flies from Playables and Panic a go too. And
In the running for the best film of the year is Weapons from Zach Cregger and co., providing truly unsettling horror without the typically gorey schlock. Maybe not podium material, but Marvel’s latest Fantastic Four flick First Steps is feeling like a return to form, plus lovely words about the lovely Ultimatch from Fireside Games, and OK Play from Big Potato Games forces us to consider a brand new award genre. All that, and ensuring there’s an “O” in the spelling, on Ep230. 00:00 - Recycling Barry 03:42 - Listener Question (thanks Damien!) 14:25 - The Silmarillion of Cider (Cider Country by J
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Plus a barrel-thumping good Nintendo game, a stupendous release from Hamster Corporation, and Osprey’s brilliant Day of the Dead-inspired competitive card-placement game. All that, and saluting the flag, on Ep229.
