The Dice Tower

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Columbus Days 30.06.2026 1h 2min

Julie recounts her adventures at Origins 2026 before we delve into questions about Authenticity of Theme, Fan Interactions, and Teaching Race for the Galaxy. And of course, we close the show with a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Middle of the Year 03:59 - Last Minute Dice Tower East 04:32 - Julie at Origins 30:26 - Question: Teaching Race for the Galaxy 33:58 - Question: Taking You Out of The Theme 37:11 - Question: Fan Interactions 43:49 - Shapely 46:59 - Revisiting Mice and Mystics 49:55 - Soothsayers 52:25 - The Friday Fright 55:25 - Flip Voyage 58:18 - Tomatoss Questions? Tale of Horror? Hot Sauce Recipes? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Parallel Design 16.06.2026 1h

Tom tells us about his adventures in The Philippines before we spark some discussion from a Tale of Boardgaming Horror: What do you do when you learn your game design is similar to a game that already exists? Plus, we dive into the bag of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops and pull out some winners. 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Senior Slacking Revisited 02:05 - Tom's Journey - Travel Woes 04:07 - All aBOARD EXPO 18:35 - Focusing on Dice Tower East 19:36 - Language Issues 20:19 - Discussion of Horror: Parallel Game Design 35:16 - Grow Sky 38:51 - Deep Sea Divers of Jeju 42:21 - Flamenco 47:15 - Stratego Quick Battle 50:41 - My Book Nook 54:38 - Cloud City Flamenco Ad (Dancing Cats): https://youtu.be/mz7Qh79K8GA?si=JpknJaXuh22wgE5J Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Play The Book! 02.06.2026 1h 9min

Tom is out, so Eric and Julie discuss books that have become games: from public domain classics to the latest multi-million dollar bestseller tie-in. Plus, we approach our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:48 - Where's Tom? 01:38 - Senior Slacking 04:18 - Dice Tower Events: East and Cruise 05:01 - Books Into Boardgames 46:27 - Winter Rabbit 56:08 - Seas of Strife 58:50 - Winnie the Pooh Serious Detective 1:05:34 - Pandemic Rising Tide -- Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Legacy Schmegacy 19.05.2026 1h 7min

This time, we take a look at Legacy games, and the ways players modify them in order to be less like a legacy game. But is something lost in the translation? Plus, we have a Tale of Horror, Roses, Thorns, and Hoops, and Tom's still grumpy about Stephen Sondheim. 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Broadway 01:39 - Maycember 02:30 - Summer Cons: Dice Tower East, Gen Con (Booth #249), Dice Tower Cruise 04:38 - Small Games, Little Joy 05:39 - Legacy Games 30:22 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 35:54 - Terraria 43:03 - The Queen's Dilemma 49:53 - Sanctuary 55:15 - The Case of the Curiously Quiet Theater 58:20 - Wool Street 1:02:31 - Colosseum: The Grand Spectacle Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Hype It Up 05.05.2026 1h

Julie shares more news about her new position, after which we discuss the finer points of Hype. How does one manage excitement about a product when it's not necessarily playable yet? Then, we have both a question from the mailbag and a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 01:18 - Summer Approaching - Hot Games at Dice Tower East 03:00 - Gamefound Pledge Manager - www.supportdicetower.com 03:55 - Julie's News Continued 06:25 - Hype 28:57 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 34:14 - Question: Card Sizes 37:56 - The Emerald Flame 42:28 - Rollie 46:27 - The Cat Between Us 49:43 - Tag Team 53:08 - "Normal" Human 55:28 - Star Trek Space Hunt Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - To Go Order 21.04.2026 1h 3min

This time, Julie has some news, Tom's excited for Summer, and Eric wants to play games on vacation. We discuss the various games that live in our bags, just in case there's a chance to play them. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a heaping helping of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - Spring and The Christmas of Boardgames 01:51 - Dice Tower East and Library Changes 03:04 - Cruise is Live 03:42 - A Mythical Game Bag 05:09 - Julie's Big News 06:45 - Traveling With Games - Game Bags 09:02 - Wandering Merchants at Gen Con 10:15 - Stashing Games In Non-Gaming Bags 13:51 - Why Button Shy? 16:11 - Making Play Seamless 17:16 - Trying to Make Friends on Trips 19:20 - Footprint/Table Space 21:42 - Any Lost Games, Rules, Boxes? 22:25 - Eric Is Quivering Wrong 24:15 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror? 34:22 - Bare Bones 39:00 - Coming of Age 45:20 - Jewel Box 47:55 - Sanibel 51:07 - For Northwood! 44:49 - Rising Cultures Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Julie and The Giant Teach 07.04.2026 1h 3min

This time, Tom crows about another victory for Vasel's Law with the announcement of The King's Gambit. Then, Julie pens her own Tale of Boardgaming Horror (but she makes Eric read it), and we move on to a field of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:47 - Back from Dice Tower West 02:20 - Dice Tower East and Cruise 06:37 - The King's Gambit and Vasel's Law 26:57 - Julie's Tale of Boardgaming Horror 37:43 - Pirate Borg 43:06 - Finspan 45:52 - First Giants 49:41 - Art Decko 52:49 - The Winds of Numa Sera 57:12 - Catan on the Road Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dice Tower West 2026 24.03.2026 1h 1min

On this episode, Tom, Julie and Eric are live at Dice Tower West in Las Vegas taking questions from the audience and talking about the games they've played (with a brief Tom-less interlude from Eric and Julie). 01:01 - Dice Tower West Library and Most Played 03:59 - Julie in Demoville and Escape Rooms 06:06 - Julie Came With a List 08:24 - Star Wars: Battle of Hoth 09:28 - Tea Garden 11:01 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock 12:55 - Feierabend 15:21 - Merchant of Venus #100 16:47 - Fathom 18:38 - Shapely 21:03 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 28:28 - Eric and Julie Interlude 29:10 - E&J: Stuff on Tables 31:39 - E&J: Strange Things to Carry 34:05 - E&J: What Shouldn't Stay in Vegas 36:51 - E&J: Drawing a Crowd 39:34 - Question: Game Opening Disasters 44:42 - Question: Escaping Jail 46:44 - Question: Comprehensive Rulebooks 52:01 - Minor Tom Rant: Authority to Answer Questions 52:58 - Question: Art for Prototypes 56:31 - Question: Deluxe Editions 58:37 - Question: Less or More of a Genre Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dude That's Heavy 10.03.2026 58min

Julie's been to a castle! And GAMA Expo! We chat about those adventures for a bit before moving on to the topic of physical weight of our games. How heavy is too heavy? We also share a question from the mailbag, and collect some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:54 - Winter Woes and Dice Tower West 05:42 - Julie and Hoop and Stick 11:25 - GAMA Expo 14:21 - Heavy Games 33:08 - Question: What Is the Soup of Games? 41:04 - Lairs 43:34 - Chicago Grand Slam 46:50 - Hot Streak 48:18 - Wilmot's Warehouse 52:08 - A Place for All My Books 54:35 - Regicide Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Crowd Control 24.02.2026 1h 6min

Julie's out this time, so Tom and Eric spend time looking back at Epic Game Events that they've been involved with at conventions over the years. What worked well, and what did not? Plus, a question from the mailbag about digital vs. in-person gaming, and Tom and Eric each present a full set of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:47 - No Julie, February Lull 01:35 - Live Show at Dice Tower West (Friday 3pm) 02:42 - Groundhogs and Polka Interlude 03:21 - Dice Tower East and Curling 06:14 - Epic Game Events 36:37 - Question: Live vs. BGA? 42:33 - Age of Galaxy 46:05 - A Message from the Stars 50:06 - Trasteros/Storeroom Inc. 52:56 - Nuns on the Run (2nd Edition) 56:05 - Suds and Malone 1:00:49 - Lords of Worlds Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - All Ashore! 10.02.2026 1h 3min

Tom and Eric are back from the Dice Tower Cruise, trying not to make Julie jealous, but failing miserably. We talk about games played, ports visited, and flights cancelled. Plus, we dive into the listener mailbag, and gather a new round of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:54 - Dice Tower West and The Library 02:33 - Merchant of Venus in The Library 04:26 - Dice Tower Cruise - Pre-Cruise 10:50 - Cruise: Most Checked-Out Games 21:57 - Cruise: St. Thomas Game Day 25:02 - Eric's Travel Woes 27:26 - Jibber Jabble 29:44 - Julie's Cruise Contribution 30:47 - Question: Too Social? 38:33 - JiSoGi: Anime Studio Tycoon 46:07 - Eternal Decks 49:44 - Ham Helsing 55:11 - Cosy Stickerville 59:03 - Fest Season Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - When It All Goes Wrong 29.01.2026 1h 5min

This time, we look at what happens when a production error is found in a game after it has reached the wild. What should producers do to make it right, and can they do anything at all? Also, a new dramatic Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - Storytime from Tom: Loading the Cruise Library 04:16 - Announcements: Gamefound (supportdicetower.com), Dice Tower West, East, and Vacation 06:33 - Dealing with Production Errors 39:14 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 47:55 - Wingspan: Americas 50:19 - Sanibel 52:44 - Harmonies 55:27 - Nocturnis 57:43 - Lairs 1:00:45 - Cookie Run Braverse TCG Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table With The Dice Tower - Party Like It's 2006 13.01.2026 1h 5min

We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com 03:07 - 2006 Memories 05:09 - Where Were We In 2006? 18:50 - The Games of 2006 27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing? 31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement 42:07 - Add to Playlist 47:06 - Galactic Cruise 48:06 - Zooloretto 50:47 - Merry Murdle 53:52 - Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 57:10 - Heroes of Timeline Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table With The Dice Tower - Looking Back at 2025 16.12.2025 53min

It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy. 01:20 - Top Tens on Video 01:51 - Year as a Whole 07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak 12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era 14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods 20:06 - Guilty Pleasure - Deep Regrets, Moon Colony Bloodbath 24:38 - Favorite Classic - Race for the Galaxy, At The Gates of Loyang, Sentient, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, You're Bluffing 27:22 - Stand-Out in Our Favorite Genre - Bohemians, EXIT Advent, Threads of Fate, Rove 32:48 - Hoopiest Hula-Hoop - Spooktacular, Oddland, Zenith 37:05 - Thorniest Thorn - Feel Like a Fool, Lynx, Donald Duck in Happy Camper 41:38 - Rosiest Rose - Vantage, Formaggio, Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread 47:42 - Looking Forward to 2026 - Use Up All Your Sick Days, Vegan Cafe, Sail Legacy, Floe 50:35 - Announcements: Gamefound, Dice Tower Cruise, East, West Next Episode: January 13, 2026 Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Re-Role 02.12.2025 1h 1min

This time, we continue our discussion of RPGs by suggesting Role Playing Games that share popular boardgaming mechanisms, as well as giving Tom tips for getting a game started. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:50 - A Story About Mail 02:22 - Eric at PAX Unplugged (inc. Hot Streak) 06:50 - Gift Guides, Dice Tower West and East 08:02 - RPGs for Boardgame Fans (detailed notes below) 37:55 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 43:03 - Formaggio 48:35 - Gnomic Parliament 52:13 - Carnuta 54:49 - Magic Number 11 56:54 - Insurrect10n -- Julie's Notes Where to go to get core book pdfs? DriveThruRPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/ Itch.io https://itch.io/ Cooperative play (yes the overwhelming majority of TTRPGs are cooperative) some extra cooperative leaning Heckin' Good Doggos https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/405426/heckin-good-doggos Teatime Adventures https://www.snowbrightstudio.com/teatime-adventures Dice rolling - Also many many many ttrpgs use dice. Here are some examples D20 - D&D/Pathfinder https://www.dndbeyond.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorCdKoS-xSfI4e05Us81YGA4tHt8CmmaOWNN-9VTcnsAfXS5pBS, https://paizo.com/pathfinder d100 (percentile): Call of Cthulhu https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/ Symbol-based dice: FFG Star Wars. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/starwarsrpg/ , Fudge dice: Fate https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/ Area control Beak, Feather, & Bone https://possible-worlds-games.itch.io/bfb Faction/War Song of Ice and Fire RPG http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/101026/A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Roleplaying-A-Game-of-Thrones-Edition Mutant: Year Zero https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139453/MUTANT-Year-Zero--Roleplaying-At-The-End-Of-Days Numenera: Destiny https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240655/Numenera-Destiny Coyote and Crow https://www.allplay.com/board-games/coyote-and-crow-the-roleplaying-game/ Action points - Level Up D&D PbtA Using Action points Feng Shui https://atlas-games.com/fengshui C&S: Rebirth Mythras Deck builder/Bidding Ok not really but Redigo is "Hand Management" https://letsplayredigo.com/ Games using a standard deck of cards Castle Falkenstein https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2370/castle-falkenstein Games using a custom or proprietary card deck - mostly they are being used instead of dice Dragonlance: Fifth Age https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/186462/dragonlance-fifth-age-dramatic-adventure-game-saga Clockwork Dominion https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked My Closest Pick Torg Eternity:A Thousand Faces of Adventure http://torg-gamereference.com/ Pick up and Deliver Solo/journal: Courier https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked Delivered! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441018/delivered-a-solo-journaling-rpg One shot Delivery Dragons https://shardsofblue.itch.io/delivery-dragons Worker Placement? Become a GM Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Role Call 18.11.2025 1h 5min

This time, we go fishing for Role Players, linking some popular aspects of RPGs to our favorite boardgames. Plus, our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:47 - Getting Cold 01:45 - Eric at Pax Unplugged 03:47 - Games at Tom's Daughter's Wedding? 05:10 - BGG Con, Dice Tower East, West, Cruise 06:37 - Fishing for Role Players 14:58 - Stat-Heavy Games: Pathfinder ACG, Mage Knight 17:48 - Character Building: Origin Story, Elder Scrolls, Too Many Bonews, Artisans of Splendent Vale 20:12 - Story-Based Character Progression: Call to Adventure, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Near and Far 22:17 - Campaign (Descent) vs. Combat: Wrath of Ashardilon, Wander the Cult of Barnacle Bay, Massive Darkness, Monster Hunter 27:36 - Silly: Dungeon Fighter, Dungeon Quest, Cora Quest, Munchkin, Talisman 30:31 - Exploration: Mansions of Madness, Clank Catacombs 32:57 - Storytelling: Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Tainted Grail, Oathsworn, Agemonia 35:03 - Video Games: Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Skyrim, GWENT 37:38 - Improvisational Storytelling: Freelancers, Wandering Galaxy, Adventure Party, Aye Dark Overlord, Once Upon a Time 41:22 - Teasing Next Time: RPGs for Boardgamers 42:27 - Rove 46:08 - Night Soil 49:04 - Mezen 52:50 - Gingerbread House 55:37 - Severton 1:00:35 - Spot It Catan Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com Julie's Tales of Myth and Legend Preorder: https://gamefound.com/projects/van-ryder-games/tales-of-myth-and-legend-preorder?refcode=tMZTh1PtbUec1Vko4OGdaw

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Essen Adventures 2025 04.11.2025 1h 5min

Tom, Julie, and Eric are back from Germany and ready to talk about games, food, crowds, and everything else they saw at Spiel 2025. 00:44 - Tired 01:50 - Official Numbers/Crowd Flow 07:09 - Travel Adventures and Weather 08:46 - What Was Different for Eric 11:31 - Food 13:35 - Eric's Birthday 15:44 - Julie's Author Signing 21:16 - Tom's Live Show 25:22 - Big Games 31:14 - How To Stand Out 35:51 - Limited Stock and How To Deal With It 40:17 - What Did We Go Home With? 44:12 - A Carnivore Did It 47:25 - Flow 50:50 - Ghost Lift 54:48 - Formidable Farm 58:22 - Leaders 59:52 - The Old King's Crown Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower: The Games of Essen 2025 21.10.2025 56min

Tom, Julie, and Eric run through their game plan for Essen Spiel 2025, including where they'll be, and what games are on the internet's radar, as well as trying to narrow down what three games are of the most interest to them personally. 00:59 - Bookkeeping: Dice Tower East, West, Cruise 01:57 - The Weather in Germany 03:12 - Eric's First Time Back Since 2019, What's Changed? 07:18 - Where Will We Be? Dice Tower Booth: 3 R315 Van Ryder Booth: 2 E280 Live Show, Sunday 1:30pm: Hall 4 09:30 - Dice Tower Essentials Interlude: Aquatica Duel, On Stage, Raas 11:44 - Live Plays 13:47 - Warning from Julie 14:38 - Sunday's Live Show 16:35 - Eric's Growing Wishlist and Shipping Woes 22:20 - The Games of Essen - So Many 28:20 - Orloj 29:27 - Recall 30:07 - SETI: Space Agencies 30:32 - Feya's Swamp 31:51 - Nature 33:15 - Covenant 35:00 - Ada's Dream 35:43 - Sanctuary 37:16 - Coming of Age 38:55 - Castle Combo: Out of the Oubliette! 39:08 - Echoes of Time 40:52 - White Castle Duel 41:33 - The Voynich Puzzle 42:15 - Underwater Cities: Data Era and LOTR Duel: Allies 42:38 - Luthier 43:12 - Aquaria 44:14 - Julie: Use Up All Your Sick Days 45:32 - Eric: Severton 45:56 - Tom: Cereal Killer 46:52 - Julie: The Stalker 47:30 - Eric: Leylines 48:35 - Tom: Kronologic Cuzco 1450 50:22 - Julie: Parks and Potions 51:29 - Eric: Winnie the Pooh: Serious Detective 52:47 - Tom: A Carnivore Did It Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Essen Prep 07.10.2025 57min

Tom is stuck in traffic, so Julie and Eric take control to discuss what it takes to setup a booth at Essen. How do you get all that stuff overseas, and how do you minimize what has to come back? And of course, there are Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:45 - Where is Tom? and Julie's Work Trip 03:56 - Dice Tower Cruise and Dice Tower West 05:07 - Moving a Booth to Essen 35:50 - Tiletum: Prospect for Silver 41:20 - I Made You a Mixtape 45:12 - High Tide 50:00 - The Yellow House Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Where There's a Will There's a Way 23.09.2025 1h 9min

Tom begins by recapping his adventures at the Dice Tower Retreat, and looks forward to the World Series of Boardgaming, before turning to the topic of figuring out what to do with your game collection after you're gone, and why it might be a good idea to make some choices sooner rather than later. Later, we share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, peek into the mailbag, and gather a collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:51 - Tom at the Dice Tower Retreat 02:25 - The World Series of Boardgaming 04:58 - Dice Tower Cruise, Dice Tower West, Spiel 06:03 - Planning for the Future of your Collection 24:58 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 31:22 - Question: Co-Designer Credit 38:16 - A Place for All My Books 44:04 - Knitting Circle 48:18 - Endangered Rescue: Lemur Leaf Frog 51:21 - The New Year's Nightmare 54:55 - Firefighters on Duty 57:07 - Blood on the Clocktower Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com