Hello Bonus Babies,

Today Monica invites her friend, Jacqueline Bryk, to join her and discuss something she considers a blank spot in her traditional game literacy: LARP. We discuss what makes a LARP and LARP design principles as Jax gives a detailed 101 crash course. We also kick around designing our own together, for a bit. 

Also discussed in the extended cut: 

• Jax at MAGFest and Monica’s day job
• the implications of torture in games and the meddlesome Victorians
• headcanons for the Scarlet Empress and the Ebon Dragon
• online RPG discourse

Hello Bonus Babies,

Welcome to Season Six! Rai is retiring from permanent co-host duty so you’re all stuck with me (Monica) and a rotating door of our friends. Fear not, Rai will still join us from time to time. And don’t worry – we remain two queer people speaking with authority about games, and we absolutely will still swear (die mad about it). 

In today’s episode D and Monica sit down to get into the ins and outs of designing good resource management games. We talk about what you need to consider as a designer and break down how you can avoid common pitfalls. We also cite a handful of excellent games you can try that use their resources extremely well. 

In the Extended Cut: 

• Starting the work day, weird dreams, and a good sandwich
• Behind the scenes of Scion 2e
• The mysteries of PEMDAS
• More fun rules from The Other Side

You can find D’s info here: https://www.daniellelauzon.com/

Check out The Other Side here: https://www.wyrd-games.net/the-other-side

Hello Bonus Babies,

BXP is BACK for Season Six. We have some very important updates to the show as well as some super cool episodes coming up. Give it a listen. If you stayed a patron through the off-season, Monica shouts out your name.

See you next week!

Hello Bonus Babies!

This is the final episode of Season Five. Terry joins Monica again with the second half of their very long conversation about experiences with gaming and new people. 

Today we talk about character development in RPGs: what that means, what people want when they say they’re into it, and how games do and don’t support character growth over time. It’s a very interesting discussion and a perfect send-off for our fifth season. 

There WILL be Patron-exclusive content this off-season! We’re launching Bonus Level, a YouTube show where Monica and friends try to talk about interesting tabletop topics while their attention is also on a video game. Two episodes are already available on Patreon and Ko-Fi, so there’s never been a better time to support us. Supporters will get early access to all episodes before the full season goes live, so tell your friends! 

BXP is now also on YouTube. All episodes of Bonus Experience and Systematic Understanding of Everything will be posted to our channel, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK9Qkt98eLwkx8vRCJwrpTA 

Like and subscribe and all that. 

We love you all, see you next year! 

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the YouTube Channel | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Hello Bonus Babies,

Terry (of Mage: the Podcast) joins Monica to talk about the wild experience of teaching Mage to new people and Monica commiserates about her experiences with teaching Exalted to beginners. We discuss the interesting cultural baggage that comes with most folks pop understanding of the hobby and what it’s like to show folks new games.

The topic goes all kinds of interesting places past that. Even more rambling can be heard in the extended cut.

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Hello Bonus Babies,

Rai had to tap out of hosting early this season, so Monica set up a lobster trap outside her house in order to catch a few new co-hosts.  The last few episodes of Season 5 will be Monica + a friend. Join our Patreon or Discord for details about the nonsense we have planned for the off-seasons!

Here’s the long-awaited new episode. Chazz of Pain in the Dice, OPPCast and Systematic Understanding of Everything joins Monica to discuss games without randomizers. No cards. No dice. No coin flips – just a variety of narrative resolutions. We break down what we like about these games and what makes them work and (most importantly) what’s worth stealing for your own homebrew. 

Here’s a few links to games we discussed: 

Wanderhome: https://possumcreekgames.com/pages/wanderhome

Sleepaway: https://possumcreekgames.com/products/sleepaway

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/134196/Chuubos-Marvelous-WishGranting-Engine?affiliate_id=22805

Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands: https://payhip.com/b/nhBY

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Hello Bonus Babies,

We are so very sorry for the silence and lack of updates for a while there. Things have been rough for the whole BXP crew, but we’re BACK. 

Monica overheard a conversation about someone being nervous to play D&D for the first time and their worries about how to be a good player, so here’s today’s episode. Rai and Monica hang out to discuss what sort of things are good to keep in mind when you’re a player for the first time – no matter what game you’re playing. 

We forewent the usual outline structure this time in favor of a more conversational episode, so please enjoy the chaos that comes with that. For even more nonsense, check out the extended cut.

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Hello Bonus Babies! 

Rai’s back! Hooray! Rejoice! 

Today Rai and Monica sit down to discuss a favorite internet discourse topic: does system matter? Can you just enjoy any game, regardless of system? Do you even NEED to be a game designer? 

You’ll just have to listen to the whole thing if you want the answer. 

Also discussed in the extended cut: Rai’s patron-only strip journalism, Monica’s queer FLGS, the art of amigurumi and a lot more about Tumblr

Also here’s a link to the CHAOS RPG streamed game. 

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Hello Bonus Babies, 

While Rai sorts out a few life things, D joins us again for another deep dive. Today, Monica and Danielle discuss streamlining game systems – whether you’re doing that on your own for fun or whether it’s a professional job. We talk about the meaning, goals, and methods of streamlining and give some examples of systems we’d fix and systems we wouldn’t. 

Also discussed: praxis songs, reflecting reality in games, and The Lesbian Who Controls Time. 

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]

Happy Pride, Bonus Babies! 

We’ve really been going through it this year, so when we sat down to record our most recent episode we decided it would be fun and relaxing to just hang out instead. 

Here’s nearly an hour of Monica and Rai talking about… everything and nothing. 

Discussed: 

Even more nonsense in the extended cut 

[ Bonus Experience: the Blog! bxpcast.com | Bonus Experience: the Discord! tinyurl.com/bxpdiscord | Bonus Experience: the Twitter! @bonusexpcast | Bonus Experience: the Patreon! patreon.com/bonusexperience ]