We're joined by our very first guest! Kevin Hoang, president and co-founder of the Washington Gaming Association, joins Brian and Rhoades to talk about competitive gaming, what colleges need to do to curate programs for esports and the benefits of gaming as part of a community. Mikey couldn't join us today, but he'll be back next week!

We all just got back from our holidays away and have some stories about it, some of which are about games!

Topics discussed: Jackbox Party Pack 3, Mini Metro, Block'hood, Islands: Non-Places, STALKER, Turkey, Potatoes

Immediately upon your arrival in Alola, a handsome professor wearing shorts and an open lab coat — no shirt underneath, by the way — grabs your hand. "Come with me," he says. "We're going on a journey."

Your heart skips a beat. You're in an observatory at night outside a small town in rural Virginia. You've got a broken key in your hand, not the grasp of Young Professor Science Man. Where did the nice professor man go, and where's My Sweet Boy?

You approach the telescope with the hope that gazing into the night sky will help you make sense of it all. Peering into the telescope you—

You're on the bus, listening to podcasts and feeling a desperate wave of FOMO. Hitman seems pretty good. You open up the web browser on your phone and spend $60 on a game you probably won't like.

Topics discussed: Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Moon, Virginia, Heroes of the Storm, Watch Dogs 2, Titanfall 2, FOMO, setting artificial rules on gameplay.

It's been a week.

Topics discussed: Coping with elections, Skyrim, Titanfall 2, NES Classic, Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP, E.V.O. Search for Edin, Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions, punk music

You order the pizza, but they make it too easy for you to add more. So you order some chicken, and some cinna-stix too. You're ready to Play Some Video Games. Press sta- ew, why is your controller so greasy? Never mind. You watch TV instead and ruminate over whether the Borderlands series is any good. Topics discussed: Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas, Titanfall 2, Skyrim, Overwatch, Diablo 2 (not 3), Borderlands.

Fans of the genre agree: This new video game podcast is not a mixed bag. Join Rhoades, Mikey and Brian for their inaugural episode, in which they discuss how both Valiant Hearts and Battlefield 1 talk about WWI. Then we move onto some World of Warcraft: Legion and how to play games on a holiday budget. Also. Hot takes.