This week, join your regular hosts and special guest Hannah Keihl as they discuss their 2020 games of the year.

In true Is This Pinball fashion, the games of the year might not be from this year (nor might they actually be games) BUT they are our favorites, and they are some level of pinball.

Tune in to hear us talk about Chibi Robo, Donkey Kong Country 1-3, TikTok (and Blaseball), Zen Pinball, AND ALSO: the hole left by Blockbuster game rentals, "how pinball is Konrad?", Dylan's dad got the best vanity license plate of all time (not even a joke), and our best friend (Wikipedia).

Oh my god can it be true? Are we actually talking about video games again? HELL YEAH WE ARE. Who would have thought?? No Greek philosophers this week, buddies. We're talking about those pixels and how they make us feel.

Specifically: we're talking about reality in video games. But actually, this just serves as a launching pad for a broader discussion about Triple-A video game design, video games that want to be movies, why every big-name game is a billion hours long, and how "realism" is often code for "endless tasks" and "inventory management."

Join us as we discuss Red Dead Redemption (1 & 2), Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Final Fantasy VII, Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fortnite, Red Faction, Nier: Automata ("Aw-taw-mah-tah"? "Au-toh-mahta"?), The Sims, ALL THE FIRE EMBLEMS, and, uh, Sonic Adventures 2.

In the week after Thanksgiving, Dylan and Bea watched nineteen (NINETEEN) horror movies, and now Dylan is here to talk about them.

What happens next is a discussion of horror movies, sure, but also: what ghost would win in a ghost fight, haunted house hunters, Wes Anderson, Dark Goop Energy, whether or not all movies from the 80s are objectively bad, Will Ferrell mom opinions, and (natch) how pinball this whole mess is.

Dylan's nineteen horror movies:

• Dark Water (2002)
• Shutter (2004)
• Ringu
• The Tag-Along
• The Two Sisters
• Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
• Sadako vs. Kayako
• The Descent
• 28 Days Later
• Scrooged
• Terrified
• Ugetsu
• The Host
• The Dead Don't Die
• Night of the Living Dead
• Dawn of the Dead
• Day of the Dead
• Land of the Dead
• Under the Shadow

The four Christmas movies Dylan actually likes:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Elf
• Eyes Wide Shut
• Tokyo Godfathers

Other movies referenced:

• The Hobbit
• Lake Placid
• In Bruges
• Teen Wolf
• Rushmore
• The Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Isle of Dogs
• Kill Bill
• Babes in Toyland

Comedian and raconteur extraordinaire Myq Kaplan joins the crew this week to tackle our most ambitious (or at least, most meta) topic to date: how pinball is the concept of pinball.

Tune in for a discussion of how much ayahuasca is too much ayahuasca (and if it brings us closer to our True Pinball Selves), what is the comedy version of a multiball, RAMPS, and how pinball is a pinball rating for pinball.

See and hear more of Myq's work at myqkaplan.com

This week, we have special guest Teddy Hulsker on to discuss that favorite bogeyman of 70s pearl-clutchers: Dungeons & Dragons!

All three of your hosts are, believe it or not, nerds and theater kids and so have definite opinions about the classic tabletop role-playing game.

So grab your bag of holding, fellow adventurers, and prepare for a discussion of D&D as therapy, why first-time players gravitate toward becoming murder hobos, door puzzles, and ape encounters as teaching tools.

Every night, we get stared down by that goddamn great silver pinball in the sky and WE HAVE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT IT (apparently).

Take a journey with us as Dylan starts the show with a throwaway bit that becomes the Whole Thing, and strap in for a discussion of how pinball the literal moon, Moon Knight, mooning, Moon over My Hammy, and Paper Moon are (or are not).

Oh, and we may have also come up with the best movie idea ever. Do any of y'all happen to have Josh Gad's number? Because we need it STAT.

BonjourHi, my dudes. This episode, we have special guest Jon Robin on to talk about what we've been dancing around for weeks: music from the Great White North. Specifically, we're talking about all the indie music from Canada that we can't get out of our heads.

There's a whole bunch of music referenced this episode, and we even put together some listening playlists for you:

Listen to Amy's aughts Canadian indie playlist

Listen to Dylan's Carey Mercer playlist

Listen to Dylan's Destroyer playlist

Listen to Willie's definitive Canada playlist

Read the full list of songs in this episode

That's right, chickadees: everyone else WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT, so here's our election special! And by "election special," we mean that we talk about how pinball the candidates (spoilers: very) are for like ten minutes, and then spend the rest of the time screaming about Catholicism, d*ck measuring, mantis shrimp, and Canadian rock bands from the aughts.

So, you know, the usual.

Take care of yourselves today, babes, and we'll see you on the other side.

After last week's show, Willie went to use the bathroom while Amy and Dylan kept chatting (and Amy ate a bunch of clementines directly into the mic).

Tune in for some ramble-y fun-time discussions of our burgeoning ASMR careers, the downsides of keeping television shows running forever, the difficulty of satire, and the benefit of the Eternal Archetype.

Content warning: brief mention of domestic violence plotlines in "I Love Lucy" at 10:30

This week, we've got it all for you: actual real pinball news and reviews, film hot takes, and (of course) the final week of *~*dark carnival*~* celebrations! So, put on your gear-hat and tune in, my ghouls.

Topics discussed this week include: Dr. Dude Pinball Machine, Blue Velvet vs. Showgirls, we're just Nancy Pelosi's idiot children, the Paul Verhoeven appreciation wagon, They Live, My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin Football