Have you ever cooked with molasses? It's so gooey and sticky that it can literally pull the fillings out of your teeth if you're not careful. Now imagine a 15-foot wave of molasses coming towards you at a glacial but inevitable pace.

Today, we're diving into one of the stickiest disasters in American history, The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 in Boston, MA. Special guest Emily Jillette joins us again for more puzzles and trivia. We chat about some of our favorite Broadway shows including Operation Mincemeat and Hamilton.

Today's game is A Sticky Situation where a food item and a phrase have been stuck together so they'll share a common word. And there's a bonus lateral thinking puzzle about another real-life food disaster.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

Long before uranium became synonymous with weapons of mass destruction, it was mostly serving as a decorative function. Glassblowers and glass factories would add a tiny bit of uranium to their glass, which gave it that distinctive yellowish green color. It also created a fluorescent effect under blacklight. David explores the history and back ground of this collector's item.

Emily Jillette, noted puzzler, escape room enthusiast, and wife of famous magician Penn Jillette joins us today. She shares some insights on the appeal of puzzles, especially to those who practice the stagecraft of magic. Today's game is With or Without U, where the players must add a "U" to a word to make a new word.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

" It might be an affront to the laws of physics."

In this episode of PG's Playhouse, we're going vertical! Today's topic is Frank Lloyd Wright's Nuclear Powered Elevator. Why would you need nuclear power for an elevator? Well, because it was designed to service a skyscraper stretching a mile upwards. David breaks down this totally bonkers skyscraper design that never ended up being built.

Guest Sandy Weisz joins us again to talk about his totally bonkers new game Raddle. Raddle has instantly became a fan favorite amongst daily puzzle lovers. He's taken a classic word ladder-style puzzle and added some interesting transformations. In today's game, Peih-Gee turns the tables back on Sandy with some word ladders of her own.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out our interview with Sandy Weisz on Reality Escape Pod.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

"Recycling or Wish Cycling?"

The next time you go to toss that plastic container in the recycling bin, you might actually be doing more harm than good. In this episode, David gives us some cold hard facts about recycling correctly. As it turns out, the majority of objects we're chucking in the recycling bin require more consideration than you'd think. More often than not, we're just sending items on a trip to the dumpster, the long way.

Renowned puzzle creator Sandy Weisz joins us to chat about The Mystery League, which specializes in designing and running puzzle games for corporate team-building activities. The game today is called Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, with puzzles based on classic slogans and jingles.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out our interview with Sandy Weisz on Reality Escape Pod.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

"A very popular way to assassinate your rivals."

What's a peasant to do when you're in the midst of an uprising and faced with armored knights and lords? Throw them out the windows! Apparently, this was such a popular way to assassinate your rivals that a term was coined to describe such an act: defenestration. David gives us a short lesson on the history of defenestration and why it was such a favored method in political uprisings.

In this episode, we're joined by special guests Marcus Richardson and Nathan Hicken, co-hosts of the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum podcast. We talk about how they ended up working on the popular mystery-solving video game The Rise of the Golden Idol. Then I turn the tables on them, and offer up a mystery of my own devising for them to solve. Today's game is called To the Windows where every answer is a word containing either the letters "WIN" or "DOW."

If you enjoyed today’s episode and want to hear more, make sure to check out the Aurelius Whitlock’s Murder Museum podcast. And if you want to see Peih-Gee's jewelry line, you can check out Lo Rador Jewelry's website or Instagram.

If you enjoyed today's episode and want to hear more, make sure to check out the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum podcast.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

In this sponsored episode, we're joined by puzzle writer John Bromels, who created the Hive: The Race to Save Time puzzle hunt, inspired by the new sci-fi novel Hive, book 1 of the Madders of Time series by best-selling author DL Orton. Check out the details below for dates and how to play.

John shares all the details of how he crafted this puzzle hunt to accommodate puzzlers of all skill levels, and how he leveled the playing field when it comes to winning the puzzle hunt cash prizes. Making it a sweepstakes instead of a contest means you don't have to be the fastest to solve. He also tells us a bit about the book Hive, and all the pop culture references that make it appealing to puzzle hunt enthusiasts.

Today's game is Sci-Fi Movie Mashups, where the titles of popular sci-fi movies have been combined with common phrases or names to create a new title. Then in a surprising twist, John reveals that he had prepared a puzzle for us, but it was stolen, and he recruits our help to figure out the culprit behind the stolen puzzles.

Thank you again to our episode sponsor DL Orton and Hive: The Race to Save Time puzzle hunt.

Based on the new Madders of Time series by bestselling author DL Orton.

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

" Is there a whole lot of murdering going on?"

This week, we're talking Assassination by Umbrella, a slightly morbid topic inspired by our guests, Marcus Richardson and Nathan Hicken, co-hosts of the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum podcast. Researching the game takes a dark and surprising turn when Peih-Gee, acting upon David's suggestion, finds herself in a shadowy corner of the internet. David gives us a fascinating historical recount of the assassination of Bulgarian activist Georgi Markov using a poison-tipped umbrella. Today's game is called Morbid Mottos, which centers around some dark phrases.

If you enjoyed today's episode and want to hear more, make sure to check out the Aurelius Whitlock's Murder Museum podcast.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

" The missing ingredient here is love."

This episode we're talking everything bagels! These chewy, crunchy, carbalicious treats are one of my favorite foods. Brent Pope, host of the popular Brentfast podcast, joins us again to dive into the culinary delight that is the bagel. David gives us a short history of the bagel, including its origins and what makes New York bagels so darn delicious. Also, did you know that you're actually NOT supposed to toast your bagels if they're freshly hand-made? Today's game is called In Other Words, a quiz about the linguistic origins of various food names. To hear more from Brent Pope, check out his podcast Brentfast with Brent Pope.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

" It's important for us to all know and celebrate Sir James Arthur Fool, who created the holiday in 1872."

Joke’s on you, April Fools’ Day... I can be fooled any day of the year. Actor, comedian, and podcaster Brent Pope joins us to explore the mysterious origins of April Fool's Day. We talk about some favorite pranks, and David almost pulls a fast one on me. We also talk about the difficulties of breaking into Hollywood, and how Asian representation in the media has changed over the last couple of decades.

Our game today is called Undercover Word Lover, where every answer is a word composed entirely of two different words.

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner

Every year, thousands of people (including me) gather in the Mojave Desert to live out their wildest cyberpunk fantasies. Jared Butler, owner and creator of the immersive festivals Wasteland Weekend and Neotropolis joins us this week to chat about Neotropolis, including the ever-evolving larp and missions aspect. We also talk about the variety of experiences available, including the interactive modules called "factions" and the distinct daytime and nighttime vibes.

Today's game is called New City, where every answer is a movie title with either the word "new" or "city" in it, but with a twist. I've changed a letter in the title of the movie, and players must give me the new movie title.

For a deeper dive into Neotropolis and Wasteland Weekend, check out our REPOD interview with Jared Butler in Season 7, Episode 2.

Please note that after this episode, we will be changing our publishing schedule for PG's Playhouse. We will be publishing episodes every other week, and episodes will release on Wednesday

Full Show Notes

Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira

Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Peih-Gee Law

Music by Matt Farthing

Logo by Theresa Wagner