The scent of cedar and cloves drift through the air, and all around the lights are twinkling. Boughs of holly and mistletoe decorate the rafters, and you've gathered friends and loved ones to celebrate.

It's our first REPOD and PG's Playhouse crossover Holiday Special! To celebrate, we've invited our Podcast Producer, Theresa Piazza, and Room Escape Artist Contributor, Andrew Reynolds to join us for games, trivia, and merriment. Today's game is "It's Not Elf on the Shelf", inspired by an actual toy Snoop on the Stoop. Each answer is a celebrity paired with a rhyming location in the house.

We all share some recommendations for games, puzzles, and shows that we've been enjoying. Then David takes us down the rabbit hole of mistletoe trivia, which has sexier origins than any of us imagined.

I hope you enjoyed this fun PG's Playhouse-style episode! We're grateful for all of our loyal listeners, and we're thrilled that you've stuck with us for so long. Happy holidays, everyone!

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

Much like the dinosaurs, what we know about them is still evolving on a yearly, if not monthly basis. Did you know that we're discovering new dinosaurs practically every week? Garret and Sabrina of the popular I Know Dino podcast join us to talk about these fascinating creatures. Their podcast is knowledgeable, fun, and easy to follow.

We also talk about how birds evolved from dinosaurs, opalized fossils found in Australia, and The Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show, where you can find opalized fossils and other interesting items for sale. If you want to see more images of Peih-Gee's jewelry, you can check out her Instagram @loradorjewelry.

Today's game is called Animal Style where the players must figure out the animal that's hidden inside words and sentences. If you want to learn more about dinosaurs, make sure to check out I Know Dino!

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

" Apparently Kiki and Bouba is one of the few things that can pull us all together."

If I showed you a sharp spikey object and a round blobby object and told you that one was named Kiki, and the other named was Bouba, which name would you assign to which object? In today's episode, we explore the linguistic phenomenon of "Kiki and Bouba." Almost universally, across many different cultures and languages, most people will associate these sounds to visual shapes the same way. Joining us today is seasoned improver and podcaster Adal Rifai, known for his podcasts Hey Riddle Riddle  and Gumshoes & Dragons that's a bit like an investigative murder mystery in a D&D fantasy setting.

Today's game is called Common Grounds, where players are given 4 phrases and must find the common word that connects them all.

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 the grim darkness of the far future there is only war."

In a dark, grim world, forty thousand years in the future, goblins, ghouls, and elves are battling for supremacy. Their armor is polished, their muscles are bulging, and the paint is almost dry. This is the massive world of Warhammer.

In episode 30, Jordan Sorcery joins us to dive down the rabbit hole of Warhammer's rich history. Jordan is a Warhammer historian, and he gives us a light overview of the game, both as a business and as The Hobby. It's a strategic war game played with miniatures, with a vast world of lore and story. He tells us about the concept of "grimdark," which is an aesthetic tone of a gritty, hopeless dystopia, inspired by the tagline of Warhammer 40K: "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war." We also talk about the gameplay of Warhammer and some ways to get started in this hobby.

If you want to learn more about Warhammer, check out Jordan's website www.jordansorcery.com or his YouTube Channel Jordan Sorcery, which covers not only Warhammer, but other tabletop games as well.

Today's game is called What a Tool, where players must guess the idiom that contains a type of tool or hardware. In level two, the idiom has undergone a transformation, and the players must figure out the new phrase.

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

" Your memories can't be trusted."

Everyone remembers that 90s movie called Shazam starring Sinbad as a genie, right? Was it Berenstein Bears or Berenstain Bears? Did Mandela die in prison, or is that just a glitch in our collective brain? In today's episode, we explore the Mandela Effect, a phenomenon where a large group of people collectively misremember an event or detail, often about pop culture, logos, or historical events.

Tony Piluso from the Hack the Movies YouTube channel joins us again for a dive down some shared memories that definitely never happened. Today's game is called False Memory, where movies about memories have had their titles altered with a word that rhymes... or was that always the title?

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

"I love it. It's so bad."

At a glance, it's glove at first sight. But gamers in the 80s and 90s soon threw up their hands in disgust while trying to get The Power Glove to power anything besides their rage.

Prolific podcaster Adal Rifai joins us to explore The Power Glove and play some games. Adal is certainly no stranger when it comes to puzzling podcasts. His podcast Hey Riddle Riddle features a trio of improvisers solving riddles and lateral puzzles. Adal has recently launched a new show called Gumshoes & Dragons that's a bit like Colombo meets D&D. Today's game is called Power Glove Box, where every answer will be a video game term mashed up with another common word or phrase.

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 the bee's knees!"

Today's topic is un-bee-lievable! Join us as we dive down the hive and explore the wonderful world of bees! David shares some fascinating facts about bees, their societal structures, and common myths, including their role in allergies. Jamie Gibbs of The Infinite Escape Room podcast joins us all the way from Wales to play along. We also have a great chat about their new podcast series focusing on controversial topics in puzzle design.

Today's game is called A World Without Bees, where I've taken famous phrases containing either the word "be" or "bee" and replaced it with a word that rhymes.

It felt right to talk about bees, because the last time that Jamie hosted David and me on his podcast, he locked us up in a giant Wickerman filled with bees. Listen to our episode, The Wicker Plan, and make sure to check out all the other episodes of the wonderful audio escape room podcast The Infinite Escape Room.

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

Movie theaters were already going for full immersion in the 1970's with Sensurround. David breaks down this little known movie technology, which delivered an earth-shaking intensity to movies (literally). Tony Piluso from the Hack the Movies YouTube channel joins us for a dive into obsolete film tech. He also shares film lore about work prints and the crazy scenes that would get cut from movies aired on television and airplanes.

Today's game is called "What Did They Say?" where the players take turns reading nonsense words, and the other must guess the movie title. Check the time stamps below to see the written clues and play along.

If you're close to Croyden, PA, Tony will be appearing at the Found Footage Fest Sept. 27-28, 2025.

Also, check out the Hack the Movies YouTube channel.

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 only thing better than an escape room is having infinite escape rooms! The Infinite Escape Room is a comedy podcast where a bunch of friends write escape rooms for each other to play while chatting over a cold one. Infinite Escape Room co-host Jamie Gibbs joins us as as we all collectively get our minds blown by the inconceivable concept of infinity. David guides us down this rabbit hole while we ponder questions like, what's larger? Infinity, or Infinity plus one?

Today's game is called To Infinity and Beyond and Then Back Again, where our players must form a chain of words that wraps back around and reconnects at the top.

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 reality show Survivor loves to open with a splash—literally. The most famous opening episodes start by having contestants jumping off a ship while trying to grab anything useful they'll need to survive the next month stranded in a deserted locale. Survivor calls this a "marooning," but in today's episode of PG's Playhouse, David tells us about real life maroonings and what the term originally meant. David delves into the historical context and a specific case of marooning involving the pirate Edward England.

All Star Survivor contestant, author, and blogger Stephen Fishbach joins us again. He tells us about his new novel Escape! which features a has-been reality TV star and a disgraced producer who gets one last shot at redemption on a show set on a remote island. We also talk about his YouTube series where Survivor contestants play Blood on the Clocktower.

Our game today is "Blood on the Television" where Stephen must guess which Blood on the Clocktower character is on which reality TV show.

Make sure to check out Stephen's new novel, Escape!, coming out this January.

YouTube: Survivors Play Blood on the Clocktower

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