Playtonics

To what land of mortals have Rocky and Jords come this time? Are they proud and savage and without justice? Or are they friendly to strangers, and have a god-fearing mind?

Because what the world really needed in late 2026 was two more white dudes having opinions about The Odyssey.

Got topic requests, or just want to say hi? Drop us an email at [email protected], find us on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon, or join us on Discord!

Lyre.flac by Hedmarking — https://freesound.org/s/191883/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Sailing boat, bow wave (close perspective) by Pfannkuchn — https://freesound.org/s/360631/ — License: Creative Commons 0

Civilisation has collapsed – now what? Never fear: Rocky and Jords are here to help you plan the ultimate tabletop road trip through the ruins of society.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: go play The Quiet Year. And hey, if you like podcasts about the end of the world, go check out Fall Of Civilisations too.

Got topic requests, or just want to say hi? Drop us an email at [email protected], hit us up on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon, or join us on Discord!

A post-apocalyptic Breeze.wav by Brown_Sound — https://freesound.org/s/567550/ — License: Attribution 4.0

ambience outdoor winter lakeside extremely quiet crows.wav by lwdickens — https://freesound.org/s/269364/ — License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

It’s an accidental time loops two ways as Rocky and Jords tackle how to build a session that never ends that somehow also has a satisfying conclusion.

Whose take was best? Or are we both out of the loop? Join us on Discord and let us know!

Got topic requests, or just want to say hi? Drop us an email at [email protected], or hit us up on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon.

Rocky and Jords put together a session where you are a toy. An action figure. A child’s plaything. And, perhaps, a sad, strange little man who has our pity.

Fun fact, if you were wondering why we didn’t mention the upcoming fivequel: your boys did not realise they were releasing Toy Story 5 this month. Or at all! We’ve been topical entirely by accident.

Got topic requests, or just want to say hi? Drop us an email at [email protected], hit us up on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon, or join us onDiscord!

“Hyperfun” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Rocky and Gr- uh, Jords – team up to fist their bumps, save their planets, and talk about why Project Hail Mary might be a better game than it is a movie.

(Seriously, we have a cohost named Rocky, how were we not going to do this?)

In addition to our usual suggestions, we mentioned Our Last Best Hope, Apollo 47, and local Aussie game Decaying Orbit, which really grabbed us last time we were both at PAX.

We – mostly Rocky – are also going to plug Becky Chambers’ To Be Taught If Fortunate. It’s not a game, he just really likes it.

Got topic requests, or just want to say hi? Drop us an email at [email protected], hit us up on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon, or join us on Discord!

“Stay the Course” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

amaze amaze amaze.

It’s a good day to live free and die hard with a vengeance, as Rocky and Jords dig into the seminal Christmas story slash action blockbuster.

If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear us cover, drop us an email at [email protected], or slide into our DMs on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon.

You can also join us on Discord for a chat about the show!

Ode to Joy, by the US Navy Band – available in the Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_continental_anthem,_performed_by_the_United_States_Navy_Band.wav

Ye maties Rocky and Jords be puttin’ the “arr” in RPG as they take to the high seas to track down the lost treasure of pirate games.

This week we talked about roller coaster design, yam shaped adventures, and how 5E trivialises things that players indicate an interest in instead of centring them.

We also have a correction to make: in Muppet Treasure Island, Captain Smollett is played by Kermit, not Sam the Eagle (who plays Mr Arrow.) We apologise, and deeply regret the error.

If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear us cover, drop us an email at [email protected], or slide into our DMs on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon.

You can also join us on Discord for a chat about the show. We’re still locking down our 2026 plans, so drop your ideas in now!

waves and oystercatcher 01 xy90 160717_0917.wav by klankbeeld — https://freesound.org/s/355344/ — License: Attribution 4.0

“Fiddles McGinty” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In which Rocky takes a break from editing and Jords discovers the true meaning of Christmas.

(If this is your first episode, start literally anywhere else!)

This summer we’re recommending Tales from the Loop and Mothership, and if the concept of Christmas in summer confuses you, also check out A Moody Christmas to better understand the kind of thing Jords is running from.

Thanks for sticking with us for 2025! We have a blank slate for 2026 and we’d love to hear what you want to hear next year! Hit us up on Discord or drop us an email with your suggestions.

Happy new year and we’ll see you in 2026!

Rocky and Jords get everybody and the stuff together to turn 1998’s saddest genre smashing anime into a roleplaying game session.

3… 2… 1… let’s jam.

We’d be remiss not to link to Orbital Blues – aside from our usual suspects, we think it’s a great fit for this kind of game!

We’d also be remiss not to add a minor correction: Yoko Kanno, the genius composer behind all of Cowboy Bebop’s music (as well as Macross Plus, Escaflowne, Ghost In The Shell: SAC and a few others) is a woman. Thanks to Max on the Discord for pointing this out, and we apologise for the error!

If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear us cover, hit us up at [email protected], or slide into our DMs on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon.

You can also join us on Discord for a chat about the show (and to fix our mistakes, apparently) – we’ll see you there!

“Faster Does It” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY

Rocky and Jords turn sports into a real game as they delve into sports… movies. And it turns out that more things are sports movies than you might think. 

Since we suggested some neat indie systems in addition to our usual suspects, we’re going to throw them some links! Check out:

Kill him faster

Fight with Spirit

Agon

Deathmatch island

If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear us cover, hit us up at [email protected], or slide into our DMs on Instagram, Bluesky and Mastodon.

You can also join us on Discord for a chat about the show, and to fight about what is and is not a sports movie – we’ll see you there!

It was never about winning. The real podcast was the friends we made along the way!

Crowd Cheering – Full Recording.wav by GregorQuendel — https://freesound.org/s/481773/ — License: Attribution 4.0