Rolling Dice & Taking Names Gaming Podcast

The first game in Fantasy Flight Games vault series is Arkham Horror Remastered. This is a full update on a classic 20 year old game.

We talk with designer, Richard Launius about this history of this game including the concept, design, release and re-release of the game.

The game can be found over at Gamefound.

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00:01:00 Intro
00:08:15 Trajan Bridge
00:10:30 New Intro Song
00:13:45 Puerto Rico Special Edition
00:20:00 Fantasy Basketball using Topps Cards
00:22:00 Machi Koro Life
00:24:00 Taste Buds
00:29:30 Game Toppers
00:31:00 Ostia: Mariner Edition
00:48:00 Miniature Market
00:49:30 Robo Run
00:55:30 Outro

For fans of deep, euro-style economic strategy, both Puerto Rico Special Edition and Ostia: Mariner Edition deliver rich, engaging experiences centered around trade and development. Puerto Rico Special Edition revitalizes the legendary role-selection classic with upgraded components, striking art, and refined themes, keeping its crisp, non-luck engine-building core as rewarding as ever. Meanwhile, Ostia: Mariner Edition takes players back to ancient Rome, blending mancala-style action selection with naval expansion, resource management, and tile placement. Both titles shine in their ability to turn clever planning and player interaction into tight, competitive engine building, making them standout additions to any strategist’s shelf.

If you prefer lighter setup times, high interaction, and quick table turns, Machi Koro Life and Robo Run offer vibrant, fast-moving fun. Machi Koro Life breathes new life into the beloved city-building series by tweaking the dice-rolling mechanics and introducing fresh landmark goals, making each roll of the dice feel impactful and exciting But Robo Run is all about cooperation with your partner as you try and get the robots out of the maze before being found. Both games are fast playing and easy to set up for a quick filler during game name.

Thanks for listening and please join our Discord for more discussions on these games.

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It's fall and all the big summer movies are moving to streaming. So it's time to get back with Dan and Chris for our 2026 Summer Movie recap.

We discuss films we watched. What we liked, what we didn't like and who took home first place in our draft.

It's fun, it's loud, we hope you enjoy it.

And join us in Discord to let us know what summer movies you like.

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00:00:30 Intro
00:21:00 6 nimmt! Baron Oxx
00:24:00 One Round?
00:30:15 Family Dice Games
00:37:00 Magical Athlete
00:43:00 Taste Buds
00:51:30 Game Toppers
00:54:45 Kano
01:00:30 Hell of a Deal
01:15:00 Miniature Market
01:16:00 Outro

Tony is out on vacation, so once again, Chaz Marler from Game Night Picks joins Marty for some Quick Hits and a Halloween themed Taste Buds.

This episode’s reviews were recorded before Tony went out of town and both are really good games.

Hell of a Deal is a coop game where the players play Texas Hold ‘Em against demons.

Kano is drafting and tile placement game that looks great on the table.
Tony will be back next episode. Thanks for listening!

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One of the biggest grail games of all time is Star Wars: Queen's Gambit.

One of the biggest franchises of all time is the Lord of the Rings.

What happens when Restoration Games gets a hold of both of these things? They merge them together for the new game, Lord of the Rings: The King's Gambit.

Justin Jacobson & Rob Daviau join us to discuss how the project came to fruition, design, gameplay and product information.

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Starcraft The Board Game and Forbidden Stars are still two of our favorite games. But both are long out of print and have no more support.

We are excited to hear the systems the we loved in those games are back with Old Ones: Origins.

We talk about length with the designer, Samuel Bailey, about the process of bringing a version of Forbidden Stars back to the market, the process to do so, the changes to theme and the gameplay.

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00:00:30 Intro
00:05:15 Arkham Horror: Children of the Blood
00:09:00 Xenology
00:12:15 Jump Masters
00:15:00 Flamecraft – Digital Version
00:17:45 Pretzels
00:18:45 Beer, Mug, Dice
00:21:45 Triangulation
00:24:00 Taste Buds
00:29:00 Game Toppers LLC
00:31:30 LOTR: Circle of Conflict
00:59:15 Cat Trick
01:04:30 Miniature Market
01:07:00 Cyberpunk 2077 – TCG
01:39:00 Outro

Some weeks, the game table feels like a tour through entirely different mechanics and level of challenges. We kicked things off in Middle‑earth with The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict, a game that thrives on tight choices with every roll of the die. It is not the normal Roll and Write, but one with clear objectives in order to win the game and not just get the most victory points. Every turn feels like a small story—heroes clashing, shadows pressing in, and players trying to outmaneuver one another while waging war on two fronts. It’s the kind of game that leaves you wanting one more round just to see if you can pull off the perfect combo.

From there, the mood shifted dramatically with Cat Trick, a clever little card game that proves you don’t need a big box to create big laughs. It’s quick, mischievous, and full of those delightful “gotcha” reveals that make everyone team up against one another. Then came Jump Masters, which brought out a game reminiscent of Checkers. This one thrives on setting up the best combo and tactical maneuvering to gain victory over your opponent. It is quick and easy to teach and the art and components are amazing.

Cyberpunk 2077 TCG, a game that channels the neon‑soaked grit of the franchise into a sharp, tactical card duel. More to come on this as we continue to explore the game and the meta that surrounds it. But for now, we will continue to put that one the table as we wait for others to show up for game night.

Once again, thanks for dropping by and giving us a listen.

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00:00:30 Intro
00:04:45 Recent RDTN Poll
00:14:00 LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring Trick Taking Game
00:17:00 Quick Hits
00:17:30 Sandcastles
00:19:45 Gruntz
00:22:11 Computer Junkyard
00:27:45 Enemies of Gotham City
00:32:15 Six Sided Seas
00:36:15 Miniature Market
00:39:00 Abroad
00:53:30 Bunny Kingdom Town
00:59:30 Game Toppers LLC
01:01:00 All Mine
01:10:00 Outro

Some game nights feel like a whirlwind tour through every corner of the hobby, and this week’s lineup delivered exactly that. Sand Castles and Grunts are two wildly different flavors of competition—one a charming, tactical puzzle of building and defending fragile seaside creations, the other a scrappy, tongue‑in‑cheek skirmish game where your squad of blocky little soldiers bumbles bravely toward victory. Both games share that delightful “easy to teach, surprisingly clever” vibe that keep things fresh in the hobby at times.

Then we have world of Computer Junkyard and the comic‑book chaos of Enemies of Gotham City. Computer Junkyard scratches that nostalgic itch, letting players sift through piles of retro tech to assemble the best contraptions—half strategy, half puzzler. Enemies of Gotham City flips the script into full superhero mayhem, where iconic villains clash, plot, and posture in a fast‑moving battle of wits and wickedness.

Then there is a trio of games that each bring their own distinct charm. Six Sided Seas turns dice‑driven piracy into a pirate battle across unpredictable waters, while Abroad offers a gentle, globe‑trotting experience built around exploration and cultural discovery. Bunny Kingdom Town offers a bright, two player, family‑friendly strategy—one about expanding adorable rabbit realms, with enough take‑that spice to keep it from being a solitaire style game. All Mine is a gamer’s trick taking game where the play is fast, but the planning is what wants you coming back for more. This is one of those games that stays in the game bag to be pulled out to end the evening or get things started.

And speaking of big swings, this is the perfect moment to remind listeners to sign up for notifications on Game Toppers’ upcoming Kickstarter. We rave about their mats for a reason—the quality is top‑tier, the artwork is stunning, and this next series looks like one people will be proud to show off on game night. We’ve already got our eyes on the Lord of the Rings designs, and that purple plain mat is calling our name. Honestly, who doesn’t need another game mat.

Thanks for listening

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00:00:30 Intro
00:01:15 Sleeved and Confused
00:07:15 AI in TCG Deck Creation
00:13:30 Backflow failed inspection
00:16:30 Quick Hits
00:17:30 Tag Team: Arthur’s Legacy
00:20:45 Warp 99
00:25:30 Tug of Roar
00:31:50 Miniature Market
00:33:30 Greylune
00:44:15 Mythologies
00:50:15 Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo
01:07:00 Comic Books Resurgence
01:15:00 Outro

Man, listening back at the episode, didn’t realize just how much we covered. And what we cover —Tag Team: Arthur’s Legacy, Warp 99, Tug of Roar, Greylune, Mythologies, and Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo — is a very broad spectrum of board game mechanics. But what is interesting with these games, there are cross over mechanics that exist that making learning the next one simpler because we already understand what is expected.

Tag Team: Arthur’s Legacy is a follow up to the initial Tag Team game. However, this time we have Arthurian heroes teaming up, chaining abilities, and pulling off last minute heroics to pull out a win. It’s the kind of game tension builds each round. Warp 99 is a fast‑paced card game where players race to shed their hands, aiming for massive point bursts driven by the tableau they build. The twist is in the scoring, every card you manage to keep in your tableau gets squared, turning even a modest spread of cards into a surprisingly explosive payoff.

Then comes Tug of Roar, a clever lane battler that thrives on tension and brinkmanship. It’s quick, tight, and surprisingly dramatic for such a streamlined design. And the card drafting mechanic really adds to the strategy of this game. Greylune offers a fresh twist on the classic Spyrium formula. Games in this genre can sometimes slip into feeling like pure resource spreadsheets—convert this into that, chase efficiency, tally points. Greylune pushes back against that monotony by layering in a quest system that lets players build small narrative arcs as they play. Those stories aren’t just flavor; they can provide meaningful advantages that shape your path to victory, giving the game a welcome sense of accomplishment alongside its familiar economic core. Mythologies is a card drafting game that offers a twist on the style of drafting that is refreshing in a very crowded field of these types of games. We really appreciated this change and welcome the twist that this game provided.

Finally, Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo delivers a crisp, tactical showdown rooted in samurai warfare. It’s all about positioning, timing, and reading your opponent. For an area control style game, is not about a big push but more about reading the board’s subtle signals. Victory can be quick for someone if the others are caught napping, so you always should be on your toes. However, this may also create an unsatisfying finish for some.

Thanks for listening

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00:01:00 Intro
00:02:00 SWU Vegas
00:15:00 SFGE
00:20:00 1775: Rebellion
00:25:00 Las Vegas
00:27:30 Ashes Ascendency: Natural Magic Expansion
00:29:30 New Twin Suns Decks
00:32:00 Miniature Market
00:33:00 Hunt for Blackbeard
00:49:30 Gen Con Thoughts
00:56:00 Outro

We kicked things off at the Star Wars Unlimited Galactic Championship in Las Vegas, not as competitors in the main event but as fans soaking in the convention atmosphere and jumping into SWU games with some of the best players in the world during their breaks. The vibe at every table was incredible—full of camaraderie, excitement, and a shared love for a truly outstanding trading card game. No matter your skill level, players were patient, welcoming, and happy to walk you through plays in the side events. Now, the main event, that was all business. One more thing worth noting: the crowd spanned all ages, including families, which was great to see. Next year’s event is heading to Disneyland, so if you’re thinking about going, start planning now!

While we were in Vegas, we also tried a new game from Fort Circle Games: Hunt for Blackbeard. It’s a two‑player hidden‑movement game that really picks up speed once you understand the action flow, and the tension spikes beautifully in the final two rounds. The rules take a bit to settle in, but by the second playthrough we had it down. And if Blackbeard’s history isn’t familiar to you, keep reading below.

Blackbeard, born Edward Teach around 1680 in Bristol, England, became one of the most feared and legendary pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy, terrorizing the Caribbean and the Atlantic coast between 1716 and 1718. Known for his dramatic appearance—most famously his long black beard and the smoldering fuses he tied into it to intimidate enemies—he commanded the formidable Queen Anne’s Revenge, a 40‑gun warship crewed by hundreds of men. Blackbeard’s exploits included blockading Charleston, capturing merchant vessels, and cultivating a fearsome reputation that often allowed him to win without violence. He also operated with a small fleet that included the Adventure, a sloop commanded by his lieutenant Israel Hands, as well as smaller vessels such as the Margaret and the Sea Captain. His pirating career was short-lived, ending in November 1718 when he was killed in a fierce battle at Ocracoke Island, NC by Lieutenant Robert Maynard’s forces, cementing his place as one of history’s most iconic pirates.

Thanks for listening

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