In our first Zine Month 2026 special episode, Brian and Elliot are joined by Robin Ekberg and Dillin Apelyan, the designers behind Rise, Wizards! and All’s Fair respectively. We discuss their two-game project collaboration with Elliot/moreblueberries, the unique dice-stacking and worldbuilding mechanics of Rise, Wizards!, and why All’s Fair is simultaneously important, challenging, and joyful to bring into the world right now.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Dillin on BlueSky, TikTok

Robin on BlueSky, TikTok

Dorkspawn

Dorkspawn: Kings of Mahatt

Dillin Recommends:

Backing Lie to Him

Robin Recommends:

Backing The Endtimes Trilogy

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Zine Moth Art by Robyn Victa

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Brian and Elliot are joined by Sam Carr, the creator and illustrator of The Eternal Ruins to discuss his approach to world building and how an art project became the latest TTRPG from Mythworks.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Follow Sam

Learn About The Eternal Ruins

Back The Eternal Ruins on Kickstarter

Download The Eternal Ruins Quickstart

Sam Recommends:

Mouse Guard

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Brian and Elliot are joined by Nat Mesnard, a game designer, professor, and co-founder of Scryptid Games and Unquiet Games. We discuss their latest game Assemblage and how they approach GM-less game design.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Follow Nat

Buy Assemblage

Learn about Nat's Games

Nat Recommends:

Scryptid Games

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Brian and Elliot are joined by Andy Boyd, owner of Pandion Games and game designer behind such beloved titles as Badger & Coyote, Substratum Protocol, and his latest Midnight Muscadines. We dig into how Andy built Pandion with 12 page zines, what makes a game a “Pandion game”, and how to level up your TTRPG business slowly and smartly.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Follow Andy

Pandion Games

Pandion on itch

Andy Recommends:

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Deep Regrets

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Brian and Elliot are joined by Jasmin Malave, cast member of the touring live show The Twenty Sided Tavern. We dig into what Jasmin has learned over 250+ performances, how the show has changed over the years, and where this live experience sits on the spectrum of actual play.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Jasmin on Instagram, TikTok

The Twenty Sided Tavern

Jasmin Recommends:

“Confidence is an illusion, just do it, I believe in you!”

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Elliot and Brian are joined by Kendrick Smith, creator of the award-winning actual play Tales Yet Told. We dig into how Kendo has used multiple seasons and TTRPG systems to create “The Sublime”, a shared universe that is built and refined through play. Along the way, we talk about intentional storytelling through actual play, the motivations behind why we make art, and what is next for the Sublime on Tales Yet Told and beyond.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Listen to Tales Yet Told

Merch Yet Sold

Kendo on Bluesky

Tales Yet Told on Bluesky

Kendo Recommends

BOWLING

Legend in the Mist

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Elliot and Brian are joined by Devon Chulick, founder and CEO of StartPlaying, the largest online platform for players to find TTRPGs and Professional GMs. We discuss how the platform is allowing GMs to make a living in tabletop roleplaying games, how StartPlaying can help expand the hobby and introduce new games, and the power of community created through play.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

StartPlaying.com

Startplaying

Devon 

Devon Recommends:

Shadowdark

Dispatch

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Elliot and Brian are joined by Connie Chang and Sea Thomas, the creative duo behind the award winning actual play Transplanar RPG. We dive deep on the use of dramaturgy in actual play: how it weaves the wants and needs of players and GM, how it informs safe artistic storytelling in a noncolonial anti-orientalist multiverse, and how it supports long-term actual play in Transplanar’s The Chaos Protocol.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

Check out The Chaos Protocol Arc 4

Transplanar RPG

Connie Chang

Sea Thomas

Sea Recommends

Godkiller: QISMAT

Riding a horse

Connie Recommends:

Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison

Ways of Seeing by John Berger

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

In this Talk of the Table Roundtable special, Brian & Elliot sit down with Dr. Emily Friedman, Quintin Smith aka ‘Quinns’, and Brennan Lee Mulligan for a discussion on pedagogic actual play. We dig into whether or not actual play is the best tool for teaching games, how we understand skill and learning in TTRPGs and beyond, and who our imagined student is when thinking of actual play as a teaching tool.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty. 

Hear the rest of this Episode:

Talk of the Table on Patreon

Links:

Dr. Friedman

Quinns

Brennan

Dungeons & Drag Queens

Play to Find Out

Dr. Friedman's Patreon

Recommendations:

Dr. Friedman’s Event Series

The Novels of Sally Rooney

Bad Company by Megan Greenwell

Art After Money, Money After Art by Max Haiven

Many Sided Media Discord 

Many Sided Newsletter

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media

Elliot and Brian are joined by Jack Caesar of Caesar Ink, the team behind TTRPG adaptations of beloved IPs like My Little Pony, Discworld, and Labyrinth. We dig into how to approach IP-based games, how to treat adapted properties with respect even if you’re not a typical fan, and how working on licensed games informs Caesar Ink’s work on the original world of Doomsong.

Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.

Links:

DOOMSONG: Thou Shalt Not Suffer The Wycce

Caesar Ink Website

Caesar Ink on Bluesky

Join the Caesar Ink Discord

Jack Recommends:

Salvage Union

Our Links:

Support TotT on Patreon

Many Sided Newsletter

Many Sided Media Discord

Credits:

Edited by Elliot Davis

Produced by Many Sided Media