Join us in this week's pubisode...(when Jon finally gets the intro right) the Jersey Republican, where robots sip their oily brews and poke captive humans with sticks.

This week we are joined by Chris Dickson of www.challengearcades.com, a connoisseur of this growing subset of the industry. Chris takes us on a journey through the history of the genre to the present day resurgence, along with some spirited discussion about all the ways in which the internet is terrible and has merely exposed our human desire for good olde human connection.

Next month: sex parties.

Guest: Chris Dickson

Hosts: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Jon Saunders

TIER are once again joined by a very special guest, Chris Dickson of Challenge Arcades as this time they're thrown into the distant future of the year 2099...

/Cue epic synthwave music/

Armed with the Sonic Quantum Unlikely Interference Reconstruction Thingy (or SQUIRT device for short - thanks for that Mike), the team solve a series of corrupted transmissions and repeatedly press the 🔥 emoji which is definitely, totally, maybe a safe thing to do.

It's a case of audio distortion and... Potato based cryptography.

Puzzle Maestro: Mike Collins

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mairi Nolan

Special Guest: Chris Dickson

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Mike Collins

Handouts:

TLDR: In a cyberpunk future, TIER solve a series of rebus puzzles in order to extract a potato which will save the world.

Join the TIER gang with special guest Chris Dickson of Challenge Arcades as they tackle a challenge arcade unlike any other... No, literally. This one is legally distinct from any other you might have heard of. It's GENER8 GLOBAL GAMES time!

In this episode, the team are representing the UK and must compete for the most points in the four challenge rooms:

The Floor Is Lava (But Worse)

But as with all puzzle games, things are not quite as simple as they seem.

Let the games begin!

Puzzle Maestro: Mairi Nolan

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins

Special Guest: Chris Dickson

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

TLDR: A challenge arcade series of puzzles including basketball, shopping trolly, alphabet, and floor is lava.

Join us in this week's pubisode, in the "local pub" which has been taken over by a massive brewery corporation, and so now also serves coffees. Following on from Jon's double bill of TIERtubbies, we're discussing the British Kids TV Shows of our childhoods.

As always, here are your recommendations for this month.

Jon - Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (book), about an artificial friend called Klara that is bought by a woman for her daughter

Mairi - Jordan Bolton (artist) who makes short panel comics of thoughts on life and friendships and relationships and death, especially Scenes from Imagined Films.

Mike - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (game), unashamedly French with excellent voice acting, plot, graphics, the lot.

Jamie - Undertone (film), a horror film themed around a podcast that touches upon dark kids nursery rhymes. No jump scares, but unnerving sinisterness throughout.

Hosts: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Jamie Gibbs, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

In part 2 of Jon's Kid's TV arc, Mairi and Jamie step into the Superdome, where they meet a harried TV producer and recieve their mission. They have 40 minutes, 4 characters, and the delicate standards of the BBC to uphold!

Puzzle Maestro: Jon Saunders

Solvers: Mairi Nolan, Jamie Gibbs

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jon Saunders

Assets used in the puzzle solving can be found here

...I won't spoil it, but if that title twigged something from your childhood, you're on the right track. In this episode the team find themselves in an idyllic countryside landscape, home to a cuddly rabbit and dominated by a strange windmill, locked by a very strange device.

The puzzle is simple and so are the players.

Puzzle Maestro: Jon Saunders

Solvers: Mike Collins, Mairi Nolan, Jamie Gibbs

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jon Saunders

In this episode the gang encounter Big Brain who (and you'll never guess this) is a really, really big brain, trying to sort out the problems of the world. In it, we explore puzzles around neuroplasticity, the various functions of the brain, and stimulation of the hypothalamus and cerebral cortex...

...Or in other words, Jamie, Jon and Mairi see how much they can "poke the giant brain".

It's big brain, big puzzle, big problems.

Puzzle Maestro: Mike Collins

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mairi Nolan, Jamie Gibbs

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Mike Collins

Handout Resources:

https://www.pedagodzilla.com/in-case-of-emergency/

https://www.pedagodzilla.com/brian-service-diagram/

TLDR: Puzzles about brain functions, ciphers, and each player has a unique ability.

Join us in this week's pubisode where we sip a tipple at The Sax and Trumpet, the coolest jazz bar /slash/ pub /slash/ cafe bistro /slash/ trendy vintage record shop in these parts.

In this month's pubisode we're discussing all the escape rooms we've never done. That's right: Puzzley escape room themes we haven't seen done by anyone yet. From games too scary to run, to games they probably couldn't legally do, to sci-fi franchises and IPs we'd love to puzzle in.

As always, here are your recommendations for this month.

Jamie - Real Vikings (podcast) a history podcast narrated by Iain Glen

Mike - What Have I Done? (book) an autobiography by Ben Elton, and Upstart Crow (TV series) comedy following the life of William Shakespeare

Mairi - Project Hail Mary (film + book) Ryan Gosling in space, love it

Hosts: Mike Collins, Jamie Gibbs, Mairi Nolan

Editor: Mike Collins

Have you heard? Aliens have made first contact with us!

...And who better to decipher the message from the stars than a seasoned podcasting trio who are experts in not only puzzle solving, but also audio communication and perhaps most importantly: diplomacy. Thanks to the Super Sophisticated Alien Communication Terminal (or SSACT for short).

These beings have travelled billions of lightyears to impart an important message... I wonder what it'll be?

In this episode, you can also play along on your own SSACT device here.

Puzzle Maestro: Mairi Nolan

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Jamie Gibbs

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

TLDR: A language-deciphering and communication episode about talking to aliens.

His Royal Majesty is on his way to the legally distinct underground sandwich shop for his daily favourite footlong. But this week's solvers will first need to figure out exactly what that sandwich is, and how to make it.

The stakes quite literally could not be higher.

So join in, lettuce investigate...

Puzzle Maestro: Jamie Gibbs

Solvers: Jon Saunders, Mike Collins, Mairi Nolan

Episode Art: Dom Jordan

Editor: Jamie Gibbs

TLDR: The solvers must reconstruct the king's favourite sandwich in a logical deduction puzzle about finding the right ingredients.