If the apocalypse comes, beep me. First we take a trip to Colonial America to battle classic horror movie villains in A Touch of Evil. Then we enroll at Sunnydale High and try to dust The Master playing Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

The voice of the people is the voice of games. Populism rules the day. We pander to the Roman public for seats on the council in Municipium and follow up with Gridstones and Gubs, two titles by new and independent game designers.

Volcanos and snake-haired gods. We build towers and temples on a fiery island in Taluva and guide ancient Etruscan oracles to a sacred altar in Tuchulcha, a wacky Parcheesi variant.

Dirigibles by gaslight. We race to build the Hindenburg wiith dice playing Airships and take turns tracking down Jack the Ripper or plotting his escape in Mr. Jack.

Please, sir, may I have some more? The second half of our convention coverage features nine interviews about new games from the blasphemous to the sublime. We wander from ancient Rome and Troy to the gritty tech-noir streets of Murder City.

Spiel on! The greatest four days in gaming... right in our back yard. In addition to interviews and reports from the Spiel-a-thon, we invite three other Spielers to a round table discussion about the convention.

Mordor or bust! Each year we allow our listeners to program every segment of one show. This year's episode features an in-depth look at War of the Ring, a strategy board game pitting two players in a struggle to rewrite the history of Middle Earth.

Crossword puzzle created by David Coleson.

It's Convention season. That means we dive into the trade shows to bring you the latest. We have 15 interviews covering no less than 30 games! From party games to war games and everything in between, I bet there's a title that'll catch your attention.

I'd like to thank the Academy... Part 2 of our special Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year), coverage. We play all five nominees and try to predict the winner.