Talk of the Table
Talk of the Table is a TTRPG talk show where hosts Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty talk with game designers, actual play producers, journalists, academics, artists, and performers about all the coolest things happening in the TTRPG community in an effort to understand what’s on the mind of the tabletop industry.
Episodes
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“Confidence is...
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...
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 Dav...
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.
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.
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.
Elliot and Brian are joined by Josh Fox who is one half of Black Armada, the duo behind Lovecraftesque. We get into the exciting new features of the boxed second edition of this emergent mystery game, why safety tools should be a tailored part of game design, and Black Armada’s latest project Ex Tenebris.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
Elliot and Brian are joined by Kenna Alexander, designer of Coyote & Crow and owner of Coyote and Crow games, to discuss the lessons she’s learned in the 4 years since the hit science fantasy roleplaying game released. We get into the impact the game has had for native players and beyond, the new horror setting Ahu Tiiko, and what she has planned next for Coyote & Crow.
Elliot and Brian are joined once again by Taylor Moore, creative director and composer of Worlds Beyond Number, to discuss the completion of Book 1 of The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One. We dig in on sustainable working practices, narrative payoff in composition, and how he’s applying the lessons of campaign 1 to the next major campaign of Worlds Beyond Number.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
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Elliot and Brian are joined by Nevyn Holmes and Quinn Morris to talk about their mythopoetic mech TTRPG, Dragon Reactor. We discuss the importance of language in building a mythic story and Brian explains why this game’s Countdown mechanic restored his faith in downtime mechanics.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
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Elliot and Brian sit down with Avery Alder, designer of beloved games like The Quiet Year and Monsterhearts, to discuss the many full circle moments of her career, why trigger warnings are actually for the sickos, and how she continues to learn from her designs even after putting them down for over a decade.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis
Elliot and Brian sit down for the first ever Talk of the Table LIVE Show at Twenty Sided Store for a follow up conversation with the co-designers of Triangle Agency Caleb Zane Huett and Sean Ireland. We dig into bringing this game to life, the joys and horror of corporate lingo, and where the money actually goes when you raise $380,000 on Kickstarter. Featuring a Q&A from our first ever live audi...
Elliot and Brian sit down with Moss Powers of Brewist Tabletop to discuss Book of Leviathan, their new expansion to the religious horror TTRPG HELLWHALERS. We discuss what this game has to say about hope and religious trauma, why gambling with Sic Bo is the perfect mechanic for driving home these themes, and what players can expect from this new expansion.
Elliot and Brian sit down with Asher McClennahan, the new Head of Games at Kickstarter, to discuss new features built on community feedback, how TTRPG creators can most effectively use Kickstarter, and how he hopes to regain the trust of creators who have left the platform in recent years due to concerns over AI and more.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
In this Talk of the Table Roundtable special, Brian & Elliot sit down with Ray Chou of Mythworks and Fred Hicks of Evil Hat for a frank discussion on the state of TTRPG publishing amidst uncertainty caused by tariffs and more.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
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Elliot and Brian sit down with Jess Levine, designer of games like Planet FIST, I Have the High Ground, and Going Rogue—one half of the forthcoming two-game book with Riley Rethal’s Galactic. We discuss bringing this massive collaboration to life, the choice of working in GMless or GMed design, and why the best adaptational media is made with love and hate.
Talk of the Table is hosted by Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty.
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