The Dice Tower
Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer take a look at board games, card games, and the people who design, publish, and play them. Top ten lists, Q&A, tales of horror, and more await you!
Episodes
Julie's been to a castle! And GAMA Expo! We chat about those adventures for a bit before moving on to the topic of physical weight of our games. How heavy is too heavy? We also share a question from the mailbag, and collect some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:54 - Winter Woes and Dice Tower West
05:42 - Julie and Hoop and Stick
11:25 - GAMA Expo
14:21 - Heavy Games
33:08 - Question: What Is the Soup of Games?
41:04 - Lairs
43:34...
Julie's out this time, so Tom and Eric spend time looking back at Epic Game Events that they've been involved with at conventions over the years. What worked well, and what did not? Plus, a question from the mailbag about digital vs. in-person gaming, and Tom and Eric each present a full set of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:47 - No Julie, February Lull
01:35 - Live Show at Dice Tower West (Friday 3pm)
02:42 - Groundhogs and Pol...
Tom and Eric are back from the Dice Tower Cruise, trying not to make Julie jealous, but failing miserably. We talk about games played, ports visited, and flights cancelled. Plus, we dive into the listener mailbag, and gather a new round of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:54 - Dice Tower West and The Library
02:33 - Merchant of Venus in The Library
04:26 - Dice Tower Cruise - Pre-Cruise
10:50 - Cruise: Most Checked-Out Games
21:57...
This time, we look at what happens when a production error is found in a game after it has reached the wild. What should producers do to make it right, and can they do anything at all? Also, a new dramatic Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - Storytime from Tom: Loading the Cruise Library
04:16 - Announcements: Gamefound (supportdicetower.com), Dice Tower West, East, and Vacatio...
We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com
03:07 - 2006 Memories
05:09 - Where Were We In 2006?
18:50 - The Games of 2006
27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing?
31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement
42:07 - Add to Playlist
47:06 - Galacti...
It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy.
01:20 - Top Tens on Video
01:51 - Year as a Whole
07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak
12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era
14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods
20:06 - Guilty Pl...
This time, we continue our discussion of RPGs by suggesting Role Playing Games that share popular boardgaming mechanisms, as well as giving Tom tips for getting a game started. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - A Story About Mail
02:22 - Eric at PAX Unplugged (inc. Hot Streak)
06:50 - Gift Guides, Dice Tower West and East
08:02 - RPGs for Boardgame...
This time, we go fishing for Role Players, linking some popular aspects of RPGs to our favorite boardgames. Plus, our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:47 - Getting Cold
01:45 - Eric at Pax Unplugged
03:47 - Games at Tom's Daughter's Wedding?
05:10 - BGG Con, Dice Tower East, West, Cruise
06:37 - Fishing for Role Players
14:58 - Stat-Heavy Games: Pathfinder ACG, Mage Knight
17:48 - Character Building: Origin St...
Tom, Julie, and Eric are back from Germany and ready to talk about games, food, crowds, and everything else they saw at Spiel 2025.
00:44 - Tired
01:50 - Official Numbers/Crowd Flow
07:09 - Travel Adventures and Weather
08:46 - What Was Different for Eric
11:31 - Food
13:35 - Eric's Birthday
15:44 - Julie's Author Signing
21:16 - Tom's Live Show
25:22 - Big Games
31:14 - How To Stand Out
35:51 - Limited Stock and How To Deal With I...
Tom, Julie, and Eric run through their game plan for Essen Spiel 2025, including where they'll be, and what games are on the internet's radar, as well as trying to narrow down what three games are of the most interest to them personally.
00:59 - Bookkeeping: Dice Tower East, West, Cruise
01:57 - The Weather in Germany
03:12 - Eric's First Time Back Since 2019, What's Changed?
07:18 - Where Will We Be?
Dice Tower Booth: 3 R315
Van R...
Tom is stuck in traffic, so Julie and Eric take control to discuss what it takes to setup a booth at Essen. How do you get all that stuff overseas, and how do you minimize what has to come back? And of course, there are Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:45 - Where is Tom? and Julie's Work Trip
03:56 - Dice Tower Cruise and Dice Tower West
05:07 - Moving a Booth to Essen
35:50 - Tiletum: Prospect for Silver
41:20 - I Made You a Mixt...
Tom begins by recapping his adventures at the Dice Tower Retreat, and looks forward to the World Series of Boardgaming, before turning to the topic of figuring out what to do with your game collection after you're gone, and why it might be a good idea to make some choices sooner rather than later. Later, we share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, peek into the mailbag, and gather a collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:51...
Tom sits at the small table. Eric's parents make friends on a cruise. Julie travels the country spreading boardgames wherever she goes. We also talk about what surprises await in those little pockets of games in places where you don't expect to find them. We delve into the mailbag for some pertinent questions, and we gather a new crop of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - School Has Started, Dice Tower West, Cruise
02:40 - Eric...
Eric starts the show by sharing tales of his European adventures, which leads Tom to share some of our plans for Spiel in October. Then, we discuss the process for adding art to your game. How do you find an artist? How long does it take to draw a picture of a horse? What if the horse is holding a corn dog? Later, we share a tale of horror and a question, and move on to our Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:48 - Middle of the Year?...
We are back from Gen Con, and ready to talk about our adventures! We discuss the crowds, the events, and the games we enjoyed, and maybe a little about the food we ate as well. We also share a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and share our latest crop of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:46 - Announcements: Dice Tower West and Dice Tower Cruise
01:40 - Gen Con: Crowds and Fans
10:25 - Gen Con: Sales and Sellouts
12:50 - Gen Con: Wha...
We're on our way to Gen Con! And here are the games we're most excited about (as well as the ones that are getting the most buzz online). You'll also here where to find us in Indy, where we plan to eat, and how we plan to survive the Best Four Days in Gaming.
00:45 - Releases in the second half of the year.
02:23 - Preparing for Crowds at Gen Con - New Cart Policy
08:15 - Food Trucks
11:15 - Where Will We Be?
It's time to recap our adventures at Dice Tower East 2025. We discuss the games we played and events we ran, and you also get to hear what Eric and Julie got up to when working at the Dice Tower Booth, which includes brainstorming ways to get Tom to remember the difference between Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:46 - We Didn't See Each Other
01:45 - Gen Con is Around The Corner
03:26 - Dice Tower East: New Space
05:40 - Eric and ...
Today, we discuss our recent travel adventures. Eric has returned from a Ninja Escort Mission and ran into gaming opportunites at every turn. And Tom and Julie have the full scoop on the 50th Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. Then, we finish the show with a gathering of our latest Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:48 - Convention Season - Dice Tower East
01:53 - Playing Only Older Games
04:01 - What We're Doing at Dice Tower East:...
This time, Tom gives us an update on his replay of the Catan expansions before we take a big look at small games. What are the pros and cons of games that can fit in your pocket? Also, we share a new Tale of Horror, as well as our latest batch of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
01:03 - Summer: Origins, Dice Tower East, Dice Tower Cruise, Gen Con
05:03 - Catan Update and Chess
07:10 - Small Games
36:41 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror
40...
Tom, Julie, and Eric run through the nominees for the German Game of the Year awards before focusing on the episode's main topic: box covers. How does what you put on the front of the box attract a particular audience? We also have a tale of horror? as well as a question from the mailbag, and of course our usual assortment of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - Summer is Here?
03:07 - Spiel des Jahres Nominees - Bomb Busters, Fl...
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