The Dice Tower

Tom tells us about his adventures in The Philippines before we spark some discussion from a Tale of Boardgaming Horror: What do you do when you learn your game design is similar to a game that already exists? Plus, we dive into the bag of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops and pull out some winners.

00:00 - Introduction

00:51 - Senior Slacking Revisited

02:05 - Tom's Journey - Travel Woes

04:07 - All aBOARD EXPO

18:35 - Focusing on Dice...

Tom is out, so Eric and Julie discuss books that have become games: from public domain classics to the latest multi-million dollar bestseller tie-in. Plus, we approach our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

00:48 - Where's Tom?

01:38 - Senior Slacking

04:18 - Dice Tower Events: East and Cruise

05:01 - Books Into Boardgames

46:27 - Winter Rabbit

56:08 - Seas of Strife

58:50 - Winnie the Pooh Ser...

This time, we take a look at Legacy games, and the ways players modify them in order to be less like a legacy game. But is something lost in the translation? Plus, we have a Tale of Horror, Roses, Thorns, and Hoops, and Tom's still grumpy about Stephen Sondheim.

00:00 - Intro

00:50 - Broadway

01:39 - Maycember

02:30 - Summer Cons: Dice Tower East, Gen Con (Booth #249), Dice Tower Cruise

04:38 - Small Games, Little Joy

05:39 - Legac...

Julie shares more news about her new position, after which we discuss the finer points of Hype. How does one manage excitement about a product when it's not necessarily playable yet? Then, we have both a question from the mailbag and a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

01:18 - Summer Approaching - Hot Games at Dice Tower East

03:00 - Gamefound Pledge ...

This time, Julie has some news, Tom's excited for Summer, and Eric wants to play games on vacation. We discuss the various games that live in our bags, just in case there's a chance to play them. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a heaping helping of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:50 - Spring and The Christmas of Boardgames

01:51 - Dice Tower East and Library Changes

03:04 - Cruise is Live

03:42 - A Mythical Ga...

This time, Tom crows about another victory for Vasel's Law with the announcement of The King's Gambit. Then, Julie pens her own Tale of Boardgaming Horror (but she makes Eric read it), and we move on to a field of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:47 - Back from Dice Tower West

02:20 - Dice Tower East and Cruise

06:37 - The King's Gambit and Vasel's Law

26:57 - Julie's Tale of Boardgaming Horror

37:43 - Pirate Borg

43:06 - Finspan

...

On this episode, Tom, Julie and Eric are live at Dice Tower West in Las Vegas taking questions from the audience and talking about the games they've played (with a brief Tom-less interlude from Eric and Julie).

01:01 - Dice Tower West Library and Most Played

03:59 - Julie in Demoville and Escape Rooms

06:06 - Julie Came With a List

08:24 - Star Wars: Battle of Hoth

09:28 - Tea Garden

11:01 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock

12:...

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...