Staying In

00:00 - The Calippo Shots generation. 04:38 - A bit of a saga. 07:21 - Black Widow is an action thriller in the MCU that explores some pretty dark and deep themes surrounding the character. It’s a good movie, with extremely visceral action scenes, but it doesn’t feel like a “phase 4” film. 19:40 - The solitaire Call of Cthulhu adventure Alone Against the Tide sits somewhere between Alone Against the Flames and Alone Against the Dark; it’s a solid challenge, but very approachable, with lots of cosy (?) psychological horror. 32:45 - Our pal Damien Faulkner asks the hardest question we’ve had to answer: just what are the must have Switch games? 45:43 - Genesis Noir is like an interactive art installation; a monochrome, film noir point and click theme, inspired by the works of Italo Calvino. It’s from Feral Cat Den and Fellow Traveller Games, and it’s wonderful. 55:07 - Getting Busy with the Knizy, and his latest games! Lost Cities: Roll & Write is from Kosmos, and it's a game that gives the Lost Citi

00:00 - Sleeping with Stephen Fry. 05:56 - It’s coming home. We’re going out. 09:00 - Marvel’s latest TV series - Loki - has aesthetics that are very reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange but, secretly, it’s the best Doctor Who series yet. 24:43 - The Willington Variants. 26:52 - We get into meditation with Mondo’s A Gentle Rain, an unbearably simple-sounding game, from Kevin Wilson, a person who we thought didn’t make simple games, but who has created a purposefully meditative game that really is an exemplary piece of design. 40:52 - Imperium Classics and Imperium Legends from Osprey Games are part of a set of superb and very generous deck builders that really get across the feeling of building a civilization. Plus giggling about murder, and people we look like from history. All that, and a lovely spot of ASMR, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a revi

00:00 - UEFA Euro 2020 (actually taking place in 2021), plus: it all kicks off. 03:37 - We attempt to get away with murder with the keeping-your-story-straight simulator Overboard!, which appears to have come out of nowhere from inkle - the team behind Sorcery! and Heaven’s Vault. It’s glorious, with superb writing and a unique approach to “open world” game design. 18:00 - Surprise: we’ve joined a cult! But don’t worry, we’re actually only playing John Harper’s Blades in the Dark. Published by Evil Hat Productions, it’s inspired by things like Dishonored, Thief, and Peaky Blinders, with a mechanical focus on cutting to the chase, and a heavy emphasis on telling stories about risks, heists, and murder. 36:45 - A very lazy use for a Fitbit. 43:15 - The brilliant EXIT series from Kosmos has evolved over time in some fascinating directions, and for EXIT: The Sacred Temple it’s grown to include some mysterious new jigsaw puzzles that are incredibly engineered and have pushed the play length out longer and al

00:00 - A couple of rounds of toast before bed. 04:51 - Kris’s Special Place, aka Board Beans Cafe. 12:07 - Helvetiq and Coiledspring Games’s GoTown reminds us of Silk and Fluxx, but it has a sense of internal logic that calms the crazy and makes it all make sense in the end. Another “throw it in the bag” game, if ever we saw one. 19:31 - First there was Scrabble, then there was Bananagrams, and now there’s Inkling, an astonishingly good, super accessible word game from Osprey Games that’s an exercise in word chaos. 28:23 - The Expanse and its expansion Doors and Corners from WizKids feels, in some ways, like Geoff Engelstein’s take on Twilight Struggle. It’s got politics, it’s got intrigue, and it’s got some of the same mechanics, but it’s also got science fiction and a more compelling, streamlined experience, and if those things sound good to you, it’s well worth a look. 45:44 - Call of the Sea comes from Out of the Blue and Raw Fury. It’s a brighter, more beautiful take on the Mythos, with touchpoin

00:00 - An alternative to exercise? 04:23 - A trip to Yorkshire and an unusual use of steam trains. 09:37 - Master Word is a cross between legacy game, word game, and deduction game, from Scorpion Masque and Coiledspring Games. You’re going to absolutely love it, just like we did. 14:42 - Muffin Time is by the people behind the popular web series asdfmovie and Big Potato Games. We talk about why the Trap Cards are so smart, how it keeps you on your toes at all times, and why you shouldn’t sleep on using the all-powerful blank cards. 26:31 - Hazelight Studios once again proves they’re the leaders in co-op video games experiences, with It Takes Two for PC and consoles. It’s a game for couples, in more ways than one, and when it’s not dropping new mechanics, it’s making you laugh uncomfortably with its dark sense of humour. 42:45 - At an hour long, Wide Ocean Big Jacket demonstrates a rare economy of storytelling in gaming. A well-scoped story, delicately told, with natural dialogue and eminently relatabl

00:00 - Golf on a farm and penny pushers. 08:08 - Our first round of Kepler Games’ Forks in the Timeline. 16:44 - When you don’t quite see eye-to-eye with the rest of the family. Plus the excellent The Mitchells vs The Machines, which comes from the same team behind The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 31:31 - Forks in the Timeline 2: Giraffe Neck Foodaloo! 34:27 - Unmatched: Battle of Legends is a super fun miniatures game featuring the likes of King Arthur, Alice, Medusa, and more that gives us similar vibes to Magic: The Gathering but with a much more approachable feel. It’s from Rob Daviau, Justin D. Jacobson, and Oliver Barrett via Coiledspring Games and Restoration Games. Plus: the campaign to create a Miss Havisham vs Winnie-the-Pooh set starts here. 48:55 - Forks in the Timeline 3: What’s Under The Christmas Tree? All that, and Mattel Presents: Russian Roulette, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you

00:00 - How you might know if you’re Unbreakable. 04:38 - Burgle Bros 2: The Casino Capers from Tim Fowers, is the sequel to a board game we first talked about on Episode 1 way back in 2016. Playing as a team of criminals on a caper, sneaking about and trying not to cause a commotion, this impressive follow up to the first game has been well worth the wait. 15:42 - Games you'll put in a bag (working title). 18:36 - The puzzle-like, reverse labyrinth board game Bandido from Helvetiq and Coiledspring Games has a small footprint, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in quality. 23:05 - The understudy for bread. 29:47 - What the f*** is OUTRIDERS, eh? We find out more about Square Enix’s always online combination of Gears of War and Borderlands, how it relates to Cowboy Bebop, and if it’s really a cover-based shooter if it doesn’t want you to stay in cover? 42:59 - Solo tabletop roleplaying in Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu, with Alone Against the Dark, a 7+ hour long openworld-ish gamebook of

00:00 - The great fountain pen hack of the 1990s. 03:02 - MicroMacro: Crime City from Pegasus Spiele is a curious mix of Agatha Christie, Where’s Wally?, and the EXiT series, that just keeps on giving. 15:25 - Joining the PlayStation 5 club, the most exclusive club of them all right now, surely? Also: how (and why) the PS5 tries its best to keep you playing. 34:39 - Control: Ultimate Edition is creatively risky and every bit is expertly crafted, making it a strong contender for the best AAA game of the last ten years. 45:27 - The Red Cathedral is from Llama Dice, and it’s all about Saint Basil's Cathedral (the one with the “ice gems”). It’s beautiful, and it’s super thematic. 58:11 - How 2 rite propa All that, and a niche joke about the Freemasons, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Quick note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast

00:00 - Deus ex macbina. 06:54 - The complicated backstory of Bananaman. 10:46 - A bit more on Polis, which we talked about back on Ep122. 15:00 - Seastead’s “altruistic competition”, flexibility in ruleset, and focus on inclusivity is a wonderful special event for two players, from WizKids. 33:28 - Holidaying in virtual worlds, and going for a relaxing wander with Eastshade, where the side quests just might be the main quests. 49:18 - tobyfox's Undertale, and why an annoying dog is representative of so much that’s truly amazing about this gem of an RPG. All that, and apex predator trash cans, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Sam (@MrSamTurner), and Pete (@PeteySteele). Thanks again to Pete Steele for joining us. You can (and should!) listen to the excellent show he does with Andrew Miller called Two Can Play That Game - a brilliant board game podcast that focuses on playing and reviewing two player games. Go get it from Apple, Spotify or any of the other places great podcasts are fo

00:00 - The magpie. 08:18 - A birthday and a dirge. 20:54 - Relaxed yet competitive, chilled yet tense, Celtic is a set collection game for the family from The Plastic Soldier Company and Pegasus Spiele that, on paper, shouldn’t work, but it really does. And why there’s a lot of value in going back to old board game mechanics. 35:03 - Most manga is rubbish. Finding good manga for grown ups is difficult. But Space Brothers from Kodansha? It’s consistently excellent, slice of life sci-fi. Plus: more manga recommendations. 46:15 - Michaela Kienle and Michael Menzel’s Legends of Andor, published by Kosmos, is absolutely incredible: it’s sprawling and epic, completely approachable, perfect for the whole family, and something to savour. All that, and a shower, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Quick note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the pod

00:00 - Dan’s birthday, Rudy’s Pizza, and Many More. 06:49 - Kris's "Consumption to Creation Ratio". Freaking ourselves out with Chris Bissette’s The Wretched, making memories with Thousand Year Old Vampire from Tim Hutchings, and writing poetry with Allison Arth’s Gentleman Bandit. 26:26 - Kosmos Games throw down the gauntlet with Polis, from Fran Diaz and Enrique Corominas - the art for which you can see on our Instagram. It’s a big, heady, heavy experience, where every decision you make has its consequence, and we love it. 43:30 - Exploring the superb resource that is Taming Gaming from Andy Robertson, which highlights video games that examine various themes through a number of lenses, including how suitable for the whole family they are. All that, and a smart skipping rope, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Quick note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're t

00:00 - We like to eat eat eat Apples and Bananas. We lake to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays. 07:14 - Daylife in Japan is a cheap and very cheerful jigsaw puzzle game we’ve played on Switch, by Minimol Games and QUByte Interactive. Want a meditative game to play while listening to audiobooks? This might just be it. 20:43 - Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling’s Renature is a wonderfully relaxing experience with just enough salt in the pancake (by which we mean “competitiveness”) to lift it to great heights. Also: a big hello to our podcasting pals at Two Can Play That Game. 33:06 - What’s YOUR favourite castle? And have you ever seen Dan and King Ludwig II in the same room together...? 38:30 - A love letter to Bezier Games, Stonemaier Games’ Between Two Castles Of Mad King Ludwig is also super relaxing, and might just be better than the originals they’re taking inspiration from. You can see what it looks like on our Instagram, along with Kris’s completed jigsaw of the Moon. 46:53 - We’ve had two

00:00 - A jigsaw of the Moon. 06:54 - How to play Lost Cities wrong. Very wrong. And incorporating baby-friendly player aids into board games. 12:35 - Reiner Knizia’s Schotten Totten 2 is more thematic, more focused, and easier to get others into it than its previous iteration. 23:08 - A true centrepiece for any happening party. 26:32 - Disney’s new WandaVision TV series is shaping up to be a unique and brave entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 41:20 - Horribly painful car troubles. 50:58 - Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard was exactly the right game at exactly the right time: it’s short, sharply written, and thoroughly lovely throughout. All that, and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Quick note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, an

00:00 - Sam's mug. 04:54 - Kris's mattress. 09:02 - Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, a high concept spy thriller that’s “the first time travel movie”, but perhaps it doesn’t explain itself enough? 27:12 - Knights and Bikes is from Double Fine and Foam Sword, and it’s a completely riotous co-op craftpunk adventure with a great sense of humour. 44:00 - HeidelBÄR’s Coyote and Spicy are brilliant bluffing games with gorgeous artwork that has to be seen to be believed (and reminds us of an animated Johnny Cash...) 57:20 - How a new habit gets started... but will it be a good one? All that, and the #SourceOfAllWisdom, with Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Quick note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - New Year's Resolutions Part 1, plus a hot take on Final Fantasy XII. 05:22 - Star Wars: Squadrons is an enjoyably arcade-y VR flight sim that really surprised us. 16:46 - New Year's Resolutions Part 2, cracking eggs, smashing glutes, and Hobbits with trundle wheels. 23:37 - The Mandalorian, and why you don’t have to know anything about Star Wars to enjoy it. 37:22 - What if you could time travel, but no one would believe you if you told them what you saw? When and where would you travel to? Because we have thoughts. 44:41 - Solving picture mysteries with Murder by Numbers, and why Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is the antithesis of scrolling through Netflix. All that, and why we’re Paul the Octopus, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Oh! And! A huge huge thank you to Lottie and Jack from Birdwood Games for featuring us in their top 5 board game podcasts of 2020 list :D Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

00:00 - Top tips for job interview success. 04:14 - Secret Santa, part 1 - powered by Mr Lister's Quiz Shootout from Big Potato Games (plus a little bit on Thousand Year Old Vampire too). 12:45 - Looking at ladders on the loo. 15:21 - Secret Santa, part 2 - with thoughts on Fungi/Morels. 24:16 - Abandon All Artichokes from Gamewright is a light and breezy deck building game that everyone who likes board games should own. 33:51 - Gather nine people, pay $450, and spend a couple of days studying lean methodologies, and you’ll be ready for GetKanban, a surprisingly entertaining education tool crossed with a board game. 42:12 - Saashi & Saashi’s Coffee Roaster is an informative, innovative, and very very premium solitaire bag building game that’s taught us a whole bunch about the brew (and taken up a large portion of a table). 50:23 - Secret Santa, part 3 - and a compromising look at Kompromat from Helvetiq. 01:01:16 - Like social deduction games? Enjoy video games? Been living under a rock for the

00:00 - Crunchy Nut Peanut Butter and very thick milk. 06: 42 - A cartoon-like, one page RPG that is tremendous fun: we’ve played Honey Heist by Grant Howitt and had a great time with some bears in hats. 18:57 - Squirty cream “as a vehicle”. 23:30 - Taking early steps into FIFA 20’s Ultimate Team (and its similarities to Pro Evo’s Master League mode), playing with friends with Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, doing cool skids in Lonely Mountains: Downhill, and other paternity cover games. 35:16 - Up for some co-opetition? Rome & Roll from PSC Games is delicious and satisfying, and not just because it reminds us of cheese, dough, and tomato sauce. 48:06 - Illimat from The Decemberists and Keith Baker is the kind of game John Dee (Queen Elizabeth I’s court astronomer) would play. Intrigued? You should be, and we’ll tell you all about this strange and brilliant board game. All that, and they’re grrrrroggy! With Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Links to wher

00:00 - What’s that banging? What day is it? How old is Sam? 05:32 - And for that matter, what’s your favourite era of time? 11:40 - TRAINS! We talk Ticket to Ride and the digital adaptation of it that we’ve been thoroughly enjoying. 16:20 - Cóatl is crammed full of bright and lovely plastic, has a very pleasing Aztec art style, and is a super elegant bit of game design that’s one of the best in its genre. 25:15 - The Lost Words from Kosmos is based on the children’s book by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane. It’s a beautifully illustrated, tranquil, light game that’s perfect for high tea. 35:59 - The avoidance of doomscrolling by getting into Reddit - shout out to r/Showerthoughts and r/OSR - plus a discussion about a fantastic post about board games and value. 51:00 - Bingeing Taskmaster (tARskmARster) is exactly what’s needed at the moment. Also if you’re interested in the self portraits Peter and Sam made, pop over to our Instagram. All that, and missing the point of Back to the Future, with Kr

00:00 - An intensely heated debate: is a Twix a biscuit or a chocolate bar? 07:53 - Tapestry: Plans and Ploys continues to build upon the foundations of the lean(ish) civilization-creating original, and also continues Stonemaier Games’ tradition of featuring beautiful components. 21:07 - Some grumps bang on about how they don’t like Halloween, and an alternative is discussed: Falloween. 31:08 - The Three Stages of Boardgaming, solitaire games, and David Parlett’s Penguin-related money-making schemes. 35:30 - Coiledspring and Gamewright’s Metro X gives us flashbacks to the London Underground and mastering a tube map. Plus: very good nibs. 42:19 - Super-Skill Pinball: 4-Cade is from Wizkids and Geoffrey Engelstein (the Ludology podcast, Gametek, Pit Crew etc). It’s “giddy fun” and, we think, perhaps the perfect solo game. All that, and a spooky podcast pitch, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Sam (@MrSamTurner), and Peter (@XeroXeroXero). Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcas

00:00 - Forgetting names and confusing idioms. 03:10 - A graduation, but whose graduation? 06:10 - Making rum, plus the sweetly thematic Fort from Leder Games, in which you pretend to be kids building bases, using pizza and toys to curry favour with Icky and Sticky. 17:44 - Al's FINEST wine and socially distanced martial arts. 21:52 - From humble packaging comes something we had a ton of fun with; Coiledspring’s Anomia is an extremely good party game. 30:50 - Twin It. Love it. 33:11 - Enola Holmes is fantastic, and Millie Bobby Brown brings a welcome level of handiness to the character. 38:42 - Back to school. 41:10 - Our time with Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game pretty much started with a total party wipe. And it. Was. Awesome. It’s glorious. All that, and the wonderful Richard from the We’re Not Wizards podcast (@werenotwizards), with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Sam (@MrSamTurner), and Peter (@XeroXeroXero). Tea-based playlists. Spotify. A match made in heaven. So pop to our Spo