There are a lot of series games in the hobby, both in the market and in our personal collections. This episode, our panel talks about series wargames and other boardgames. What are the advantages and disadvantages, for both the game consumer and publisher? Plus, a game off the beaten track that has special resonance for Yours Truly. (c) 2017 Tom Grant

I've Been Diced!

I've Been Diced! episode 76: Series games

We're back after a long hiatus. In the first segment, I talk about games played recently, including Across Suez, Cry Havoc, Bloody Inn, and more. This episode contains the first installment in an introduction to serious games, the use of games in education, business, politics, and more. Plus, a quick discussion of why you might want to own more than one game covering the same topic. (c) 2016 Tom

I've Been Diced! episode 75: Back in action, serious games, games played, and more

Greg Stafford, designer of Dragon Pass and other board games, creator of the fascinating fantasy world of Glorantha, founder of Chaosium, and designer of Runequest, Pendragon, and other RPGs, makes a royal visit to the podcast. We cover the whole gamut of this interesting bit of gaming history, the future of Chaosium, why Pendragon is a special game, and how to correctly pronounce Genertela. Plus

I've Been Diced! episode 74: Greg Stafford

Mitchell Land, designer of the Next War series of wargames from GMT, discusses the interesting design challenges behind those games, and we get a sneak peek at the next title, Next War: Poland. Plus, a few words about a departed friend. (c) 2016 Tom Grant

I've Been Diced! episode 73: Mitchell Land and the Next War series

Sam Mustafa, designer of Blücher and other miniatures wargame rules, stops by to discuss his designs and the miniatures side of the hobby in general. Sam and Tom describe the path for boardgamers who might want to give miniatures a try. (Blücher might be a good start.) Plus, Tom shares lessons learned from his recent experiments with miniature wargaming on the cheap. (c) 2016 Tom Grant

I've Been Diced! episode 72: Sam Mustafa and miniatures gaming galore

Our first episode of 2016 is a whopper! We start with an interview with Gordon Calleja, designer of Posthuman, and associate professor and head of the Institute of Digital Games at the University Of Malta. Yes, not only does he design games, but he also teaches game design! Gordon and I talk about professional game studies, whether boardgames can be immersive, our deep fascination with

I've Been Diced! episode 71: Mutants, game studies, and 2015 in review

John Kranz, the founder of the Consimworld wargame community site, joins me for a discussion of the past, present, and future of Consimworld. Our Game Off The Beaten Path is right in time for football season. We also have news about a new serious game, and I talk about Le Vol de l'Aigle, a multi-player, umpired Napoleonic operational game with a lot of friction and fog of war. Copyright (c) 2015

I've Been Diced! episode 70: John Kranz of Consimworld

Troy Goodfellow, founder of the Three Moves Ahead podcast, joins me for a discussion of computer strategy games versus boardgames. What do computer games do well that boardgames don't, and vice-versa? What can the two genres learn from each other? Plus, this episode's Game Off The Beaten Path is W1815, a brilliant little game about the Battle of Waterloo. (c) 2015 Tom Grant

I've Been Diced! episode 69: Troy Goodfellow on computer and board games

Not just one guest, but two! Roger Miller of Revolution Games and Randy Lein of Legion Wargames take time away from Consimworld Expo to talk about life as wargame publishers, muse about the state of the hobby, give us some previews into upcoming games, and give sage advice to anyone interested in submitting a new design to a company like theirs. Plus, I'm not done talking about space empire games

I've Been Diced! episode 68: Randy Lein (Legion Wargames) and Roger Miller (Revolution Games)

Mark Herman stops by to talk about his new grand strategic WWII game, Churchill, plus oh so many other games he has designed over the years. During our whirlwind tour of Mark's career as a wargame designer, we make brief stops at SPI and Victory Games, and even get a peek into professional Pentagon wargaming. And if you're wondering what comes next after Churchill...Well, it's more than just

I've Been Diced! episode 67: Mark Herman

Our panel discusses combat systems in games — many of which we like, and a few that we don't like. Air battles that are genuinely exciting, deck-building games that lead to interesting results, the genius of Dune's commitment mechanic, a defense of hex-and-CRT wargames — all these topics, and many more, in the course of our discussion. Plus, a recently-published game off the beaten path that

I've Been Diced! episode 66: Combat systems

Andy Loakes, designer of Toulon 1793, takes us behind the scenes of his first published wargame. Why hasn't someone done a game on this topic before? Andy and Tom ponder that issue, along with other questions about Napoleonic history and wargaming. Plus, this episode's Game Off The Beaten Path is a little wargame on a major event in military history, previously thought to be ungameable. (c) 2015

I've Been Diced! episode 65: Andy Loakes, designer of Toulon 1793

Richard Borg talks about everything from the Command & Colour wargames to the X-Men games from Pressman (with a cameo from Stan Lee). We also discuss the Kickstarter for his new World War I game, Mutant Chronicles: Siege Of The Citadel, and much more. Plus, a game off the beaten path that should have an electronic version, but doesn't, really. © 2015 Tom Grant

I've Been Diced! episode 64: Richard Borg

Sandy Petersen, designer of Cthulhu Wars (among many other games), talks about the origins of the Call of Cthulhu RPG, the early days of Chaosium (which also published the Runequest RPG, the original Arkham Horror, and plenty of other innovative games). Sandy also tells us how Cthulhu Wars was almost his swan song as a game designer, how he slipped Lovecraftian references into video games on

I've Been Diced! episode 63: Sandy Petersen

Our regular panel looks back on 2014 in gaming — the ups, the downs, the pleasant surprises, the grave disappointments. Where do games like Dead Of Winter, Fire In The Lake, Nations, and The Hunters fit into this picture? Plus, the recent arrival of Cthulhu Wars inspires Tom to muse on the value of our games, and why recent developments in the game market is making it even harder to figure out