It’s 1977 and you’re living the dream : a crappy job to pay the bills and a band playing gigs in seedy bars. One day soon, you’ll be discovered. You’ll score a record deal, sell albums, and tour across the country. Screaming fans will fill arenas and buy your merch. They’ll sing out with your anthems and make sweet love to your ballads. But for now, there’s rent to pay and songs to write. The future is so close you can taste it. Can you become a rock star for the ages? 

Rock Hard 1977 places players in the roles of struggling musicians hoping to find a road to fame and fortune by rocking out. How you spend your time in pursuit of this dream will shape the course of your career. Do you spend your time promoting the band, booking more gigs, rehearsing, or writing new material? Do you hang out after hours hoping to make the right connections, record a demo tape, or hire extra crew? There’s always pressure from the real world - the job gives you money, but takes precious time away from the band. And there’s always the temptation of candy. It could give you extra energy in the short term but ultimately put you on a path to ruin.

Read on to learn why we love Rock Hard 1977

A minor nobleman from La Mancha, having read too many medieval romances, loses his mind and dubs himself Don Quixote, a knight errant bound to revive chivalry and serve the crown. He sets off with his horse Rocinante and his loyal companion Sancho Panza to right wrongs in the world. Problem is, Don Quixote doesnt see the world as we do. He sees giants where we see windmills. Inns become castles and flocks of sheep armies. This is a story of the tension between imagination and reality, of loyalty, love and the nature of hope. It’s also one of the first novels ever written. 

In the game, players guide Don Quixote through a series of adventures over two chapters, hoping to shape his character and the outcome of the story to match your goals. Can you influence the votes each round to create one of literature’s most iconic heroes?

Read on to learn why we love Don Quixote: The Ingenius Hidalgo!

Rick Hammerle and Katherine Rosland join the show to chat about our experiences at the world's largest game fair, plus a side quest to Scotland.
 

Chelsea Steenbock, Chair of Play with Your Food, joins me for a wide ranging conversation. We talk about how games have shaped our lives and how our passion for play enables us to build community and serve others far beyond the game table.

Then we dive into a Game Sommelier segment. Our challenge: select 3 games that connect with characters from The Bear TV series.
 

It’s 2050 and most of the citizens of San Lazaro have become techno-zombies, infected by a virus in their gadgets and implants. Stupid humans! Only your ragtag team of sentient cyber pets can save the day! Jane the cat, Clay the dog, Freya the raccoon and Roman the goose must search the city hoping to find their friend Howard the Scientist who vanished suddenly and mysteriously.

Over multiple chapters, your team will explore and investigate new locations, overcome enemies and solve puzzles. Your choices will advance the story and level up your abilities and equipment. Can your bionic brains band together to outwit these many dangers? Adventure is calling. How will your quest unfold?

Read on to learn why we love Cyber Pet Quest!

Lost for Words is a game about describing emotions. Structure for the game is provided by a deck of 350 cards each with an obscure word for an emotion and its definition and an icon. Select a card from your hand and read it aloud, then share with the group a memory or an experience or a story from your life or the life you might want. A simple scoring system is in place if you care about that sort of thing, but really lost for words is an invitation to explore how language shapes our feelings, and our ability to connect with and share them. Sometimes it takes just the right word for us to not feel so lost.

Read on to learn why we love Lost for Words!

Canadian Spielers Matt Robertson and Roger Leroux join us for a rousing chat across many topics, including the awe-inspiring story of Play with Your Food, a gaming charity in Regina, Saskatchewan. We also learn about one of Matt's favorite games and Roger gives us a delicious recipe and game pairing.  

Later, Erwin and Gubbins join the fun for a recap of the greatest spectacle in gaming... GenCon 2025.

Assembling fruit salad is a collective effort in Combo. Each turn you will offer a single face up fruit card, hoping it will be part of the strongest combination created by all player’s face up cards at the end of the round. Combos are ranked like Poker hands from Super Slushie (a straight flush) down to the Sweet Scraps (high card). High cards have a better chance of counting in the winning combo but score the least points. Low cards are worth the most points but harder to score. And beware of the dreaded tie! Truly tied cards in a winning combo have their score sliced in half. Add up all your winning fruit after a few short rounds, and the player with the highest score will savor the juicy taste of victory.

Read on to learn why we love Combo!

Degenerate gamblers can find just about anything to bet on - even minor league mascots. Four costumed kooks compete in an absurd footrace that could net you cold hard cash. Will it be Hurley the giant hot dog? Or Gobbler the turkey eating bear? Could Dangler the anglerfish flop its way to victory? Or maybe Mum, the world's most off brand monarch, will barrel her way to the finish line? 

Over the course of three contests you’ll have a chance to pick a winner and place prop bets, guided by some knowledge of how each mascot will bumble down the track. Or not. There’s a very good chance they’ll end up falling or crawling or sprinting off in the wrong direction. Bet safe or bet risky, then laugh and cheer and hope for a winning shuffle. In the end, you’ll count your winnings and see how your life turns out compared to the other bums. One Hot Streak could really turn things around….

Read on to learn why we love this absurdly awesome and hilarious game!

A con report, a solo game about coming out, and big news brewing in the Spielaverse.

Mike McMann gives us a day by day account of his adventures at Origins Game Fair.

Paco Garcia joins us for a Meal segment and we discuss the inspiration behind and meaningful discoveries possible through his deeply personal solo rpg Closet.

Last but not least, a new (and very exciting) chapter begins for The Spiel Foundation.

Listen in for some great gaming conversations!