Welcome home.
This is Audio EXP for November 16th, and the episode title is “Smurfing horror lawyers “
[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #262]
[Also on Stitcher | Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
Sketchy Van RPG won the RPG Publisher Spotlight this month.
I haven’t yet had a response from Sketchy Van. I’ve used their contact form and some messaging platforms. I’ll keep going, and, as usual, the worst case is a spotlight on them without a Q&A.
Did you notice something different with the podcast last week? Bronwen took over with some surprises. She didn’t hate it, she reassured me, so if we’re lucky, we might hear her radio voice again.
What did she call me? Geek Native Daddy. No, dear listeners, I do not see myself as that. The cheeky miss.
I was at Scotland Loves Anime the Edinburgh week, and if you read the blog you’ll know I was trying to keep up with on-the-night reviews. Usually we’d have news of which animes won the Jury and Audience Awards but because the show has expanded to London we’re waiting for their vote.
I’ve asked the Scotland Loves Anime press team to confirm they’re keeping the brand, the one with Scotland in the title, given the London expansion and had no response yet.
I’ll give you my top three and hope to see them as winners.
In third place Trapezium, which is written by an idol and about how horrible some successful idols are but told more cleverly, more empathically and more interestingly than that. A little dark.
In second place, Ghost Cat Anzu, about a cat that forgets to die and evolves into a helpful temple spirit in time to help a young girl out. Fun, an odd number of fart jokes and it’ll make you worry that the God of Poverty is hanging around.
In first place, Look Back, by the creator of Chainsaw Man and about two rivals in manga art becoming friends and then with a blooming twist.
Bronwen has been reviewing and is way ahead of me on board games, so let’s mention Anger Smash, which we covered a table at Ancient Robot Games with. This is a trick collecting, luck based, game where you have to balance enough suitable anger and zen or mess up your opponent. It’s perfect for a games cafe.
We’ve also had some interviews on the site this week, including Clive Evil about FiveEvil.
Now, Clive is a skeleton. We did our first video interview. Thanks to Handiwork Games for having the necromantic wizardry to make the stunt work.
The video is on TikTok, Instagram, and the blog.
Speaking about social media, yes, we are on BlueSky and have been for a while. You can find all our accounts by going to geeknative.com/social-media.
I mention that because we’ve been getting plenty of followers in the last few days as BlueSky surges in popularity.
The other interview was with Javon Frazier. That’s a name we’ll hear more of in 2025, I think. Javon is the CEO of Maestro Media who are Kickstartering the Smurfs RPG.
FiveEvil is proper horror and just about to close on Kickstarter. The Smurfs are proper wholesome and also about to close on Kickstarter. Both worth checking out.
In this RPG section we should also acknowledge that Wizards of the Coast published D&D 2024: Dungeon’s Masters Guide.
I’ve been watching the Amazon review stars swing but most pundits rate the book well.
There’s more Hasbro news, though. Wargamer.com noticed a Hasbro job post for external IP to come to D&D. And to make them profitable. For example, making a Shadow and Bone D&D-powered RPG and getting it into virtual tabletops.
The job role has been out before, or one like it, but Hasbro is now trying to up their game there.
There’s also a lawsuit against Hasbro by one or more investors. Nicole Carpenter on Polygon has the write-up explaining the complaint is Hasbro said they had got extra stocks of their games to ensure there were no logistics and supply problems but in reality those stocks where unsold games and the company had incorrectly estimated demand.
It’s people with money going after people with money. Let’s see which people with money make more money from the fight.
On the other hand, if like me, you’re feeling the pinch I’ve good news nd two freebies to talk about.
Archeron Games has a 5e game of travel and mystic China coming out and a quickstart now for Marco Polo’s Legacy. Sensitivity readers are involved.
With a trigger warning, Forteller Games has a quickstart for Sunset. That’s an indie game about dealing with death.
Lastly, and for listeners in the UK, Geek Native has a hardback of the Elder Scrolls cookbook volume 2 to giveaway. There’s a blog post to enter; you don’t need to tag any friends. However, reviewers say it helps if you know your way around the kitchen for this collection of recipes.
On that note, keep safe, don’t stay up after your bedtime and see you next week.
Start up a conversation in the comments below.
