Use the code BREAKUP to get 50% off anything on the Quirk Events calendar, including the Indie Boardgame Showcase that’s touring Beantown, Chicago, D.C., New York, Denver, and Philly in ‘26.

Games of the Week (3:40)
• Launching my first probe in SETI was like seeing my soul break the gravitic well of holiday depression. Find out what happened on my first solo play. I also include tips for learning any heavy game on your own when you feel like a piece of shit all November and December.

• The Fantasy Flight Games golden age retrospective continues with a look back at Arkham Horror 2nd Edition. This was the second game we ever bought from the catalog. It summoned a bunch of drunks.

Track of the Week (22:07)
Highlighting selections from The Herbaliser’s FabricLive.26 set at the legendary club of the same name. We’re zeroing in on a three-song blend that I listen to every night.

May I send you a cocktail book full of bad ideas and a charming frog? Here’s how.

Use the code BREAKUP to get 50% off anything on the Quirk Events calendar, including the Indie Boardgame Showcase that’s touring Beantown, Chicago, D.C., New York, Denver, and Philly in ‘26.

Want to demo your indie game design for attendees? You’ve got until Jan. 6 to apply.

Games of the Week (3:41)
• Ryuutama : Natural Fantasy Roleplay: An excerpt from my latest chat with Walt, who lightens the typical mood with a twee-in-the-best-way storytelling game about bards who get into charming entanglements while roaming the medieval Japanese countryside.

• A selection from my latest work with Dwelling a solo RPG for ghosts. We’re at the halfway point of the book, where the narrator descends to the basement of a haunted house for a full-on cocaine flashback. The recall is not euphoric.

• We’re finishing up with Space Hulk: Death Angel, a gripping and cinematic cooperative tactical game that kicked off a multi-year Fantasy Flight Games buying spree that, in retrospect, set the rhythm of our household’s Saturday nights for the next six years.

Track of the Week (23:26)
“Can I Get Open?” by Original Flavor. Follow along as I chase a sample back from this ’93 track and end up finding a well of solstice magic inside the many saxophones of jazz giant Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

May I send you a cocktail book full of bad ideas and a charming frog? Here’s how.

I retract forever my claim that Arkham Horror 2nd Edition can be played on an aircraft.

Game of the Week (2:30)
I interview Fox in the Forest designer Josh Buergel about trick-taking games he admires and plays — and preview his next design in the genre.

Discussed:
• Friedrich
• Maria
• Bridge
• Fox in the Forest
• The Crew
• Arcs
• The Six of VIII
• Torchlit
• Scout
• Bacon
• Haggis
• Sykes-Picot
• Sail
• Knockout Whist
• I’m Out
• Greasy Spoon
• Inside Job
• Fishing

Track of the Week (29:56)
Josh stays on for Track of the Week to show us his favorite slice of Q-Bert’s 1994 tour de force mix, Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik.

Editorial: Board Gaming’s Least Interesting Problem (36:48)
So it looks like a perennial loser from the board game discourse shelf has once again landed on the table. The problem at hand? Buying too many games and not playing them.

Subscription fatigue is real. I ask you to hit me off once and mail you cool stuff for doing so.