The Dice Tower

Latest Episodes:

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Hype It Up May 05, 2026

Show notes

Julie shares more news about her new position, after which we discuss the finer points of Hype. How does one manage excitement about a product when it's not necessarily playable yet? Then, we have both a question from the mailbag and a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some new Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:00 - Introduction

01:18 - Summer Approaching - Hot Games at Dice Tower East

03:00 - Gamefound Pledge Manager - www.supportdicetower.com

03:55 - Julie's News Continued

06:25 - Hype

28:57 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

34:14 - Question: Card Sizes

37:56 - The Emerald Flame

42:28 - Rollie

46:27 - The Cat Between Us

49:43 - Tag Team

53:08 - "Normal" Human

55:28 - Star Trek Space Hunt

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - To Go Order Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

This time, Julie has some news, Tom's excited for Summer, and Eric wants to play games on vacation. We discuss the various games that live in our bags, just in case there's a chance to play them. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a heaping helping of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:50 - Spring and The Christmas of Boardgames

01:51 - Dice Tower East and Library Changes

03:04 - Cruise is Live

03:42 - A Mythical Game Bag

05:09 - Julie's Big News

06:45 - Traveling With Games - Game Bags

09:02 - Wandering Merchants at Gen Con

10:15 - Stashing Games In Non-Gaming Bags

13:51 - Why Button Shy?

16:11 - Making Play Seamless

17:16 - Trying to Make Friends on Trips

19:20 - Footprint/Table Space

21:42 - Any Lost Games, Rules, Boxes?

22:25 - Eric Is Quivering Wrong

24:15 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror?

34:22 - Bare Bones

39:00 - Coming of Age

45:20 - Jewel Box

47:55 - Sanibel

51:07 - For Northwood!

44:49 - Rising Cultures

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Julie and The Giant Teach Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

This time, Tom crows about another victory for Vasel's Law with the announcement of The King's Gambit. Then, Julie pens her own Tale of Boardgaming Horror (but she makes Eric read it), and we move on to a field of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:47 - Back from Dice Tower West

02:20 - Dice Tower East and Cruise

06:37 - The King's Gambit and Vasel's Law

26:57 - Julie's Tale of Boardgaming Horror

37:43 - Pirate Borg

43:06 - Finspan

45:52 - First Giants

49:41 - Art Decko

52:49 - The Winds of Numa Sera

57:12 - Catan on the Road

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dice Tower West 2026 Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, Tom, Julie and Eric are live at Dice Tower West in Las Vegas taking questions from the audience and talking about the games they've played (with a brief Tom-less interlude from Eric and Julie).

01:01 - Dice Tower West Library and Most Played

03:59 - Julie in Demoville and Escape Rooms

06:06 - Julie Came With a List

08:24 - Star Wars: Battle of Hoth

09:28 - Tea Garden

11:01 - Orloj: The Prague Astronomical Clock

12:55 - Feierabend

15:21 - Merchant of Venus #100

16:47 - Fathom

18:38 - Shapely

21:03 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

28:28 - Eric and Julie Interlude

29:10 - E&J: Stuff on Tables

31:39 - E&J: Strange Things to Carry

34:05 - E&J: What Shouldn't Stay in Vegas

36:51 - E&J: Drawing a Crowd

39:34 - Question: Game Opening Disasters

44:42 - Question: Escaping Jail

46:44 - Question: Comprehensive Rulebooks

52:01 - Minor Tom Rant: Authority to Answer Questions

52:58 - Question: Art for Prototypes

56:31 - Question: Deluxe Editions

58:37 - Question: Less or More of a Genre

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dude That's Heavy Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

Julie's been to a castle! And GAMA Expo! We chat about those adventures for a bit before moving on to the topic of physical weight of our games. How heavy is too heavy? We also share a question from the mailbag, and collect some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:54 - Winter Woes and Dice Tower West

05:42 - Julie and Hoop and Stick

11:25 - GAMA Expo

14:21 - Heavy Games

33:08 - Question: What Is the Soup of Games?

41:04 - Lairs

43:34 - Chicago Grand Slam

46:50 - Hot Streak

48:18 - Wilmot's Warehouse

52:08 - A Place for All My Books

54:35 - Regicide

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - Crowd Control Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

Julie's out this time, so Tom and Eric spend time looking back at Epic Game Events that they've been involved with at conventions over the years. What worked well, and what did not? Plus, a question from the mailbag about digital vs. in-person gaming, and Tom and Eric each present a full set of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:47 - No Julie, February Lull

01:35 - Live Show at Dice Tower West (Friday 3pm)

02:42 - Groundhogs and Polka Interlude

03:21 - Dice Tower East and Curling

06:14 - Epic Game Events

36:37 - Question: Live vs. BGA?

42:33 - Age of Galaxy

46:05 - A Message from the Stars

50:06 - Trasteros/Storeroom Inc.

52:56 - Nuns on the Run (2nd Edition)

56:05 - Suds and Malone

1:00:49 - Lords of Worlds

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - All Ashore! Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

Tom and Eric are back from the Dice Tower Cruise, trying not to make Julie jealous, but failing miserably. We talk about games played, ports visited, and flights cancelled. Plus, we dive into the listener mailbag, and gather a new round of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:54 - Dice Tower West and The Library

02:33 - Merchant of Venus in The Library

04:26 - Dice Tower Cruise - Pre-Cruise

10:50 - Cruise: Most Checked-Out Games

21:57 - Cruise: St. Thomas Game Day

25:02 - Eric's Travel Woes

27:26 - Jibber Jabble

29:44 - Julie's Cruise Contribution

30:47 - Question: Too Social?

38:33 - JiSoGi: Anime Studio Tycoon

46:07 - Eternal Decks

49:44 - Ham Helsing

55:11 - Cosy Stickerville

59:03 - Fest Season

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table with The Dice Tower - When It All Goes Wrong Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

This time, we look at what happens when a production error is found in a game after it has reached the wild. What should producers do to make it right, and can they do anything at all? Also, a new dramatic Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:50 - Storytime from Tom: Loading the Cruise Library

04:16 - Announcements: Gamefound (supportdicetower.com), Dice Tower West, East, and Vacation

06:33 - Dealing with Production Errors

39:14 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror

47:55 - Wingspan: Americas

50:19 - Sanibel

52:44 - Harmonies

55:27 - Nocturnis

57:43 - Lairs

1:00:45 - Cookie Run Braverse TCG

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table With The Dice Tower - Party Like It's 2006 Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.

00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com

03:07 - 2006 Memories

05:09 - Where Were We In 2006?

18:50 - The Games of 2006

27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing?

31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement

42:07 - Add to Playlist

47:06 - Galactic Cruise

48:06 - Zooloretto

50:47 - Merry Murdle

53:52 - Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

57:10 - Heroes of Timeline

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

At The Table With The Dice Tower - Looking Back at 2025 Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy.

01:20 - Top Tens on Video

01:51 - Year as a Whole

07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak

12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods

20:06 - Guilty Pleasure - Deep Regrets, Moon Colony Bloodbath

24:38 - Favorite Classic - Race for the Galaxy, At The Gates of Loyang, Sentient, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, You're Bluffing

27:22 - Stand-Out in Our Favorite Genre - Bohemians, EXIT Advent, Threads of Fate, Rove

32:48 - Hoopiest Hula-Hoop - Spooktacular, Oddland, Zenith

37:05 - Thorniest Thorn - Feel Like a Fool, Lynx, Donald Duck in Happy Camper

41:38 - Rosiest Rose - Vantage, Formaggio, Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

47:42 - Looking Forward to 2026 - Use Up All Your Sick Days, Vegan Cafe, Sail Legacy, Floe

50:35 - Announcements: Gamefound, Dice Tower Cruise, East, West

Next Episode: January 13, 2026

Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com

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