The Staying In Podcast - four pals talk video games, board games, movies, and absolute nonsense

Fading fast? Pop on the latest episode for some high energy geek culture chat; it’s better than coffee!!! (?) We talk The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth from Fantasy Flight Games, Bamboo from Devir, Hungry Monkey from HeidelBÄR Games, Ghost of Tsushima from Sucker Punch, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Extraordinary by Emma Moran. Plus, a hog. 00:00 - Keeping Kris awake 10:46 - Ghost of Tsushima 16:02 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 20:02 - Bamboo 33:39 - The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth 43:13 - Hungry Monkey 49:20 - Extraordinary 58:30 - Please Kris, Wake Up All that, and a hog, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Fellow humans, we welcome you to the Staying In Podcast. In this episode we have a good time discussing Lok, a game by Blaž Urban Gracar; BEEF, a series by A24; Mr Inbetween, a series by FX; and PowerWash Simulator, a game by FuturLab. Plus, a pleasant discussion about a useful new tool called ChatGPT. 00:00 - ChatGPT presents the Staying In Podcast. 09:10 - Puzzle books and handsome women. 12:28 - Lok. 24:07 - BEEF. 33:50 - Mr Inbetween. 38:52 - Audiobook games and PowerWash Simulator. All that, and an awakening sparked by Puzzler, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Keeping it Zen-like with a Rolife Book Nook Shelf Insert, staying focused in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, nodding along gently to Hi-Fi RUSH, relaxing with Thorolf with Catan: The Helpers, and running around terrified fighting for our lives against the gibbering zombie horde with Resident Evil 3: The Board Game. Plus, McDonald’s milkshake? 00:00 - The Spray 06:16 - Rolife Book Nook Shelf Insert 16:18 - Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 34:30 - Hi-Fi RUSH 45:44 - Catan: The Helpers 58:58 - Resident Evil 3: The Board Game All that, and we don’t go into the bathroom, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Movies and television? Yes. Video games? Yes. Board games? Yes. This episode of the podcast has it all. Movie and TV reviews include Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (it’s very very good) and The Last of Us (it is also very very good), tabletop-wise we dig into the excellent Kingdomino Origins from Coiledspring Games, and head out to explore Pikmin Bloom from Niantic. Plus, cordial. 00:00 - The perils of strong squash 07:51 - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 18:24 - Kingdomino Origins 27:46 - Pikmin Bloom 38:24 - The Last of Us 54:19 - Visiting the Moon All that, and quoting Confucius, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Airecon was absolutely amazing, and we have many gifts we’ve brought back for you, including Nidhoggr Mead, uh, mead, and Honey Badger Games tea, accessible character sheets and Roll Table for 2 from Fights and Fancy, and the short, strategic, simple, and sneaky Ominoes from YAY Games. But that’s not it, oh no! There’s also jumping aboard the space bus and tearing through the universe in Wormholes from AEG, and deducing the machinations of a mastermind in Tragedy Looper: New Tragedies from WizKids Games, as well as the perfect little pub game - Kluster from Borderline Editions (via Games Crusade). Plus, miracles. 00:00 - Warning: lots and lots of Airecon chat ahead. 02:00 - Nidhoggr Mead. 09:22 - Tea from Honey Badger Games. 12:30 - Accessible character sheets and Roll Table for 2 from Fights and Fancy. 15:53 - Ominoes from YAY Games. 26:02 - Oh no! We’re going to have to play Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition, aren’t we? 30:13 - The First Miracle of Airecon. 34:53 - The Second Miracle of Airecon. 38:20 - Wormholes from AEG. 45:50 - Kluster from Borderline Editions (thanks to Games Crusade for showing us it). 50:02 - Tragedy Looper: New Tragedies from WizKids Games. All that, and the future location of a blue plaque, with Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Over on Netflix, Wednesday is straight out of the mind of Tim Burton and some of the team behind Smallville and it’s great, Gavin Inglis and Glen Rahman’s Alone Against the Frost from Chaosium is well-written, super challenging solo roleplaying for Call of Cthulhu, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game from Steamforged Games is an ace adaptation of a classic video game onto the tabletop, and Paperback Adventures from Fowers Games is moreish wordy fun. 00:00 - #LJJ and “Spa Talk” 12:12 - Alone Against the Frost 29:42 - Resident Evil 2: The Board Game 38:57 - Paperback Adventures 48:43 - Wednesday All that, and a warm water bed, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Ghibli-esque slice of life Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation The Endless Seven-Day Journey is Millennium Kitchen’s nostalgic return to Boku no Natsuyasumi, and Mada is all about discovering the hidden game within just as much as it’s about hand management, risk taking, and prickly pears. Kids go hunting for ghosts in Joe Cornish’s very bingeable Lockwood & Co. that has sharply-written dialogue throughout its eight episodes of creepy horror, and we’re off to Airecon and have some convention advice for anyone that’ll listen. Plus, health and safety gone mad? 00:00 - Throwing axes 11:03 - Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation The Endless Seven-Day Journey 27:22 - Convention advice 41:35 - Mada 49:14 - Lockwood & Co. All that, and hitting the nip, with Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Our Flag Means Death is a romantic comedy (with emphasis on the romance) of pirates and gentlemanliness, hot off our RRR kick we’ve fallen hard for Eega, and we have thoughts on modern horror Barbarian. We get investing in property with Rebuilding Seattle by WizKids, scope out just how much love has gone into Sniper Elite: The Board Game by Rebellion Unplugged - a hidden movement board game based on the video game - and Prospero Hall smashes it yet again with The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future from Funko Games. Plus a gaming weekend of fun. 00:00 - Sam and Dan's gaming weekend of fun. 14:22 - Eega and Barbarian 21:24 - Rebuilding Seattle 35:05 - Sniper Elite: The Board Game 42:00 - The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future 48:55 - Our Flag Means Death All that, and the tuna bus, with Kris (@DigitalStrider) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

The best board games to play remotely, how Back 4 Blood is a modern Left 4 Dead with deck building, we head to a Welsh village Chasing Static, you’ve got to love That Old Wallpaper’s strangely compelling theme, and The Decagon House Murders uses the howdunit format to great effect. Plus, a rich vein of stuff. 00:00 - A “job lot”. 06:06 - A question from our pal Ben Tucker: what are the best board games to play remotely? 16:35 - Back 4 Blood. 27:47 - Chasing Static. 39:52 - The Decagon House Murders. 49:43 - That Old Wallpaper. All that, and some ASMR, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

The butt-clenchingly moreish Vampire Survivors from poncle, the really lovely and dead quaint comedy Ghosts, and the lovingly adapted video game brought to life Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game from Steamforged Games. Plus pillows, and ripping music in 2023. 00:00 - Getting in the Groove and streaming dreams. 08:57 - Sam's V pillow. 12:12 - Vampire Survivors. 35:11 - Ghosts. 43:50 - Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game. 55:12 - Peter's Big D (and more pillows). All that, and honestly so much pillow talk, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Andor is Disney+’s new Star Wars series and it’s a fantastic Brechtian political spy drama that doesn’t rely on lightsabers, K3 from Helvetiq is an abstract game that’s a cross of Chess, Connect 4, and programming, and Akropolis from Gigamic is a very quick tile laying boardgame we just love. Plus New Year’s resolutions and predictions for 2023 based on movies. 00:00 - What will 2023 bring? Let’s consult the movies! 03:52 - New Year’s Resolutions. 16:36 - K3 20:46 - Akropolis (also thanks to Play The Game HQ for their brilliant guide) 29:29 - Andor 46:42 - 2022 and Soylent Green All that, and doubtful space elevators, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Marvel’s Star Wars homage / Kevin Bacon delivery vehicle The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special gets dissected, boardgame reviews of Luna Capital (place tiles, build an engine, reach the Moon) and Lacrimosa (Mozart’s dead, figure out his legacy), and going back to a genre-definer with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Plus we enter The Christmas Zone, and give each other our traditional Secret Santa gifts. 00:00 - The Christmas Zone. 07:01 - Secret Santa: Part 1. 13:56 - Luna Capital and Lacrimosa. 26:46 - Secret Santa: Part 2. 29:56 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. 43:36 - Secret Santa: Part 3. 47:42 - The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. 58:47 - Secret Santa: Part 4. All that, and a bloated mass of content, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - Kris's birthday, celebrated not with a song, but a goldfish. 10:09 - Just to be clear, The Bear is not for kids; it’s an intense black comedy drama, shot on a small budget, all about the pressures of running a sandwich shop. 27:27 - Coffee Talk is from Toge Productions and has you brewing up hot beverages for fantasy creatures. It’s a pretty laid back visual novel, and it’s perfect for bedtime. 41:04 - Context is key, and sits at the heart of Immortality, an interactive movie (of sorts) from Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, and Netflix, all about a movie starlet gone missing. 56:56 - Indeterminate growers. All that, and sandwiches, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost) and Kris (@DigitalStrider). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - True crime. 08:47 - Marvel Snap from Second Dinner and Nuverse doesn’t necessarily reinvent the genre’s mechanics, but what it does with card battlers, it does better (and faster) than pretty much all the others. 22:50 - A slower-paced, smaller-scale movie that’s ghoulish, perhaps even Shakespearean, The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark and funny and profound film you should go out of your way to watch. 36:44 - [Ad] Go check out our pals at Overtired. 37:57 - There’s nothing horrifying about Horrified: Universal Monsters and Horrified: American Monsters from Ravensburger. They’re excellent co-op games with a horror theme that manages to capture the feel of the monsters brilliantly. 51:31 - Picking up onions and peppers over 20 minutes with Point Salad, and building homes for teensy peeps with Tiny Towns - both of which are from AEG. 1:00:44 - The Banshees of… Ed Sheeran? All that, and eventful hairdressers, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - Alexa, play Staying In Podcast! 07:11 - Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is… just completely out there! We explain why, even if you don’t care all that much about flying games, you need to invest some time in Bandai Namco’s latest entry in the series. 16:44 - Learning, adapting, and trying again is the order of the day in foxy isometric adventure Tunic from Tunic Team and Finji. Like Zelda? Like Heaven’s Vault? You need to play it. 26:41 - The mean, green Marvel machine rolls on with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law now streaming. The TV show comic book adaptation joins the rest of Disney’s line up as an excellent addition, and below its jade-coloured surface is a season of depth and surprises. 37:03 - A while back, Games Workshop took Blood Bowl and made Blitz Bowl, a faster-paced, beginner-friendly take on the core idea of fantasy American football (emphasis firmly on fantasy). With Ultimate Edition now out, we take a look at the previous iteration: Season 2. 49:55 - Fog of Love implies awkwardness, but results in hilarity and enjoyable (?) compromise from its players. We go into how Floodgate Games achieves this and why you should find a very good friend to play it with you. 60:00 - Voicing video game characters. Groovy. All that, and our forward operating base, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - DIY, Oodies, a birthday, and an aversion to wool. 05:51 - PlayStation 4 corker The Order: 1886 (as discussed in Ep156) continues to impress. 10:24 - Everdale (last chatted about in Ep136) is closing down its servers, and now we’re in a sentimental mood, discussing games experiences now gone forever. 17:10 - A special early look at the asymmetrical, pirate-themed board game Ahoy from Leder Games. Lighter than Root, but scratches that itch in a very similar way. 28:51 - Dungeons, Dice & Danger is Ravensburger and Richard Garfield’s new roll and write, and it manages to give maths real personality. This isn’t “just another” roll and write, this is something special. 45:09 - One Page Dungeon Contest is an annual RPG adventure writing competition, asking writers to create a system-agnostic piece of content that fits on a single side of A4, and it’s a great time. 55:57 - Binge shaving. All that, and Fat Willy's, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - Listener pal Ben asks us for some gaming recommendations for new parents; exactly which games CAN you play with one hand?  10:27 - Manchester played host to Tabletop Gaming Live 2022, so naturally we were in attendance too. What a great event! 17:56 - We only get to speak about Quarto from Hachette for a little bit, but that’s fine because our feelings about it are simple: you should for sure play it. 19:20 - Osprey Games delivers the goods yet again with Village Rails. In it, you’ll usher in modernity and the age of steam by building a network across the British countryside. 27:14 - You can feel the money dripping off the screen when you watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which we’re enjoying a fair bit - but is there a danger in “fantasy” become “mundane”? 43:42 - Acram Digital are one of the greats when it comes to digital tabletop adaptations, and that’s definitely the case with the excellent Unmatched: Digital Edition. 58:42 - We made you a game! You can get What's Better than a Hot Tub? from DriveThruRPG now. Also: Staying In Bingo anyone? All that, and an inappropriate aubergine, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - Shoot for the Stars: Round 1. 05:04 - justfortherunofit asks us a very important question. Crumbs… 13:34 - Shoot for the Stars: Round 2. 14:18 - RRR has the best bromance, has the best disclaimer, and just might have the best set of abs. 25:49 - Shoot for the Stars: Round 3. 27:44 - Oceans uses the world of science in conjunction with cardboard fishies to create a lightly educational engine builder. 39:28 - Shoot for the Stars: Round 4. 42:26 - It’s been years in the making, but now Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is on our screens and it’s a dream come true. 57:26 - Do we need a sign-off? Alright then. All that, and two squeezes and out, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:00 - Case. Closed. (thanks, McVitie’s) 07:13 - Kris rides a horse. 10:13 - An arctic whatnow? Thoughts on completing Tough Mudder. 15:34 - War Boys VI kicks off with V-Commandos. 17:56 - More drama, strategy, and conflict, with the Undaunted Series (especially Undaunted: Normandy). 21:16 - And yet more War, with the Boys, as we take to the battlefield with Hogs of War The Miniatures Game. 30:20 - Nope is a conversation - an essay, maybe - and the less you know about it going in, the better. 41:57 - It’s a Floodgate Games special, with the expectedly excellent puzzley dice game Sagrada, and the brilliant passive aggressive decorate-em-up Décorum. All that, and the right way up for a chocolate digestive, with Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

00:12 - The creation of “Bubble Boyz presents The Staying In Podcast presents Hot Tub the game”... or something... we should probably come up with a better name at some point. 12:10 - Going ape at Go Ape. 19:24 - Oink Games’ In a Grove is all about solving a murder using deduction, prediction, and a spot of luck, in a tiny little box with wonderful component quality. 27:00 - Need more murder? In Vino Morte is a rioja roulette of social deduction, with wine, poison, and lots of bluffing. 31:20 - The Orville: New Horizons took us completely by surprise! Seth MacFarlane’s previous work is a world away from this sci-fi comedy with heart. 41:02 - Big Potato Games delivers yet again with Sounds Fishy. It asks you to find the correct answer to a series of superb trivia questions, within a sea of “red herrings”. All that, and heading off to bed, with Kris (@DigitalStrider) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Go check it out, if you like. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.