Rolling Dice & Taking Names Gaming Podcast

00:01:15 Intro

00:06:30 Chaz is back!

00:09:45 ⁠Fun collaboration⁠

00:12:00 How has gaming changed over the years

00:40:00 ⁠Miniature Market⁠

00:41:00 New Review System

00:47:00 ⁠Chang’an

⁠00:58:00 ⁠Zombie Princess⁠

01:05:00 ⁠Portal Games⁠

01:06:00 ⁠Comic Book Boom⁠

01:17:30 Outro with Chaz

In this episode, Marty is joined by Chaz Marler from ⁠Game Night Picks⁠. They talk about all the different ways the table top industry has changed over the past 10 years from content creation, to games, to the community.

Marty and Tony review some new games using their new format. Shorter, more concise and with a numerical rating. Let us know your thoughts on the new format over on our ⁠Discord ⁠Channel

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00:01:15 Intro00:06:30 Gencon 2026 Update00:10:30 Quartermaster General: WWII00:15:00 Moon Colony: Bloodbath00:20:15 Star Wars Unlimited Update00:21:45 Portal Games00:23:30 Rebuilding Chicago00:41:30 Castelnuovo 153900:55:30 Miniature Market00:56:30 Toy Battle01:01:30 Pragmata01:04:30 R-Type Dimensions III01:09:00 Sektori01:10:00 Outro

For history fans who enjoy thoughtful, asymmetric challenges, Castelnuovo 1539 offers a compelling take on the “last stand” style of wargame. Blending classic conflict simulation with Euro‑style area control, this two‑player design places you with the Spanish defenders doing everything they can to slow an advancing Ottoman siege. The Spanish side isn’t trying to win outright so much as hold firm and make every step costly, creating a tense, measured experience where each decision carries real weight. With custom card decks and hidden wooden blocks shaping the flow of play, the game builds a steady, immersive pressure without ever feeling overwhelming.

Shifting to a much lighter tone, Rebuilding Chicago and Toy Battle trade battlefield grit for creativity and quick, satisfying play. As the standalone follow‑up to Rebuilding Seattle, Rebuilding Chicago invites up to five players to reshape neighborhoods and guide a growing population after the Great Fire of 1871. It’s a warm, engaging tile‑laying puzzle with plenty of room for clever planning. And if you’re looking for something breezy to wrap up a game night, Paolo Mori’s Toy Battle delivers a delightful 15‑minute burst of abstract strategy. With charming toy‑themed troops and whimsical double‑sided maps like the Volcanic Jungle or City of Clouds, it pairs simple rules with just enough tactical bite to leave everyone smiling.

We’re truly disappointed that we won’t be able to host the Strike tournament at Gen Con this year. It’s always a highlight for us, and we’ll miss the energy, laughter, and chaos that only Gladiators in an Arena, I mean, a bowl of dice can create.

Thanks for listening and a special guest joins us for our next episode, assuming he is on his best behavior.

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00:01:15 Intro00:05:45 Mother’s Day Games00:11:30 Skyjo, Skyjo, Skyjo00:12:30 Wits & Wagers Challenges00:16:30 Summer Movie Update00:20:15 Portal Games00:21:00 Diplomacy: The Golden Blade00:35:00 Fruit Island00:38:15 Brave & Bold00:51:30 Miniature Market00:52:35 Altay: Seafarers01:06:45 Luz01:12:15 Ewin Desk01:17:15 The Floor

If your gaming group thrives on trick-taking but wants something that completely flips the genre on its head, Luz maybe it. This clever card game from IELLO forces you to play with a reverse hand—meaning everyone else at the table can see your cards, but you are left entirely in the dark about your own exact values. And even with a blind hind, you must predict exactly how many tricks you will win or take a safe bet to limit your points won.

For those who believe true friendship is only forged in the fires of mutual betrayal, Renegade Game Studios’ Diplomacy: The Golden Blade delivers the ultimate test. This iteration strips away the classic board and map, transforming the legendary grand strategy experience into a fast-paced card game. What it gains in speed, it may not bring home the tension that you feel when playing the original. But be honest, if you love Diplomacy, but don’t have five hours, then this might be one to consider.

Fruit Island is a casual strategy game by the legendary designer Reiner Knizia that balances accessible mechanics for all ages. Set on a quiet jungle island, players step into the fast-moving shoes of monkeys racing to harvest as much exotic fruit while avoiding a gorilla that wants what you have worked so hard for.

If you are enjoying those games where you are going against some in a straight up slugfest, then DC: Brave & Bold by Resurrection Games may be something to check out. Instead of a dice pool with random likes like games before, this is a bag builder with chits and the only thing stopping you from pulling them out is your determination. This one is coming out later this year, but if going to Gen Con, be sure to schedule some time for a demo.

Altay: Seafarers expands the horizon of civilization-building, taking the core deck-building and area-control mechanics of Ares Games’ Altay: Dawn of Civilization and casting them out into deep, uncharted waters. This expansion introduces a brand-new “Forgotten Sea” board, rules for shipbuilding, and naval combat that injects mobility to the map. It introduces the Waterfolk faction, a magical, ocean-dwelling faction that can manipulate actions and navigate the waves without needing ships at all. If you enjoyed Altay and find it on the table often, be sure to check out this expansion.

Thanks for listening

LuzDiplomacy: The Golden BladeFruit IslandBrave & BoldAltay: Seafarers

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00:01:00 Intro00:05:00 Let’s Get to the Picks01:03:00 Draft Time01:13:00 Outro

Summer 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting movie seasons in years, with big‑name directors, long‑awaited sequels, and the triumphant return of theatrical event‑going. And to celebrate that return, we’ve brought in some familiar voices to help us break down the upcoming releases.

For those new to the show, here’s how we do things. Every movie gets one of three calls. First, if it’s worth your hard‑earned dollars and absolutely demands the full theatrical experience, we’ll tell you to go SCREEN it. If it’s a solid watch but doesn’t need the booming speakers and giant screen, then it’s better to STREAM it at home. And finally, there are those unfortunate titles that miss the mark so badly they’re nothing more than a big, old pile of STEAM — and those should be avoided altogether.

Either way, it’s clear the studios are making a serious push to get us back into theaters, and this summer’s lineup shows they’re not holding anything back.

We’d love to hear from you. So, tell us which movies we missed and what should be on our radar. Jump into the conversation over in our Discord and let us know what you’re planning to SCREEN, STREAM, or is a pile of STEAMing stuff.

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00:01:15 Intro00:05:15 Ascension: LOTR00:07:45 Straight to LOTR Stuff00:11:30 Intro to Harder Games00:17:15 Round Up Error00:20:30 New Contest00:21:30 Taste Buds00:37:30 Portal Games00:38:45 Frenzy Falls00:44:30 Rising Cultures01:04:00 Miniature Market01:05:15 Got Five00:11:15 E-Win Desk01:15:45 SWU Report Out

Whether you’re in the mood for the high-stakes chaos of a spilling pool, the grand strategy of rising civilizations, or the quiet tension of a deduction puzzle, we got it covered in this lineup of games for this episode. First up is Frenzy Falls where players play cards face-down into “Pools,” trying to raise the water level. Once a pool hits a value of 10, it “spills over.” The player with the most influence in that pool at that exact moment snags the points.

Rising Cultures is next on the table and this asymmetric “Civ-in-a-box” experience is designed specifically for two players. You pick from four civilizations either Rome, Egypt, Persia, or the Abbasid Caliphate. The thing we love in this game is the multi-use cards: every card in your hand can be used for resources, military power, building structures, or deploying leaders. You have to decide which path is worth sacrificing the others in order to gain victory over your opponent. Since each civilization has its own unique deck, the game feels completely different every time you swap roles. It’s a tight, 45-minute battle of wits.

Finally, we got a game that shows the strengths and weaknesses of the RDTN crew. You have five tiles on a rack facing away from you. You can see everyone else’s tiles, but not your own. By asking questions like “Where would this tile fit in my sequence?” or “Do I have a tile with this many dots?”, you narrow down the possibilities. The tension is high because you can guess at any time, but if you’re wrong once, you’re out. It’s incredibly satisfying when the logic finally clicks and you can confidently shout, “Got Five!”, which I never got to experience

Thanks for listening and don’t forget about the contest over in the Discord server.
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