Podcast
The Dice Tower
Hosted by Tom Vasel, Julie Ahern, and Eric Summerer · EN
Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer take a look at board games, card games, and the people who design, publish, and play them.
Top ten lists, Q&A, tales of horror, and more await you!
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
At The Table with The Dice Tower - Inflatable Ice
3d ago01:06:17Tap to summarizeThe team is back from Dice Tower East with stories to tell. What games were taught? What events ran well? What did Eric find in the library? Plus, we have a Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and a particularly pointy collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:46 - Games That Could Have Been Played at East 03:08 - Unloading from Dice Tower East 03:43 - Dice Tower East: General Thoughts 04:51 - Looming Gen Con 07:22 - DTE: Crowd Size 09:04 - DTE: The Top 10 10:09 - DTE: Number of Games Played 13:05 - DTE: Changes to the Library 16:55 - DTE: Eric Finds a Playmat 20:31 - DTE: Inflatable Curling 24:14 - DTE: Parsely 25:50 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Dwarves of Aquilon 28:29 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Cat Between Us 29:49 - DTE: Favorite Games Taught - Mechs vs. Minions 31:10 - DTE: Most Played Games 32:17 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 38:33 - Wispwood 43:30 - Inkwell 48:25 - Crafting the Cosmos 51:50 - Puppy Pile 56:53 - Wingspan Pocket 1:01:21 - Bunny Kingdom Town Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Columbus Days
2w ago01:02:32Tap to summarizeJulie recounts her adventures at Origins 2026 before we delve into questions about Authenticity of Theme, Fan Interactions, and Teaching Race for the Galaxy. And of course, we close the show with a healthy dose of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Intro 00:45 - Middle of the Year 03:59 - Last Minute Dice Tower East 04:32 - Julie at Origins 30:26 - Question: Teaching Race for the Galaxy 33:58 - Question: Taking You Out of The Theme 37:11 - Question: Fan Interactions 43:49 - Shapely 46:59 - Revisiting Mice and Mystics 49:55 - Soothsayers 52:25 - The Friday Fright 55:25 - Flip Voyage 58:18 - Tomatoss Questions? Tale of Horror? Hot Sauce Recipes? tom@dicetower.com
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Parallel Design
Jun 1601:00:09Tap to summarizeTom tells us about his adventures in The Philippines before we spark some discussion from a Tale of Boardgaming Horror: What do you do when you learn your game design is similar to a game that already exists? Plus, we dive into the bag of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops and pull out some winners. 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Senior Slacking Revisited 02:05 - Tom's Journey - Travel Woes 04:07 - All aBOARD EXPO 18:35 - Focusing on Dice Tower East 19:36 - Language Issues 20:19 - Discussion of Horror: Parallel Game Design 35:16 - Grow Sky 38:51 - Deep Sea Divers of Jeju 42:21 - Flamenco 47:15 - Stratego Quick Battle 50:41 - My Book Nook 54:38 - Cloud City Flamenco Ad (Dancing Cats): https://youtu.be/mz7Qh79K8GA?si=JpknJaXuh22wgE5J Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Play The Book!
Jun 201:09:16Tap to summarizeTom is out, so Eric and Julie discuss books that have become games: from public domain classics to the latest multi-million dollar bestseller tie-in. Plus, we approach our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops. 00:00 - Introduction 00:48 - Where's Tom? 01:38 - Senior Slacking 04:18 - Dice Tower Events: East and Cruise 05:01 - Books Into Boardgames 46:27 - Winter Rabbit 56:08 - Seas of Strife 58:50 - Winnie the Pooh Serious Detective 1:05:34 - Pandemic Rising Tide -- Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Legacy Schmegacy
May 1901:07:41Tap to summarizeThis time, we take a look at Legacy games, and the ways players modify them in order to be less like a legacy game. But is something lost in the translation? Plus, we have a Tale of Horror, Roses, Thorns, and Hoops, and Tom's still grumpy about Stephen Sondheim. 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Broadway 01:39 - Maycember 02:30 - Summer Cons: Dice Tower East, Gen Con (Booth #249), Dice Tower Cruise 04:38 - Small Games, Little Joy 05:39 - Legacy Games 30:22 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror 35:54 - Terraria 43:03 - The Queen's Dilemma 49:53 - Sanctuary 55:15 - The Case of the Curiously Quiet Theater 58:20 - Wool Street 1:02:31 - Colosseum: The Grand Spectacle Questions? Tales of Horror? tom@dicetower.com
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Hype It Up
May 501:00:13Tap to summarizeJulie 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
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - To Go Order
Apr 2101:03:19Tap to summarizeThis 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
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Julie and The Giant Teach
Apr 701:03:56Tap to summarizeThis 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
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dice Tower West 2026
Mar 2401:01:59Tap to summarizeOn 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
Transcribe →At The Table with The Dice Tower - Dude That's Heavy
Mar 1000:58:06Tap to summarizeJulie'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
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