Podcasts

There is only an hour left to go before our month long pole ends and it’s looking like the Dice Tower will have the edge. Unfortunately, with Blogger crashing the polls we will never really know who would have won…

As readers of my other blogs will know I’ve had a bit of a monster week this week. Which meant I didn’t get around to checking out the entries given in the comments section.

These were:

Yog Radio: A magazine format audio show dealing with Call of Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraft.The award-winning show started in 2005 and remains one of the longest running podcasts on the net.
Yog Radio Hosts include: Paul Maclean, Finlay Patterson & Neil Young
Over the years, Yog Radio has interviewed the likes of Sandy Petersen, Monte Cook, S.T. Joshi, Brian Aldiss, Charles Stross, Keith Herber and many more. Archives of previous shows can be found in the Yog Radio Downloads section.

The Little Wooden Cubist: A podcast about board gaming in general that seems to air on a monthly basis and is currently in it’s 23rd episode. The podcast can be found here.

And…

2d6 Feet in a Random Direction: A podcast about games – roleplaying, miniatures, and board games – and related topics like culture and community.  The show has been in regular production since it’s launch in July of 2006. Currently in it’s 51st episode, you can check it out here.

I promise to at least check out the second two, only because I really know nothing about H.P Lovecraft or Cthulhu. But we must move on…

I want to talk about the two podcasts I listen to on a regular basis and then I will give my verdict on which one I would take with me to that desert island…

The Dice Tower

I’ll be honest, when I first started watching Tom’s reviews, I thought he was possibly the most annoying person on youtube… well maybe not that bad, but Tom is a lot to handle. For those who don’t know Tom Vasel is the host of the Dice Tower, possibly the biggest gaming podcast in the world.

HOWEVER… For those who have only ever seen the DT videos, do not despair, Tom is a lot easier to handle on the Podcast, perhaps its the audio-only medium, or perhaps its the mellowing influence of his esteemed co-host Eric Summerer, whatever the case the Podcast is lot more enjoyable… plus Tom does grow on you over time.

Over the course of an episode Tom and Eric will discuss games they have been playing, review new and coming games in short segments, answer questions from listeners and deliver industry news that we little people may not have heard yet. The Dice Tower also has a series of contributors who will chime in with segments on game mechanics or their game of the week.

However, what the Dice Tower is most well known for is their Top Ten lists, which are always rather amusing and yet informative. If you haven’t checked this show out yet, go and do it.

The D6 Generation

The D6 Generation is hosted by Ross, Craig and Raef, with contributions from their wives, often a very insightful segment of the podcast. The podcast is generally around 4 hours long, yes, yes, that is very long, but it’s pretty full of interesting stuff, plus each segment lasts around an hour so you can easily break it up into smaller chunks.

Often the format is excellent. The show starts with a section called Rapid Fire, an often amusing piece of satire which sees an repeated occurrence of the word WRONG! This segment really sets the tone for the rest of the podcast, which is very tongue in cheek and often self referential.

Other segments of the show include: Achievements in gaming where the hosts talk about what they’ve been doing for the last two weeks, trust me, that’s more interesting than it sounds. What’s in the News, which covers general gaming news, Dya Ever Notice, a segment about gamers and their annoying habits and the Hollywood minute, a space reserved for Raef to talk about whatever he likes. As well as all this there is usually an interview with a gaming Big Wig, like Corey Konieczka or Matt Wilson, plus an in-depth review of a recent release, including a full rules breakdown.

HOWEVER… The problem with the format is that the reviews are looooooong and if it is something you aren’t into, that's a long time to listen… Even worse, after an hour of these guys guys reviewing a game you weren’t going to buy, something inside starts to think… “Actually that sounds pretty cool” and before you know it… poof, you’ve blown your wad on the next big box from Fantasy Flight.

The D6 Generartion cover board games, miniature games and RPGs, all their episodes can be found here.

There can only be one…

So, if I had to pick a podcast, if I could only have one… It would be the D6 Generation. Sure, sometimes they get things wrong, sometimes they go on for two episodes about Warmachine or Hordes, but most of the time they are just down right amusing. The in-depth reviews really give you a feel of whether or not you are going to like the game because they break down every mechanic and explain the heck out of it.

Sure, the Dice Tower is, probably, better overall, it’s probably more family friendly, discusses a wider variety of board games and the host probably have a wider experience of games, but, the D6 Generation make me laugh more and if I were stuck on a desert island, I’d need to laugh.

Both shows excel at being interesting, but the interviews done by the D6G which are often over an hour long, are some of the best on the net.

But here is the truth guys… you are not on a desert island, if you are reading this blog then you have an internet connection and that means, that a whole world of gaming podcast goodness is only a click away. So… what are you waiting for, go find the one that suits you!

Next week I will try and bring you a review of pandemic… Keep watching this space, a new poll will go up tomorrow on what games you play with your significant other.