What’s this? Iain is considering selling the Brainwaves HQ? As they consider the offer they invite the real estate magnate James Naylor to join the team and cover this week’s news: legends dying, profits falling, lawsuits concluding, mashups, acquisitions and much more on this weeks Brainwaves. Headlines Frances Tresham dies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Tresham_(game_designer) Hasbro Profits Fall https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2019/10/dd-weak-hasbro-sales-propped-up-by-dungeons-dragons...
Nov 11, 2019•31 min•Ep. 50
Iain and Jamie are joined by magic man Richard from We’re Not Wizards. Together they cover actual Kickstarter Fraud, Kittens getting their hands on lots of money and visas being denied for Essen. In our Brainstorm they look at online communities and discuss whether they should all be amalgamated into one. All this and more, on this week’s Brainwaves. Headlines Carbon Copies on KS https://twitter.com/GreyGnomeGames/status/1184308826822057984?s=19 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hoard/dungeon...
Oct 28, 2019•35 min•Ep. 49
That sound isn't the Brainwaves HQ starting to strain under the weight of all the new interns, no it's the sound of Creaking Shelves recently installed by our latest guest Matt Evans, we really must get professionals to do this kind of thing. Matt joins us to discuss Kickstarter Unions, cash prizes, fast food RPGs, discuss "Killer Games" and much, much more. Headlines Kickstarter Unionisation https://rowanrookanddecard.com/kickstarter-heart-and-the-union/ https://twitter.com/ksr_united/status/11...
Oct 14, 2019•40 min•Ep. 48
Iain & Jamie are back from their vacation with a longer cast than normal to catch up on all the tasty boardgame news. They are joined by Glenn Ford of Man O’Kent Games to cover Kickstarter Unions, CMON time machines, trucks full of dice, when RPGs go wrong and much more! Headlines Kickstarter in the Firing Line https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/kickstarter-union-organizing.html https://www.evilhat.com/home/a-word-about-kickstarter/ https://www.evilhat.com/home/a-further-word-about-kicksta...
Sep 30, 2019•42 min•Ep. 47
We are taking a little break this week from our regular cast but rest assured we will be back in two weeks time with all the usual Tabletop News from near and far. This episode was recorded before Sam was lost in 'the incident' and covers Keyforge, Scrawl and Dungeons & Dragons. This episode was made possible by the kind sponsorship of all our patrons.
Sep 16, 2019•34 min•Ep. 46
This week on Brainwaves we are bringing you a series of interviews we conducted at Tabletop Scotland. This convention took place in Perth on the 24th and 25th of August, 2019. We spoke to the sponsors of the convention, various retailers, exhibitors and some friends of the show. We hope you enjoy. The links below are in the order they appear on the cast. Daniel Taylor Woodworking https://www.instagram.com/dtaylorwoodworking/?hl=en Inspiring Games https://www.inspiringgames.com/ Unlucky Frog http...
Sep 02, 2019•32 min•Ep. 45
Iain has been trying to bring the Brainwaves garden under control but much to his annoyance has found the place overrun by wrestling Gnomes. Laying the blame squarely at the feet of Robbie Munn, Robbie joins Iain and Jamie on the cast as penance for his out of control Sumo Gnomes. We cover more awards, Golden Bell/ Unbroken Kickstarter, hirings, mergers and lawsuits. In Brainstorm we tackle the weighty issue of problematic themes in games. Headlines Golden Bell/ Unbroken Kickstarter https://boar...
Aug 19, 2019•41 min•Ep. 44
The team dare to roll and welcome the excellent Mike Barnes back to the cast. This episode we cover the announcement of the Teburu smart board, along with how to pronounce it, Spiel des Jahres winners, deaths of some giants of the industry, Digital innovations and much more. In Brainstorm we turn our attention to the biggest conventions and ask if there are just too many games. Headlines Mike Brunton & Richard Berg die https://twitter.com/RBMStudio1/status/1154885530649165825?s=09 https://bo...
Aug 05, 2019•36 min•Ep. 43
Wrecking his way into Brainwaves HQ Mark Mckinnon from Dream Big Games joins Iain and Jamie on this week’s episode. Together they tackle plagiarism, the rise of the robots, oddly shaped awards, the meteoric rise of Kickstarter and the interns have finally finished off the new RPG corner! Headlines Plagiarism accusations hit popular boardgame site Reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/c972ja/katies_game_corner_accused_of_plagiarism/ Punchboard Media Statement https://www.punc...
Jul 22, 2019•36 min•Ep. 42
In this special episode Iain and Jamie are joined by John Mizon of Southwest Megagames and Mr. Megagame himself Matthew Bambridge to discuss everything about this increasingly popular type of game. We go in deep to what makes megagames tick from the history of the genre to the recent arrival of products like Vampire: The Masquerade, Bloodlines. We hope you enjoy and would like to thank John and Matthew for being such excellent guests. Intro to Megagames Off cast John recommended this video as a ...
Jul 15, 2019•40 min•Ep. 41
Iain and Jamie are joined by journalist Owen Duffy this week to cast their eyes over the gaming papers and see what is worthy of your attention. Amongst news of review bombing, Kickstarter guidelines and boardgame inspired TV shows the gents manage to sit down for a chat about the state of boardgame journalism. Headlines Kickstarter new guidelines https://www.kickstarter.com/honest?fbclid=IwAR3-yno3b1KjdZhaY3TUokueyFan-2PckwDFit7NXJo1E5h_nZ17oOd6rKk#framing Watch the skies in a box https://www.s...
Jul 08, 2019•35 min•Ep. 40
Iain & Jamie have gotten out the Necronomicon this week to summon themselves another roving reporter back to the fold. Garbed in his best cultist outfit Peter Hopkins from Drawn to the Flame joins the team to discuss Lewis Chessmen found in drawers, Origin Awards, Contrast paints and more! In the Brainstorm this week the 3 acolytes discuss seperating art from artist. Headlines James Mathe Dies http://www.jamesmathe.com/ https://wreckandruingame.co.uk/james-mathe-a-tribute/?fbclid=IwAR0uUPttc...
Jun 24, 2019•32 min•Ep. 39
The team are back from UK Games Expo and whilst everything was fresh in their minds, sat down to wax lyrical about the games they had seen at the convention. Our special guest is our honorary member of The Giant Brain, Rich Stokes: long time friend of Iain and the show. We cover a wide range of games and products from ones so new they barely have a name to the behemoth that is Games Workshop. Do let us know what you saw at the show and if you think we missed any gems. Chapter 2 - Strudle Games h...
Jun 10, 2019•35 min•Ep. 38
UK Games Expo is on the horizon and the crew are setting sail to this promised land. Joining them on the good ship Brainwaves is a man who is no stranger to the Expo himself: Mr. Rory Sommers of the Polyhedron Collider Crew. Before they get to chatting about the convention we cover the latest in Tabletop news including the potential impacts of the US/China trade war, Elder Scrolls getting into some plagiarism and all the news from D&D live. Do get in touch and let us know what you are lookin...
May 27, 2019•42 min•Ep. 37
Iain and Jamie are delighted to welcome home their space based roving reporter Janice Turner from Wren Games. The crew cover legal rustling on the Great Western Trail, companies producing less games and Aliens returning to the tabletop. In our Brainstorm we turn to the subject of Kickstarter and seek sage advice from Janice who has been down that road in the not too distant past and has a background in project management. Headlines Indie Game Studios sues Plan B Games https://boardgamegeek.com/b...
May 13, 2019•41 min•Ep. 36
Jamie, Iain and..... well Sam is away doing things beyond Space and Time. In the meantime it's time to call in our band of roving reporters in from the wild and get them a seat at the table. First up is Ross Connell from More Games Please . The team cover the recent cancellation of Kollosal Games kickstarters, why they didn't win any Golden Geeks, loads of financial news from across the hobby and discuss the importance of art in games. Headlines Kickstarter pulls Kollosal Games' campaigns https:...
Apr 29, 2019•40 min•Ep. 35
Well it's the morning after the party and the crew are all nursing a headache and wondering what is going on in the basement. In the meantime they get down to the business of news reporting. We cover 7th sea sailing into a safe habour, scholarships from gaming luminaries, controversy at GMT and debate the merit, or not, of expansions. Headlines 7th Sea finds safe harbour https://www.chaosium.com/blogjohn-wick-joins-chaosium/ Geoff Englestein announces Scholarship https://www.tabletopnetwork.com/...
Apr 15, 2019•40 min•Ep. 34
Get on your party hats, blow up the balloons and cut the cake because Brainwaves is one year old! On this special episode we are joined by our executive producers Robert and Sadie from the Lucky Sparrow Games Cafe and a few friends of the show. Although we were mostly partying we still had time to cover a bit of news with our guests and debate the merits of various party games! Iain, Jamie and Sam would like to thank all our listeners, friends and family for supporting us over the last year. The...
Apr 01, 2019•50 min•Ep. 33
On the eve of our 1st year anniversary the guys look into the depth of the news sea and hook only the tastiest bites for you. This week the world of Bridge is rocked by doping, Martin Wallace has a bone to pick with Eagle Gryphon games, Asmodee loses track of its Bears, franchise tie-ins galore and we finally get down to debating the merits, or not, of Monopoly. Headlines Top Bridge Player faces doping ban https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/01/world-no1-bridge-player-suspended-after-fail...
Mar 18, 2019•30 min•Ep. 32
On this episode we address controversy withing the RPG community, the nature of randomness in dice, head to France for some awards, Glasgow for some games cafe action and feature more news than you can shake a reasonably sized game at! Headlines Wizards issue statement regarding Zak Smith Wizards Statement - http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/dndstatement Mandy Morbid's Statement - (Content Warning for descriptions of abuse) https://m.facebook.com/amandapatricianagy/posts/10215845527064252 Awa...
Mar 04, 2019•29 min•Ep. 31
They're back with a brand new invention, or at the very least a new cast. This week they steady themselves from the Aftershock of a cancelled KS, counter their pennies as CMON announces financial results and journey to the Outer Rim with FFG. Relaxing into RPG corner, we use our new widescreen TV to watch the Champion of the Wild and finally look at a very, very expensive games. Headlines Aftershock Kickstarter Cancelled KS - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strongholdgames/aftershock-deluxe...
Feb 18, 2019•35 min•Ep. 30
Iain, Jamie and Sam are back in the news saddle and are roping the best in Tabletop gaming news. On this episode we look at the smashing success of Tabletop Games on KS, wonder about some Russian inspired design, get excited about Captain Sonar and talk about ways we can all be more welcoming to new people in the hobby. Headlines Tabletop Games smashed records on KS this year https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/15/18184108/kickstarter-2018-stats-tabletop-video-games?fbclid=IwAR1QxgokulvgZLiip7NIr9Wga...
Feb 04, 2019•30 min•Ep. 29
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the first Brainwaves episode of 2019! Iain, Jamie and Sam are back to bring you the best in Tabletop Gaming News. This episode we cover the latest Middle Earth announcements from FFG, licensing issues for the Great Old Ones and the arrival of interactive TV to Netflix. Our Brainstorm covers Iain's resolution to reduce his collection down: how big does a collection need to be? Headlines Lord of the Rings: Journey to Middle Earth https://www.fantasyflightgame...
Jan 20, 2019•29 min•Ep. 28
Happy New Year! We are taking a little break from the regular cast this week, but we didn't want to leave you with nothing to listen to. To this end we present the first of our Idle Thoughts podcasts. This is the cast we put out once a month to our patrons and features the team talking about the games they have played in the preceding month. This particular cast went out in November and features our October plays. We hope that this taster of the cast will give you an idea of the benefits of beco...
Jan 06, 2019•29 min•Ep. 27
On this final episode of the year, we bring you a special cast highlighting games that we have played over the last year or so that we really think deserve recognition in one way or another. We hope you enjoy it and look forward to bringing you more excellent news shows and specials over 2019. Thank you to everyone who has listened to us, got in touch and shared the cast. We are humbled by the response the podcast has gotten. Iain, Jamie and Sam Best short game - plays in under 30 mins Iain - Ca...
Dec 23, 2018•42 min•Ep. 26
Welcome to Brainwaves a fortnightly podcast bringing you the best in Boardgame and Tabletop Gaming News. In our final regular episode of the year the guys cover falling profits, surprising mergers, new and ancient games alongside a whole bunch of license based news. Headlines Cmon fall in profits http://www.tabletopwire.com/cmon-reports-losses-stock-continues-slide/ Board & Dice and NSKN merge https://www.facebook.com/boardanddice/ Big Potato Games make a vending machine https://toyworldmag....
Dec 09, 2018•33 min•Ep. 25
Welcome to Brainwaves a fortnightly podcast bringing you the best in Boardgame and Tabletop Gaming News. In this episode we cover controversy at White Wolf, Ninja Division's financial troubles, the launch of Keyforge and more! In Brainstorm the guys discuss the most used mechanics in games over 2018 and peer into the future at what we might see in 2019. Headlines White Wolf Implodes https://www.white-wolf.com/newsblog/a-message-from-white-wolf Ninja Division's $750k hole https://www.reddit.com/r...
Nov 25, 2018•36 min•Ep. 24
Welcome to Brainwaves a fortnightly podcast bringing you the best in Boardgame and Tabletop Gaming News. In this episode we cover thefts at the Essen game fair, accusations of plagiarism, movies coming to games and games coming to movies as well as the innovations of Tabletopia and Tabletop Simulator. Headlines Essen Thefts https://boardgamegeek.com/article/30345396#30345396 https://twitter.com/ArtipiaGames https://twitter.com/DnDiceUK/status/1056663300648386561 This last link emerged after we h...
Nov 11, 2018•31 min•Ep. 23
Welcome to Brainwaves a fortnightly podcast bringing you the best in Boardgame and Tabletop Gaming News. In this episode we start with some sad news from the world of RPGs move onto some good news about the return and expansion of some of our favourites and discuss if the cult of the new allows some games to get away with low replayability. Headlines Greg Stafford Death https://www.chaosium.com/blogvale-greg-stafford-1948-2018/ Dized KS (now cancelled) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dized/...
Oct 28, 2018•32 min•Ep. 21
Welcome to a very special episode of Brainwaves. We interrupt your normal programming to bring you an investigation into the state of the Dized App, a companion app for boardgames that teaches games through interactive tutorials and rules. We have interviews with Mike Barnes of Who Dares Roll, former UK Regional Manager for Dized, and Jared Miller, Dized Marketing and Social Media manager. We cover a wide range of topics with both our interviewees from the inception of the app right up to the pr...
Oct 21, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 20
