◇ Hosts share why they started GMing, A Juggling GM asks how to balance PC backstories with plot, Thomas from Denmark wants to know how to keep track of all the NPCs in a story | Hosts: CADave, Enge, & Rob ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 2:32 - Announcements: Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 5:10 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 07:35 - Topic: What made you first want to GM? | 35:20 - A Juggling GM asks how to balance...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 21 min
◇ Hosts discuss game mechanics that they'd like to see more of in 2024, Steffen from Essen asks about plot and pacing for a campaign, Steffi from Scotland shares stories of shy and introverted players | Hosts: Kimi, Minerva, & Rose ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:49 - Announcements: Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 2:17 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 03:50 - Hosts discuss game mechanics that they'd like to see mo...
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 18 min
◇ Hosts discuss memorable games from 2023, Spilmeister Thomas from Denmark shares how they successfully made an RPG program, Vyrrk from DC asks how ridiculous of an idea we will allow in a game | Hosts: Nick, Rose & Jason ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:18 - Announcements: Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 1:51 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 04:26 - Hosts discuss their favorite games of 2023 | 38:00 - Spilmeister ...
Dec 31, 2023•1 hr 36 min
◇ Hosts discuss memorable games from 2023, Ken from Canada asks how to handle in-game misogyny with women at the table, Kurt (Not Potts) wants advice on turning off “GM Brain” as a player | Hosts: Kimi, CADave, Moe, & Kurt Potts ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:18 - Announcements: Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 2:48 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 22:54 - Hosts discuss memorable games from 2023 57:32 - Ken from C...
Dec 22, 2023•1 hr 43 min
◇ Thomas from Denmark wants to hear about festivals and holidays in game worlds, Jeff replies to our comments on his troupe-style game, New emailer Tony asks about random character stats in games | Hosts: Kimi, Samantha & Riley ◇ 00:34 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:07 - Announcements: Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 04:34 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 08:10 - Thomas from Denmark wants to hear about festivals and holi...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 26 min
◇ Steffen from Essen (Germany) asks how to devise physical challenges for players, Muddyboots from NYC sent us a con report, Steffi has a new hobby | Hosts: Kimi & Bill ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:17 - Announcements: Welcome to Season 33! Next Discord Game Daze will be Saturday, Jan 13th! happyjacks.org/discord | 01:53 - Indie Designer of the Month: Kurt Potts (kurtpotts.itch.io)| 05:53 - Steffen from Essen (Germany) asks how to devise physical challenges for players | 35:30 - Muddy...
Dec 10, 2023•1 hr 16 min
◇ Doogler asks what to do when your PC is treated like a side character, Gurg Murg wants tips on getting player feedback, Tiffany wants to more about the trust mechanic in Starscape | Hosts: Kimi & Rose ◇ 00:32 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:05 - Announcements: Season 32 is over! We will be back in December with Season 33! Next Discord Game Daze will be in Jan! | 01:48 - Doogler asks what to do when your PC is treated like a side character | 32:07 - Gurg Murg wants tips on getting player feedb...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 27 min
◇ Eric from New Jersey asks what skills a GM needs to run narrative games, Mike inquires when to cancel a gaming session, Moe P suggests a toolbox approach to GMing | Hosts: Kimi, Ray, Sarah, & Enge ◇ 00:32 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:12 - Announcements: Discord Game Day (Daze!) November 4th! | 02:26 - Eric from New Jersey asks what skills a GM needs to run narrative games | 15:40 - Mike inquires when to cancel a gaming session | 34:11 - Moe P suggests a toolbox approach to GMing | 46:01 - ...
Nov 10, 2023•49 min
◇ Mad King Christopher wants our judgment on his unorthodox spell use, Gurg Murg adds on to our City Campaign discussion from a few episodes ago, Steffi from Scotland writes in with a horror story | Hosts: Kimi and Riley ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:14 - Announcements: Discord Game Day (Daze!) November 4th! 02:21 - Indie Designer of the Month: Monroe Wells-Soto (monroeroe.itch.io) | 03:51 - Mad King Christopher wants our judgment on his unorthodox spell use | 21:25 - Gurg Murg adds o...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 7 min
◇ Toby asks about running non-linear games, Fuzzybof wants advice on surprise changes in setting, Myst shares a success story | Hosts: Kimi, Enge, Jake ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:22 - Announcements: Discord Game Day (Daze!) November 4th! 03:10 - Indie Designer of the Month: Monroe Wells-Soto (monroeroe.itch.io) | 55:00 - Toby asks about running non-linear games | 01:08:57 - Fuzzybof wants advice on surprise changes in setting | 01:30:52 - Myst shares a success story | 01:35:35 - Ep...
Oct 29, 2023•1 hr 40 min
◇ Kairaku from New Zealand wants advice on designing a gaming space for teens, Tom wants to attend more cons and run con games more successfully, Taurelin asks what to do when the party starts caring about the BBEG | Hosts: Kimi, Alex, Sarah, Jason ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:17 - Announcements: Discord Game Day (Daze!) November 4th! 01:57 - Indie Designer of the Month: Monroe Wells-Soto (monroeroe.itch.io) | 03:40 - Kairaku from New Zealand wants advice on designing a gaming space ...
Oct 22, 2023•1 hr 1 min
◇ Arrya from New Jersey asks about running a campaign set in a city, Eugene from Boston wants advice on running Decuma as a one-shot, Capt. Curt from Alaska reflects on JackerCon | Hosts: Kimi, Minerva, Kurt & Moe ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 02:14 - Announcements: Discord Game Day (Daze!) November 4th! 05:13 - Indie Designer of the Month: Monroe Wells-Soto (monroeroe.itch.io) | 22:54 - Arrya from New Jersey asks about running a campaign set in a city, | 42:23 - Eugene from Boston wants...
Oct 14, 2023•1 hr 19 min
◇ Jan-Egil from Norway shares success and horror stories, Eric from New Jersey feels like he is failing one of his players, Forlornhope22 asks where to get TTRPG news? | Hosts: CADave, Pooja & Kurt ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 03:00 - Indie Designer of the Month: Cezar Capacle (quirky.games) | 07:48 - Jan-Egil from Norway shares success and horror stories | 31:26 - Eric from New Jersey feels like he is failing one of his players | 40:11 - Forlornhope22 asks where to get TTRPG news? | 50...
Oct 07, 2023•58 min
◇ Vyrrk asks about getting what you need out of a game, Anonymous GM unmasked, Ken from Canada sends in a lightning round of questions | Hosts: Kimi, Pooja & Alex ◇ 00:38 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:10 - Announcements: Game Daze is September 23rd on happyjacks.org/discord, Big Bad Con, Sept 28 - Oct 1st | 03:46 - Indie Designer of the Month: Cezar Capacle (quirky.games) | 05:32 - Vyrrk asks about getting what you need out of a game. | 35:04 - Anonymous GM unmasked! | 42:18 - Ken from Canada...
Sep 23, 2023•1 hr 12 min
◇ Eric from NJ ask if TTRPGs can be therapeutic, Thomas from Denmark revisits a topic about teenage gamers | Hosts: Kimi & Jason ◇ 00:38 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:18 - Announcements: Game Daze is September 23rd on happyjacks.org/discord, Big Bad Con, Sept 28 - Oct 1st | 04:47 - Indie Designer of the Month: Cezar Capacle (quirky.games) | 09:06 - Eric from NJ ask if TTRPGs can be therapeutic | 26:58 - Thomas from Denmark revisits a topic about teenage gamers | 01:11:15 Episode Closing | 01:...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 14 min
◇ Live from OrcCon 2023 at the Hilton LAX in Los Angeles! A great panel show with members of our audience and stories from lots of different con games. Since it is a live event, the audio quality is not the same as our normal episodes recorded in our studio. ◇ ◇ Find us on Youtube ◇ Twitch ◇ Twitter ◇ Instagram ◇ Facebook ◇ Discord or find all our podcast feeds on your favorite Podcast platform! happyjacksrpg.carrd.co ◇ Subscribe to our Actual Play Feed! We have a backlog of campaigns in over 20...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 38 min
◇ Steve from Wisconsin asks what we love about systems he hates, Alverant asks about the cost of a cleric leaving their order, Jolene shares a tale of petty harmless(?) fun | Hosts: Kimi, Adam & Riley ◇ 00:38 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:30 - Announcements: Gateway 2023: September 1-4 in Los Angeles 02:16 - Indie Designer of the Month: Rob Hebert (https://nerdypapergames.itch.io/) 05:14 - Steve from Wisconsin asks what we love about systems he hates | 38:19 - Alverant asks about the cost of ...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 11 min
◇ Ken asks about running a campaign multiple times, Ayanna explains “Start with Nothing” games, Steffi from Scotland gets poetic | Hosts: Kimi, Adam & Pooja ◇ 00:38 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:23 - Announcements: Update your Patreon support! patreon.com/happyjacksrpg, Gateway 2023: September 1-4 in Los Angeles 02:42 - Indie Designer of the Month: Rob Hebert (https://nerdypapergames.itch.io/) 05:28 - Ken asks about running a campaign multiple times | 18:42 - Ayanna explains “Start with Nothi...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 7 min
◇ Eric from New Jersey asks how to make horror games unsettling without using gore, Anonymous wants advice about problem player dynamics in their group, MiniPainterJen reflects on the power of the dice in RPGs | Hosts: Kimi, Jason & Pooja ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:20 - Announcements: Update your Patreon support! patreon.com/happyjacksrpg 02:36 - Indie Designer of the Month: Rob Hebert (https://nerdypapergames.itch.io/) 05:28 - Eric from New Jersey asks how to make horror games uns...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 20 min
◇ Shawn asks about living with mediocre gaming experiences, Steffi from Scotland talks game prep and consistency, Elly shares her JackerCon success story! | Hosts: Kimi, Cai, Pooja, & Jason ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:17 - Announcements: Update your Patreon support! patreon.com/happyjacksrpg 04:52 - Indie Designer of the Month: Alison aka Draz (https://drazillion.itch.io/) 07:31 - Shawn asks about living with mediocre gaming experiences | 40:26 - Steffi from Scotland talks game prep...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 14 min
◇ Steve in SoCal asks what PC Backstories work best, Doogler wants to keep players from talking over each other, Vyrrk from DC asks about the weirdest games we’ve played | Hosts: CADave, Adam, Enge, Pooja ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:13 - Announcements: JackerCon 2023 success & Patreon Updates! Check your Patreon account settings! patreon.com/happyjacksrpg 05:05 - Indie Designer of the Month: Alison aka Draz (https://drazillion.itch.io/) 06:38 - Steve in SoCal asks what PC Backstorie...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 16 min
◇ Jim in Oregon asks how being a quiet player can be an advantage, Steffi from Scotland shares a story about knowing when a player isn’t a good fit, Jolene defends playing Monsterhearts at conventions. | Hosts: Kimi, Joey, Kurt & Moe ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:13 - Announcements: JackerCon 2023! July 21st-23rd! 05:05 - Indie Designer of the Month: Alison aka Draz (https://drazillion.itch.io/) 06:38 - Jim in Oregon asks how being a quiet player can be an advantage. | 20:50 - Steffi ...
Jul 20, 2023•58 min
◇ Garrett in SoCal asks how GMs can preserve their voice during long sessions, Forlornhope22 asks why GMs want to force their players to do something, New listener Jeff suggests troupe-style games | Hosts: Kimi, Kurt & Riley ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:05 - Announcements: JackerCon 2023! July 21st-23rd! 02:37 - Indie Designer of the Month: Alison aka Draz (https://drazillion.itch.io/) 05:21 - Garrett in SoCal asks how GMs can preserve their voice during long sessions | 40:35 - Forlo...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 19 min
◇ Ken from Canada asks about losing control of your NPC villains, Fuzzybof asks where the lines are for lines and veils, Jan-Egil from Norway asks how to get a new ttrpg from the shelf to the table | Hosts: Kimi, CADave, & Enge ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:27 - Announcements: JackerCon 2023! July 21st-23rd! 02:39 - Indie Designer of the Month: Alison aka Draz (https://drazillion.itch.io/) 05:06 - Ken from Canada asks about losing control of your NPC villains | 23:12 - Fuzzybof asks w...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 1 min
◇ Eric from New Jersey asks what to do when a GM is burned out on a system, Forlornhope22 weighs in on Cursed Artifacts, Vyrrk has a triumphant story about an AMAZING week of gaming | Hosts: CADave, Clara, Adam & Alex ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 02:16 - Indie Designer of the Month: Jessica Marcrum (angrynerdgirl.itch.io) ! 04:37 - Eric from New Jersey asks what to do when a Gm is burned out on a system | 23:07 - Forlornhope22 weighs in on Cursed Artifacts | 41:20 - Vyrrk has a triumpha...
Jun 28, 2023•58 min
◇ Michael of Not-Sweden asks about the benefits of homogeneous gaming groups, Rabit in Indianapolis shares a gaming story and asks how to deal with a demanding player, Steve in SoCal asks what IPs we love and hate for TTRPS | Hosts: Kimi, Clara, Pooja, & Joey ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 02:13 - Indie Designer of the Month: Jessica Marcrum (angrynerdgirl.itch.io) ! 03:34 - Michael of Not-Sweden asks about the benefits of homogeneous gaming groups | 28:11 - Rabit in Indianapolis shares a...
Jun 23, 2023•1 hr 6 min
◇ Davi loves preplanned “one-shot in a box” for conventions but wants system suggestions, Actual Jesse asks about crafting in TTRPGs, Steffi From Scotland has some amusing suggestions for classifying games | Hosts: Kimi, Clara, & Jessica Marcrum ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 01:30 - Announcements: 2023 Feedback Survey! happyjacks.org/survey - Help us improve our shows and content! 02:13 - Indie Designer of the Month: Jessica Marcrum (angrynerdgirl.itch.io) ! 34:23 - Davi loves preplanned...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 28 min
◇ Ayanna from Illinois asks about fonts designed for Dyslexia, Ken from Canada thinks players sometimes deserve some punishment, Matt shares a gaming horror story. | Hosts: Kimi, Kurt H, Enge ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 04:23 - Announcements: 2023 Feedback Survey! happyjacks.org/survey - Help us improve our shows and content! 05:00 - Indie Designer of the Month: Jessica Marcrum (angrynerdgirl.itch.io) ! 09:21 - Ayanna from Illinois asks about fonts designed for Dyslexia | 31:39 - Ken f...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 16 min
◇ Live from GAMEX 2023 at the Hilton LAX in Los Angeles! A great panel show with members of our audience and stories from lots of different con games. Since it is a live event, the audio quality is not the same as our normal episodes recorded in our studio. ◇ ◇ Find us on Youtube ◇ Twitch ◇ Twitter ◇ Instagram ◇ Facebook ◇ Discord or find all our podcast feeds on your favorite Podcast platform! happyjacksrpg.carrd.co ◇ Subscribe to our Actual Play Feed! We have a backlog of campaigns in over 20 ...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 12 min
◇ Erica Odd is intimidated by running games for kids, Gurg Murg asks how to improve describing scenes to players, Thomas from Denmark has a delightful gaming success story | Hosts: Kimi, Bill & special guest Ryan Khan ◇ 00:33 - Welcome & Episode Summary | 02:31 - Announcements: 2023 Feedback Survey! happyjacks.org/survey - Help us improve our shows and content! 03:27 - Indie Designer of the Month: Ryan Khan (the-one-true-ryan-khan.itch.io) joins us for the show! 33:15 - Erica Odd is intimidated ...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 17 min
