Episode 545: The Rat Chambers

Real Life:   Steven's been back at the forge for Blacksmithing Class #2, where Ben learned the existence of trivets (yes, those little metal stands your grandma probably had). Meanwhile, babysitting round two for Steven's nephew went... well, let's just say he survived. Rainy days are not great for four-year-olds. On the tabletop front, we got into Dungeon Crawl Classics (aka the '70s cranked up to 11) with its insane artwork and a spell system that just loves making you regret your choices. Then there's Mutant Crawl Classics, which, well... we didn't get as far, but you know it's gotta be weird and radioactive. Ben, on the other hand, had feedback about last week's discussion of Mothership. Devon's character was from Planet America, and Ben played Rodney McKay, based on our favorite Grumpy Scientist from Stargate: Atlantis. Also, Ben's dog has bladder problems (is it Cushing's disease?), and he's making custom Mac Mini decals that look like that Joy Division album cover that you probably know from Hot Topic t-shirts.   Future or Now: Since Devon's not here, let's talk about video games.    Dragonsweeper is Minesweeper meets dungeon crawler, and it's addictive as heck. Play it for free on the web at one of these two links:   https://dragonsweeper.com/New-Dragonsweeper-Version https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeper   Also, can we finally talk about UFO 50, that game that combines 50 indie games in one, all looking like they're straight out of the 80s? Ben waxes on and on about Party House: a deckbuilding game where you gather as many guests as you can to throw a huge party, but don't let it get out of hand! If it was released separately, it'd probably have been game of the year.   https://ufo50.miraheze.org/wiki/Party_House   Paper, Watch Out! Scientists in Japan are making biohybrid hands with lab-grown muscle tissue. These "MuMuTAs" are a step toward prosthetics and robots that mimic real muscle movement. Read more about it here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250212151423.htm   This reminded Ben of a love poem he wrote recently: Colonies:  https://ben.lawless.rocks/poetry/colonies/   "Book Club":   This week: Burning Chrome by William Gibson, specifically the titular story in the collection that brought us cyberpunk classics like Johnny Mnemonic.   Next week: Billennium by J.G. Ballard — a 1962 dystopian tale of extreme overpopulation, where people live in minuscule rooms in overcrowded cities. Sounds like fun, right?